STORY OF GIRMIT

FROM BASTI

TO BOTINI

GROWING UP

IN SABETO

FROM FIJI TO

BRISBANE

FROM 1906

TO 2013

BLOOD,SWEAT & TEARS OF AN INDENTURED

FAMILY

Plight, Problems & Progress of an Indentured Family

The determined, dedicated, diligent & devoted discovers

define their destiny.

Life and Living of Sarju Mahajan & Gangadei Family

Growing up in Fiji

D R R A M L A K H A N P R A S A D

2

Dr Ram Lakhan Prasad 2013

Over a hundred years of colourful history of an immigrant family from Basti in Uttar Pradesh in India to Botini in Fiji and then to Brisbane in Australia.

Plight, Problems and Progress of an Indentured

Family in Fiji from 1906 to 2013

Blood, Sweat & Tears of an Indentured

Family.

3

Sarju Mahajan Gangadei My Grand Father My Grand Mother

Bhagauti Prasad Ram Kumari

My Father My Mother

4

STORY OF GIRMIT

Blood, Sweat & Tears of an Indentured

Family.

Plight, Problems and

Progress of an

Indentured Family in

Fiji from 1906 to 2013

5

Episode One

Root, Boot and Toot

The subtitle of this episode is Root,

Boot and Toot because my grand

parents came from a village called

Basti in Uttar Pradesh of India and

this was their root. However, while

my grand parents were working on

the sugarcane plantations of the

Colonial Sugar Refining Company in

Fiji as indentured workers from 1906

to 1916 after being uprooted from

their root they were treated very

badly by the overseers on the farm.

My grand parents were beaten,

whipped and kicked by the boot of

these cruel sirdar.

6

But their life became better when

they received their freedom and

established their own farms. Their

wagon of family life began to toot

with joy and pride.

This is a sad and tragic true story of

my grand parents, Sarju Mahajan

and Gangadei from 1906 to 1986. It

is full of emotive events that go on to

show how their blood, toil and sweat

went on to make valuable

contribution to develop their family

life first and then assist the country

and the Colonial Sugar Refining

Company prosper in Fiji.

In order to get these detailed

episodes from them I had to do my

share of service to them by showing

my love and compassion for them.

When I used to read the chapters of

the Hindu Epic Ramayan to them

every evening they would narrate

7

their stories of migration from Basti

in Uttar Prades in India to Botini in

Fiji very slowly and gradually after

the conclusion of the reading.

In the process of that narration they

laughed, cried, got angry and showed

intensive remorse. Sometimes while

telling their tragic stories they

became so emotional that I had to

leave them alone to cool themselves.

When slavery was abolished by the

revolutionist William Wilberforce

from this world then the attention of

the large farm owners in the British

colonies turned to India. By 1879 the

turn of Fiji came to recruit young

and healthy vulnerable Indian by

deceitful methods and questionable

means to ship them to Fiji to work

on the farms of the then Colonial

Sugar Refining Company.

8

Fiji is a nation of over 300 islands in

the South Pacific Ocean. Fijians,

Indians, Europeans, Chinese and

others have been living in

reasonable harmony for over two

centuries. Fiji‟s climate is tropical

with adequate rainforests and pine

plantations. Indians do cultivation

of sugarcane and there are coconut

palms galore. A country of

uncertain political and economic

future but has to support at least

three quarter million people. This

country is my motherland and I

have a special feeling for the place.

The Fijian Chiefs ceded Fiji to the

British Government in 1874 but the

natives were not culturally ready to

participate in the economic

development of the country. So the

British Government in conjunction

with some multinational enterprises

went to other colonies to bring

9

people who could be manipulated to

help them achieve their economic

goals.

The Colonial Sugar Refining

Company with the help and support

of the British Government was

willing to exploit the situation and

enter the scene of the so-called

economic development of the

country. The Company hired

cunning recruiters (Arkathis) to visit

various villages and cities of India to

recruit young and healthy Indians

who could work on the sugarcane

plantations and orchards belonging

to them.

They in turn recruited Indian Priests

and Village heads to do the initial

ground work for them because the

people there could trust these men.

Thus began the Indenture System for

10

the Colony of Fiji in 1879 . It is

commonly known as Girmit.

Gangadei my grand mother

Gangadei was my grand mother. She

was a pretty girl and was as calm as

her name sounds. She was born in

Sitapur in the district of Basti Uttar

Pradesh (North India). She was the

last of the four children of the

farming family. Very little else is

known about her childhood but she

was an intelligent and a strong

woman.

She was a twelve-year-old girl when

she accompanied a group from her

11

village to go to the annual Ayodhya

Festival, a religious gathering of

villagers. This festival used to be so

crowded with people that once one is

lost it would be impossible to locate

them easily.

It was in that massive crowd of

people that my grand mother got

separated from the village group.

She felt alone and frantically began

searching her group but alas there

was no hope. Tired and hungry she

decided to sit down in a corner

completely disappointed. At that

time her condition was like a fish

detached from water.

Where could she go? Who would

help her? What should she do? She

was confused and did not know what

to do. She had lost her thinking

power altogether in this confusion.

„Into thy hands Lord, I commend my

12

Spirit.‟ Nothing remained in her

own hands, everything in His.

A yellow robed pundit of middle age

saw my grand mother‟s condition

and expressed his wish to assist her.

Such people were respected in the

village and she felt at ease to talk to

him. He spoke kindly, “Beti, why are

you crying? Have you lost your

way? Have you lost your family

members? You don‟t worry because

as a holy man I am here to help

you.”

My grand mother felt that this help

was god sent and she greeted the

pundit with respect and told him her

sad story. Punditji realised that my

grand mother was in real need for his

assistance and this made him very

happy. The pundit however, hid his

real eager feelings and expressed his

concerns and pseudo sadness as if

13

his own daughter or sister was in

trouble needing his assistance.

He pacified my grand mother and

expressed his sorrow. May have shed

some crocodile tears and said,

“Well, whatever was to happen has

happened but now you do not have

to worry any more. I am here for

you. I am calling a rickshaw to take

you home.”

