Author celebrates legacy
LEGACY does matter. Just ask oThongathi (Tongaat) author Dr Bhoowan Prakash Singh.
The former teacher is on Cloud 9 after his book, When
the Chalk is Down, was recently chosen as the official work for the eThekwini Municipality’s ‘One City One Book’ programme for 2016/7.
The book, about the plight of black people during the apartheid era, is a narrative of his struggle with the Tongaat Town Board and later the eThekwini Municipality over the transfer of the title deed to his parents’ house.
The book touches on issues such as education, housing and service delivery, as well as authority and responsibility, said the municipality.
It launched the One City One Book programme in 2013 to promote literacy and the art of writing with an intention to also popularise South African literary works in general, especially in KZN.
The previous books selected were Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela, A Native of Nowhere: The Life of South African Journalist Nat Nakasa 1937-1965 by Ryan Lenora Brown and The
last Rhino written by Lawrence Anthony.
“Singh’s book resonates with social issues that are pertinent to the broader society today, based within the KZN context, without compromising on the experience of a good read for both adults and children,” said the municipality’s manager of Library Outreach, Musa Radebe.
Singh said his book was motivated by the 30-year struggle of his parents.
“They struggled to get their rental sub-economic home converted to the ownership scheme, and there was the related challenge of acquiring the title deed.
“Personally, experiencing the pain and suffering by the disempowered resulted in the writing being both a form of reaction and a self-purging.”
He said the eventual acquisition of the title deed after 30 years, and the manner in which it was received by his mother, formed the “catalyst and the catharsis” of the story.
Singh told POST that he felt humbled by the fact that his book was now considered in the literary light of previously nominated books written by great writers.
His story is proudly KZN, he said.
“There is general tendency to look for good stories outside our immediate context, and my story indicates that this is not necessarily true.
“Often our heroes are ideal characters, but those in this story are not so.
“The greatest stories are played out every day in our own lives or within the context in which we operate and with which we are familiar.”
Singh urged South Africans to engage with issues that were challenging and not to give up on the pursuit of any goal, irrespective of the obstacles encountered.
“Similarly, I would like to encourage readers to stand up and defend that in which they believe, to love and not merely exist. Legacy does matter.”