The Girmit Story - Ep 1: An overview of the arrival of Fijians of Indian origin & Evolution of Hindi
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ต.ค. 2024
- This episode highlights the arrival of Indians in Fiji and how over the years they evolved into a new culture, a Fiji Indian culture. We are proud to be Fijians and wherever in the world we are today, we are still connected to the land.
The Girmitiyas (indentured labourers) used to recite Ramcharit Manas, Alha-Khand, Tota-maina ki kahani, Baital-pachisi, Akbar-Birbal ki kahaniyan when they would get together in the evenings to overcome the hardships of Girmit and share their pains and sorrows. Since then Hindi has remained alive in various forms amongst the Fijians of Indian origin. Even today, many have maintained the culture of coming together to celebrate festivals or even weekends and sing tambura bhajan, folk songs, or to just enjoy food and drink, etc.
Every Fijian of Indian origin has contributed to keeping Hindi alive in Fiji either by watching programmes in Hindi, reading books, listening to Hindi radios, singing in Hindi, or simply conversing in Hindi.
Since Girmit, the Fijians of Indian origin have lived together with the natives and other citizens of Fiji which had a positive influence on their own culture. We also have our own conversational language which is called Fiji Hindi.
When we speak of Hindi, there are two prominent names that cannot go without mention. They are Pt. Kamlaprasad Mishra (1913 to 1996) and Dr. Vivekanand Sharma (1939 to 2006). Their contribution to Hindi is immense and they continued to promote Hindi on their own all their lives with perseverance, devotion and determination and without any form of financial support or grant. They wrote in Hindi, published magazines and newspapers, wrote books for schools, produced programmes for radio, and many more. The details of their lives and work will be presented in the upcoming episodes.
This programme is not only about history or literature, but about all the work and actions of people from all walks of life that have helped in keeping Hindi alive in Fiji.
Bidesia - sung in the video are by two young Fijians of Indian origin.
Producer & Presenter: Kirti Sharma
groups/girmithistory
Super interesting! Put together well! I was born and raised in India and then moved to Suriname and lived there for 20 something years. My dear Hindustani friends never once complained about being brought from India as indentured servants. They felt that they were the lucky ones. My dear father actually was the one that put Sarnami Hindustani into a written language back in the early 1970s. And of course I love the food!
बहुत धन्यवाद , गिरमिटिया इतिहास जानना बहुत जरूरी है
Dhanyawaad
this is painfull story.indian and nepali are like slave in fiji. But they are very strong and laborious .so they made a rich fiji.
Thank you for to presentation of our history.
I am from nepal.
Very nice indeed. My grandparents and parents migrated from Punjab in 1920's, they told us exactly what is presented here. I love the sweet language.
Many thanks.
I am Punjabi I would like to know which part of undivided Punjab they came from ? If you don’t mind.
As per Baldev Singh Sangha, who has a chapter on Fiji Sikhs in his book "Bhai Gyan Singh Sangha" 1153 persons came under Indenture system from Greater Punjab (from around 32 locations) that included Haryanvis, Muslims and very few Sikhs (about 100). Majority of the free immigrants (mainly Sikhs) came from Doaba (Jallandhar and Hoshiarpur), with some from Malwa and a trickle from Majha.
@@HindiinFiji thanks . I met one Punjabi in Sydney. He ancestor came from daulat pur village Jallandhar.which is three kilometres from my ancestral villlage sarmastpur
@@dharmikrakshak8340 Nice to know that. Cheers!
It is the same story of indians who were taken to sugar plantations in west indies , south africa and fiji. They were taken to built railways in east africa and for rubber plantation in malaysia.
Thank you .We have the same story.
Hamara pyaar Suriname,South America se !!!
Thank you so much for watching the video. Yes, we have the same story but on the same note would love to know more about Suriname.