Whatever my grand mother longed

for, this middle-aged Brahman was

prepared to deliver so she fully

trusted him and agreed to return

home with him. The pundit made a

signal to a nearby rickshaw operator

who was eagerly waiting for him.

They sat in it and left the busy

festival ground to a destination

unknown.

14

My grand mother was eager to reach

home but instead she arrived at a

Coolie Depot and then she realised

that this fake pundit was an agent

(Arkathi) to recruit workers for the

Indenture System. She cursed herself

for trusting him but it was too late

now. She was a prisoner in this

Coolie Depot from where it was

impossible to escape. There were

various other unfortunate souls

sitting and cursing their fates there

and were unsure of their future.

The next day all the recruits

appeared before the resident

magistrate to register themselves as

slaves to work in a foreign land.

After the registration for girmit they

were put on a cargo train bound for

the port of Calcutta.

When my grand mother reached the

Depot in Calcutta she could not

15

believe her eyes when she witnessed

the dilapidated nature of the place.

Her worry and sadness multiplied

manifolds but she could not do

anything else but cry.

The late Sir Henry Cotton in his

report to the British Parliament

writes this on Girmit Recruitment

Procedure:

In too many instances the

subordinate recruiting agents resort

to criminal means inducing these

victims by misrepresentation or by

threats to accompany them to a

contractor’s depot or railway station

where they are spirited away before

their absence has been noticed by

their friends and relatives. The

records of the criminal courts teem

with instances of fraud, abduction

of married women and young

persons, wrongful confinement,

16

intimidation and actual violence- in

fact a tale of crime and outrage

which would arouse a storm of

public indignation in any civilized

country. In India the facts are left

to be recorded without notice by a

few officials and missionaries.

The new recruits suffered great

injustice at the hands of the clerks

and agents at the depot. Men and

women were forced into small rooms

like animals. Men and women were

compelled and forced to get into

pairs and then they were declared

wife and husband. Those that did not

agree were locked together and the

men were instructed to make the

women agree. Those who failed to

come out as pairs were punished

severely.

This pairing that turned into

illegitimate marriage gave the agents

17

publicity that the indenture system

was conducted with the consent and

willingness of wife and husband.

This was far from the truth. In most

cases the forced pairing led to social

disaster and in some it turned out to

be a blessing for the recruits because

they could share their sorrows and

grief.

It was in this Calcutta Coolie Depot

that my grand mother met my grand

father. My grandma‟s case was a sad

one. She worried a lot about her

future and the forced pairing so she

decided to choose my grand father as

her husband because he was from the

same district (Basti) and he was

strong and handsome.

That was the beginning of their

family life and the authorities

registered their marriage. At least

this staying together and the

18

possibility of being able to share

their pains, aches, friendship and

difficulties made them feel a little

better and bring some happiness in

the wilderness.

C F Andrews wrote this in his report

that those who were all chaste and

honourable women became mixed up

almost from the first day with the

other class. How many of them

remained chaste, even upto the

voyage, it was impossible to say.

My grand father was Sarju who was

born in Dumariaganj in Basti Uttar

19

Pradesh in India. His father Shankar

had a farm where he grew mangoes

and other fruits but since there were

four other brothers in the family my

grand father at the age of fourteen

was asked to work for a landlord in

the next village of Senduri at almost

no pay but only keeps.

One day my grand father was caught

putting a few ripe mangoes in his

bag to take home so he was branded

a thief. This stigma became

unbearable for a growing and honest

young man of fourteen. He knew he

would be ridiculed if he went home

so he left this landlord in search of

other jobs elsewhere.

He walked a long distance in search

of work, which was not that easy to

find. He reached Kashipur but he had

not even reached the town when he

20

was spotted by a cunning recruiting

agent (arkathi).

After noticing the predicament my

grand father was in, the recruiting

agent took advantage of the

situation. He started a friendly

conversation with my grand father,

which went somewhat like this:

“How are you my friend? Are you

looking for work?” asked the agent.

“What kind of work sir, and what

would I get as wages?” my grand

father wanted to know.

“Well, my friend, this is not work at

all,” the cunning agent said in order

to trap my grand father.

“In fact, you are indeed lucky and

certainly you are destined to

becoming very rich and famous

21

soon. There is a beautiful island off

the coast of Calcutta known as the

Ramneek Dweep or the paradise in

the Pacific.

A very rich landlord resides there

and he needs the services of a

security guard to look after his home

and the farm. You will get full

uniform, food ration and a

farmhouse to live in. You will only

work for twelve hours a day with a

gun hanging across your shoulder

marching up and down the entire

property. You cannot find such a

lucrative job anywhere here because

you will just enjoy your daily tasks

and even earn money. What else do

you want?”

My grand father felt very good and

began imagining himself as a

security guard with a gun hanging

across his shoulder marching up and

22

down the property in the day and

enjoying life in his farmhouse at

night. This sounded like heaven to

him. He began to dream about his

future life full of fun. He was not

prepared to hear any more but to

sincerely thank the agent and agreed

to travel immediately. The agent felt

good to trap another recruit.

Seeing that my grand father was

tired and hungry the agent took him

to a nearby eating-house and fed to

his hearts content. Then they got into

a rickshaw to start their journey to

the dreamland. But when they

reached the coolie depot my grand

father‟s hopes were shattered and he

felt disappointed with himself for

believing such stories of the agent

and falling into his trap.

When my grand father saw the

crowd of people he regretted his

23

every move. He too joined the other

unfortunate victims in the depot to

hang his head down and cry. He too

felt like an animal in a strong cage

unable to find its way out.

He began thinking that his village

was much better place to live a free

life than this dungeon. He was told

by some recruits that he will be in

Fiji where he would work long hours

on sugarcane farms owned by white

men. He will have to sweat from

head to tail twenty-four hours a day

and tolerate the harsh treatments of

the field officers. He was not able to

imagine the reality of the situation

then but when in Fiji he told me all.

There was nothing he could do to get

out of this depot because of very

tight security there. At last one day

he too was presented to the office of

the magistrate who asked him only

24

one question, “Do you agree to go to

this island to work as a labourer?”

“Yes sir!” answered my grand father

as the recruiting agent had instructed

him.

