STORY 11 :Vassamba & Dassen Jul 05 2023

When Dassen was a small kid, his parents sent him away to live with his grandmother in Curepipe. She had a tea plantation, and he helped her to pluck tea leaves. While little kids his age snuggled in bed, Dassen would be on his feet in the chilly mornings, circulating in the cold alleys of the tea plantation and working quietly. In his free time, Dassen joined a group of friends with whom he played football and found a sense of connection. However, most of the time, only 4 or 5 boys would be present; the others would not bother to come, making it difficult for them to train properly and participate in matches. Dassen got fed up with their attitude. He hated putting his effort into something and being let down. He, therefore, decided to leave the football field and dedicate himself to running, an activity he would be able to do without having to depend on others. Dassen had always had a liking for running; he was in Std 5 when he won his first gold medal in a race.

Unknown to Dassen, these years spent waking up early to breathe the invigorating air around the tea plantation had filled his lungs with strength and endurance. He thus discovered an affinity for running. He felt connected to nature and enjoyed a sense of freedom, and his solitude became his companion as he ran across sugar cane fields, in the forest, on mountains and near rivers. Dassen quickly developed into a formidable athlete, winning competitions all over the island. He was the national champion over 800m and 1500m for several years and was called to represent Mauritius in the World Championships. Dassen thus got to travel to countries like England and Norvege and visited Reunion Island numerous times, and even won a race against the famous athlete, Jean Louis Prianon, who came from France for the competition.

One year, at the peak of his career, Dassen was in line to get a scholarship to go to America. This represented a lifeline for him to move forward in his life and secure his future. He was, however, left dejected when he learned that the scholarship opportunity had been awarded to someone else. Once again, he was being let down by people he trusted and, as he would often do in the course of his life, whenever he left rejected, Dassen moved away to be alone and stopped participating in national competitions. He kept waking up early and going out for a run but did so on his own as a lonely figure.

Dassen's mother was, at that time, working as a supervisor at a factory. One day, she told her colleagues to look for a girl to marry his son. One lady at the factory told her about her niece who was of marriageable age. They fixed a date for Dassen's parents to come and see the girl.

Vassamba was 17 years old at that time. She was the eldest of a family of 4 sisters. Her family was not well off. Her father worked at Cargo Handling Corporation, and her mother was a housewife. Vassamba stopped going to school when she was in Form 3 and supported the family by taking responsibility over her younger siblings, playing the role of a mother to them. As Vassamba grew older, her parents started getting worried about her future and wanted her to marry and settle.

Dassen's mother came to see Vassamba on 13th February 1995. In those days, parents came to look at the girl first; then, if they were happy with what they saw, they passed on the message to the boy. Vassamba's parents asked her whether she agreed to the marriage proposal, but she was shy and did not know what to say. The following day was the 14th of February and Valentine's Day was being celebrated. Vassamba's aunt arrived with a bouquet and chocolate and a greeting card. Dassen had bought a bouquet, and his brother, who worked in the field of art and culture, designed a souvenir made of marble with a poem engraved in it. When Vassamba saw it, she found that it looked really nice. She was happy and agreed to the wedding.

Vassamba got to see Dasssen for 10 mins two weeks later at her aunt's wedding. She, however, did not talk to him as she was feeling shy. Dassen later came to her house to make a measurement of her finger and got an engagement ring made for her. This finally gave them an opportunity to talk for the first time.
The two families met, and a civil wedding was fixed for the following year on the 25th of February. However, there was cyclone class 4 on that date, and there was no electricity for the whole day. Vassamba's family had made biryani and other preparations for the guests, but because of the cyclone, they could not go ahead with the celebration as planned. Most of the guests who were invited could not leave home to come to the wedding because of the cyclonic conditions that were prevailing. Vassamba's uncle finally managed to find a van and went to collect Dassen and his family to bring them along. A smaller wedding was thus celebrated later in the day, with only a few close family members present.

After the civil wedding, Dassen came to Vassamba's place on weekends, and they met and talked in the presence of the parents. The young couple was married later in the year, on the 5th of May, at Bell Village. It was the day that Sir Gaetan Duval passed away, and the wedding procession crossed paths with the funeral convoy on the way.
Vassamba was 18 when she married, and Dassen was 27 years old. Dassen, who was working as a cook at Leal & Co at that time, found himself with increased responsibilities after his wedding. He needed to secure a more stable job and a better salary for his family. During that time, Dassen, who dedicated his life to sports, tried to use to experience and achievements to get a job as a sports officer but unfortunately faced repeated rejections in his job search. After 3 years, he left his job at Leal & Co and started working in a restaurant. He also did some overtime at a filling station or cleaning people's yards to make some extra money.

Dassen had not been able to complete his house at the time of his wedding. Consequently, Vassamba had to live with her mother-in-law as a temporary arrangement for a year until their own house was ready for them to move in. Vassamba, however, found it hard to adapt to her new house. She grew up in Vallée des Prêtres, where there is a milder climate, and she could not get used to a place where it rained all the time and was too cold. She often fell sick and was depressed. The young couple stayed in their new house in Curepipe for only one year and a half, then started looking for a new house. Dassen was aware of his responsibilities towards his wife and wanted to give her a new house where she would feel at ease. A temporary solution came through Vassamba's aunt who was opening a restaurant at Rempart. She proposed that Dassen and Vassamba come to work for her and get to stay at her place. Dassen and Vassamba sat together and thought about this offer. They finally went ahead, activated the repayment of the loan contracted on their house, sold the house and went to live at Rempart.

The couple eventually stayed at her aunt's place and worked at the restaurant for 3 years before moving to Vassamba's mum at Vallée des Prêtres and buy a plot of land nearby. Dassen kept his promise and finalize the purchase as a gift for Vassamba on her birthday. To be able to do that, they had to take a loan. Dassen was working as a bricklayer but was not earning much. Determined to make their dream come true, Vassamba took up a job in a store. By that time, Dassen's health had deteriorated. He started falling sick and could not work regularly. Forced to rely on herself, and not willing to be dependent on her parents, Vassamba looked for a better job and found one at Young Bros. She proved to be a very efficient employee at this new company and was appreciated by her bosses and colleagues. This job provided her with the stability she required, and she was able to make some savings to complete their house.

Despite her hectic schedule, Vassamba visited Dassen twice daily when he was sick in the hospital. She would bring home-cooked food for him and make sure he was properly fed, like she used to do for her sisters when she was younger. She never let him down like others constantly did throughout his life. Their married life has not been about bouquets of roses, chocolates and poems like it promised to be. Nevertheless, Dassen and Vassamba stuck together with a sense of duty and managed to build a family, accomplish their dream of having their own house, and support their children in their education. Their daughter, now an adult, has completed her graduation and will be getting married this year while their son is studying at the Lycée Polytechnique to complete his BT (Brevet de Technicien en Fabrication Mécanique). Both inherited their father's gift and have regularly won medals in sports competitions.

As for Dassen, when he does not have his health issues, he still wakes up at 6 a.m in the morning to go for his jogging. In his free time, he enjoys going fishing, where he can sit quietly and remember the days when he successfully represented Mauritius in international competitions and was hailed as a national hero.