@@HindiinFiji Thank you ji , you are welcome.We speak a mix of Awadhi/Bhojpuri/Hindi , we call it now Sarnami, our National langauge is Dutch , we were a colony of Holland.Here some links of songs: -th-cam.com/video/2Vxn86DYr-I/w-d-xo.html
-th-cam.com/video/RHFpocf8ICY/w-d-xo.html
-th-cam.com/video/e7uYWPRQj0A/w-d-xo.html
-th-cam.com/video/gK9DwOBIqaE/w-d-xo.html
-th-cam.com/video/lq1BktQHPMA/w-d-xo.html
@@HindiinFiji Thank you, here songs sung by my 2 children:th-cam.com/video/oMrvFJV39tM/w-d-xo.html , you can always give me a message Rajinder Matadin.(Fb / Messenger) I also have a TH-cam Channel with mostly local songs, TH-cam usersname: rajinder sarnamwala.
Thank you for sharing. Your children sing very well. They have very refined voice. Will check your channel as well.
So nicely presented and an informative video about the history of Indians in Fiji. You speak better Hindi than the Indians living in India right now. Looking fwd to more episodes. All the best!
Thank you Sonia for your support and nice compliments.
That's been presented so nicely, now I understand, because of our ancestors, we don't have racism in fiji , everyone worked together as one ❤❤
फीजी में हिंदी की विकास यात्रा को इतने साफ सुथरे और सरल अंदाज में प्रस्तुत करने के लिए सुश्री कीर्ति शर्मा को बहुत बहुत बधाई। स्वयं कीर्ति फीजी के महान साहित्यकार डॉ विवेकानंद शर्मा की सुपुत्री हैं। उनका यह प्रयास फीजी में हिंदी को लोकप्रिय बनाने में मील का पत्थर साबित होगा। एक बार पुनः इस प्रयास के लिए कीर्ति और उनकी पूरी टीम को हार्दिक बधाई और शुभकामनाएं।
संतोष कुमार मिश्र
निदेशक
स्वामी विवेकानंद भारतीय सांस्कृतिक केंद्र, भारत का उच्चायोग, सूवा, फीजी।
Abhaar Mishra ji.
बहुत सुंदर श्री मिश्र जी
🙏🙏Ati Sundar aor Itihaas kari Episode.Mera Haardik Pyaar aor Shubh Aashirvaad har ek kalakaro ko mily.
Nityanand Sharma.
Wellington.
N.Z.
Aapka bahut bahut dhanyawaad.
Fiji mein Hindi, it inspires us all Indians because we are the successors of or ancestors...my grandma she is also one of the Girmitas from Nepal...
Nice to know that Sabrina. Their stories are an inspiration for us today.
अति उत्तम प्रस्तुति जी बहुत बहुत धन्यवाद नमस्ते जी ईश्वर की कृपा आप सभी पर सदैव बनी रहे ओ३म्
Fiji mein hindi - takes us down memory lane..nice to hear about our ancestors n what they went thru n how they survived...looking forward to next episode.
Thank you for watching Pratibha. I'm sure you'll find the next episode informative and interesting as well.
@@HindiinFiji in particular, bidesia by aleshni Sharma.
@@dannynand9553 the initial episodes were prepared during the covid-19 restrictions. So all contributors recorded their bits on smart phone at home and sent it. Those that had harmonium made use of it, others sang without any musical instruments. Aleshni is one of them. But we liked her singing without music and decided to keep it that way throughout. We don't have any studio or musical team as such. The episodes are made with the help of family and friends.
@@HindiinFiji impressive. Great journalism. What is your area of study?
@@dannynand9553 thanks again. Well, my field of study is Human Resource Management.
It is very interesting to learn about the early immigrants to fiji islands and the trauma they had to undergo. I presume you are from fiji too.Thanks
Very beautifully presented, Thank you for awakening in us our source of life. Our ancestors certainly suffered from all aspects of life, they endured, and persevered and so to them I Salute!! May we of this generation be able to look back with new sight and move forward and always be rooted with the strength and power from our forefathers, God bless their souls.
Thank you Annie. You've said so rightly and so beautifully. While we move forward, we need to stay rooted to the endurance, strengths and powers of our forefathers. God bless!
very beautifully made. This video will bring an understanding of Fiji Indians to our new generations. Concise and well presented. The song of Bidesia was very emotional
Indeed, the song of Bidesia was sung very well. The singers could actually connect themselves with girmitiyas to be able to sing them with emotion.
Bhai we are not Fiji Indians. We are INDIAN. The colonizers and slave drivers tried to get us to forget our humanity. Never forget where your blood is from.