Thus his five-year contract (girmit)

was signed and sealed. He was a

slave. Similar fate awaited thousands

of others who were waiting to get on

board a cargo ship Sangola Number

1 in 1906.

There were women, children and

men. Everyone‟s heart was filled

with pain and sorrow and the eyes

were wet with tears. Some were

sobbing for their relatives and family

members, others missed their

parents, and yet there were others

who lamented the loss of their

motherland. My grand father

25

described that inhumane coolie depot

as the hell on this earth.

The Clerk of the Court in a

communication admitted that it was

perfectly true that terms of the

contract did not explain to the coolie

the fact that if he or she did not carry

out his or her contract or for other

offences, like refusing to go to

hospital when ill or breach of

discipline, he or she was to incur

imprisonment or fine.

According to Richard Piper, Indians

in India believed in very strict caste

system but all caste restrictions were

ignored as soon as an immigrant

entered the depot. For the poor

unfortunate who happened to have

some pride of birth, there was a

bitter but unavailing struggle to

retain their self-respect which

generally ended in a fatalistic

26

acquiescence to all the immorality

and obscenity of the coolie lines. The

immigrants were allowed to herd

together with no privacy or isolation

for married people.

My grand father and grand mother

both admitted that no one who

survived at the end of the journey

could distantly have faith in the caste

system. They were all simple human

beings and to call himself or herself

Brahmans, Chatriyas, Vaishyas or

Sudras or even Hindu or Muslim was

foolish to say the least.

Sarju and Gangadei were two of

those unfortunate souls who fell

victim to the Indenture System of

1879 onwards. Indians lived in

poverty but they were subsistence

farmers enjoying their lives with

their respective families and so were

27

Sarju and Gangadei who were just

healthy adolescents.

The late Sir Henry Cotton explained

that the recruiter or arkathi lay in

wait for wives who had quarrelled

with their husbands, young people

who had left their homes in search of

adventure and insolvent peasants

escaping from their creditors.

When one form of slavery was

abolished in the western world then

another kind of deeper slavery began

from the Indian Continent. This was

called Girmit or the Indenture

System. The dreadful life of the

recruits and the atrocious treatment

they got from the overseers was

inhumane and cruel.

Rev Andrews mentioned in his book

that before they had been out at sea

for two days in the stormy weather a

28

few of the poor coolies were

missing. They either committed

suicide or hid themselves in the hold.

They were dragged by the officers

and kept alive but they too lost their

battle with life.

Upon entering the depot my

grandparents were issued with two

thin blankets and a few eating

utensils made from tin. At dinner

time all the recruits were made to sit

on the ground in a line and served

dhal and rice. Some hungry recruits

were frantically eating but there were

others who were submerged in deep

thoughts about their losses of

religion, family members and

national pride.

My grand father sat there quietly for

a while because he could not collect

enough courage to eat such food in

such a situation. The clerks advised

29

him that it was no use worrying

about petty religious, social and

family matters any more. Life for

him had changed and he had to

accept it. There was no return to

their usual families. This was a hard

fact of the system.

He prayed hard. „O Lord I give you

my heart and soul; assist me in my

agony; may I handover all my future

into your safe and powerful hands.‟

Twamewa Mata ch Pita Twamewa Twamewa bandhushch Sakha Twamewa Twamewa Vidya Dravinam Twamewa Twamewa Sarva Mum Dev dev

Whether his prayers were heard or

not but time and days kept moving.

They do not stop for anyone or any

event. The recruits were loaded on

the cargo ships and were allocated a

small place on the deck that was

dirty and wet. The mood, condition

30

and situation on the ship were so

drastic that the recruits began to feel

ill. Some kept vomiting for a long

time and those that could not tolerate

the unhealthy and un-socialised

circumstances jumped into the sea to

end their ordeal.

The recruits suffered for days and

could not eat the poorly cooked

khichdhi that was dished to them

daily. If the weather became bad and

the food could not be cooked they

were given dog biscuits. The recruits

had to suffer the heat, rain and cold

on the deck. The journey was long

and dangerous.

Many of the human cargo lost their

lives through hunger, torture and

suicide because they could not bear

the cruelty and suffering onboard the

ships. However, both Sarju and

Gangadei survived the atrocities and

31

were united as a family unit to work

on the sugarcane farms in Matutu in

Sigatoka.

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya said

that the condition under which the

labourers lived on board the cargo

ships were not good at all. There

was not enough care for the modesty

of the women, and all castes and

religious rules were being broken

and it was no wonder that many

committed suicide or else threw

themselves into the sea.

The sea journey of the coolies lasted

a few months and at last the boat

anchored near a small island in the

Fiji Group in November 1906. This

was Nukulau, a quarantine station.

It was here that the recruits were

washed with phenyl and examined to

give them certificate of fitness so

32

that they could be auctioned. My

grandparents were bought by the

Colonial Sugar Refining Company

based in Sigatoka and were

transported to Matutu where they

were given eight feet by eight feet

grass huts that were not fit for human

inhabitation but there was no other

choice.

These huts had wet and hard floor

and a few blankets were allocated to

them. Their first ration of rice, dhal,

sharps, salt and oil was also handed

to them. If they completed their daily

tasks well for a month then they

were paid ten shillings for that

month.

My grandparents recalled that the

white men who were called

Kulumber or Sirdar allocated daily

tasks to the workers or girmitiyas

and if any weaker person was not

33

able to complete the tasks

satisfactorily they were beaten with

whips, fists, kicks and sticks. They

had to tolerate all the injustice

because there was no place or

institution to register their

complaints.

Despite the fact that my grand

parents were both strong and good

farmers and managed to complete

their daily tasks well, initially they

too suffered a lot of beating and

injustice at the hands of the white

men. However, one day towards the

second month when the Sirdar was

abusing my grand mother, my grand

father could not tolerate it any more

because enough was enough for him.

He was using a long handled hoe to

complete his task and used this to

beat the hell out of the white man.

This kind of self-defence happened a

34

few times and then both my grand

parents were free from any violent

attacks but the verbal abuses never

ended.

