Things change, but the buzz of activity remains

Staff Reporter|Published 1 year ago

Mohanlal Valjee’s business at 112 Victoria Street, today Bertha Mkhize, in the heart of the area known as the Casbah. It appears the original business traded in jewellery, or operated as a pawn broker, judging by the signage. The cars suggest this picture was taken around the middle of last century. The shops are topped by flats, a common feature of buildings in the area. Today it is a clothing shop, and the rickshaw puller has been replaced with people hauling trolleys piled with supplies to sell in the area. | Shelley Kjonstad /Independent Newspapers

Durban — This week’s old and new Durban has presented a challenge in finding any information about the building at 112 Bertha Mkhize Street, formerly Victoria Street, which housed Mohanlal Valjee’s company.

Even Then & Now’s first port of call to get clues to follow-up searches for the history or origins of Durban, Facts About Durban (FAD), did not yield any nuggets about a building that looks to be in the Berea style and was probably built in the 1920s or early 1930s.

It did, however, highlight the importance of connecting people with shared memories of special places: the thread has lasted 10 years as more people discover it, read about others’ memories of their homes, and the people who lived there, and share their own stories.

Mohanlal Valjee’s business at 112 Victoria Street, today Bertha Mkhize, in the heart of the area known as the Casbah. It appears the original business traded in jewellery, or operated as a pawn broker, judging by the signage. The cars suggest this picture was taken around the middle of last century. The shops are topped by flats, a common feature of buildings in the area. Today it is a clothing shop, and the rickshaw puller has been replaced with people hauling trolleys piled with supplies to sell in the area. | Shelley Kjonstad /Independent Newspapers

The man whose curiosity about his city sparked his book and the online version of FAD, the late Allan Jackson, wrote on the site: “I have always been conscious that FAD’s coverage (www. fad.co.za/2013/12/29/grey-street-casbah/) is incomplete and that we do not reflect the experience of all Durbanites.

“There has never been any intention to exclude anyone but the limited time I have had available has meant that, apart from several months of intense research before the site and book first launched, I have tended to focus on material that came to me rather than the reverse.

“Anyhow, there is a coverage gap and I was reminded of this by Buddy Govender, who left a comment on one of our posts. One of the things he had to say was that he and his friend Ishaan Blunden run a Facebook page (greystreetcasbah) celebrating Durban in general and the Grey Street Casbah and surrounds in particular.

“There is much of interest on the page and it is definitely worth keeping tabs on it,” wrote Jackson.

If you have interesting pictures and information for the Then & Now feature, please email them to satmail@ inl.co.za

Independent on Saturday

Things change, but the buzz of activity remains

Another sorry tale of a sacred place lying in ruins

Long gone, but fond memories of cinema remain

Serene resting place has a long history