अभिभूत हूँ आपकी इस प्रस्तुति को देखकर। 💐🙏💐
Dhanyawaad
I've always wondered about the origins of my ancestors and this video has the answers, Awesome !
What an amazing presentation.. awesome work madam.
Bahut bahut hirday se dhanewaad aap ko hamare santaan is kahani ko sun kar
Bahut kuch seekh sakte hai
Aapne samay nikalkar episode dekha iske liye aapka bahut bahut dhanyawaad. Hamari choti si koshish hai apne itihaas ko logon saamne laane ka.
Congratulations on presenting this program so beautifully in simple and easy to understand manner. I sincerely hope that people from all over the world can listen to this and understand the determination (and struggle) of our ancestors - yet they maintained their culture, tradition and language (and we are the beneficiaries of that)
Thank you so much Anil ji. We highly appreciate your feedback and thank you for taking out time to post your comments. This is a small attempt to ensure the sacrifices of our ancestors are not forgotten and we continue to be inspired from their determination.
Keep up the good work
आपका कार्यक्रम फीजी में हिन्दी बहुत ही सुन्दर तथा ऐतिहासिक है । इसके लिए आपको हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ । .....भारत से
Bahot sundar prastuti aur jaankari. Dhanyavaad!
Thanks for making it happen :)
Made me shed tears as this reminds me of the stories i heard from my late Amma Shri Mati Shakuntala Devi Jagroop.
Fiji Indians i will forever be grateful and in love with you.
Aap fijii se ho kya.
Very educational and informative . Thank you for bringing the plight and lament of the early Girmitiyas to light. This is a story and reminder that must be told to the newer generation.
Thank you Anuraag. Your comments are highly appreciated. There are 3 more episodes that have been released. Hope you'll find them informative as well. The 5th episode will be released this Sunday on 26th.
@@HindiinFiji hi It s Kamlesh Prasad from FNU. I hope Kirti rememberers me. I was in IT. nice video. I am still here
@@kashkris1 yes I do very much. Thanks for watching the video. I'm sure you doing well.
Very nice. Indeed it is very true story of Fiji Indians
My grandmother use to tell us about Syria jhaaj how hard they struggle my eyes seen when iam a child knowing how pressure on Labor of Life taking a tall on poorly girmits children's we are still living a very painful memories those struggles 🙏🌺 my eyes still cry for grandma 🙏
Very informative......thanks for the effort.....God bless
बहुत रोचक अन्दाज में आपकी प्रस्तुति है. कितनी बढ़िया जानकारी मिली इसे देखकर.
Thank you for this, Jai Shri Ram.
Very well presented, missing Guruji 🙏 and the Sanskriti magazine 🤗💐
Up I am proud of you that even today you people have kept your culture alive inside Fiji!
Many thanks.
Well compiled and presented. Beautiful memories of our ancesters and Hindu culture.
Very well presented. Thanks madam
Thank you for your appreciation.
Hi, I'm among the many descendants of the girmitiyas that were brought to South Africa. As with many in the diaspora I too have an innate desire to connect with my roots, especially from the Indian perceptive. From what I can piece together your doccies offer an immense amount of insight into the subject. May I thus request that you attach English subtitles to your videos so that I and millions like me will have access to what is a critical part of our story. Your work is appreciated as you are filling in several missing pieces in our story. Thank you.
Hi Alicia. Thanks for appreciating the work. Glad to connect with someone from SA. There are few that came to Fiji after completing their girmit in SA for a 2nd girmit. The English subtitles are given. You just need to click on the option the the screen. It appears as cc in a box on the upper or lower right hand corner.
❤
Sir I am from India and want to be your friend thanks to the internet
As a 5th generation descendent of girmityas arriving in Viti, I accept all people, bar none … I am also reminded of the caste system and religious differences still present in India that I dislike. I know that is exactly what the british used to subjugate and con our people, ultimately stripping our land in India of its riches, including its young blood which was shipped to foreign lands such as Viti. I also take solace in the fact that karma is paying britain its dues now, with more on the way. I pray that India looks after ALL its children. Jai hind! 🙏🏾
Im from South Africa n our ancestors came here in 1860. We also came from the same districts around eastern UP. Same struggles n stories here. 🙏
Sad how we have lost our link to the motherland and leaving family on false promise but us Indians have shown great advisory in continuing our traditions and belief no matter were we are thankful for putting this together to teach the young generation were we really came from and how
You're so right. Despite the disconnection, we have maintained our culture and traditions and we have our unique identity as Fijians of Indian origin.
