Abstract:
“A hundred years ago, the Indians came to South Africa and introduced to this country, the experiences of a rich and varied culture. Few of their material traits, however were destined for survival in the changing pattern of a modern industrial economy, for being predominantly a rural people, they were attuned to expressions in an old world society of deep familial bonds, in which the complexity of daily life, intensified and concentrated itself around the home and the hearth. Like all people, thus challenged with the irresistible tempo of a growing metropolis, they bowed themselves to change, admitting into their lives, traits, which, if not entirely new, were more suitable adaptations of their own cultural forms”.1
The quote tells the story of an adaptive Indian diaspora. In a new environment the translocated diverse Indian population adjusted to life in South Africa. The quote’s author, Fatima Meer, notes how the change of physical environment impacted Indians lifestyles. Indians predominantly emigrated from established rural communities and departed the sub-continent from Calcutta and the Tamil city of Madras. Progressively over one hundred years in Southern Africa, from 1860 to 1961 (the latter date the time of Indian Delights first publication) most Indians found themselves living in Durban’s urban centre. Traditionally Indian families reified their relationships and connections inside the home and near the fire used for cooking, in a city like Durban these customs were challenged. While the quote does not outline the exact changes to the family, home, and hearth dynamic, once in the city it does acknowledge Indians’ amendments to their customs, culture, and lives to fit into a new and seemingly faster rhythm of daily life. In South Africa Indians were not at the mercy of change but rather used their resourcefulness and agency to maintain and expand their cultural boundaries through explorations on what it meant to be an Indian in their new context which eventually contributed to their identity as South African Indians.
