Tribute to stabbed musician Sizwe Shabalala
“A BOOK, Nanda. Write a book, dude.”
That’s what Sizwe Shabalala told acclaimed Durban cartoonist Nanda Soobben shortly before the musician was murdered earlier this month.
And now Soobben aims to do just that.
“Just before Sfiso died, he read one of my Facebook posts about my experience in New York as an artist. Intrigued by the post, he commented that I should write a book,” he said.
Shabalala, 46, a blues and rock guitarist, was stabbed to death during a robbery in Pinetown on January 5. His attacker fled with his cellphone.
For Soobben, the book is a tribute to Shabalala.
“After that post, we chatted about my career and how the Group Areas Act had affected our families.”
That led to Soobben reminiscing about his own family and how they were uprooted from Clairwood in 1966 (see the accompanying piece).
Stemming from this conversation, Soobben has now put pen to paper and hopes to release the book later this year.
“I am compiling my experiences and one of my fondest memories was my first trip to New York. I went to the city almost penniless.
“Just before I was leaving, I tried to sell my prized possession, a souped up VW buggy.”
While standing in the queue at Durban’s airport (then called Louis Botha), he met a potential buyer, who tried frantically to raise the funds.
“I had parked the car at the airport with the keys still in the ignition and I told my brother he could take it if it didn’t get sold.
“I was just getting into the departure lounge when the guy ran in with R2 000 and bought my car.”
With a US dollar costing R5 at the time, he said he had a “whopping $400 to conquer the big apple.”
Soobben, who went on to start the Centre for Fine Art, Animation and Design, said it was through his experiences that he had become an internationally renowned cartoonist.