looking for greener pastures, Mohinder Singh Bhullar cycled his way to Brunei at the tender age of 19 and now having seen 90 springs, he is the oldest Indian living in the oil and gas-rich country and contributing to its economy through his carpet business.
Bhullar, who became a citizen of Brunei in 2009, was conferred the next year the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, India's highest award to an Indian living overseas. His journey from Punjab began in 1936, when he travelled to Malaysia and stayed in Sarawak - one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo - with his uncle. He studied there up to class VI, but after some years, he decided to move on and chose Brunei as his next destination.
“I heard that job opportunities in Brunei were better. So I cycled my way to that country in 1946 and got a job of bulldozer driver at Shell Company in Seria (a town in the Belait district),” Bhullar told PTI here.