ean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC) 2018 Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd.

(ICC) 2018 Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)

Indian Arrival Day

indocaribbeanpublications.com

2018 Trinidad and Tobago Volume 19, Number 1

Personal letters between relatives in

India and Trinidad during indentureship
(1845 -1920)
 A cup full of flavour

Now available in

@lascogoodnesstt

Indian Arrival Day in Trinidad and Tobago
by Dr. Kumar Mahabir
On May 30th 1845, the Fath al Razak
docked near the lighthouse in the
Port of Spain harbour in Trinidad
and Tobago. There were 225 im-
migrant passengers on board who
had left India to come to the British
colony to work on the sugarcane
plantations after the abolition of
African slavery. They had spent 103
days at sea, enduring a long and dan-
gerous journey that spanned 14,000
miles (36,000 km). The immigrants
were contracted to work for five to
ten years mainly on the sugarcane
estates in a system of indentureship
that finally ended in 1917.
A total of 147,596 Indians came to
Trinidad over this 72-year period.
Although they were promised free
return passage back to India, at
least 75 per cent of them stayed and
settled in the New World. In many
ways, they brought India to the
Caribbean through their religious
traditions of Hinduism and Islam,
and eventually transformed Trinidad
and Tobago into a colourful, cosmo-
politan society.
Descendants of these Indian im-
migrants, who now comprise about
The 2005 edition of the ICC magazine on the theme “Temples and
Tourism in Trinidad” won an Excellence-in-Journalism Award.
half of the island’s multi-ethnic 1.3
million population, commemorate
the arrival of their ancestors annu-
ally. The commemoration occurs in
the form of prayers, speeches, songs,
music, dances and plays which are
held in communal as well as public
spaces. At various beaches, the spirit
of history is invoked with the re-
enactment of the landing of the first
boat-load of pioneers who gave birth
to the Indian community in Trinidad.
The historic day has been a national
holiday since 1994.
The entire month of May has been
deemed Indian Heritage Month, but
May 30th holds special historical
significance. On this day, partici-
pants gather to honour their ances-
tors who had crossed three oceans
and travelled halfway around the
world to reach the Caribbean. The
descendants gather to pray for the
souls of their fore parents, and to
seek guidance and blessings for the
future. Scholars, teachers, elders
and activists continue to share their
knowledge of the past as well as
increase public awareness on this
important aspect of the nation’s
history and heritage.
ISSN 1683-4143
Volume 19, Number 1
Publisher
Indo-Caribbean Cultural
Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
Editor-in-Chief & Chairman
Dr. Kumar Mahabir
Cover and page design
Preddie Partap
Cover photo
Preddie Partap
Artist
Hayden Geeawan
Proof-reader
Amrita Mahabir
Advertising
Neisha Surujmal
Promotions and marketing
Ramona Harripersad
References
Dr Radica Mahase
& Samaroo Siewah
Letters courtesy
Avril Belfon &
The National Archives of T&T
Typewriter on cover courtesy
RB Singh & Vinod Bridgelalsingh
Chief Financial Officer
Mera Heeralal
Indo-Caribbean Cultural
Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
10 Swami Avenue, Don Miguel Road, San
Juan, Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean
Tel: (868) 674-6008
Tel/fax: (868) 675-7707
E-mail: dmahabir@gmail.com,
indocaribbeanstaff@gmail.com
Web:indocaribbeanpublications.com
Copyright
© ICC 2018. All rights reserved. The writing,
artwork and/or photography contained herein
may be used or reproduced ONLY with written
permission of the Chairman of ICC, or his agents.
Disclaimer
Although all efforts have been made to ensure
accuracy of the contents of this publication, ICC
cannot accept responsibility for errors, omissions
or advice given. The views expressed in this
magazine are not necessarily those of ICC.
Editorial
Personal letters between relatives in India
& Trinidad during indentureship
For the first time in history, original,
private correspondences are being
shared with the general public. Few
of these letters exist today. This sample
consist of 18 letters: 9 from Trinidad
and 9 from India. These letters have
been sourced from the National
Archives in Trinidad where they are
housed, preserved and catalogued.
The letters were written from 1910 to
1922, just after the semi-slave system
ended in 1920. The letters were not
written by the workers themselves, but
