Isabella Fischer's Blog: The Mdantsane Way, page 14

Mdantsane Breathing

  Amitabh Mitra is a Medical Doctor in the busy hospital Cecilia Makiwane in Mdantsane. He is also a poet and a painter. I have come across his website by pure coincidence and learned that he has written a poetry book about Mdantsane entitled "Mdantsane Breathing".



A widely published poet in the web and print, Amitabh has been hailed as
one of the most popular South African poet writing in English today by
the Skyline Literary Review, New York.



Amitabh, now settled in South Africa, uses his experience of social
interaction and cultural impact from countries like India, Bhutan and
Zimbabwe where he worked under varying conditions, in his art and
poetry




His first book of poems Ritual Silences was published
in 1980. Ten of his most admired love poems are available, with a
background of indigenous African music, on CD: A Slow Train to Gwalior,
from Harp Records, South Africa. 






Mdantsane Breathing by Amitabh Mitra




Amitabh has a blog as well where you can find his latest artwork and poetry.

His website is here



We find his poems and his artwork of great intensity and that is why we would like to share this with you.






MAKIWANE ROAD







 on the road to makiwane

grows thoughts

many upheavals of

dreams

in larceny

quick and sharp incisions

each bereaving the other

a country rode to democracy

once

nights swept over this road

in disharmony of conjugal skies

wild grass in abandon

seeks a river

a white morning

seems at time

standing at its edge



Acrylic on Canvas by Amitabh Mitra

 ( originally posted on his blog South African poetry and art of Amitabh Mitra  on 24th of April 2012

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Getting Your Soul Clapped in Mdantsane

We have the pleasure to present to you today an article written by second year journalism student Tukute Philasande. The Department of Media Studies of the Walter Sisulu Univesity in East London sends us from time to time articles, that are written by second year journalism students. 

"Soul Clap" fits perfectly the profile of our online maganzine and in our endeavour to promote and expose young talent in the Mdantsane we are publishing it today. 





 SOUL CLAP

Soul Clap sessions are a free entry fortnightly event on Wednesdays at Endaweni Lounge in Mdantsane NU6, which provide local artists with the much needed exposure.



The sessions were started by poet Thandeka Vabaza also known as Nkqo in 2010 to provide local poets, hip-hop and soul artists with a platform to show their talents while familiarising them with performing in front of an audience.












“The sessions are a platform where we encourage local artist to perform for their respective communities,” said Vabaza.

Sessions start at 8 pm and there are always headlining national acts such as My Man, Moonchild, and Ohayv, which inspire the local artists to believe that their dreams can also come true.

“I started the movement because of lack of understanding from our community as to what art is,” said Vabaza.



Among the artists who perform is Slulami Slujah Bunu, a member of
Capital Effect, a soulful hip hop group from Mdantsane, and a solo act.

Slujah
said: “The sessions have helped me grow musically and bond with my
listeners.” They help artists to express themselves. “It’s live more
than anything because you get criticised constructively.”

Xabiso Gqirana owner of Endaweni Lounge said that the venue has a capacity for about 80 people.



Slujah believes that there is room
for improvement as “there is little space”. He suggested that a bigger
venue is needed to accommodate more people as he believes still more
people would like to come.

Akhona
Mshiywa, a regular spectator, said: “The chemistry between people and
the feel of performances are what drive me to attend the sessions.





Soul Clap sessions are proving to be a success unlike the sessions that were there before them which have ceased to exist.



According to Mshiywa discovering more poets is what brings more popularity to the sessions.Vabaza started the sessions with a clear vision in mind of what he wants to achieve. “I want to see sustainability in Eastern Cape artists,” he concluded. 




Article and Images by a 2nd year Walter Sisulu University journalism student Tukute Philasande /WSU

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How To Improve Your Livelihood The Old Fashioned Way

There goes the saying: " Good advice is rare. Or: "Good advice is hard to find."

By this we mean really good advice, advice that is tailored to your needs and that helps you. It is hard to find when life is good and seems to run smooth. But in times of hardship good advice is even more complicated to find. 

We do have times of hardship now because if we believe what the statistics tell us, then only every fourth person out of then people is employed in South Africa. So what are the other six doing? And the families of the other six. If we think about this, we understand the pressure that rests on the four out of the ten who have jobs because you are never alone in life. There are the ones around you who need you.  














In hard times many look back to the lessons of the past. How others have done it before us.They have chosen a simple but laborious formula. If food gets to expensive and you can not afford to buy it anymore in the shops then it is the time to start planting a garden.













Driving through the sections of Mdantsane you can see kitchen gardens sprout everywhere.










The ground appears to be hard but people work on it hard. Improvised irrigation systems with empty plastic bottles are created.







And after a couple of weeks, spinach, cabbage and carrots land on the table. It works. And most of it has been organically grown.






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Until The Time Comes - A Short Movie

Until the time comes I will just wait here then!

A short movie about old age by Chocolat Negro











We de-hissed, de-crackled, de-noised and spectral-cleaned the music track. But it's noisy and it is supposed to be like that. It's old like the actors in the movie. I have promised my friend Pelisa this video for a long time. Our thanks goes to the Ethembeni Old Age Home.



Watch it directly on YouTube click here




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Too Cold For A Mdantsane Cat

The weather ain't right. It's simply too cold for a true Mdantsane Cat.! 

And I wonder when they finally gonna notice that I am outside - and let me in!










N.U 6  Mdantsane

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The Unknown Artist Of N.U 5 - Or Do You Want To Remember Poverty?

