Four generations:
Three continents: Two world wars: One village
These are tales spanning four generations spread across three continents
in between and after the two world wars of people who set forth under different
circumstances from one small village called Agaramangudi.
The story line traverses through different time lines, locations or
incidents with no particular order. The only order being the
alphabetical one – A to Z meant purposefully for the A to Z challenge. These
posts can be read as standalone posts, but would be best comprehended if
you read them along with their prelude provided as a link.
Click here for Prelude K - Karaikkal port 1914
Click here for Prelude K - Karaikkal port 1914
L – London - 2007
It was
a subject that was not part of Jaanu’s course curriculum. African studies and history of immigrant
indentured labour was an optional course
offered by the anthropology department at the London School of Economics and
political science. Owen, her roommate
from Nigeria was enrolled into the course and was raving about the new
professor from Johannesburg whose anthropology class was always oversubscribed.
Professor
Padayachi normally taught at the
university at Johannesburg . Every year
he spent five weeks in the Lent term as
a guest lecturer with the London School of Economics and Political science
lecturing about labour migration of the
early 19th century and Anthropological and political changes it
brought about across three continents. His Doctoral degree was for his research on the
immigration of Indian Indentured labour in British colonies from 1850 to the
1930’s.
Prof.
Padyachi’s lectures were much sought after. His lectures were not of a scholarly demeanour of the academic
kinds. He was a man driven with passion
and clearly his lectures emanated a strong sense of purpose and a great
understanding of his subject. The best
part was that they connected to the growing reality of inter racial tensions
and social uprisings that have shaped the developed nations.
Jaanu
decided to enrol for the course.
Anthropology kind of interested her. But more than that the suave Prof Padayachi intrigued her.
Instinctively she felt a
connection from her past.
***
Towards
his last years in the two bedroom housing board tenement in Chennai, Subbu her
grandfather would bemoan about his
bygone years in Agaramangudi. He would constantly reminisce about
Sivachami Padayachi who was his man Friday in the 1950’s and
1960’s, the golden years of his life. He would choke with tears when talking
about the loyal, hard working Sivachami.
Soon after Sivachami died, Subbu sold all his agricultural lands and
left Agaramangudi for good and migrated to Madras to live with his son who now
worked for a Nationalised Bank in the city.
By the
mid 1980’s, he had sold all his agricultural lands including the ancestral
house, Sri Lakshmi Nivas before he migrated to the city for good. But the cattle shed and the mud hut with the
thatched roof where Sivachami lived all
his life, along with the Mango orchard near the pond, he gifted it away to
Sivachami’s only daughter,
Thenmozhi.
************
Professor
Padayachi was born in Johannesburg at a
time when Apartheid was on the cusp of being abolished and South Africa under Nelson Mandela was starting a new chapter in its history based on the principles of racial equality, thus throwing open an abundance of opportunity for the colored race.
His father
grew up in an Africa clearly divided on racial lines and his grandfather had passed on the memories of his
great grandfather telling them about his sailing the Indian ocean from Karaikkal to Madras and then to
Mauritius to work in the sugar plantations
of the then French colony of Mauritius.
When
his five year term as an indentured worker came to an end, far from returning
back to his village in Agaramangudi,
near Kumbakonam, he sailed across a different vessel in the opposite direction to Johannesburg to
a new beginning. His name was Manickam Padayachi.
Sivachami
shared the same surname with this professor from South Africa and that is
exactly what intrigued Jaanu.
She enrolled for the course offered by the Anthropology department.
She enrolled for the course offered by the Anthropology department.
To be continued ... M - Mayavaram - 1960
Hello, stopping in from A to Z and thanks for your continued participation!
ReplyDeleteStephen Tremp
A to Z Cohost
Twitter: @StephenTremp
I wanted some more of London....
ReplyDeleteGreat reading your ppost
ReplyDelete