This is amazing compilation. Love the song Aleshni🥰
Interesting, I am third generation girmit from Suriname. I have met fijians and our language and customs are more or less the same despite living over a hundred years away from the motherland and 10000 kms apart. My grand parents came from Kanpur and Mirzapur, my nani was born in Barbados and came as a child to Surinam.
Thank you. I was also checking videos of Suriname, Trinidad, Guyana, Mauritius, South Africa and found so many similarities. No doubt we have evolved with a unique identity as descendants of Girmitiyas and are basically the same no matter which part of the world our ancestors were taken to and we have grown up in.
In Malaysia too we have a similar history
आपका पहला इपिसोड देखा। पहले आप फ़िजी का भूगोल बता देते तो अच्छा रहता । आपकी प्रस्तुति सराहनीय है।
Kirti ji , thank you so much for an amazing production. Great for our young generations.
Thanks a lot for watching Puran ji. 🙏
Very painful but extremely well narrated. My father,nana and many others went through all this but we hardly heard any complaints from them or do not remember. Dr Vivekanand ji was my N T C mate in 1960. I remember a line of his poem- ma khadi ke chadar de de, mein Gandhi ban jaunga. Thank you all .
Thank you for your comments. Indeed painful. Please do watch other episodes as well and let us have your comments.
We also in Suriname did the 5 year Girmith time, the Dutch colony, first ship named by Lalla Rookh..
Marvellous and thought provoking presentation
Meri pyari behana
Bahut accha laga aapki Hindi or Fiji ke girmit logo se baare me Jaan kar ki unhone kitana sangharsh Kiya hoga apane aap ko spthapit karne ke liye.
Aapke sangharsh ko naman....
Hello Kirti ji, very well narrated. Very informative and easy to understand, especially the use of Hindi language. May god richly bless you and you continue to bring us such wonderful articles. Ram Ram.
Many thanks for your comment and blessing. I'm so motivated. Ram Ram.
Very NICE presentation INDEED..
Thanks so MUCH..
बहुत ही सुंदर, सौम्य, सहज एवम सटीक प्रस्तुति।
अनंत आभार इस सराहनीय प्रयास हेतु एवम आने वाली वृतांत तथा कथांश के लिए आकाश भर अग्रिम शुभकामनाएं!!
बलराम!
Aapki shubhakamnayen hain to agla episode zaroor accha banega. Dhanyawaad.
Very heart touching stories of our ancestors. Very nicely narrated by Madam.God bless you.
Thanks for watching and the blessings. Glad that you liked it.
Very fine. Glad to know about maintenaning of Bharatiya culture in Fiji.
Aap ki hindi bahut acchi hi meri beti indian hokar bhi itni acchi hindi nahi bol osti main aur mera pariwar aap ko sehyog karega
Aapke protsahan ke liye bahut dhanyawaad aur sahyog ke liye aabhaar.
Well put together
Thank you Navnit!
A very well compiled article, loved it 😍
Jai Bharat Thankyou FIJI.
Thank you Kirti ji for opening up a dialogue which is well over due. If we did not pursue this subject the next generation will never know who they are and how they got here. The emotional trauma has been handed down in the genes of the present and coming generation. Let's fix this. Thank you again.
Thank you for the support. You may be interested in joining the facebook group: facebook.com/groups/girmithistory where I'm sharing lot of materials that I had collected during the making of the 14 Episodes.
Beautifully articulated 🙏
Thank you for your time in watching the episode and for your appreciation. 🙏🙏
Thankyou to Share this with us
So alluring .
A fascinating voice, a sad tale.!
Can't stop listening.
Thank you Swaran ji.
Thank you so much for making this possible. I have just watched the first episode and look forward to the next in the series. So much to learn and consider as a 2nd generation Canadian. I am so grateful to learn from you and others through this series. Love and blessings.