My grand father encouraged other

workers or girmitiyas to stand up for

their self-defence but only a few

could do this to protect their self-

respect. One of them was Tularam

who converted to Islam and became

Rahamtulla. He was my grand

father‟s jahaji bhai or ship mate and

established himself as a farmer in

Botini later.

Instances of such deep friendship

were many in those days of the

indenture system and these lasted for

the life time of the workers. The

friends could stand for each other in

times of hardship and any other

difficulties.

35

On the CSR plantation they were

made to work hard, for long hours

and suffered cruelty and abuses of

the sector officials if they made the

slightest of mistakes. Like many

other workers or Girmitiyas they too

were whipped, kicked and beaten by

the Sector Officers. There was no

one to hear their complaints and thus

they could only blame and curse

their ill fate and they could do

nothing to escape these hardships.

Whilst in Matutu my grand parents

had many good friends and one of

them was Rambadan Maharaj who

after his girmit became a

shopkeeper. The two families

interacted with each other long after

my grand parents moved from

Matutu to Botini.

The families despite their difficulties

met regularly to continue with their

36

cultural activities. My grand father

with the assistance of Rambadan

Maharaj had developed a great love

for the Hindu Epic Ramayan. He

could recite the couplets of Tulsidas

from memory and explain the

meaning to his friends.

My grand parents completed two

difficult and deceitful contracts of

five years each and gained their

freedom from bondage in 1916. This

freedom from slavery was a lot

sweeter than the sugarcane. Their

happiness was so great that it

outweighed the sorrows and

sufferings of their indenture.

By 1916 the Indenture System had

stopped but my grand parents

continued to grow sugarcane and

other crops in Matutu until 1928 and

then moved to Botini in 1929. Their

37

first son Hiralal was born at the end

of the indenture system.

My father Bhagauti Prasad was born

in Matutu, Sigatoka in Fiji on 27th

June 1918 and my mother Ram

Kumari was born in Nabila in

Sigatoka Fiji, on 24th July 1924.

They got married in 1936 and lived

happily in Matutu for a while and

then shifted to Botini when the

Second World War began.

They were one of the fortunate ones

when as a result of their loyalty and

hardwork they were rewarded by the

CSR Company with a lease for a

large piece of land in Matutu and in

Botini in Sabeto to continue

sugarcane farming. They had to cater

for their family of three sons and five

daughters by then and despite the

option to return to India they chose

to sign further contracts to supply

38

their own sugarcane from their farms

to the company.

There were valid reasons not to

return to India at that time. Firstly,

they did not have any contacts and

did not know if their family

members were still there in the same

village. Then there was this fear that

they might not be accepted in the

community because they would be

regarded as outcasts. Of course,

although one way passage on a ship

was provided, they did not have any

other needed financial means to

travel and settle in India.

However, my grand father went back

to India to pay respect to his birth

place in 1952 but had to return to Fiji

to continue his family life because

very few of his family members

could be located in Basti by then.

Frequent hurricanes, floods and

39

internal infrastructure developments

in India had dismantled and

disintegrated the family. This was

another price that the girmitiyas had

to pay and the loss of their root was

unbearable.

My grand father then put his eldest

son Hiralal on one of the three farms

in Botini and managed the other two

himself with his other children. His

second son Bhagauti Prasad

managed the farm in Matutu until the

farm was sold to Rambadan Maharaj

when the world war two started.

His second son Bhagauti Prasad who

had got married to Ram Kumari

daughter of Bali Hari from a nearby

village called Nabila, joined his

father Sarju to manage the farms in

Botini later.

40

World War two had just begun.

Soldiers from various countries

began to arrive in the country.

Camps soon got established in

strategic places in the main island

and the army personnel began

patrolling the areas on foot and on

various types of vehicles. They were

there to keep peace but they were

definitely disturbing the peace of the

village people.

Inhabitants of the small village were

all cane farmers who were brought

from India as indentured labourers

by the Colonial Sugar Refining

Company. After completing their

hard earned indentured contract of

five or ten years they were free to

settle as cane farmers or return to

their motherland India.

Many chose to settle in this village

on land allocated by the CSR

41

Company. They had to enter into

another one-sided contract to keep

supplying sugarcane at stipulated

price to the mills owned by the

Company. A monopolistic situation

gave no other choice to the poor

farmers.

On many occasions upon supplying

tons of sugarcane to the mills the

farmers were told that they can not

be paid because their product was

dirty and it would cost the company

more to clean the mills than to pay

the farmers their share. The farmers

had no alternative but to accept this

wrong and sinful decision. There

were no organizations of farmers to

give them legal assistance until early

1950s. In order to subsist they had to

do some mixed cropping.

CRS Company believed that they

were doing the farmers a lot of

42

favours because they had used

recruiters to enrol them from various

cities and villages of India, which in

those days, like Fiji, was also a

British Colony. They emancipated

the labourers from stark poverty in

India and resettled them in Fiji to

prosper.

The village of Botini in Sabeto

valley was the salad bowl of the

country where farmers boasted

growing best vegetables and other

crops. Surrounded by the mountain

range known as the Sleeping Giant

or Mount Evans and the winding

Sabeto river the villagers had great

prosperity at their feet at all times.

Naturally they lived in good homes

and had all the conveniences. The

farmers worked very hard and lived

in a united community that soon had

their own educational and religious

43

institutions for the development of

their children.

It is in this background that my

father Bhagauti Prasad, the second

son of Sarju, having worked on the

joint farms for several years began to

do farm work on his own piece of

land that was allocated to him by his

father, my grand father Sarju. This

new venture began in 1949. He was

married with four children by then

and the family lived at this new

location until 1983 when they sold

the property and moved to Nasinu

near Suva.

They had two sons and two

daughters at that time: Ramlakhan,

Vidyawati, Vijendra and Shiumati.

Other five daughters were born later.

So a family of eleven members

enjoyed their family life working

hard on their farm and living a happy

44

life. Sarju Mahajan and Gangadei

kept a watchful eye and kept

blessing them to move on with their

life as best as they could.