on their behalf by Government officials
such as the Protector of Immigrants in
Trinidad, the Government Emigration
Agent in Calcutta, and one by the
Deputy Inspector General of the
Military Police in Burma. Perhaps the
bonded labourers themselves could not
write in English, or allowed to write
their relatives personally, or possibly
post correspondences overseas without
the assistance and approval of colonial
government officials.
Some of the letter writers in Trinidad
were T. Boodram Singh of Diego
Martin, Ashaq Hussain and Ram Singh
of Picton Estate, Paluvhiamliah of
Waterloo Estate, and Bhawanie Dial of
Sangre Grande. The letter writers from
India were Narain Singh, Abdullah
Allahdin, the mother of Mohamed
Ismail Khan, the relative of Lakhiya,
the brothers of Pruth Ramasara (alias
Ram Singh) - all of them sending their
correspondences through the overseas
colonial office at Garden Reach in
Calcutta. Other letter writers were the
parent of Kewal who lived in Narela,
Thana [police station] Alipur in Delhi,
and Kalicharan Singh of Rangoon in
Burma.
Dr Kumar Mahabir, Chairman
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd (ICC)
Assistant Professor, University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT)
Ph.D. Anthropology, University of Florida
The subject of the letters from Trinidad
included the welfare and health of
immigrants, requests (for money) to
return to India, and inquires for a postal
address in India. One letter indicated
that Rajaram, formerly indentured at
St Valentine Estate, was now free at
Kernahan’s Estate in Plum Road.
The subject of the letters from India
included a request for information on
a brother, money, property, posses-
sions of a deceased, return of a son, the
whereabouts of a relative, a desire to
go to Trinidad, cost to travel from India
to Trinidad and the return of a brother.
These letters represent an historic link
and solemn reminder of a wretched
past. They serve as witness to one of
the British Empire’s darkest moments.
These documents of ordinary people
in bondage, in sugar cane and cocoa
plantations in Trinidad, are rare and
priceless. They provide a glimpse of
the lives of people who fought against
odds and expressed themselves in
writing. Like the slave letters at the
Yale University Library in the USA,
these manuscripts leave us with more
questions than answers.
Did these letters truly reflect what these
Indian folks wanted to say? Or were the
contents of the letter mediated by the
white, British colonial writers? Were
there (more) issues that these folks
wanted to tell their relatives abroad
but were constrained to do so? Would
these folks really reveal certain issues
to the colonial official? Were the letters
dictated in Hindi or English? Would
the recipient of the letter have to find
a translator to explain the contents that
were written in English?
There were letters written by these
folks themselves and sent directly to
their relatives abroad. The contents
of these correspondences would not
have had to pass through the hands
of colonial immigration officials. It
is difficult, almost impossible to find
these rare documents.
V.S. Naipaul, the Indian Trinidadian
Nobel Prize winner, made reference of
the private letters exchanged between
India and Trinidad. In his book An Area
of Darkness (1964), he mentioned that
his grandfather had returned to India
in 1926. “On the train from Calcutta
he fell ill, and he wrote to his family:
‘The sun is setting’” (page 278). That
was all. Only one short sentence lin-
gered. Naipaul himself never saw the
actual letter.
These private letters form part of
what is known as Subaltern Studies
i.e. people’s history or “history from
below” by folks in the lower class of
society. The term “subaltern” is derived
mainly from the work of the Italian
Marxist philosopher and politician
Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937). It is
a type of narrative that attempts to re-
construct history from the perspective
of common people, the non-elites, the
non-leaders, the disenfranchised, the
oppressed, the poor, the voice-less,
the invisible, and marginal groups in
society. The theory was later devel-
oped by writers such as Lucien Febvre,
Albert Mathiez and E. P. Thompson.
Subaltern theory focuses on the views
and voices of forgotten people. It is a
revisionist approach to writing history
in direct opposition to the method of
focusing on great figures, referred to
as the Great Man theory.
 Message from the Minister of Community
Development, Culture and the Arts,
Dr. the Honourable Nyan Gadsby-Dolly