Poverty does indeed have a face. And it is not a pretty one. You can recognize poverty even if it is in disguise. It is something in the attitude, the gestures, let's say the whole composure. Poverty leaves its mark on the mind of the ones affected by it. 




How would you like to remember poverty once it is over. Would you like to remember its face at all or simply close the lid over the box? Would you like to remember your parents poverty and their long and arduous walk to a better and more abundant life, that they swore to give to their children. Must the pain of our ancestors be remembered and respected or should the young ones just move on and not be burdened by memories of lived misery of the elder generations.




As children we more or less have a choice to remember the hardship of our parents or not, but for our parents and grandparents it's another story. The one who has lived in extreme poverty can never forget and all his actions in life are geared towards avoiding the circumstances he has escaped with some much effort.







Men and Women who have lived through and fought in the Second World War often talk until the end of their lives of this event. In the later years of their lives they become more silent because only then the memories become more easier to bear and slowly the pain fades away. Age does help with the process of forgetting.

 

But the thing is this is a very confused world. There are younger ones who don't even know that there was a Second World War, an event so drastic and dramatic that it has shaped the destiny and future of each country of this world. But it's nobody's fault, that one person has to much remembrance and the other one does not even know about the same event. That is just the way it is now.













How for instance are the lives of the six million Jews that have been killed in the
gas chambers in Germany under the Third Reich Government of  Adolf
Hitler remembered?




The World can remember them by looking at the memorials that the German
Government has left. Some of the concentration camps have been turned
into memorial sites and museum. On public places artwork has been
erected to remember the past serving at the same time as a warning not
to repeat what had happened.




Do we nee memorials? My very personal opinion is yes. Well, this is also a personal blog, allowing people to speak about their personal life. I think yes.







Now what about the shacks. They have been the face of South Africa, of black South Africa for decades.

Memorials are needed but they should be reality-orientated. Artwork is good but some things should be preserved, conserved and exhibited. Something of that reality "back then" should be left.

This is some sort of progressive, future talk.







How to remember when we come from this to this?






A beautiful house in N.U.7




But I can imagine, in a hundred and fifty years in the sparkling busy inner city of East London we can see a shack with a painted skull ( may be like the one in the first picture), exhibited under glass like a statue with a board in steel attached to it, engraved with the following words: This shack was once built in the section of N.U 5 in the then township Mdantsane, that was mainly a black settlement. It was inhabited by Mr.X and  his wife. It reminds us of the conditions most of the black South Africans have lived in during the 21st century.



I just imagine.




2150 A young girl standing in front of the statue asks her mother: " Do you really think that someone ever lived in this. I can not imagine".

Her mother replies: " Yes, we have not seen it but your great great grandfather did remember it and he has told your father's father about it".




Have I lost you know at this point? Does not matter? The pictures are nice.









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The Color Of Hope Is Green - N.U 6

The Color of Hope Is Green. Green like new growth, green like fresh, like rejuvenation, like new life.

Here are some "green scenes" from N.U 6














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My Name Is Grace - Trying To Stay In Touch With The World

Grace is a resident in the only old age home in Mdantsane carrying the name "Ethembeni".  Let's help each other!



Africa is considered as a continent that values its elders and ancestors. But does the reality correspond to this statement?

In South Africa many old people live in desperation and poverty, neglected and sometimes abused by their own families. Often the effects that crime, the colonial past and Apartheid had on the South African population are blamed for this. Their pension money or their state grant are misappropriated by their children and grand children and they are left with nothing. Others do not have children and nobody in the community they are living in wants to accept moral and financial responsibility for them.



Grace suffered a similar fate until she was brought to Ethembeni. Grace found a secure haven at the Ethembeni Old Age Home in Mdantsane, founded by Pelisa Welemu, a woman who has dedicated her whole life to the well-being of old people in the second biggest township of South Africa.



Grace is 71 years old, went to school and speaks English. After a stroke she is incapable to speak properly. But she is reaching out to people and tries to stay in touch with the world. While I was filming there she addressed me several times wanting to tell her story. But she can only speak a few sentences at a time.




There is sadness in these scenes but this short documentary is also a testimony to the world, that even if you are old you still have a place in this world and you might want to stay in touch with the world you have lived in for so long. These scenes are also a testimony of humour that has not been lost after great hardship.




European viewers might find these images depressing and the living conditions appalling. Several old people sharing a room and waiting for the end of their life in front of a television is not what they might be used to from European Old Age Homes. But I just remind you that a great contribution to society has been made by allowing the old people to still live respected, safe clean, and with a full stomach until the end of their life.

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Landscaping Mdantsane Style in N.U 7

There is a definite trend in Mdantsane lately, that has spread across all sections (m not only NU 7). Trees are cut and trimmed " à la Versailles". 

The French formal garden, also called jardin à la française,
is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing
order over nature. It reached its apogee in the 17th century with the
creation of the Gardens of Versailles, designed for Louis XIV by the landscape architect André Le Nôtre. The style was widely copied by other courts of Europe









While many courts in Europe copied this style some Mdantsane landscapers and gardeners have instead added their personal touch to the Versailles style. 







Others have already achieved perfection with their creations! 

And order is without doubt imposed over nature!







And a a few need still a little bit of practice!




Seen in NU 7

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The Africanis - The Dog Of Africa

They can be seen on the streets of any township, not only in Mdantsane.

Some say they are just mongrels but these dogs are a very distinct breed.







The Africanis - The Dog Of Africa











They are endemic to the South of Africa with a proven lineage going back to nearly 7000 years! 

They are part of the heritage of Africa!


They are sought after and exported to other countries! 





 



  

But many of them do still live in conditions below their value.






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