Who is Mr. Davarum...

So whats so fantastic about the picture of the ship on the left... Well well - 149 years ago, this was the very ship which carried our ancestors to South Africa. Yes peeps- this is the SS TRURO!

Not exactly what we imagined huh?

Well here are some other interesting facts as we commemorate our arrival:

Between 1860 and 1911 some 140 000 Indians arrived in South Africa as indentured laborers. The majority of them were Hindus from Madras, Travancore, Orissa and Bengal. Today, there are almost a million Indians living in South Africa - the largest group outside of India and Pakistan

The first ship to arrive in South Africa (with Indians) was the SS TRURO. There were 348 laborers onboard. They were categorised as 2 % Brahmins, 9 % Kshatriyas, 21 % Vaishyas and 31 % Sudras, 27% Scheduled Castes, 3 % Christians and 4 % Muslims.

The first Indians who came to South Africa did not work only on the sugar cane plantations; they also worked on the railways, dockyards, municipal services, the coalmines of Northern Natal and in domestic service.

The name of the first immigrant, recorded on the list of the ship Truro, was Davarum.

The first major temple erected in South Africa was in 1899. It was a Ganesha Temple at Mount Edgecombe in Durban and was built by an indentured laborer from India known as Kistappa Reddy.

Well now you know....

My guest on the show yesterday, Mr. Aziz Hassim summed up the journey of the last 149 years and pointed out that your religion is not your origin - especially for those who think that there is or there should be a north and south battle!!!

Bob Marley and the Wailers are wailing away since last weekend when Ras Dumisani rendered his version of the South African National Anthem... Out of tune and clueless about the words, his mockery of the sacred anthem could very well result in a charge of treason! Where are the individual/s who appointed him to sing? Should they not also be questioned/ charged?

Somebody say one ou tripple one (10111), shorty call for pizza... The emergency services number has been out of service recently... Luckily its not a number which many victims of crime use - All South Africans know that when you call the number, irrespective of how many bullet wounds you have endured- they will just put a hold on it, put a hold it!!!

The weather has been running havoc these past couple of days and I pity those GP drivers who are now travelling even longer during mornings and afternoons!!! There was snow on the berg and people are wondering whether Summer 2009 has been affected by the Dept of Correctional Serivces! Hmmmmm seems like there will have to be a special inquiry set up with another team of overpaid analysts who will tell us what we already know! Thereafter, nobody will be fired and the results will be swept under the carpet or in some cases the grass mat!!! Thats if the grass from the mat has not already been smoked...

Superb punjabi mix on the show tonight - MC Dark is going to be making an appearance before it actually gets dark... Enjoy!

Peace



PS: This is the Bachchan's latest offering-PAA- Will be playing this soundtrack on the show this afternoon... And yeah - that is the BIG B on the Abhishek's back...