This year’s commemoration of Indian Arrival Day

presents us with yet another opportunity to reflect on
the path traversed by our East Indian ancestors and
their legacy; one that is proudly upheld by the diaspora
at home and beyond our shores. I am indeed intrigued
by the theme for this year’s magazine which takes us
into the indentureship experience through the personal
letters between labourers and their relatives in India.
These letters are thought-provoking on so many levels.
We are provided with a direct connection to the voices
of these ancestors as they coped with the realities of
indentureship. We are given a glimpse into the
communication system of the day, more so how our
ancestors relied on Government officials to communicate
their innermost sentiments to relatives in their homeland.
These documents, as with many other relics across our diverse cultural heritage, help
us to understand that our progression as a nation was founded on the humble dreams
of all of our ancestors. We are somehow reminded of our collective obligation to serve
Trinidad and Tobago selflessly, for it was on the backs of the disadvantaged that the
dream of freedom was carried.
The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts congratulates the wider
East Indian community for its noteworthy contribution to the advancement of Trinidad
and Tobago. The Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre must be specially commended for
documenting traditions and practices of the East Indian community that have been
passed on orally across generations. For us to all find meaningfulness in our daily
existence, we need to preserve our cultural inheritance which helps us to discover who
we are and our purpose as a nation.
On the occasion of Indian Arrival Day, may the messages of resilience and hope resonate
with all of us as we continue to build resilient and culturally rich communities across
Trinidad and Tobago.
 I am delighted to know that Indo-Caribbean Cultural
Centre is publishing an Indian Arrival Day
commemorative magazine on the occasion of Indian
Arrival in Trinidad and Tobago. On this occasion, I
would like to congratulate all members of the Indo-
Caribbean Cultural Centre for dedicating their time
and efforts towards this special publication.
Relations between India and Trinidad and Tobago
are deeply rooted in history and culture, though their
initial history has been painful and brutal. During
the colonial era, after abolition of slavery in 1833,
the British faced extreme shortage of labour for sugar
plantation in their sugar producing colonies in the
Caribbean. To overcome this problem, over half a
million Indians were transported to the region as indentured workers (often called as
Indian Coolies) with false hope and promises. Most of these workers came from
Eastern UP and Western Bihar, while a smaller number came from Andhra Pradesh
and Tamil Nadu. Many of them even died on the way.
Despite the hardship, they were able to preserve their cultural traditions navigating
with the support of devotional music and Ramlila traditions. Muslims followed their
Koranic traditions. To preserve their culinary traditions, they were able to bring herbal
and fruit plants from India. Therefore after the initial trauma, they took charge of their
lives and made sure that their traditions are preserved and progeny is properly educated
and trained. Today, the Indian Diaspora in the Caribbean is one of the most vibrant
across the globe. They have produced some of the best writers, best intellectuals, best
medical practitioners, best lawyers, best sportsmen, great musicians and so on. They
are also active in the political arena.
On this occasion, I convey my best wishes to the people of Indian Diaspora in Trinidad
and Tobago. I wish them all success in their endeavours for a fulfilled life.

Bishwadip Dey
Letter from INDIA to Trinidad …
… requesting information In 1908, Jai Narain Sing in India wrote to find out about the welfare
of his brother in Trinidad. Naurang Singh had left India on the ship
on a brother Indus in 1904.

Personal letters between relatives in India and Trinidad during indentureship (1845 -1920)
8 Indian Arrival Day Magazine 2018
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
 Letter from INDIA to Trinidad …
... requesting money In 1908, the mother of Mohamad Ismail Khan requested that her
son in Trinidad send money to her in India because she was in
distress.

Personal letters between relatives in India and Trinidad during indentureship (1845 -1920)
10 Indian Arrival Day Magazine 2018
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
 One Voyage
Of A People.
Happy Indian Arrival Day from all of us at Republic Bank.

