On the 9th of May last year, a perceptive Hyderbadi looked beyond the pouring clouds covering Pretoria and saw another cloud with rays of sunshine and hope forming in the horizon.
Vidya Bhandarker, had only spent a few months in South Africa, when the symbolism of the sequence of activities at the inauguration ceremony of Jacob Zuma touched her, propelling an idea she has begun living for. She has assumed midwifery in the area of Indian and South African cultural connections.
After having spent two decades in Washington DC, Bhandarker upon seeing the blessing of the presidential ceremony by representatives of minority religions — starting with a Hindu prayer, followed by a Muslim prayer, a Christian Prayer and finally an Indigenous African prayer, the inclusive gesture reinforced her Gandhian principles.
“What a beautiful message of hope for today’s chaotic world that was for me. I saw a Gandhian country — tolerance, patience, forgiveness and genuine bonhomie,” she says.
Then an idea struck: the same message needs to be transported across India. A year on, the idea has mutated several times giving birth to a number of cross-cultural projects aimed at bridging the cultural divide between the two countries.
“I envisioned a cultural bridge between South Africa and Hyderabad my hometown. I started “talking up a storm,” with whomever I met in South Africa, and the more I spoke about it; the more the seeds of the idea germinated in other people.”
More like a magnet, her idea gathered so many people along the way — all “strange and exciting connections” came about.
“Each meeting and connection led to another and a mysterious dimension of the project grew on its own,” she says.
July this year saw the commencement of a 360 degree showcase of South Africa, from art, to music, literature, movies and theatre in Hyderabad, India. The cultural dialogue and exchange and part of the contribution to the 150 year commemoration of the arrival of Indians in South Africa.
An artists’ camp comprising 12 Hyderabad and two South African artists — Makiwa Mutomba and Amita Makan — got the conversation amongst artists from the two continents going, culminating into an exhibition “a cultural bridge”. The same exhibition opened on Saturday in Pretoria as a reciprocal gesture, and a further step towards twinning the cities of Pretoria and Hyderbad.
“We want to strengthen the connections at a citizen’s level. There is so much in common between the people of South Africa and India — especially in terms of the relevance of Gandhian thought. We also hope the artists’ programme will re-establish lost links and strengthen the bonds”
Incidentally, more than two thirds of the first Indians to land on South African shores in 1860 were of Telugu and Tamil origin, natives of the erstwhile Madras Province.
“It’s my tribute to the land, its people and Gandhi. This land was a muse for the evolution of a great soul — Gandhi — who then came to my country to lead us to freedom.”
During the visit by the South African artists, Bhandarker was moved by the gesture of Mutomba who donated a rainbow painted portrait of Gandhi and donated it to the Chowmahalla palace.
Although this has been a self-funded exercise, Bhandarker has enjoyed great support from her husband Sarwat Hussain, SANAVA and CEWAC, the governments of India and South Africa. “It was incredible gesture for the South African High Commissioner Harris Majeke and his wife to come to Hyderabad to lend his support to my project. It strengthened my resolve to do take this project further.”
Majeke, was a guest at the launch of the anthology, Shared History, Struggles Remembered: Tracing 150 years of Indians in SA — another dimension of the cultural connections project that is already developing many legs by the day.
“She has a long wishlist,” says Hussain. “South Africa is the largest home for the Indian diaspora. There is so much that India can learn from the developmental experience of South Africa, and vice versa. The coming together of these giants at what ever level at this juncture can only benefit the world.”
Part of the long list includes a performance by the Black-Tie Ensemble in December; a South African book fair and film festival in Hyderabad in 2011, a student exchange programme between Hyderbad and Pretoria and a constant traffic flow of artists between the two cities.
The new day that a few months ago looked far in the horizon for Bhandarker, looks like it is on its way to culturally anchor the future of the Hyderabad and Pretoria connection.