1n 1939 my mother and I and baby brother
Sukumaran left for Malaya. Those days there were no flights. Only two steam ships SS Rana and
SSRajula, where plying between Chennai and Singapore. We left in SS
Rajula. It took seven days to reach
Klang a port .At the age of five in 1940, I was admitted in Anglo Chinese School in
Klang .Anglo Chinese School was a Government school and a third oldest school in Malaysia. I was a good student. The
Srilanka teacher liked me very much. I stood first in the class and therefore I was promoted to Standard one without going to primary class two..In 1940 my mother gave birth to my second brother
Genagadharan in a
Klang hospital. THE SECOND WORLD WAR started all on a sudden without any prior information .All the schools in
Klang and other places in Malaya were closed. We did not know what happened. As usual we went to the school; I think it was mid December1941. We found that our school was occupied by British army. We were told to go home and that the school was closed indefinitely.In 1942-1945 the school became a head office of the Japanese army. Within a week after my school was closed, my father got an order from his higher up to go and take up the post of the General Manager of an Rubber Estate, where the English GM left for England. We left for
Kaula Lumbur by road and from there we took the train to
Seranban railway station. We reached
Kundah estate near
Thangah by night on the same day. The Bungalow, the English GM occupied was allotted to my father. It was a big bungalow in European style, with swimming pool, tennis court and a very big garden with fruit bearing trees. At first, we children found all happiness there. It was short lived as my father was told by his friends that the advancing Japanese army was targeting such European bungalow also and advised us to stay in estate staff quarters. We agreed and moved to the staff quarters. Later some other
Malayali families also joined us to stay in the quarters.
Malaya and Singapore were prize targets for the invading Japanese army. Japan wanted to inflict a heavy blow to the Allied partners by conquering East Asia in complete For two or three months immediately after the British left there was no government, no rule of law. The invading Japanese army starting killing innocent Chinese and Eurasians. The Indians did not suffer very much. Japanese wanted Indians to join in the Indian National Army and go to Burma to conquer India. The Indians who were holding some position in the rubber estates were asked to restart the estate works. Father was again sifted to Over Valley estate. In 1942 my mother gave birth to my sister
Sobhana in the District hospital
Thangah. Dr
Ganguly was the chief gynecologist, and he was very helpful even though there were terrible shortage of medicines everywhere. Mr I.V.K. Nair father of late Devan Nair was my father's close friend. Devan Nair was a former President of Singapore.When mother was admitted in the
Thangah hospital I.V.K.Nair and family took care of us.They were in the neighbouring Eng
Kee estate.Some of the
Malayalees well known in Malaya in those days in early forties were Mr Krishna
Pillai known to
pre-war
Malayalees as Bengali
Pillai, Mr M.R.K.Nayar and Mr N.S Nair known as
Nairettan. All of them worked for the welfare of Supervisory and Estate workers. Mr Krishna
Pillai was my mother’s father’s brother. He had two sons and two daughters. He prompted my father to work in Malaya. Mr M.R.K.Pillai was the father-in law of Mr B.C.Sekhar Director of Rubber Research Institute
Kula Lumpur. Mr
Sekhar died in 2007 at Chennai. Mr N.S.Nair and Mr M.R.K.
Nayar were our family friends.