@Abha Thank you Abha Happy that our efforts in bringing forth our history is helpful and appreciated. There are 13 episodes that have already been released with 2 more to come in a space of 3 weeks each. Do enjoy.
Amazing ! I pray for my people, Live long and safe !
Namaste Madam.
My dad came from India in 1916 as an infant. I have his immigration pass. His immigration pass state Gorakpur/ Thane and Bastijila as the state. We are 5 sibling's. All except for one are living here in Fiji.
Namaste! Happy to know that you have the records of your roots.
Fiji Mein Hindi - the first episode touches ones heart and emotions. Such a warm and yet professional in-house production........it simply shows the passion of the Presenter! Ram ram jih. Looking forward to the 2nd episode......
So beautiful. Thank you so much.
@@HindiinFiji Bahut sundar.
🌺🙏 very nice and beautiful god bless you my grandfather was from natural my father told me and asked me if ever go to India I must go to matura
Thanks 🙏
Kirti Ji Bahut sunder Prastuti
Iam Proud of you
My Sister
Love From India
Thank you so much. 🙏
Please keep it up 🙏🙏
I do salute you. Very interesting and well exposed .jo insaan hai aapne beeti kahani ko kase bhulsakete .wo greebta aur mehanet ki kamaai hum ko safalta ka drish aaj samane dikhatahai
Well presented awesome video
This was very informative, love from Kerala, India.
Thank you so much for watching.
Yeah imperitive, important, worthy, and well done research I feel that Indo Fijians And Native Fijians should have more meetings and talks about uniting with one another I think they will need it against bigger possible threats like Europeans, Americans, And Far Easterners yeah
Thank you for your comments and I do agree with your suggestion.
Love it
The method of presentation depicts so much.
Intrigued to know about this topic in depth as a youth💕
Glad you found it meaningful. Hope you'll find the next one informative and interesting as well.
Thank you for sharing this Ma'am.
My pleasure and thank you for taking out time and watching it.
Lovely video indeed 😍🤩🥰
Glad you enjoyed it.
बहुत अच्छी जानकारी दी।
Hello mam, this is a very informative video. I am amazed to see the efforts put in by Fiji Indians to preserve Hindi language ❤️.
Hello Gurpreet and thank you for your comments. Glad you liked the program. Our culture and language are our identity and have given us strength to fight against all odds.😀
😀🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 bada sundr ban pada hai ❤️❤️❤️
Many thanks
Ma'am I am a phd student at Lucknow university and working on girmit..I saw this series once and it has been really helpful in understanding the girmit philosophy. The research undertaken by you and your team is exhaustive. Can I get in touch with you and your team?
Sure. You may email me on islandlifefj@gmail.com
आदरणीया मैडम, अत्यंत मार्मिक प्रस्तुति। हमारी हिंदी में सम सामयिक प्रसंगों के लेखन की रुचि है। प्रतिलिपि ऑन लाइन साइट पर कहानियां लिखता हूं। भोजपुरी समाज गोरखपुर से हूं। कृपया अपनी भारतीय संस्कृति सदैव बढ़ावा देते रहिए। सादर।
आपको कोटी कोटी प्रणाम 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
सादर प्रणाम
Kirtiji, girmityas' souls must be so grateful to you for relating their story to us, the children and grandchildren of the girmityas. Your peaceful, talented story telling skills have put me right in the heart of the life of the girmityas. If Fiji has produced such a beautiful, peaceful, talented soul such as yourself, than their sufferings have paid off. You have been able to tell this heart wrenching, very painful truth in its purest form and I so very much appreciated watching each and every episode. My life was totally dismantled as I was separated from my family due to migration to California, USA. The cause being, our displacement from India by the British and the aftermath circumstances which cautioned our elders to send their children overseas for a better future. The British Queen died without extending an apology to the Indians in Fiji, which is so shameful and regrettable. The British Government leaves a black mark in the history of the world as related to what they did to the Indians in Fiji. A well thought out, organized, well documented slavery system which the larger world hasn't heard much about.
