Photograph of Balaguru Govindasamy and his first wife

Balaguru Govindasamy Chettiar was a pioneer Singaporean who ran the Indian Labour Company, the main contractor supplying workers to the Singapore Harbour Board (now Port of Singapore Authority (PSA)). This photograph depicts Govindasamy with his first wife, who passed away shortly after the birth of her second child. Hailing from the Madras Presidency, a coastal region where most males would venture abroad in search of opportunities and return periodically to their families, Govindasamy chose differently by bringing his wife to Singapore in 1925, along with his nephew, Sundarajulu Lakshmana Perumal.