How first Indians who moved to Hawaii became one of wealthiest families there

The son of a brick contractor in Hyderabad, moved to Hawaii in 1914 and opened a retail store in Honolulu with a business partner. He is said to be the first businessman from India to migrate to Hawaii. He built a business empire in Hawaii, and his family is now among the “wealthiest” families on the island, according to reports.

Jhamandas Watumull is the vice president of Watumull Properties, “the real estate wing of the family known for retailing, multiple startups, philanthropy—and aloha-wear,” the Honolulu magazine reported. More than 100 years ago, 29-year-old Jhamandas Watumull moved to Hawaii’s Honolulu to set up a retail shop for his import business with his partner Dharamdas.

The rise of Watumulls

JD Watumull was born in Hyderabad, which was then a British colony of India and is now part of the Sindh province of Pakistan. He was 14 and the oldest of nine children when his life changed. An accident left his father, a bricklaying contractor, paralyzed for life, Hawaii Business reported.

Watumull had first migrated to Manila, Philippines after the accident. He stayed with an older brother and worked in Manila’s textile mills, SAADA reported. Later, he started a retail business that specialised in imports from the Orient.

After World War I disabled the Philippine economy, Watamull moved to Hawaii in 1914. He didn’t know that five generation of Watamull will built their homes here. He was unware of the legacy he was going to start.

After reaching Hawaii, Watamull opened a retail store in downtown Honolulu with Dharamdas, which would eventually be named the “East India Store.”

They sold goods from East and South Asia, including ivory, crafts, brassware and silk, Hawaii Business reported. ‘Aloha shirts’, a sought-after souvenir for tourists in the 1930s, were also sold at the “East India Store”.

The store was a success but early years were tough. They later expanded into a full-line department store on Fort Street. It turned into a major department store.

Dharamdas died of cholera in 1916 while in India. Jhamandas’ brother, Gobindram Jhamandas took over as his only business partner in 1917. The family expanded the business by investing in a clothing manufacturing factory named Royal Hawaiian Manufacturing.

In 1937, Gobindram Watumull built the Watumull Building, to house the company’s headquarters. By 1957, their properties included 10 stores, a Waikiki apartment house, and assorted commercial developments. In 1973, the number of stores expanded to twenty-nine.

During the World War two, military personnel replaces tourists as primary customers. Garment industry sales were limited to the local market due to the interruption of clothing shipments from the US mainland. “Goods from Asia come to a halt. Watumull’s shifts to selling Hawan and US Mainland merchandise and specializes in women’s apparel,” SAADA reported.

However, like any other success story, Watamulls’ journey was full of challenges posed by discrimination, immigration laws, and illness.

After India’s independence in 1947, Gulab Watumull arrived in Honolulu to join older brother Rama and father J. Watumull in the family business. Gulab managed Leilani Gilt Shop from 1948-1952.

Meanwhile, the original Watumull’s East India Store was renamed simply “Watumull’s

Aloha Shirt

Dale Hope, an expert in Hawaiian textile and patterns, was quoted by the BBC as saying that the Watumull’s East India Store was one of the first on the island to carry designs with Hawaiian patterns.

The designs were first commissioned in 1936 by Gobindram, from his artist sister-in-law Elsie Jensen.

According to SAADA.org, first custom-made Aloha shirt was commissioned by Musa-Shiya the Shirtmaker. The special order was a shirt made from yukata cloth. The shirts were ready to wear or made to order. They were targeted to tourists.

“Ellery 1. Chun, owner of King-Smith Clothiers, patents “Aloha Sportswear” (and “Aloha shirt” in 1937) for the shirts he made on a limited basis as a way to grow the company during the Depression The manufacture of the garments was contracted to Wong’s Products and sold for $1.95 each,” SAADA reported.

Later, Artist Elsie Jensen Das (sister of Ellen Jensen Watumull) was commissioned by Gobindram Watumull to create the first 15 Hawaiian floral designs. The original idea was inspired by drapery fabric patterns sold in the East India Store.

Philanthropy

The Watumull family were also involved in setting up several local philanthropic and educational institutions, including the Rama Watumull Fund, the J. Watumull Estate, and the Watumull Foundation.

Ellen Watumull, the wife of Gobindram., was involved with the League of Women Voters in Hawaii to rescind the Cable Act of 1922, which prevented American-born women from retaining US Citizenship when marrying non-citizens, according to SAADA.org.

She also worked with the Watumull foundation and Margaret Sanger to organize the first International Planned Parenthood Conference ever held in India.