Adventure to unknown destinations in fulfilment of one’s heart desires continues to influence the movement of people across continents. Like a hunt for the treasure trove, often perilous, fate has always had a role to play in achieving the ultimate.
This is the first-hand account of the first Indian-Ghanaian family who was also the first to acquire Ghanaian citizenship.
SET SAILING
In 1928, when Mr Kundanmal Wadhumal Mahtani and his friend set sail from Japan en route to United States of America, little did he know that he would become the patriarch of the first Indian-Ghanaian family.
The more than 10000-kilometre journey was not a walk in the park, neither was it a child’s play, but an adventure meant for the brave and those willing to succeed.
In those days, there were no aeroplanes that could do long haul journeys as it exists today and those who desired to travel from the east to the west or vice versa had to do so by sea.
As the two set off for their journey for greener pastures, their prayer was to arrive safely at their destination and start a new life in the land where they presumed milk and honey flowed — America.
FATE DECREE
But as fate would have it, that was not to be as the ship on which they were travelling developed a fault midway on the Atlantic. This was months after travelling on the Pacific through to the Indian Ocean and subsequently to the Atlantic.
Due to the challenge, the ship had to dock at the James Town Harbour for the fault to be fixed. As the ship berthed at the tiny harbour located on the shores of the Gulf of Guinea, passengers on board disembarked to stretch for a few days while engineers on board the vessel rectified the fault.
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
In what could be described as “love at sight”, Mr Kundanmal Wadhumal Mahtani developed a ‘love-lock’ relationship with the Gold Coast, the name of Ghana then. Largely inspired by the friendly nature of the people of James Town, the Tropical Weather and the spoken language- English, Mr Mahtani instantly abandoned the idea of continuing his journey to the USA and decided to settle in Accra.
The love for the Gold Coast was so deep that not even a caution from his friend could convince him to rescind his decision. Indeed, few months into settling down in the Gold Coast in 1929, Mr Mahtani started his own business by opening the first shop at Accra Central, around the Central Post Office to be specific. The shop mostly traded general merchandise brought down from Japan.
Within a period of 10 years, the love relationship between Mr Mahtani and the Gold Coast had grown to the extent that he had taken a firm decision to relocate his entire family from India to settle permanently with him in the Gold Coast.
FAMILY RELOCATION
In 1939, Mr Mahtani, in the company of his wife, three daughters and a son, arrived in the Gold Coast to begin life outside India. The decision to relocate the entire family to the Gold Coast was quite significant, as that made the Mahtanis the first registered Indian family to relocate to the Gold Coast.
Available records indicate that prior to Mahtani’s arrival in the Gold Coast, Bombay Bazaar (1922), Metharam Brothers (1922), LiLaram Tharwardas (1925) were already operating busineses in Ghana. Although the records affirm the existence of a few Indians in the then Gold Coast, none had registered their families with the authorities.
The decision by Mahtani to bring down his family to join him was such significant that it gained media attention and got reported by the West Africa Magazine.
In its Saturday, June 10, 1939 edition, writing under the banner headline “Colonies in Need….Silence not Consent… Mandate or Empire…. With Differences….African Youth Also…. Water Sport”, the West Africa wrote that:
“The first Indian family to settle in the Gold Coast arrived recently. Mr Kundanmal Wadhumal Mahtani of Mahtani Brothers intends, with his wife and four children, to live in Accra, for he says the climate is healthy to Indians and like that of parts of India.
“Mr Mahtani partly attributes his decision to live in the colony to hospitality experienced on previous visits. His elder children are expected to go to Achimota as soon as arrangements can be made.”
THE ENCOUNTER
In a rare privilege and honour, the Ghanaian Times caught up with 93-year=old Pritam (Peekay) Mahtani, one of the youngsters Mahtanis then, at his residence, the PEMS Court, Accra last Friday, to speak with him about the family’s relocation to Ghana and business interest.
He said he was only eight years old when the Mahtani family arrived in the Gold Coast in 1939.
Recalling his experience and boyhood beginnings in Accra with fond memories, Peekay said living in Swalaba in Central Accra was an experience.
“Those were the days when discipline and respect were the rule rather than the exception,” he said.
“In those days, the local people could not draw the distinction between the different races of whites. They referred to every white-skin person as “Portogee” in apparent reference to the Portuguese,” he said.
Peekay explained that it was not until when he was enrolled at the Bishop Boys School in Accra, after his sisters had been taken to Achimota School that some of his mates got to know that he was an Indian.
While at the Bishop Boys School, Peekay had Peter Ala Adjetey, who became a Speaker of Parliament; Omaboe, popularly known as Nana Oyeman Wireko-Ampem; and Nathan Quao, one of Ghana’s finest civil servants ever, as some of his Ghanaian friends, relationships he retained until the demise of these people.
CUSTOMS/TRADITIONS
As it should be with the demands of Indian customs and traditions, Peekay Mahtani was given the responsibility to ensure that his sisters got married and well settled.
“As a result, I was taken out of school and put in the business when I was barely 16 years and could not continue my education because my father had a lot of responsibilities back home,” he told the Ghanaian Times.
In line with these responsibilities back home, my father had to relocate to India because of the family commitments and his ill health.
THE TAKEOVER
Following my father’s departure from Ghana, the control of the business became my soul responsibility and fortunately, the business flourished under my watch.
“By independence, the business had grown with branches all over the country. We had shops in cities such as Cape Coast, Takoradi, Kumasi, Kpando, and Swedru,” he stated.
Grooving along with the new industrialisation drive initiated by the Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nikrumah, Peekays Industries, North Industrial Area was birthed in 1966, becoming the first-ever mosquito coil manufacturing company in West Africa.
INTEGRATION
At this point, the family had more than integrated into the Ghanaian society, making it compelling for Peekay to apply for and be granted citizenship under the first republic. Indeed, the Mahtani family was equally the first Indians to be granted Ghanaian citizenship.
“Till date, all my children, some of my grandchildren and great grandchildren remain Ghanaians and carry Ghanaian passport wherever they go,” Peekay told the Ghanaian Times.
As with every human endeavour, Peekay Industries also suffered its ups and downs and the straw that finally broke the camel’s back was the excessive trade liberalisation embarked upon by Ghana in the mid-1980s through to the early 2000s.
“At this point the importation of cheap inferior goods into the country had made manufacturing uncompetitive. We decided therefore to fold up,” he said.
Not even the closure of Peekay Industries could quench the love planted in the hearts of the Mahtanis for Ghana by the Patriarch- Kundanmal Wadhumal Mahtani.
Although Mr. Kundanmal Wadhumal Mahtani passed on to eternal glory in 1982, his legacy, which affirms Ghana’s relationship with India still lingers on, with his only son Peekay Mahtani holding high the flag of India-Ghana.
Even at age 93, Peekay continues to be in high spirits and still speaks fondly of his adopted country- Ghana. He still holds dear his adopted “father tongue”, the Ga language, as he speaks it fluently with pride, and in impeccable accent.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
