Banjaras encaptures the spirit of South Africa and India

THE yearning and hunger to know her roots inspired Bellair resident and author Sylvia Garib to write a book titled Banjaras. “In the words of Alex Hayley, author of Roots, ‘In all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep to know our heritage, to know who we are and where we came from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there’s still a vacuum, an emptiness and the most disquieting loneliness.’ My message is clear – go seek your past and you will understand your future better,” she explained.

Garib describes her book as fiction with sprinkles of historical facts and is suitable for all ages. “The narrative commences with the arrival of the indentured Indian labourers into the Port of Natal in 1860 and tells the story of these migrants. The book gives an insight into the lives of these indentured labourers, why they left their country, what emotions they felt when they arrived here, what they ate, where they lived and what the conditions were like. It also tells the story of sugarcane and why the indentured Indians were the most skilled and knowledgeable in the world, in the cultivation, harvesting and the conversion of sugarcane into sugar. The sugarcane, a tropical grass became known as the reeds that produced honey without the bees” she explained.

The wife, mother of two and grandmother of five was an administrator at King Edward VIII Hospital for 36 years and retired to join the travel and tourism industry in 2001. She currently works a as an independent consultant from home, and is involved as a Cruising Operations Manager during the seasonal months of cruising from November to April each year.

Garib said she relates to the struggles women have and continue to go through. “I have also lived through the hardships and struggles that we, as women had to endure. I will always admire and respect the women who fought tirelessly for our liberation. Women like Winnie Mandela, Fatima Meer, Dr Goonam, Phyllis Naidoo, Ruth First and Lillian Ngoyi are but a few names among many more who stood up for our justice,” she explained.

While the book is now done and dusted and awaits its launch on Saturday, 3 September at UKZN, Westville campus, Garib said one of the challenges she faced was ensuring the story had flow to keep the reader enticed. “I had made up my mind that if I were to write a book, it would have to be about the two countries that I love i.e., South Africa and India. My challenge was trying to incorporate these two countries into the book in such a way that it would allow for the smooth flow of the narrative without causing the reader to get bored. My answer came in the form of the birth of a set of twins from a clandestine love affair, which took place on a sugarcane plantation. Sadly, the twins were separated at birth, and the reasons for the separation becomes apparent as the reader continues to read. One twin lives a normal life as a South African citizen and the other gets lost in teeming India, but needless to say, she manages to carve herself a successful life,” she explained.

The book is available at all major distributors online.