Legacy business in heart of Overport
ONE day in the late 1970s, two market stallholders came up with the idea of opening a takeaway – selling sweetmeats and vegetarian savouries.
At the time, vegetarian takeaways were rare but the stallholders, Pushkar Maharaj and Ramlal Satgoordas, knew their concept had the potential to grow into a lucrative business. They opened Indian Delights in the heart of Overport, above the Gitanjali Cinema.
In 2012, they moved the business to premises across the road after the building was bought to open a supermarket.
Maharaj and Satgoordas have passed on, but 42 years later their legacies continue through Maharaj’s son, Ravi, who has taken over the running of the business.
Ravi, 42, is a qualified mechanical engineer. He is married to Dipika Maharaj, a chemical engineer, and they have two children.
As one enters the shop, one can smell freshly fried samoosas, bhajias, puri pathas and curries. There is also a variety of sweetmeats, including burfee and jalebi.
Ravi has 18 staff members, including Ramlal’s daughter, Anne Mothielall, who is the head chef, and his granddaughter, Jayshree Mothielall, the shop manager.
“My father and Mr Satgoordas became friends while selling fruit and vegetables in the Early Morning Market in Durban. They were both business-minded and they knew how to make sweetmeats and savouries. It is a skill, I believe, they learned from their families,” said Ravi of Clare Estate.
He said back then vegetarian takeaways were rare.
“They hired a few staff and made all the savouries and sweetmeats from scratch, a practice that is still done in the store today. They sold samoosas, vadas and chilli bites as well as burfee, chana magaj and other sweetmeats. These were and still are our best-selling items. While running the business, my father also ran our stall at the market.”
Ravi said Indian Delights ran at a loss for the first year of business.
“My father knew the takeaway had potential and he closed his stall at the market to focus on growing Indian Delights. His early mornings and late nights at the shop, as well as the support of my mother Beena, paid off thereafter as the business started to flourish.
“The store was situated below the Gitanjali Cinema and they supplied snacks to moviegoers. I remember working in the shop as a young boy. The snacks were scooped and placed into boxes or brown packets to keep them fresh. We still do this.
“News of the store spread and we began getting more customers, who ordered items in bulk for weddings, engagements and other special occasions.”
He said around the 1990s, when more women started working, a new market opened.
“Many of these working women were also wives and mothers. They did not have the time to make sweetmeats and savouries like they may have done before, so they purchased these items. This led to us later selling frozen samoosas, pastries and rotis.”
Ravi said the shop’s busy period was during the prayer season, which started from March until Diwali.
“We are at the shop from 4am to freshly prepare all the items. At times we have queues of people outside waiting for us to open. Once open, the queues build up inside the store. We have customers in Johannesburg, Cape Town and even abroad who pre-order from us.
“Politicians like Pravin Gordhan and local celebrities such as Jailoshini Naidoo and Rushil Juglall from the Kandasamy movie franchise often visit the shop.”
Apart from the savouries and sweetmeats, they sell prayer items that are imported from India and China.
Ravi has since taken the business forward.
“My brother, Divesh, runs our catering company from Springfield. Here meat dishes are served. I am now working on opening branches of the vegetarian store in Phoenix and Chatsworth. We also supply some of the items to takeaways in Johannesburg and Cape Town.”
He said the community was close to his heart.
“The support of the community of Overport and surrounding areas has helped our shop become a success. This helped my father put me and my three siblings through university. To give back we try to help those in need.
“There are a lot of elderly people in the community. Their children have moved away but they call me to deliver meals to their parents or help run errands for them like getting their milk or bread. We are like a family.”
He said his father died of cancer last year. Since then he has sponsored meals to the Aryan Benevolent Home, Chatsworth Hospice and orphanages.
Ravi said he was not certain who would take over the business after him.
“Our business is about building friendships with customers and when we can help, we will always assist. My father left behind a rich history and, as long as I am in this position, I will keep that legacy alive.”