Bhagauti Prasad Ram Kumari My Father My Mother

45

Episode Two

The Prasad Family of

Sabeto

In the first episode of this eventful

story of my roots I managed to

present the plight of my grand

parents who had come to Fiji under

the indenture system and established

themselves as successful farmers in a

place called Botini in Sabeto. In this

section we keep moving ahead. This

part will focus on my parents-

Bhagauti Prasad, my father and Ram

Kumari, my mother and this will

show how I am linked to this

historical development.

My grandfather Sarju Mahajan was

a person who believed in the four

eternal truths of life and used to say

that there was sorrow in Life; there

46

was a reason for all sorrow; that

that sorrow would definitely end and

that there was a way to end that

sorrow. He died in 1966 at the age of

ninety but when he was living he

used to ask me in the evenings to

read and recite the holy books to

him. He would listen intently and

correct my pronunciations and other

mistakes. Thus, through these

readings and recital of episodes he

instilled a love of reading and

religion in me.

Sarju Mahajan, my grand father

My grandparents retired from all

farming activities in 19 60 . By this

47

time they had developed a wealthy

life and left the last farm to my uncle

Chetram. My grandfather then

devoted most of his time in charity

work helping religious organizations

and schools. From ordinary Sarju my

grandfather was known as Sarju

Mahajan by then.

My grandfather was a generous man

all his life and became a money

lender to help people who needed

funds to build their houses and buy

necessary commodities for their

farms. He did not charge any interest

but people paid him in kind when

they returned his money to him.

He lived a happy life until 1975 and

passed away at the age of 83. My

grandmother lived for another few

years and left this world in 1979 at

the age of 85. They had contributed

48

immensely for the family, friends,

relatives and the community.

Like Balmiki, the original writer of

the epic Ramayan, my father,

Bhagauti Prasad also became a

reformist when he was told of the

five precepts of life. He agreed to

abstain from killing, stealing,

adultery, lying and liquor.

Jaan aadikavi naam pratapa

bhayea sidha Kari ulta jaapa.

(Ramayana Chaupayee)

Bhagauti Prasad's father was Sarju

Mahajan who had come with his

wife Gangadei from Basti in UP

India in 1907 as an indentured

labourer to work for the Colonial

Sugar Refining Company of

Australia. Ram Kumari‟s father was

Bali Hari but my mother‟s mother

49

Shiu Pali died when my mother was

born.

My mother was brought up by her

step mother, Dukia. Very little is

known about my maternal

grandmother but her father

Shiubaran, who was from a village in

Calcutta, died in Nabila during the

great flood and epidemic in 1926.

Despite his many shortcomings my

father tried to lead an eight-fold path

by being of right understanding,

thought, speech, actions, livelihood,

effort, mindfulness and

concentration.

By bringing about so much of

transformation in his life he led the

family through a lot of troubles to a

peaceful and fruitful end. He too

died on April 12 1988 at the age of

about 70. He was diabetic and had a

50

heart arrest because of diabetic coma

after a very short illness in Suva

hospital.

When I visited him in the hospital

the day of his death on April 12 at

midday he had asked me for five

things. Firstly, he said I should recite

a few slokas from Geeta or

Ramayana, our Holy books.

I recited this slok for him and he

listen to it very carefully and even

explained the meaning to me.

Yada yada hi dharmasye glanirbhauti

bharat

Abhyukthanamdharmasye tadatmanam srajamehyam

51

Paritranaaye saadhoona vinaashaaye ch dushkritaam

Dharmsansthapanarthaye sambhawaami yuge yuge

Secondly, he said that life was very

short and it was very important for

the head of the family to try to keep

everyone happy and peaceful

through good guidance and strong

bond of love and affection. He said

he was able to perform this task well

and he wanted me to do the same.

Thirdly, he asked me not to perform

any unnecessary cultural and

religious rituals after his death but to

cremate him and throw his ashes into

52

the sea. He said that antim sanskaar

was the final ceremony that you do

for the dead body at the cemetery

and there should be no other

religious rites after that because

while the dead body has been turned

into ashes the soul has migrated to

the realm of heaven to be either

reincarnated or resting in peace

forever.

Then he said that he was very sorry

if he failed as a father to develop and

guide his nine children in the right

direction. He said he had done his

best but he wanted every one of his

children to ensure that their children

were developed with good parenting

and excellent education.

However, he was happy that he had

thoroughly reformed himself after

some wrong doings of the early days

and had shown his children the right

53

path of life. He truly repented his

misdeeds and had never forgiven

himself for his poor role model. This

he said was his praayschit.

Lastly, he said that it was my duty

to look after my mother after his

death even if she was to create

problems for me. She needed to be

tolerated because she was an

illiterate person.

This was the premonition of his

death because that afternoon when I

was travelling back to my Nadi

home I got a message that he had

passed away. I was happy that I was

able to spend the last hour with him.

He taught us to give charity to the

deserving, observe the precepts of

morality, cultivate and develop good

thoughts, render service and attend

on others, honor and nurse parents

54

and elders, give a share of your

merits to others, accept the merits

that others give you, hear the

doctrine of righteousness and rectify

your faults.

He said that every human being was

equal and must be treated as per the

work they do. He did not believe in

any sects or caste systems. He gave

me the three Ds of his family life:

daya, daan and daman - kindness,

charity and control.

I am truly proud of my father who

taught me a lot of things about life

and living .The three warnings that

he gave me are still fresh in my

mind. Firstly, he said that we all are

subject to decay or destruction and

we cannot escape old age, condition

of being frail and bent down. But we

should try to lead a healthy life

55

through balanced diet and reasonable

exercise.

Secondly, he said that we all are

subject to disease, and we cannot

escape sickness. While living we

should be thoughtful of others, be

kind and considerate. Avoiding poor

eating habits and doing a bit of yoga

always helped us to be free from

illness.

Thirdly, he said that we all are

subject to death and we cannot

escape from dying. Death is certain

for us but living should be

rewarding. If that was our

understanding then what reason is

there for us to hate each other and

create enmity? Love and friendship

were the cornerstone of human

living, he assured me.

56

He wanted us to wake up to our

responsibilities and be freed from all

fears. He said life was too short to

get bogged down in petty things so

we must perform well to be loved,

remembered and honored as parents.

