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In search of my roots




My paternal grandparents moved from a village near the town of Palani in India to a village in Natal, a province in  Durban, South Africa where a number of villagers from their village had settled down to work in the gold mines. There was a famine in South India which saw the migration of a large number of South Indians to Durban where there was promise of good rewards working in gold mines in Durban. 


My paternal grandparents were working on a small parcel of land in Palani, India which supported a large number of extended family members. I remember my father telling me his house in Palani was near a large prison. His parents joined the exodus of Indians to Durban to seek their fortunes in the new land. My father was born in Durban. When Ghandi  the charismatic leader of Indians in South Africa decided to return to India, my paternal grandparents too decided to return to Palani in India. So with three sons in tow they returned to India. The family land was a small parcel of  

land that could not support the extended families. 


They had heard stories of a wealthy nation, Malaya which needed workers. They decided to leave India to seek their fortunes in Malaya and left with three children to join other relatives and friends for the promised land. They did not find riches but with the savings they had, were able to build homes and buy  a couple of goats and cows and lead comfortable lives. The children had to lose out on education as the frequent  moves prevented them having a formal education. 


Since they were not in schools they looked around for employment at a young age. My father managed to find employment in a printing press and overtime picked up skills to become a book binder.He specialised in book binding. His brothers showed interest in studies and became teachers in some rural schools in Perak after their Std  6 as Tamil education then was for only 6 years. The 7th year was a teacher training class and in the olden days it was a poorly paid vocation which offered a salary of RM30/-. After his marriage to my mother his relationship with his brothers became strained as they were living in different regions and  without the benefit of frequent communication, he lost contact with his siblings. 


When I was in my twenties, I heard my father relate this tale and  tried looking out for my uncles. It was like searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack. I only knew the name of one of his brothers and that was not enough. I had to give up attempts to look for the  brothers. In the meanwhile my father passed away and that put an end to my search. 


All contents (c) Ganapathy Ramasamy, mynameisgana@blogspot.com


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