HYDERABAD: What connects South African Indians, Gandhi and a Hyderabadi painter? While the relation between the former two are forgotten but obvious, it is the painting by Hyderabadi artiste Aziz which is trying to renew the shared legacy in the 151st year of Indians landing in South Africa. It all started last year, as a way of nourishing the shared cultural heritage between the two countries, the pinnacle of which is the man we revere as the father of our nation. “It was Mohandas Gandhi who went to South Africa but they sent him back to us as Mahatma,” says Vidya Bhandarkar, an activist who is trying to build what she calls an Indo-South African bridge on various levels. She adds that the Indian community in South Africa takes enormous pride in their roots. But while NRIs in the USA and the West are feted and courted in Pravasi Divas activities, Indians long-settled in South Africa are seen rather indifferently, although they are a more rich mix of the varied cultures in India. But maybe the lack of visibility is connected to the fact that the first forayers into the dark continent were dirt poor Indians, mainly from South Indian states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, she feels. It is this indelible connection that Bhandarkar hopes to reinvigorate. Thus, for the 150th anniversary last year, with the help of cultural organisations in both countries, she organised art exhibitions where artistes from both countries showcased the similarities and differences in their experiences and works. This year too, she hosted an art exhibition in Hyderabad on similar lines on October 2, the birth anniversary of Gandhi.One of the paintings on display last year was Aziz’s ‘Freedom March’ - a painting that depicts Gandhi being led by a small child along with Nelson Mandela, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (Frontier Gandhi) behind him. The painting later travelled to South Africa to be greeted with tremendous appreciation from the South African Indian community in Pretoria. It now rests in the office of the Indian High Commissioner in South Africa Virendra Gupta, to whom it was gifted. Bhandarkar wants this painting to be converted to a commemorative postal stamp. Besides this, she also dreams of twinning the cities of Hyderabad and Pretoria, have educational exchange between universities and have a Mandela chair here. Bhandarkar hopes that small efforts would prove to have a greater bearing on the two countries.
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