I also tried my best to bring up four

of my children making it sure that

they were well educated, well

catered for and lived with a lot of

love around them. Of course, as my

father never spared a rod for my

growing up I too tried my best to

discipline my children and I do not

regret taking that action.

Our mixed farmstead in Botini had a

variety of crops like rice, peanuts,

pineapples, vegetables, fruits and

sugarcane. Working hours for the

family members were long and even

the children and women had to

perform all the tasks. Women took

57

turns to cook for the whole tribe and

whoever was not on culinary duties

had to work in the field.

The thing that added more happiness

to the growing up process was the

strong social structure of the family.

There were many uncles and aunts

nearby to baby-sit and the

grandparents were always around to

look after the baby.

My mother had never been to formal

school and was illiterate but she was

very protective of her family. My

father had completed his education

up to class six and was a regular but

a critical reader of various epics and

religious books.

He later became the president of

various religious bodies in the

community and was a very respected

leader in the village. Ironically he

58

was addressed as Sardar as were the

early sector officers during the

indenture system. He retired as a

farmer, sold his Botini farm in 1974

and went to live in Nadera in Nasinu

near Suva city.

As a person my father achieved a lot

in his lifetime. He often said that it

was a sad thing that we loved

ourselves more, and our country and

community a lot less. We have tried

to make ourselves rich, secure and

great, not our country and

community. We should always

remember to give a lot more of our

time, effort and resources to our

country and our community. We

must ask our nation and our society

to forgive us for this selfishness. By

giving we receive the richest

blessings of the God Almighty.

59

As the years passed, my eldest uncle

Hiralal claimed his share and moved

to a nearby farm with his family and

began the farm work independently.

As explained before, my grandfather,

Sarju Mahajan, donated this property

to them. Sarju Mahajan had three

sons and six daughters. Hiralal,

Bhagauti Prasad, Chetram were the

sons and Sukhraji, Shiuraji, Dhiraji,

Mangali, Mahadei and Ramdei were

the daughters.

My village of Botini in Sabeto; a

village rich in culture, community

and control, a place where people

lived in harmony and all sorts of

cultivation was at its peak, an

environment that boasted self-

sufficiency at all times.

People lacked nothing and enjoyed

life to the fullest. Our farm was

made up of a thirty-hectare of native

60

lease that had rough terrain but the

soil in the valley was very rich and

alluvial for any crop to flourish.

A small stream of fresh water ran

across the property and big trees of

na-ivi, coconuts, mangoes, and other

fruit trees were growing well along

both sides of the stream. Fish of

various types and eels swam in that

stream and during my childhood I

loved fishing there with an old man

called Sahadatt, who lived as a

hermit in a small thatched house

that my father had built for him. He

was like a caretaker or a watchman

for our farm. He cooked his own

meals and many times made me

enjoy the good taste of the eel curry

that he so tactfully prepared.

On our farm of sugarcane,

pineapples, rice and mixed

vegetables there was always plenty

61

to do and enjoy. The hilltops were

overgrown with guava trees that

were always laden with fruit for us

to pick. Anything that we wanted

was on the farm; sugarcane to eat,

pineapples to slice, delicious

coconuts to drink, mangoes galore,

citrus fruits of all kind, pawpaws,

melons, cucumbers, rockmelons and

many others. That was self-

sufficiency at its extreme.

It was against this backdrop that my

parents were always eager to

practise great experiments on their

farm and the Agriculture

Department of Fiji assisted them

with advice and seeds and seedlings

of potatoes, citrus fruits and other

vegetables. The vegetable section on

our farm produced enormous

amounts of beans, cabbages, corn,

cucumber, melons and similar crops

that were delivered to Lautoka and

62

Nadi Markets every Friday on our

Ford Six truck.

Such were the rural and village

luxuries I enjoyed on the farm when

I was a primary school child at

Sabeto Primary School from 1946

to 1953 and a secondary student at

Natabua High School from 1954 to

1957.

I worked on the goat and cattle

farms as a herdsman and acted as a

cowboy on many occasions. I also

did a lot of ploughing, planting,

weeding, hoeing and harvesting

using our pairs of oxen and finely

bred farm horses. No work was hard

for me and I worked in the

vegetable gardens, fruit, and

pineapple and sugarcane farms. So

much so that my father had to ask

me to slow down and concentrate on

my schoolwork so I had to divert

63

my energy and move on in this

progressive direction.

As I mentioned before, my mother

never went to school and did not

have any reading and writing skills

but she had many good human

qualities. She was a very powerful

woman who controlled her children

well. She was an excellent cook and

displayed extreme passion and

understanding when she interacted

with her children. She could not

help us with our schoolwork but she

guided us to lead a good life. I

always had a great admiration for

her commitment and empathy.

People say I have learnt most of my

values from my mother and they

may be right because a lot of my

social communication style, my

general human interaction and my

daily conduct come from my

64

mother. I am proud of the fact that

despite her illiteracy she was able to

do so much for me. I am reminded

of the opening line of

Ravindranath‟s poem: Amma teri

mamta ka nahi koi mol.

My family members called me

Lakhan in those days but my mother

called me Badkana, which meant

the eldest. My formative years were

of average academic standard but I

began to excel from Class six

onwards and was a role model for

many village students. I was always

among the top three students at

school but my sporting activities

were limited to some soccer and

hockey games only. I loved sports

and athletics but there weren‟t many

opportunities to participate and

compete in those days.

65

My reading activities were limited

to reciting from the Holy Books-

Ramayana and Bhagwat Gita for my

grand parents and parents, the

Jungle Book and the New Method

Readers. There were no public

libraries in those days and the

school library had only a limited

collection. I did not have the luxury

of bedtime story reading.

However, whenever we got our

supply of bread and other goods

from the town shops, the items were

wrapped with pages of old

newspaper. My father collected

these for us to read and at times he

tested us by asking us to read the

news items aloud to him and explain

those in his vernacular language,

Hindi. Stale news but it gave me an

opportunity to learn about other

countries.

66

While at primary school I

participated in a lot of dramatic

activities at the local temple where

the religious drama activities of

Ram Lila, Krishna Lila and Lav

Kush Lila were dramatised on stage

for the public to enjoy. These were

conducted at the hall at nights for

weeks and I enjoyed acting the role

of Lord Rama.

