The only Indians from Johannesburg to Durban were journalists heading here to cover the Boxing Day Test between South Africa and India
The only Indians from Johannesburg to Durban were journalists heading here to cover the Boxing Day Test between South Africa and India. However, those dimensions changed very quickly upon our arrival in this windy, coastal town.
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| A traditionally-clad South African Indian, portraying an attire worn by his ancestors, who came as Indentured Indians in 1860, marches during the national celebrations of unity in Durban earlier this month. Pic/Afp |
Almost every fourth person here is Indian, from the two gentlemen who let us in their shuttle from the airport to theu00a0 hotel; the receptionist at Town Lodge, which is a 10-minute walk from the Sahara Kingsmead Stadium, who apparently changed his birth name Wasim to Wesley; the cashier at the supermarket; the woman who attended to us at FNB bank and even the waitress at the nearby fast food joint.
Most of Durban's population is of Indian descent, with many more living elsewhere in the province of KwaZulu Natal. Mahatma Gandhi, himself was once a migrant in this area.
Indian culture is embodied, from faces to food, clothes to language and music.
But the city's Indian community is far from that of its forefathers, who arrived in this country in the 19th century, mostly as labourers for local sugar plantations. In fact, someone joked that the facial features of Indians here had started to resemble the South Africans.
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"I have never visited India! What's it like there?" Sanjiv, a local here quipped when asked if he has been to his motherland.
There's major cricket frenzy here too. The locals are gearing up for the action. "AB de Villiers is going to rock you, India," a person who works at Kingsmead said.
The ground was a picture of calm during a visit last evening. The Indian team is currently in Sun City and is expected to reach Durban tomorrow.
