Patna: Indo-Mauritian Dharmadev Nirmal Hari landed in Bihar and visited Vishambharpur village to interact with the people here in order to trace his ancestral roots.
Dharmadev, is among the foreign delegates who have come to Bihar to attend the G20 summit meetings. He said that he will always remember the love that people have shown him at the village. Dharmadev's forefathers had gone to Mauritius as indentured labourers in 1859 and since then, their families have settled there.
After arriving at Vishambharpur village, Dharmadev first touched the soil and applied it on his forehead. He became emotional while talking to the villagers. He said that after coming to the village, it seems as if he has returned to his home.
However, the fact that villagers could not remember those who had gone to Mauritius to work as indentured labourers in 1859 disappointed Dharmadev. Although Mauritius maintains the records of all such people, the village does not possess any data of those who migrated.
Dharmadev, who is a lecturer at Gandhi School of Arts, could not trace his family members in the village. But, he said that he is happy to come to the village from where his forefathers migrated to Mauritius. “It is a great feeling to come to Vishambharpur, the village of my forefathers. Although none of the descendants of my forefathers could recognise them, I am taking back many wonderful memories to Mauritius and will share those with my family members", Dharmdev said.
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Dharmadev said that Hari, his forefather arriving in Mauritius in 1859. After 10 years, he married a woman named Tulsi and settled there. He said that in 2007 Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had come to visit Mauritius. Then, he had invited the Mauritian NRIs to come to Bihar and visit the village of their ancestors.
