Whatshot
Short, Long and Tall Stories
Short, Long and Tall Stories
In spite of having moved north into the leafy suburbs with sea views,one Durban author is firmly anchored in the township of his origins and the characters of his childhood. Fat Cat, Fowl Rogue and Chumpa leap off the pages of Kiru Naidoo's book, Made in Chatsworth to be launched on Wednesday, 6 November at 6pm at the Nelson Mandela Community Youth Centre in Chatsworth.
"In the 80-plus short stories and vignettes, I have looked to describe my growing up in Unit 3, my friends, my family and my fantasies all embellished of course," says Naidoo. In the foreword, Johannesburg accountant Nevlon Chinsamy writes:
"Chatsworth did not just materialise out of smoke. It is believed that it was once part of a larger farm called Witteklip and that one Samuel Bennington "bought" the land in 1848. He named it Chatsworth after the stately home of the Duke of Devonshire in Derbyshire.
The current owner of that Chatsworth (now worth £800m) is one Peregrine Andrew Morny Cavendish. His friends call him Stoker which should make him feel right at home in our Bangladesh district."
The iconic Bangladesh Market is the centrepiece of Naidoo's 300 page book lavishly illustrated with current and historical pictures. The three authors whose books are being launched by eThekwiniLibraries District 8 are all published by Anivesh Singh of MicroMega.
The other two authors are well-known educator and broadcaster Mala Lutchmanan with five children's books and Dassenhoek's Zakhele Mazibuko with Usulu written entirely in IsiZulu. Singh's main focus is on publishing heritage stories which have previously been ignored.
The publisher quotes an African proverb to explain his target writers: "Until the lions have their historians, tales of the hunt will be told by the hunter." Durban enjoys the accolade of being Africa's only UNESCO city of literature. Wednesday's book launch is open to the public.
Author Zakhele Mazibuko of Jozini launches his first book Usulu written in IsiZulu to honour the International Year of Indigenous Languages

