“When your family has moved multiple times across oceans and continents you often don’t have an heirloom to pass down—a wedding necklace, a passport, a tool of your trade. Unlike programmes like the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, many of us show up without objects but with stories. Digital Heirlooms is our response—a copyrighted process we’ve developed at Nutkhut to preserve and honour intangible heritage in a tangible, interactive way.”
— Ajay Chhabra, Artistic Director, Nutkhut
14th May Girmit Day, as we mark 146 years since the arrival of the first indentured labourers in Fiji aboard the Leonidas, we remember not just the dates and ships, but the lives, legacies, and objects that carry their stories forward.
In 1879, my great-great-grandmother arrived in Fiji aboard the Leonidas, the first indentured ship. One hundred years later, in 1979, my great-grandmother — the first in our family to be born in Fiji — passed away. That same year, my grandfather, her son, travelled from London back to Fiji to settle her affairs.
With the support of our family’s business, Maharaj Taxis, based in Suva, he transported many of her personal possessions to the Fiji Museum. These weren’t just household items — they were quiet witnesses to the journey of an entire generation. Among them was a chakki, a traditional Indian flour grinder, worn smooth from decades of daily use.
This chakki is more than an object. It represents the heartbeat of a home. It ground spices for curries that fed labourers after long hours in the cane fields. It ground flour for rotis that brought families together at the end of the day. It’s a relic of survival, culture, and comfort — and it has lived through generations of change.
Andy Lowe, Director of the Fiji Museum. “For years it sat quietly in our collection, but we always knew it carried weight. Now, it has a voice.”
This month, after decades in the museum’s care, the chakki has finally received an interpretation label — a long-overdue recognition of its place in the girmit story. It marks a quiet but meaningful shift in how we value the everyday lives and objects of indentured families.
“I intend to bring the chakki to London,” says Ajay Chhabra, artistic director and descendant of indentured labourers. “Not just as an exhibit, but as a living reminder — that in one generation, we went from famine-stricken farmers to philanthropists. From survivors to storytellers.”
For Jyoti Maharaj, a great-granddaughter still based in Fiji, the chakki connects the past to the present.’ This is our inheritance. To see it honoured in the museum is deeply emotional. It means we are finally part of the narrative.”
The journey of the chakki reminds us: the indenture story isn’t just about ships and contracts — it’s about kitchens, conversations, and quiet strength. And sometimes, the smallest object holds the largest history.
This Girmit Day, let us honour not only those who came before us, but the objects that witnessed their journeys — and the institutions brave enough to give them voice.
#GirmitDay #DiasporaStories #FijiMuseum #IndentureLegacy #ChakkiChronicles
Right: Chakki with interpretation board