Thank you so much for your heartfelt and touching words. The pure objective of this creation was to honour the souls and sacrifices of the Girmitiyas, and I am deeply grateful and humbled to know that my storytelling has resonated with you. Your appreciation means the world to me, and I am moved by your connection to this history and your own personal journey. Your support inspires me to continue sharing our stories. 🙏
@@HindiinFiji You have a very special talent in story telling. I just loved watching you in each episode and couldn't wait for the next episode. So beautifully done. I feel very proud that my own dear sister from Fiji did such an amazing job of compiling and telling it exactly as it was. Beautifully done, God bless you, I bless you. Thank you so much. A special rose for you!🌹
@vinamaharaj2783 Thank you for your blessings, jiji, and for that beautiful rose 🙏🙏🙏.
Very nice documentory
Very heart touching
Nice episode. Excellent hindi.
Thank you.
You must have spent lot of time making these utubes. It is commendable. Please teach us hindi as they are lot of people who cannot read or write hindi as they are not born in india. My request.Thanks
Yes, it did take one whole year for 14 episodes. I speak very simple Hindi and not an expert to be able to teach. I'm sure there would be many options available on the net. I started my journey of Hindi by reading children's stories.
I have read lots books on hindi but cannot read or write hindi and hence i cannot read hindi. It is a lot of drawback for indians not born in india. I am one of them who i yearing to read hindi but cannot. I am very much interested in indian history especially our forefathers who ventured to go overseas. It is good you know your roots.Thanks
Thankyou so much for subtitles
1st Indian Indentured Labour Went To Guyana 🇬🇾 On 1838 May 5.
That's much earlier than Fiji
I am felling blessed while seeing yours channel
Dr i d singh
Azamgarh
Up
Thank you watching the episodes. Highly appreciated. 🙏
Bahut accha vivechna
Good presentation
Ram Ram! Thank you so much for this important body work of work.
May i request that the entire series be saved in oa single playlist for ease of sharing? Bahut dhanyabaad 🙏🏽
It is available in one playlist. Here's the link - th-cam.com/play/PLiYedbtRt0ESfFh1kBV4mGu4wTzPXw75x.html
@@HindiinFiji thank you so much.
बहुत बढ़िया कीर्ति शर्मा जी | गिरमिट का जितना गुणगान, प्रचार प्रसार करें कम ही है|
मेरा सौभाग्य रहा कि मैं आपके पिताजी श्री डॉक्टर विवेकानंद शर्मा जी के प्रथम हिन्दी विद्यार्थियों में से एक हूँ जब उन्होंने USP में पहली बार हिन्दी पढ़ाना शुरू किया| वह लौतोका सफर कर के आते थे हर शनिवार को | उस वक़्त मैं रकीराकी में निवास करती थी और वहाँ से पढ़ने के लिए आती थी | जब गुरु जी सूवा से आ सकते थे तो मैं भी अपनी भाषा के लिए सफर कर सकती थी बस यही अपना मनोबल था |
आप की सेवा सर आँखों पर |
सरोजिनी आशा 🙏
राम राम सरोजिनी जी। प्रसन्नता हुई आपसे इस मंच पर मिलकर। क्या आप वही हैं जो कविता भी लिखती हैं ?
@@HindiinFiji हाँ जी, फिलहाल Hawaii में हूँ | Helping with the relief work.
@@JourneywithJini thank you for the great service. Praying for the people of Hawaii.
बहुत खूब ।
Nice birha.
Aapki hindi bahot acchi h.
Aapki video se fiji history theek se pta chli.
Thank you. Apne samay nikal kar dekha aur pasand kiya iske liye bahut dhanyawad.
Ati sundar bahan
aapka bahut aabhaar
Nice video
I have a few paperwork which confirms their ID..i do have a great feeling of the touchre they survived through to give me this livelihoods
Hi, very important work you're doing. do you have access to the music?
Thank you Danny. In regards to your question, I will need some clarification - are you referring to music in general or any particular music?
Thank you for this video
My pleasure 🙏
My grandfather came from Gonda, Basti near Kanpur, U.P. I have written a poem in Hindi on the Girmityas. How to contact u?
Please I m belong to Gonda.Please tell me about your self
Watching from Pakistan. Very emotional story. 😢 Sister 😢
When I listen.... Raebareli...goosebumps.. 😭😭... Torture... N only torture...khetwa me chabuk Chal ave rey.. Firangiyaa... Eyes full of tears.. Thanx a lot Di... Love u.. 😘