SHE can still recall how her grandfather, the late Sarabjeet Singh, used to tell them stories.
The stories were about how her great grandfather, Thakur Kuldip Singh, arrived in Fiji during the early days of the indenture system in the 1800s.
From the stories, Padma Wati Charan, 64, learnt about the tragic circumstances in which her great grandfather reached land in Fiji.
Her great grandfather had arrived in Fiji from India on board the ship Syria with other indentured labourers on May 11, 1884.
Since hearing the stories about the indentured labourers and in particular her great grandfather, Ms Charan always had a dream to visit the villagers who rescued her ancestor when their ship hit the reef.
Last week, her dreams came true when she arrived in Fiji with other descendants who were part of the Fiji Girmit Foundation of New Zealand.
They organised themselves and headed to Nasilai Village in Tailevu to thank the villagers for their ancestors efforts in rescuing the indentured labourers from the shipwreck.
Ms Charan is married to Shiu Charan who is the president of the Fiji Girmit Foundation in New Zealand.
They have three children and five grandchildren and now reside in New Zealand.
“I feel greatly honoured to have been given this lifetime opportunity by the Fiji Girmit Foundation New Zealand to be part of their delegation to meet with the descendants of those valiant souls who put their own lives at risk when they went to the rescue of our shipwrecked ancestors who otherwise would not have survived,” she said.
Ms Charan said her great grandfather was originally from Rajasthan, settled in Bihar, in the district of Sarran in Chapra in a small village known as Dumduma.
She said her great grandfather was among the 497 passengers on board the Syria and 59 people lost their lives.
“Kuldip Singh survived by swimming and wading through the rough waters with three of his most prized possessions — a bugle which he had got while he was in the army, a sword that belonged to the Thakur family (the warrior clan) and a gong, a brass plate and hammer which was played to announce the meal was ready and later it was used as accompaniment to a Hindu prayer-ending hymn. It is called Ghanta Ghadiyal,” she said
She said her great grandfather was given a supervisory job distinctly different from the ordinary labourers as he was from a military background.
“At the end of the indenture period (Girmit) he opted not to go back to India but settled in Fiji.”
Ms Charan said her great grandfather acquired a piece of land in Raralevu, Nausori and settled there after he found a wife.
“They had eight children — six males and two females.
“My great grandfather lived and died in Fiji but had kept in contact with his extended family in Bihar.
“Our extended families live in Fiji, Australia, America, New Zealand and we still have relatives in Bihar, Assam and Mumbai.”
Ms Charan said Thakur Kuldip Singh’s surviving grandchildren and great grandchildren still lived in Fiji in Raralevu, Tailevu and some other places in Suva.
She said without the Nasilai villagers’ valuable and timely help and the traditional iTaukei culture and compassion, the loss of lives would have been much higher.
“Fijian history has not resonated with such acts of compassion and sacrifice where our two communities stood by for each other.
“There is an enormous reservoir of love, affection and goodwill between the two races which needs to be revealed and cherished.”
The Fiji Girmit Foundation New Zealand acting president and trustee, Harnam Singh Golian, said they would continue to support the people of Nasilai as they were family.
Mr Golian said the visit last Wednesday was to acknowledge the villagers and chiefs of Nasilai whose ancestors provided valuable assistance in the rescue operations which helped save 438 lives after the Syria ran aground at the Nasilai reef.
“We have made few arrangements with the Indian and New Zealand High Commission in helping Nasilai Village with their Village Hall Project and other facilities,” he said.
He said they had also made a request to the Government to set aside May 14 as a public holiday to remember the girmitiya and the Nasilai ancestors.
“This is to educate our younger generation on its wonderful history,” he said.
Mr Golian said the villagers had requested to continue with the building of the monument in remembrance of the Girmit era which was stopped during the 2006 coup.
Fiji Girmit Foundation New Zealand treasurer Krish Naidu said another request they had made to the Government was to embed Fiji Girmit history into the education curriculum.
“We feel that the younger generation needs to learn more of their own history particularly with those from the indentured labourers,” he said.
“This would also show the generous help and sacrifice made by the iTaukei people of Nasilai in helping our forefathers which clearly demonstrate what two cultures have done to each other despite the differences.”
In honouring the villagers, the delegation presented their sevusevu, plaque and tabua to the villagers and chiefs of Nasilai.
The Turaga Daunakelo, Vanavasa Vono, while receiving the tabua, sevusevu and thanksgiving plaque, said words could not describe how emotional he was.
Mr Vono said the group’s presence was highly appreciated by the villagers.
Foundation secretary Thakur Ranjit Singh said without the villagers’ valuable and timely help and the traditional iTaukei culture and compassion, the loss of lives would have been much higher.
“What they did to our forefathers is something we will never forget,” Mr Singh said.
According to Wikipedia, the Syria was a 1010 tonne iron sailing ship with a length of 207.7 feet, breadth of 34.1 feet and depth of 20.8 feet.
She was built by William Pile of Sunderland for the Nourse Line, named after the Syria River in Karnataka, India.
She was primarily used for the transportation of Indian indentured labourers to the colonies.
