Putting together the mosaic
Ruda Landman reveals the personalities she has interviewed, writes Orielle Berry
IN HER introduction to this readable and inspirational book, acclaimed journalist and TV interviewer Ruda Landman writes: “Over the course of 40 years working as a journalist in South Africa… I have been struck time and again by how divergent our experience of life in this country often is.
“How can we know each other, or understand the whole of our reality, if we don’t hear each other’s stories?”
Landman is on point and reading the series of interviews, one is reminded again of the wonderful diversity of this nation; of the many stories of its citizens to get to where they arrived.
The raison d’etre of this book, as explained in her introduction, was the platform she was offered to interview a mosaic of South Africans for a life insurance website on change moments in life.
From 60 interviews of unsung heroes and celebrities, to athletes, professionals and artists, she selected these stories.
“Time and again I was struck by how quickly we forget, the infinite variety of individual experiences of a period we think we all know.
“Time and again I went home to reconsider my own life story, newly aware it is only one thread in the tapestry of our history.”
Featured are a gallery of luminaries from John Kani, to Pieter-Dirk Uys, Jonathan Shapiro, Esmare Weideman, and Anton Harber, to younger individuals who have made their mark such as Arno Carstens, Gugu Zulu, Katlego Maboe and Khanyisile Motsa (Mam’ Khanyi).
But it’s wise to start not at the beginning of the book but at the end, when Landman turns the spotlight on herself and asks herself the kind of questions she would have asked the others.
We get an insight into her personal life, a happy, long-standing marriage, her inspiration and support from her parents, and her professional life.
That includes being an anchor on Carte Blanche, a highly respected journalist, and on kykNET.
She poses the question: “... Journalism kicked you out of your box. What do you mean?” and answers her own question, “We all grow up in our own boxes, with people who are like ourselves and our parents.
“I must have been about 23; I had to do a story about a netball league that had been started at a squatter camp called Vrygrond on the Cape Flats.
“I sat in this woman’s kitchen, and suddenly thought, ‘She’s just like my mom’. It was a revolutionary idea for a white Afrikaans kid from the platteland under apartheid... That was just the beginning.”
One of the most heart- breaking interviews is with Zulu. Called the fastest brother in Africa, racing driver and sportsman Zulu, who was also a savvy businessman, tragically died while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with his wife, Letshego, in July 2016.
Landman met Zulu the previous year. “He was one of the most charming people I have ever come across. He made me feel that everything is possible.”
That is clear from his long, hard but determined journey to become a racing driver unheard of for a person of colour in the 1990s. His defining moment came when he won the Vodacom Isondo Sports national championship in 2000.
Gugu said: “It’s about perseverance and patience and planning. There’s a little bit more than that as well, because in the end life is not perfect. It’s not always smooth sailing; every moment you live and the challenges that you face, it’s part of learning, and you can always do things a little better and improve and move forward.”
Inspirational words of wisdom come from many people in this book:
“Power doesn’t reside elsewhere; it’s within you,” says journalist Ferial Haffajee; Grammy awardwinning musician Wouter Kellerman: “We were just playing, experimenting, venturing into the unknown”; Marc Lottering tells us how to “jump out of that box”.
Maboe, who from small beginnings rose to become a household name (among others appearing on SABC3’s Espresso), is referred to as the embodiment of the South African dream. “You have the responsibility to take into account the people you influence. I know there are many young kids who look up to me.”
Inspirational and insightful, this is one of those books worth keeping by your bedside for when you’re feeling blue, or want confirmation that our nation is blessed with some truly bright, shining individuals.