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 Letter from INDIA to Trinidad …
… requesting information In 1908, there was an enquiry from India whether the deceased
indentured immigrant, Mansa, had left any property in Trinidad.
on property Mansa had left India on the ship Rhine in 1902.

Personal letters between relatives in India and Trinidad during indentureship (1845 -1920)
12 Indian Arrival Day Magazine 2018
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
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 Letter from INDIA to Trinidad …
… requesting In 1908, the father of Kewal learnt of his son’s death in Trinidad. The
father requested that his luggage and savings be sent to India as
possessions of deceased well as information on any debts.

Personal letters between relatives in India and Trinidad during indentureship (1845 -1920)
14 Indian Arrival Day Magazine 2018
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
 Letter from INDIA to Trinidad …
… requesting In 1908, the father of Lakhiya requested that his son return to India
return of son on the next steamer. His father had paid the return fare of Rs. 210.

Personal letters between relatives in India and Trinidad during indentureship (1845 -1920)
16 Indian Arrival Day Magazine 2018
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
 Letter from INDIA to Trinidad …
… requesting In 1908, the relatives of Lakhiya wanted to know why he did not
return on the steamer Sutlej. Lakhiya’s relatives had paid Rs. 210 for
whereabouts of relative his return

Personal letters between relatives in India and Trinidad during indentureship (1845 -1920)
18 Indian Arrival Day Magazine 2018
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
 Letter from INDIA to Trinidad …
… requesting to In 1908, Abdulla requested to go to Trinidad to meet his wife, Ulfat,
who had paid for his passage. It was unclear whether a ticket should
go to Trinidad be granted to him.

Personal letters between relatives in India and Trinidad during indentureship (1845 -1920)
20 Indian Arrival Day Magazine 2018
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
 Letter from TRINIDAD to India …
… requesting In 1918, T. Boodram Singh of Diego Martin requested legal advice
on the possible transmittal of money sent by his/her deceased
remittance from India father to India.

Personal letters between relatives in India and Trinidad during indentureship (1845 -1920)
22 Indian Arrival Day Magazine 2018
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
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 Letter from TRINIDAD to India …
…requesting money In 1918, Ashaq Hussain of Picton Estate wrote his father in India
to return to India stating that he was a poor labourer who was robbed and divorced.

Personal letters between relatives in India and Trinidad during indentureship (1845 -1920)
24 Indian Arrival Day Magazine 2018
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
 Letter from TRINIDAD to India …
… requesting to In 1919, the son of Paluvhiamliah in Waterloo Estate pleaded to
return to India following his father’s death in India to manage the
return to India family’s property.

Personal letters between relatives in India and Trinidad during indentureship (1845 -1920)
26 Indian Arrival Day Magazine 2018
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
 Multiple Identities:
Essays on Caribbean Literature
The Trinidad Dougla: Identity, Ethnicity and Lexical Choice Kumar Mahabir
This collection of ten essays focuses mainly
Identity, Ethnicity and Lexical Choice on a variety of literary works by Caribbean
writers.
by Ferne Louanne Regis Part One comprises critical perspectives of
978-1-4438-9079-3 individual poems by A.L. Hendriks, Mervyn
www.cambridgescholars.com Morris, Eric Roach and Anthony McNeill.
Part Two critiques individual novels by John
Hearne, Wilson Harris, George Lamming
After Slavery: Indian Indentured Labourers, British Guiana and Earl Lovelace, as well as works by V.S.
Naipaul on his childhood and education. Part
by Dr Bishundat R. Singh Three studies the Trinidad observance
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 Letter from TRINIDAD to India …
… requesting In 1914, Bhawanie Dial of Sangre Grande wrote the Parrays so that
address in India they can remit the money for the sold estate of Lutchmie Mahraj.

Personal letters between relatives in India and Trinidad during indentureship (1845 -1920)
28 Indian Arrival Day Magazine 2018
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
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 Letter from TRINIDAD to India …
…declaring freedom In 1917, Ram Singh of Picton Estate was set free from indenture by
from indenture. a wealthy Ram Persad who paid for his freedom.

