A woman’s touch, with plenty of DIY thrown in
Radio broadcaster Kriya Gangiah has many big plans
SALES, bargains and fancy nails are her fetish — but don’t be fooled by all the consumer trappings. Kriya Gangiah dreams of having her own television show one day.
Gangiah, 25, is a radio presenter on internet station Ballz Visual Radio and an information technology security consultant at financial firm Deloitte in Pretoria — but, with a face like hers, she belongs on television.
We caught up with her at her house in Brooklyn, Pretoria, on Thursday.
Inside, her rented home is comfortable and oozes femininity. She clearly has a fine eye for décor and is a do-it-yourself person. Many of her projects are on display in all the rooms.
The confident, bubbly and sweet Gangiah gave us a tour around her home before we sat down for a chat.
“I found this house last year — my parents sold their home in Pretoria in a matter of a week and I had to find a new place to live.”
She posted a message on Facebook, a friend responded, her friend’s father had a home to rent and Gangiah decided to have a look.
“Of all the places I have been to, this was the best. I love the space and the fact that I have it all to myself.”
She shares her home with her two-year-old toy Pomeranian, Zara.
The house is simply furnished — much of the furniture was given to her by her parents, Ruby and Prem.
One of her favourite pieces is an Indonesian kist of metal and dark wood that is displayed in her living room.
One of her favourite places is the kitchen. “I love that it’s big. My most prized possession in the kitchen is my mom’s collection of AMC pots, which I don’t ever plan on returning.
“I love cooking and baking with my boyfriend, Zaheer Ebrahim, and the kitchen is where we spend most of the time when we are together.
“My dad helped me to build the jar-light chandelier — I feel it adds a lot of character to my home. My other favourite is the chest of drawers — and the headboard I made myself.”
Gangiah is quite short, but when she whips out one of her 32 pairs of sky-high heels, she is ready to take on any supermodel on the ramp.
She has an impressive collection of shoes in a range of colours, but says she has never paid more than R450 for a pair.
“I love to bargain and some of my most admired shoes have cost me as little as R70.
“My other fetish is nail art — I usually do it myself, but I also enjoy an occasional indulgent pedicure,” said Gangiah.
Her other pleasures are collecting teddy bears and needlework thimbles from around the world. She proudly displays them around her house, along with family pictures, which have been mounted in frames she made.
Gangiah matriculated from Pretoria High School for Girls and received her South African colours in water polo in 2005 — but she gave up the sport when she joined Tuks FM at the University of Pretoria.
She later became a presenter on e.tv’s Craze .
She has big plans and hopes to host her own talkshow one day. For now, she is revelling in the fact that the world is her oyster.