My grand father was the director

and my father was the president of

the Sanatan Dharam Mandali of

Sabeto. After the stage work was

over we had our dinner there. We

enjoyed the dhal, rice and chatnee

prepared so skilfully by my grand

father, who was a great cook in

times of need.

During my school days I used to

work on my father‟s farms of rice,

pineapple, sugarcane and lentils and

67

go to the markets with my father to

sell the items on Saturdays at the

CSR Compound in Lautoka where

the market day used to be organised.

These were one of the most

interesting selling experiences and

interactions with the business and

other communities and I learnt a lot

from these interactions and

activities. My father had a lot of

regular customers only because his

produce was always clean, fresh and

well displayed. My father was

fundamentally a different type of

vendor for the customers because he

cared about them and gave them

tender loving care and good service.

The days when our supplies were

more than the demand we were left

with some of our produce, which we

had to throw in the nearby paddock

where the cows enjoyed eating

68

them. My father would not sell them

cheaply or give these free to anyone

but he was very happy to witness

the scene when the cows of Maan

Singh Dairy farm munched the

vegetables away slowly with

interest.

This paradigm of circumstances

confused me in the beginning but

when I understood the ethic behind

feeding the animals I could see that

as a Hindu my father was doing

nothing more than just feeding the

sacred cows.

Milking of cows and goats was one

my favourite past times. Then the

rule was to boil your milk and

extract the butter fat from the

yoghurt the next day using a

bamboo extractor in a large four-

litre container.

69

Of course, it was my duty to get

fresh green para and guinea grass

for my cows and goats in order that

they continued to provide us with a

lot of fresh milk. These were

difficult chores but interesting and

soothing to my soul.

One of the ideas that got ingrained

into me after my father constantly

and continuously motivated me was

the concept of hard and quality

work so whatever I did, I did it well

and with all my interest. There was

no farming activity that I could not

perform but while doing those I

never faltered in my studies. My

commitment to all my tasks was

very solid and deep.

It was through these quintessential

paths that my grandparents and

parents built for me, that I found my

upward mobility easy and smooth.

70

My grandparents and parents were

poor in the beginning but that was

no excuse for their inadequacies. As

the transformation of circumstances

developed, they learnt to persevere

and cleared the slippery rung of

their ladder of progress through hard

work and determination. I shared

the same anxiety, ambitions and

adaptations to move ahead with

pride.

It was examination time at school

and I had to study hard so I carried

my notebooks with me when I was

grazing my cattle in the field. I was

so engrossed in my studies that I

forgot to keep an eye on the

animals, which wondered onto a

nearby vegetable area and destroyed

a lot of our seedlings and crops.

My father was furious to see the

destruction and I remember getting

71

the brunt of his full anger when he

used his whip on me instead of the

animals. I regretted this but never

again did I falter in my farming

duties and chores that were

allocated to me. The paradox of this

event is that you have to be cruel to

be kind.

My father was a disciplinarian and

always wanted his children to do the

right thing and do well in every

human activity. He loved his

children very much and would do

anything to keep them happy. He

wanted me to be someone to

remember because I was the eldest.

His happiness was beyond his

control when he learnt that I was

going to be a teacher. He was

overwhelmed to hear that news

because that was his objective. It

turned out that I was his only child

72

out of the nine that had developed a

profession. Later in life he told me

that he was very happy that I had

achieved good results in life and

met his expectations.

In those days as a reward for good

work for the whole month I was

allowed to accompany some of my

friends to Nadi town to see Hindi

movies in the old wooden theatre of

Harry Uraia. We used to travel by

bus but later the open-air theatre

came to our village and they used to

screen the Hindi movies at the

temple grounds and we used to

enjoy the Saturday evening

programs.

My father was one of the first

persons in Sabeto to have a radio

that needed a wet-celled battery to

run and the battery needed to be

regularly charged at a charger that

73

was located about five miles away

from our house. I used to carry the

battery on my shoulder to have it

charged and then bring it back. In

this process the battery water on

many occasions spoilt my clothes

but the enthusiasm and anticipation

to listen to the one fifteen minute

Hindi program on Tuesday and an

hour‟s evening Hindi program on

Saturday kept me going to the

charger and back.

The radio station was called ZJB

and the announcer and presenter of

programs was Chandrika Prasad

Sriwastow who had a wonderful

radio voice. The program was

largely made up of news items but if

time permitted we were lucky to get

a few old songs such as „bachpan ki

mohabbat ko dil se na bhula dena’.

74

During this period of my adolescent

development I was working very

hard with my father on the farms to

learn all the necessary tricks and

traits of planting rice and vegetable

and rearing goats and other animals.

Since my mind, body and soul were

all busy concentrating either on the

farm or on schoolwork I had very

little time to develop any serious

hobbies of my own but I did

manage to go swimming in the

Sabeto River and learn some

wrestling skills from my father.

I began driving the family Ferguson

Tractor and the Ford Six truck from

the age of twelve when I was in

Class eight. It never occurred to

anyone that these were dangerous

and unlawful activities.

75

By 1952 my parents were well-

established farmers and began to

pay more attention to my education

and my progress improved

considerably. My other brother and

other sisters were at school as well

but I was the centre of attraction all

because I was the eldest and I used

to bring good school reports home.

This put me in a hyper drive to

accelerate my efforts at school. My

father told me that the world out

there was becoming dangerous and

complex everyday and one has to

get ready to face it head on.

World War Two had begun.

Sounds of guns, dynamites and

other ammunitions were

frequenting the atmosphere. Nights

were darker because of the curfews

imposed but sometimes the

searchlights would beam in the sky

76

to spot the flying objects. My father

was very fond of helping the

soldiers and the infantry and he

grew a lot of vegetables and fruits

to sell these to them. He joined the

soldiers as a volunteer and enjoyed

his service until 1944.

These are some of my early dismal

recollections of 1940s. My parents

were blessed with the firm

upbringing practices of my

grandparents and that is one of the

reasons for their continued success.