Personal letters between relatives in India and Trinidad during indentureship (1845 -1920)
30 Indian Arrival Day Magazine 2018
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
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 Letter from TRINIDAD to India …
…about run-away In 1917, a response to an inquiry stated that Bechoo of Caroni
indentured. Estate could not be found to deliver to a letter to him.

Personal letters between relatives in India and Trinidad during indentureship (1845 -1920)
32 Indian Arrival Day Magazine 2018
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre Co. Ltd. (ICC)
Indian Caribbean Folklore Spirits
by Kumar Mahabir
Illustrations by Aneesa Khan
This captivating book
provides details of the
presence of a brood of
spirits believed to roam
the Caribbean since the
abolition of slavery. For
the first time in history, the
existence of these spirits is
being revealed collectively
to the general public, in
this compilation.
2010. 32 pp. 9 x 7¾ inches.
ISBN 978-976-95049-5-0-2-0. Paperback.
TT$45. or US$12.
(includes handling, registration and local/foreign postage)
Please confirm prices and availability before placing an order.
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Caribbean Indian Folktales
Collected by Kumar Mahabir
Illustrations by Angali Dabideen & Preddie Partap.
Foreword by Professor Vibert C. Cambridge
Written as a textbook for secondary
schools and as a collector's item for
personal pleasure, Caribbean Indian
Folktales is an interesting, authentic and
useful book. It is the first and largest
collection of its kind to be written in
the original English dialectof the story-
tellers. Each tale is also accompanied by
a Standard English version which has
been sensitively written so as to retain
the spirit and rhythm of the original
narration. The book consists of a collection of 25 stories which
have been passed down from generation to generation by word
of mouth from India to the Caribbean over a century and a half.
The tales were tape-recorded from tradition-bearers in Trinidad,
Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, and Grenada since 1980.
2005. xviii + 164 pp. 5¼ x 8¼ inches.
ISBN 976-95049-2-0. Paperback.
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Medicinal & Edible Plants Caribbean East Indian Recipes

used by East Indians of
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This book contains valuable information
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Please confirm prices and availability before placing an order. Please confirm prices and availability before placing an order.
For orders, contact For orders, contact

CHAKRA CHAKRA
10 Swami Avenue, Don Miguel Road, 10 Swami Avenue, Don Miguel Road,
San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel:  (868) 674-6008, Tel/fax: (868) 675-7707, Tel:  (868) 674-6008, Tel/fax: (868) 675-7707,
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A Dictionary of Common Trinidad Hindi
compiled and edited by Kumar Mahabir
additional entries contributed by Visham Bhimull & Rajan Seemungal Illustrated
fourth edition
Revised updated
and enlarged

An important reference
book for homes, schools,
libraries, and offices

It is without doubt that Hindi in Trinidad

and Guyana has contributed scores of loan
words to mainstream Caribbean English.
Today, Hindi/Indic lexical items are being
used regularly by calypso and chutney
singers, writers, journalists, broadcasters
and politicians.
Linguists refer to the variety of Hindi
commonly spoken in Trinidad as “Trinidad
Bhojpuri,” “broken Hindi” or “gaa-nw
bo-lee” [village speech]. The majority of
people refer to Standard Hindi as “Good
Hindi” or “Proper Hindi.” Trinidad Bhojpuri
is now a dying language used mainly by
very old, usually rural Indians.
This illustrated dictionary represents
a record and inventory of 1,864 words
and calques used in everyday speech by
younger Indians and older non-Indians in
multi-ethnic Trinidad.

First printed 1990. Fourth edition 2018

Illustrations by S.K. Ragbir & Hayden Geeawan
5¼ x 8¼ xxxiii + 105 pages
ISBN 976-95049-3-9
Paperback TT $80.

Swami Avenue, Don Miguel Road,

CHAKRA
San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 674-6008 Tel/fax: (868) 675-7707
E-mail: dmahabir@gmail.com, indocaribbeanstaff@gmail.com
Website: https://indocaribbeanpublications.com