Final curtain call for Ronnie Govender
IT IS expected to be an emotional farewell service for South African playwright, activist and author Dr Sathieseelan Gurulingum “Ronnie” Govender today.
Govender, 85, died on Thursday. He was born in Cato Manor, Durban, and recently moved to Cape Town.
Durban University of Technology (DUT) in 2014 awarded Govender an honorary doctorate in technology in arts and design for his contribution to literature and the arts in general.
DUT’s interim executive dean of the faculty of arts, Professor Brian Pearce, said over the years students from the department of drama and production studies had produced plays that Govender wrote as directing projects. Pearce said these plays had been well received.
“Dr Govender was a legend in the theatre world as well as in South African literature.”
Govender received a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for his play At the Edge and Other Cato Manor Stories, which was was also performed at the Edinburgh Festival. In 2008, Govender was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga by the South African government for his contribution to democracy in the country through the genre of theatre.
Actress Jayshree Parasuramen said Govender stood up for what he believed in and stood up for those he believed in.
Govender was the former vice-president of the Natal Congress of South African Writers.
Videovision entertainment chief executive Anant Singh said Govender was a man for all seasons – a journalist, political activist, playwright and author.
Singh said Govender took his inspiration from the “Indian experience” of apartheid in South Africa and immortalised this rich cultural and social tapestry in his many works.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said in telling his own story and the stories of the Indian community, Govender provided a vibrant and textured addition to the rich tapestry of our national identity.