Like my grandfather, my father was

also regarded as a leader of the

extended family and whenever there

were any disputes within the families

of his sisters he was there to conduct

reconciliation and peace for them.

All my cousins respected my father

and would behave exactly as they

were told.

77

It was during the wartime that my

father was involved with the soldiers

in supplying them with drinks, fruits

and vegetable in exchange for arms

and ammunitions. He had developed

an arsenal of his own and when the

soldiers had gone he with his friends

used to play with these "toys" in and

around the village at nights.

Another secret of progress for my

grandparents and my father was self-

analysis. My father admitted that

introspection was a mirror in which

to see recesses of your mind that

otherwise would remain hidden from

you. You must diagnose your

failures and sort out your good and

bad tendencies.

You must analyze what you are,

what you wish to become, and what

shortcomings are impeding you.

78

Decide the nature of your true task

that is your mission in life. From his

conclusions I gathered that I must

endeavor to make myself what I

should be and what I want to be.

Your success in life does not

altogether depend on ability and

training alone he used to say; it also

depends on your determination to

grasp opportunities that are

presented to you. Opportunities in

life come by creation, not by chance.

My grandparents and my father for

all their progress and reformation

created opportunities. They used the

available outward means as well as

the natural abilities to overcome

every obstacle in their paths.

Today I am happy that I have been

able to raise four intelligent children

who are special to my family. Like

79

our grandparents and parents we

have always believed that our

children are the greatest assets for us

and whatever they do in their own

lives would please us as long as they

conducted themselves decently and

humanely. It is important that they

pass on the cultural and socio

economic knowledge and learning to

their children in turn. This would

make us very happy and fully

satisfied.

I always wanted success without

measure, not from earthly sources

but from God‟s all-possessing, all-

powerful and all-bountiful hands. I

am proud that God has given me all

that I needed in life because I

believed in Him.

I am not religious but I believe in the

Supreme Powers of the Almighty

God. Like my grandparents and

80

parents I am not conducting any

religious ceremonies that make no

sense to me.

I believe that you demonstrate

success or failure according to your

habitual trend of thoughts. If your

mind is ordinarily in a negative state,

an occasional positive thought is not

sufficient to attract success. But if

you, like my ancestors did, think

rightly, you will definitely find your

goal even though you seem to be

enveloped in darkness. My ancestors

alone were largely responsible for all

their progress and development and

no organization was there to help

them along. Through their karma and

impulsive actions they managed to

look after their large family.

I learnt from my ancestors that there

were always two forces warring

against each other within us. One

81

force tells us to do the things we

should not do; and the other urges us

to do the things we should do. Our

„should do‟ things are always

difficult and „shouldn‟t do‟ things

are easy. I was confused as a young

man and my one voice led me to

evil, and the other took me to good.

However, with the right guidance of

my ancestors, I soon got out of evil

world and entered the world of

goodness.

These were the first twenty-four

years of my life and I dedicate these

good years to the healthy interaction

with my grand parents, my parents

and my family members and

friends. In these beautiful years of

my growing up I was given a firm

foundation to move ahead with

faith, hope and freedom.

82

I was a role model for many in the

village and to my only brother

Vijendra Prasad and seven sisters,

Vidya Wati, Shiu Mati, Kushma

Wati, Upma Devi, Suman Lata, and

Sarla Devi. They too enriched my

life through their healthy

interactions.

My teachers contributed a lot

through their motivational pursuits

and excellent guidance and I owe

them a lot. What I am today is the

direct result of good family life

education, excellent primary

education at Sabeto Primary School

and a balanced educational

development at Natabua High

School.

My initial professional preparation

at Nasinu Teachers‟ College was

very good foundation to proceed in

the pursuit of excellence in all

83

fields. One of my mentors of the

training days was a person called

John L Stevens, who in many

respects guided me and provided me

with excellent opportunities to

further my teaching career.

Our success is therefore measured by

the yardstick of happiness and by our

ability to remain in peaceful

harmony with everyone and

everything and not by the worldly

standards of wealth, prestige and

power. We had enough money

always but we considered ourselves

only humble middle class family.

We have had everything that we

wanted in life and this total

fulfillment in our family life is the

result of our upbringing. I thank my

ancestors and my many mentors.

84

All our progress and development

are closely related to our roots and

the way we were raised and

motivated by our grand parents and

parents. They instilled a love of

honest living and disciplined life.

We have enjoyed our life both in

Fiji and in Brisbane despite some

early difficulties of new migration.

We know our future is bright and

promising because we were given a

very firm foundation by our family

members.

We lead a happy life with four

children with their spouses and

eight grand children around us. We

have a closely-knit family and share

the joys and happiness of life to the

fullest. What else do we need? We

have achieved everything in life and

are fully satisfied.

85

My grandparents and parents always

wanted our family to be happy,

prosperous and peaceful at all times

so that we can keep the name and

fame of our grand parents and

parents high.

We had a lot of faith in God and that

had paid us well in our living. We

have visited India a few times in

search of our roots there but have

not been very successful because in

a century of living in Basti things

have changed a lot due to floods,

hurricanes and infrastructural

development.

We have not given up our hope of

finding our roots and are continuing

with our efforts to find our roots and

are confident that one day we will

be able to meet members of my

grand parents' family in

Dumariaganj, in the village of

86

Senduri, in the district of Basti in

Uttar Pradesh of India.

My grand father, who came from

India with nothing but hope and

confidence in 1906, progressed well

and gave us the motivation to move

ahead. With the help of his family

he became one of the richest

farmers in Botini through sheer hard

work and diligence. He was always

proud of his progress.

He was a religious man of his own

free will and belief, very well

respected in the village and had a

very large family to support. His

greatest goal was to help the poor

and have a respectable family and

he achieved both these aims very

well.

I know that my grand parents, my

parents and we have done our best

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as immigrants to serve various

communities and countries. We

have many friends, family members

and relatives to emulate our

successes and developments. These

were our root, our boot and out toot.

I salute my grandparents and parents

for their determination, dedication,

diligence and complete devotion as

early discovers to define and develop

their own destiny and provide us the

right motivation and opportunity to

keep moving ahead.

This is the end of my narration but the history continues.

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