The Ramdass family. Verulam.
Chatsworth. In June 1950 the government of South Africa passed the Group Areas Act which designated certain suburbs for whites and other areas for indians, coloureds and africans. This act gave the government the right to remove and destroy homes and relocate ethnic groups. The removed Indian populace of Durban was moved primarily into two large suburbs, Phoenix, situated north of Durban and Chatsworth in the south.
Sandra. 65. Member of the Shree Ganesha Temple Society. Pheonix
Phoenix. On certain religious days during the year Hindu women will fast and pray for their husband’s long life and their enduring relationship that will last beyond this life and into the next. A married woman will walk 108 times around a Pipal tree (the sacred fig ) tying an unbroken length of cotton thread around its trunk. The women will recite prayers as they walk around the tree. The Pipal tree represents the tree of life and the cotton thread represents the fragile nature of life, love, trust, faith – and all the components that make up a relationship . A single thread may be weak but when it is wound 108 times around the trunk it becomes strong. It is no longer so fragile and no longer easy to break. By walking around the tree 108 times, the wife contemplates on these matters and with each step, the woman strengthens her relationship with her husband.
Ramanlal Bhagoo. 81. Ramanlal has been a taylor since 13 years of age. He can not afford to retire and still works part time to make ends meet.
La Mercy. Ashram dining hall at the Sivananda International Cultural Centre. Sri Swami Sivananda (1887-1963), depicted in the wall print, was a Hindu spiritual teacher who founded the Divine Life Society in 1936. The main aim of Divine Life Society of South Africa is dissemination of spiritual knowledge by means of the Divine Master’s spiritual literature. The Sivananda International Cultural Centre, situated over 20 hectares, houses one of most modern printing plants in the country and accommodates monthly yoga camps and religious festivals.
Denver Chetty. 25. Denver lives a hand to mouth existence with his brother Deven. They sell pirated copies of Bollywood DVD's in shopping centre car parks within Chatsworth. A common occupation for the ‘sugar boys' of Chatsworth. ‘Sugar’ is a cheap mix of residual heroin and cocaine cut with bulking agents such as sugar, baby powder and rat poison. The drug is circulated mostly to young people between the ages of 13 – 28, almost exclusively within the Indian communities, and Chatsworth having one of the biggest problems. The drug is very addictive with most users caught up in the cycle of using to keep the comedown and the harsh side affects of the rat poison at bay. Certain advocates have blamed disillusionment and disconnection with their culture for the prevalence of ‘sugar’ addiction amongst Indian youth.
Arena Park Siva Aalayam Hindu Temple. Chatsworth.
The Verulam Historical Society. The Verulam Historical Society is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the preservation of the history of Verulam. Verulam is inhabited mainly by people of Indian descent. Mohan Supersad. 68. Assistant Secretary. Amber Ramdass. 79. Secretary/Curator. Jaising Singh. 64. Chairman.
Our Pooja Shop. Verulam. Statues of the Hindu gods are sold at various religious stores around Durban to provide a place of worship within the home. Goddess Durga depicted here is considered the Mother of the Universe. She is worshipped as the giver of all compassion and the destroyer of demons. Goddess Durga offers hope to all her devotees and promises that if they submit to her and pray, she will help fight their vices like anger, greed, lust and ego and liberate them. She also reveals that in order to emerge ‘victorious’ one has to go through suffering and kill all negativities that are prevalent in the human form.
Zain Shabia. 21. Zain has been living and begging on the streets of Durban for the past 7 years. When his parents got divorced his father became a victim of the drug ‘Sugar’ and his mother turned to prostitution. As a practising muslim he often turns to his local mosque for food and shelter.
Durban. Roof of the Grey Street Mosque.
Chatsworth. Devotee offers a blessing to the deities situated on top of the temple roof.
Nivida Munisamy. 22. Nivida has been a sex worker along the Durban beachfront for two years. She has a two and a half year old baby boy. Originally from Richards Bay she relocated to Durban when the father of her son became abusive because of an alcohol and drug problem. Living a hand to mouth existence she solicits once in the morning to pay for the accommodation and the baby sitter, and again once in the afternoon to pay for food and general living expenses. She spends the evenings with her son.
Bhabi's Veg Delights. Tongaat. These sweet meats form an integral part of the Indian communities’ cuisine, sometimes served with a meal and often included as a form of greeting, celebration, religious offering, gift giving, parties, and hospitality. Sugarcane has been grown in India for thousands of years and the art of refining sugar was invented there. The English word sugar comes from the Sanskrit word, sakhar, while the word candy comes from the Sanskrit word, khand, one of the simplest raw forms of sweets.
Pheonix. Mobile shrine of Angalaammen from the Angala Ammen Temple. Angalaamman is the name given to the Tamil village deity, Angala Parameshwari. She is considered one of the fiercest forms of the Mother Goddess Amman and in the rituals dedicated to her she is appeased with blood. Traditionally shrines are usually located outside of the village in groves of trees. They are usually not proper temples but very simple stone structures or in this case on the back of a truck.
Rakesh Prithilal. 51. Rakesh has been a driver and bus owner for over 30 years. Durban has had a rich history of Indian Bus culture. The Indian Bus services was not simply a means of transport but also an integral part of family life. Concentrating on their own communities these buses would carry people, supplies and news as well as facilitating weddings, funeral gatherings and holy occasions. Without having to rely on the government's unreliable bus services the operators created new customised routes strengthening the Indian communities' independence within South Africa.
The Blue Lagoon, ‘Lugz’, at the Umgeni River mouth just north of Durban has traditionally been a recreational area for Indian families.
Verulam. Sathya Sai Baba depicted here in the photographs was an Indian Hindu guru, spiritual leader and philanthropist.
Tongaat. Early housing built by Hullett Sugar Tongaat for their indenture labourers.
Maxine Adrianne Soobramoney. 18. Trenance Manor Secondary School. Phoenix. Maxine comments ‘A great emphasis is placed on education by the Indian Community as it was a means of ensuring upward mobility. Our forefathers worked tirelessly and struggled without governmental aid in order to build schools for us. Professionals within the community sacrificed many hours, days, weeks and months tutoring us at no cost. To a large extent Indian education was self-aided. In so doing the Indian Community developed its own doctors and we became self-supportive, especially in the medical fraternity, clinically diagnosing and aiding ourselves. Thereafter we diversified into other fields and many Indian lawyers helped during the political struggle in our country.’ Maxine hopes to study medicine when she leaves school.
Chatsworth. Shri Vishnu Temple Society. In December 2010 the Shri Vishnu Temple Society unveiled the largest murti (statue) of Hindu God Hanuman in Africa to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Indians in South Africa.