From India To Golden Fleece
BHAROSE is the father of eleven children from two wives both of “whom he outlived. “He is now 92 and still active.
According to Bharose, he was 19 years old when he came to these shores with his parents as Indentured Labourers in 1917. The ship ‘The Ganges’(?) which they arrived in was the last from India with indentured immigrants to come here.
On arrival Bharose settled at Golden Fleece in Essequibo, where he is still today. He recalled attending the Johanna Cecilia Primary School for a brief period to get what he called ‘a glimpse of school life here’ having himself attended school in India. His school master Mr. John Anderson of Johanna Cecilia recently died at a ‘good old age.’
Bharose claimed he secured employment at the then Golden Fleece Sugar Estate working in the cane fields for a mere eight cents a day. He later moved to the factory as a general labourer with a daily wage of 12 cents. In those days, he said, weekly-paid employees were paid on Saturdays.
The oldster said he had no particularly bad days in his life which he attributed to the way he organised his children and the type of ‘work attitudes’ he taught them. Bharose receives a pension of $126 a month from the Government. He is under the watchful eyes of his many sons.
Reflecting on contemporary times, Bharose says people will have to work harder to survive but claims ‘good administration is the key to the thing.’
The pensioner reminisced about the days when a basket of ‘ration’ could be had for 80 cents. He contended, too, that greens and vegetables in those days were better than those today because people never used fertiliser or ‘booster’ as they are doing today. Bharose recalled that there was no cinema on the Coast until the early 50s. He spoke also of red brick roads and ‘stretches’ in the 50 s and 60s. He remembered having not seen a radio until 1948 on the Essequibo Coast.
The oldster says he does not like to travel in a boat but recalled the days when there was no motor car on the Coast. One Bacchus from Lima, he said, used to transport passengers with his donkey-drawn cart which was the only means of transport then. Even rice fields were ploughed by oxen on the Coast.
Bharose said the ‘Taja sport’ was very popular on the Coast until the late 50 s when the high cost of materials to make the ‘taja’ led to its demise. He was an active participant in this activity.
Turning his attention back to his work at the Sugar Estate, Bharose said he was mostly engaged in the loading of canes on the ‘roller’ which would take them to the knives for cutting and the processing of sugar. There was no Cane Hoist or ‘Lifter’ during the time at the factory. He said there were notice boards in those days to write work orders for the following day.
The logies that were made for them to live with their families were designed with a ‘range’. The Estate ‘driver’ or ‘sadaar’ used the range to pass through in the night to give orders where workers should report for work the next day. Bharose goes to church regularly. He is a devout Hindu. He also finds time to ‘check out all his children occasionally. Periodical visits to rice fields owned by his sons are also on his agenda.
- The old man concluded by saying that a disciplined life, he believes, often leads to longevity. This entails being a teetotaller, having regular light exercise in the ‘advanced days’ of life together with the eating of nutritious food. (HP)