Khushal Galal was born in India, rural Gujarat. In a small village called Pardi. Then, there was no such thing as birth certificates, so that's why my family doesn't know the dates of when he was born and when he passed away. He grew up with very few things with several siblings. He lived with 13 other family members in one open-plan house. This means no separate rooms, just one big room with one toilet and bathroom. He went to school until he was 10 years old. He left school so early because he had to work on the family farm. In India, the farms are mainly crop farms, which include things like rice, sugarcane, kinds of wheat, and more.

Khushal was married by arranged marriage. Back then the bride and groom didn’t get to choose each other, their parents would decide for them, with no fuss. It would only take one day to meet, greet and decide, between the families. It was very common to get married at the age of 12-15. My great grandad was 15 when he got married.

For his whole life, he worked as a farmer, until he was 65. At first, he worked at the family farm until he was 20 and knew the basics. Then once he was old enough, he offered to look after other people’s farms when they went away. He would have the responsibilities to water, plant, harvest and feed the animals. When the owner wanted to sell their farm they would ask Khushal first, since he had been looking after the land for them. Since he became so good at farming people would ask him for advice. He turned into such a fine farmer because he got to experience working on different farms. After doing this for several years, he finally saved up enough money to buy his own farm. He grew rice, peanuts, wheat, cotton and millet. The farm animals he had were 4 ox, 4 cows and 6 buffalo. They were used for transporting the goods grown on the farm and also plowing the soil. In those days there were no tractors or machinery to do that stuff. He had 4 ladies and 6 men permanently working on the farm. At first, he started with 5 acres of land. Gradually, this grew up to 70 acres.

Something my great grandad did was help a lot of poor people, by supporting them. He gave them jobs around his farms and looked after them very well. From helping on the farm, the poor people would get money, meals, and some knowledge about farming. Poor people in India are different from poor people in New Zealand. They don’t get supported by the government. Also, they are often not educated and have very little hope for their future.

Khushal Galal died from a heart condition at the age of 72. Before I researched about him, I didn’t know anything. Once I learned about his life I understood him better. I will remember him for being such an awesome person by helping the poor and making better lifestyles for them. Also, another thing I will remember him for is being a great farmer himself. Learning from others to helping others learn.

Reference List

Asha Dahya (Mum)

Dahya Hira (Grandad)