Notes from an Indian traveller

People here are so unlike Indian. They would greet you even though they have never seen you before. you could be just walking around in the street or along the beach and you would see kids and elders greeting you on the way alike. There is hardly any fake or any motive in the way they greet(unlike people greeting you when you enter a store, where it is their job to greet). I could just go talk to anyone without any apprehensions.
I believe the reason for this kind of stance by the westerners and the natives is bcos of the extensive level of mix and variation in culture. South Africa as a nation has a vast number of natives(thats expected). But apart from that it also enjoys the company of Englishmen, Dutch, Europeans, Malaysians & Thai(came along with the dutch), Indians(came with the Brits). Their origins though very varied, have their loyalties to their current country of residence, cos thats the only country they have ever seen. Many of them have been staying here for the past ten generations. And few have lost their origins too. I met few people who do not know where their origins are from in Europe. The western culture here is no way similar to that i noticed when I was in England. England had a total lapse of family bonding. young people forgot respect. And of course being an Asian in England was not a very pleasing experience(at least for me, it wasn't). SA somehow has held back to its true culture that flowed in 10 generations ago. The family bonds are stronger here and I can relate it to any Indian household. The strong family bonds are prominent in the way people enjoy and are happy to explain about Braai. Braai is closer to the garden Barbecue we would notice in any English movie. Its a gathering a family members and close friends. would heat/roast something to eat on the Braai and the logs burning to keep it going. Its a closely knit society. Am sure the other side of the town has something equally interesting to offer. The place i reside is more inhabited by the whites. So i get to see what they do more often. The townships are far from here and have not chance to speak to many of them.
I had been to the City center yesterday, where all the Black Taxis were standing. The place is nothing lesser than the Broadway bus station in chennai or the bus terminus in delhi near Kashmiri gate. the same sounds, the same kind of mixed crowd. It truly felt, I was closer home. The Black taxi is like a shared auto along the OMR or the Call center cabs that run in gurgaon. Many people - same route - many destinations - all cramped. :) But its truly an experience in itself.
Though all this sounds positive and nice. there has been a dark past too. The era of Apartheid. The beaches were restrained only for the whites. The shops in the city were only for the whites to shop. Blacks were not allowed to be seen in the city after 6 in the evening(when the work hours are over). And lot many more rules. Must have been hell pre-1994. At times you would wonder how people exhibit their anger of the past that has been through them. The South African Govt. exhibits it by changes. Post-apartheid, there have been considerable amount of changes in the country ranging from change in street names, change in city names, change in Airport names, and lots more. But the funniest thing that I heard was about the Robben Island. robben Island is where all the prisoners were held during the apartheid era. Nelson Mandela was here for a considerable amount of time, 24 years I guess. The Govt. has called for snipers to be employed on the Island to shoot down every single cat on the island. And they have already done it. the reason being that the cat was not part of the actual ecology of that island 300 years past. Now that all the cats are dead, they are planning to kill all the rabbits on the island. I mean... is this insanity or what? those animals have lived there for 300+ years(came along with the westerners). What change would they cause now? I always feel its more like placing a knife on the throats of all the non-African people. Cos neither the Europeans nor the Asians ever belonged to this place. Its a symbolic threat, i guess. Once that is done am sure then there would be civil war between the Xhosa and the Zulu tribes for their own regions. and we all know what happens in Africa when a civil war breaks out. Am sure my thoughts are far fetched, but they are thoughts none the less.
Someone I met over one of the weekends mentioned - "Earlier, everything used to be about the colour of skin. Now everything is about the colour of money". Cape Town can be compared in infrastructure to any good town in Europe. It enjoys great infrastructure, beautiful weather, and great accessibility.The city center here is just as any other western place with all super brands present here. few would be BMW, Porsche, Alfa romeo, Tata :) , Volkswagen, woolworths, SPAR, Nike.. and lots more that i cant remember right now.
Finally, this city is beautiful, has its own set of problems and is just like any other city. the only differentiator here is the varied cultural aspect of it.