But this story has nothing to do with racism or with the cricketing Ashes between Australia and England.
Legendary Indian Test cricketer Kapil Dev has expressed his willingness to come to Australia to collect Punjabi hawker Pooran Singh’s ashes that have been kept safe by an Australian family funeral company in Warrnambool for the past 63 years and then to return these to his family in India.
Kapil Dev spoke exclusively to the Executive Producer Manpreet K Singh of SBS Radio’s Punjabi programme, which aired in NSW, Victoria and the ACT.
It revealed the moving story of Pooran Singh, an Indian immigrant whose ashes have been preserved by Guyett’s Funerals in Warrnambool for 63 years, in deference to his wish that they be returned to India and immersed in the river Ganges.
Although no one has come forward to collect the ashes, they have been preserved for their final journey to India and accorded pride of place at the Warrnambool cemetery.
Kapil Dev was touched by the Pooran Singh story.
Pooran left India as a 30 year old, landing on Australian shores in 1899. He worked as a hawker, selling goods laden in his horse-drawn cart, travelling from one country town to the other. He had left his family behind in Punjab and spent the remaining 47 years of his life in Victoria.
He died in 1947 in Warrnambool, aged 77.
Pooran had left instructions to Guyetts Funerals to be cremated, not buried, and so his body was sent to Melbourne, which had the only crematorium in Victoria at that time.
Speaking to SBS Radio’s Punjabi program, Alice Guyett-Wood recalled that before her father Jack Guyett died in 1986, he told her: “We should have done something about Pooran’s ashes. We should have sent them to India because he wished them to be immersed in the river Ganges.”
This wish has been passed down the generations of the Guyett family.
When asked why they kept the ashes for over six decades, Alice said: “We didn’t have the authority to dispose them off, so we just held them. In fact, I had thought that we may even go to India one day and fulfil Pooran’s last wish.”
The search is now on for the descendants of Pooran Singh, so that when the ashes return to India, the family can share the moment of his final homecoming. The search has been assisted by articles written by Manpreet Singh, published in Indian newspapers ‘The Hindustan Times’ and ‘The Tribune’, with a descendant now living in the UK coming forward as a result.
Kapil Dev said: “It’s a wonderful story. If I can fulfil Pooran Singh’s last wish I will come myself and try to take the ashes to the family.”
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Sorry Kersi,Best Captain for me between Ajit Wadekar and Manusr Ali Khan..MAK was inspirational..you remember the catch Kapil took off Viv in the 1983 WC? Well MAK against England at Kolkata too one at cover running away from the ball that was much better..and MAK had one glass eye! And his two innings at the SCG with a torn hamstring...warrior stuff.
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
Thank you all. But great cricketers don't necessarily mean great administrators, Vinay. In case of Kapil, he was a magnificent all-rounder but not an inspirational captain. I know, I know; India won her only World Cup under Kapil in 1983. If I was asked to name Top Indian cricketers, here is my choice (not in order of greatness): CK Nayudu, Nissar, Amarsingh, Merchant, Mushtaq, Mankad, Hazare, L & M Amarnath, Manjrekar, Umrigar, SP Gupte, Pataudi (jr), Contractor, Borde, Sardesai, Engineer, Kirmani, KAPIL, Gavaskar, Viswanath, Vengsarkar, Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar, Azharuddin, Tendulkar, Dravid, Sehwag and Kumble. Kapil would be in my Top 10 along with Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Mankad, SP Gupte, Bedi, Prasanna, Nissar, Merchant and Hazare. Ranji and Duleep not considered as they did not play for India as India did not playTest cricket then. Best captain for India: Dhoni.
Rickety Knees
Roar Guru
Great post Kersi
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
yes<kersi,this is an opportunity for CA to get Kapil together with someone like Steve Waugh or AB or Mark Taylor and make a joint statement. Good sports people have so much more goodwill than politicians.
Hoy
Roar Guru
Our school used to have the single scoops in the team kits. Planks of wood. An underused bat that I used to love as a youngster was the SS Jumbo, also a staple of many of the school's kits.
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
Yes Vinay, Kapil is more than just a great all-rounder. His heart is in the right place. Hope his arrival in Victoria builds bridges between the two great democracies. Imagine an Australian funeral company preserving the ashes of a poor Indian hawker for 63 years! And there was "white Australia policy" then! How lucky we are these days when a migrant can achieve everything one wants to in Australia. I asked Claudine Ellis, Communications Specialist -- SBS, as to when Kapil Dev is expected in Australia. She replied that a date is not set as yet but it should be sometime in August. So watch this space for more information. And remember, you read it first on The Roar!
Brett McKay
Guest
hey Vinay, don't you go bagging the Twin Scoop!! But still, I do hope you "had words" with your son!!! Kersi, this is a nice tale, thanks for sharing it. I hope Kapil can carry through with his plans to honour Pooran Singh...
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Kersi, Kapil has a big heart,bigger than Phar Lap's, but then I am biased. But this is not something new. He was always like this. He was always giving away his bats when he was sponsored by Slazengers. It was not uncommon to see three or four Indian cricketers playing with the panther bats. My son would have been 12 and Kapil offered him a Slazenger bat and my son turned around and said: I only play with a Gray Niccols double scoop. Otherwise I would now have one of Kapil's bats!