Memories of Mbale

Author: Sarla Pawa

I have been approached by Jaswant Kaur Virdi (nee) Kalsi of Mbale, Uganda to recount my memory of her parents, Dial Singh & Harsharan Kaur Kalsi.

It is an honour for me to do, as the Kalsi’s had been so closely connected with my parents: Dwarka Nath & Somawauri Sharma of Mbale, Uganda.  The two families were connected as early as the 1930’s.  Both families had done well and brought up many children.  The parents friendship filtered down to their children step-by-step on the age-related compatibility.  I am the fifth of the Sharma’s and my dear Amrik Kaur was the fifth of the Kalsi children.  Today in the 21st century, the children and the grandchildren of the two families maintain loving, respectful connections and honour our pasts even though the political circumstances in Africa have brought us to Canada, USA, and England.  My reflection of the Kalsi family in Mbale is from the 1940’s onward and is vivid.

Re:  The Town Of Mbale (Uganda)

There were four roadways which led to the center of the town.  There stood a monument: a clock tower built by an honourable citizen Mr. Kassam Jarnal MBE in 1938 in the honour of King George V of Great Britain.  From this conspicuous point, it was easy to glance at the Dial Singh Kalsi’s domain.  In the corner stood a fine commercial building bearing his name.  Not far from there was his residential sprawl and his business outlets.  Over the years the Kalsi family had shown great entrepreneurial spirit and had prospered.

Talking of the period when we were growing up, life was different.  Large families lived simple and austerity was embedded in us.  My dad was the manager of Cotton Ginneries owned by the British Cotton Growing Association (British Colonial Enterprise during the colonial time).  We lived away from the town and the Kalsi home was the one we came to whenever a trip to the town was planned.  When the Kalsi family visited us in Kachumbala (Teso district), it was a weekend stay.  The children ran along the cotton fields, saw the cotton ginning operation, climbed little hillocks in the area, whilst our fathers and friends played cards, played Indian instruments, and sang classical songs.  The mothers cooked and took care of the younger children… Happy times, they were!!

Come the 1950’s, the Sharma family suffered difficult times.  Our father died at 53 years of age, leaving Mataji with many young children.  It was during this time that I experienced the largess of the Kalsi family.  Masiji, Mrs. Dial Singh Kalsi, stood by many of us (school going teenagers), made us welcome in her home, cooked and fed us at odd times of the day, made sure that some transport was there to deliver us to our mother; her quiet inconspicuous way she sent cash and groceries to Mataji.  Oh, the generosity of that lady!!  No doubt.

The town folk had often said that the Kalsi fortunes are directly related to the generosity of the Kalsi lady!  I had some special moments with her, as an individual.  She was brave, stood no non-sense, was spontaneous, and could throw all her cares to the four winds and go to an afternoon matinee (Indian movies) and take me along with her.  My mother was a quieter person, asthmatic, and lacked Masiji’s gusto.  I must confess, I was awed by Masiji’s dauntless spirit and have soaked in quite a bit of that and have made my own life more meaningful and fun-filled.  Thanks to Masiji and my good fortune to have experienced a life I hadn’t seen elsewhere in my growing up years.

It is now 2011 and as I said before, I am grateful to God who blessed us with parents whose legacy still lurks in the hearts of their descendants all over the world.

Sarla Pawa
Calgary, Alberta