Those were indeed the good old days

                                                 Picture courtesy Power your city website

During my childhood years I use to spend most of my vacations at my maternal grandparents home. The festive cheer during the December month definitely transcended into our home as well. Nana and his friend, the late Uncle Ebrahim Bhika use to drive my brother and I down town Johannesburg to take a ride on the famous topless bus to see the Christmas lights. There was never a December that went by without taking a picture with Santa Claus. To appease one of my crossy face episodes, I recall Nana purchasing a talking and singing Christmas father toy for me as a gift. It subsequently suffered a horrible death as it went flying down the flat window accidentally. Nana and Nani resided in Wynberg, a suburb that bordered Alexandra township. Whilst many viewed the area as being notorious and dangerous, for us it was home. Mom’s family resided in a small one and a half bedroom flat. The lounge area had a few arm chairs and a couch that could open up into a bed as well. Both the lounge and the master bedroom had entrances into the cosy kitchen. There was a small pantry adjacent to the coal stove. Whilst the master bedroom had an ensuite bathroom, the toilet was located outside in between two flat units. The neighbours had to share a communal toilet and mind you waking up at night to go to the toilet was actually a terrifying experience for a kid even though the main gate at the bottom was always kept locked with a chain. Despite my grandparents home being small it was always a place of love and laughter. No one went to bed hungry. During the day, Nanis neighbour, Kajja bhai use to spoil me with garam garam sugar roti. May God Almighty grant her the highest stages of paradise. The people of that time had little but they were content. They appreciated the smaller, finer things in life. As the years went by, my grandparents moved to Marlboro as the flat they were residing in was going to be demolished. Naturally, there was huge excitement when they moved into their new home. During this time of the year, nana would take us for a walk in Joubert Park. On other days, we would take a drive to Johannesburg’s Lilliputian wonder, Santarama miniland. We were welcomed by a giant statue of Jan Van Riebeeck and definitely enjoyed boarding the full scale model of his ship, the Dromedaris. With smiles and laughter we ogled at the miniature models of prominent city landmarks. No festive season was complete without visiting the musical fountains at Wemmer Pan. So what has happened to these iconic places? From what I heard, these places have been neglected and totally run down. Many visitors have also been robbed and mugged at knife point. The city of Johannesburg needs to revive these places especially now over the festive season. I am not a person who goes crazy over firework displays but I do recall Uncle Ebrahim visiting Nana's home during the festive season with a big box of fireworks that he would light for us. Believe it or not we all use to enjoy the classic Boney M Christmas carols. In fact, my colleague and I had a big laugh this week trying to recall some of the lyrics. This is how I reminisce about the festive season during my childhood. It never made me any less of a Muslim and neither did I change my faith of birth. It simply made me more aware and more understanding towards other people’s culture, faith and tradition. Those were indeed the good old days!

Letter from a prisoner - Jingle bells

As the world gets ready for the festive season, so too do those behind bars. The festive season may be the best time of the year for most; but for prisoners, it is the worst time of the year. 

From the start of December to mid-January; prisons, nationally, run a program known as "Operation Vala." "Vala" literally means to close or lock. In context, it simply means that nothing but essential services occur within the prisons. 

During this period, the prison bells jingle much earlier than they normally do. Prisoners are locked up by noon, instead of the usual 14:30 or even later at some facilities. This means that prisoners are locked in their cells for around 20 hours a day. Wardens thus do not even work for half a day for over a month, not that they do much anyways.

Programs that usually run within the prison come to a halt, the parole board closes, social workers and psychologists are unavailable and even the doctor and dentist do not consult during this period. Unless an inmate is suffering from a , visible, life or death condition; no treatment will be available. One has to just pray that one does not get ill or for a tooth to act up. 

As many people receive bonuses at work, inmates generally receive more visits than usual during this time. Visits are one of the few things  that inmates really look forward to but during this period, even visits leave a bitter taste. Many inmates only see their families from rural areas during the festive season but due to the shutdown of services, requests to receive items from home are not processed timeously; resulting in inmates being unable to receive items such as underwear, shoes or bedding from loved ones. The increase in visitors also results in the visit time being curtailed and  the prison kiosk running out of stock. The prison kiosk also takes advantage of their monopoly by not getting caught up in the festive sales but instead increase their prices.

The worst part about this time of the year is not the physical changes that occur but the battles that inmates have to fight within their minds. Personally, I have always found it tough to not reminisce over the good times I have had during the holidays in the past. Speaking to family and friends, it is always nice to learn of their adventures but one cannot help but feel saddened at the same time. 

To mitigate the effects of the festive season, inmates take greater risk in trying to obtain cellular phones, drugs and alcohol.  This is exacerbated by the fact that wardens are looking to make extra money for their celebrations and thus bring in more contraband than usual. The really desperate wardens will bring in a phone for an inmate and then get a colleague to search the same inmate a few days later. If the phone is found, it is subsequently re-sold to another inmate. 

Those without the outside support to buy illegal items come up with plans to add some merry to their festive season. Homemade beer is brewed by some inmates and then sold to others. A brew is made using water, old bread and rotting fruit. The mixture is made in buckets and left to ferment for as long as possible. Those with tailoring skills spend the extra hours in the cell by transforming prison uniforms, by hand,  into more trendy styles seen in magazines. "Designer," prison uniforms are then sold for R200.00, for a set. The artistic inmates create greeting cards, gift bags, jewelry boxes, paintings and ornaments from whatever scraps they can find within the prison. Items are sold to fellow inmates who then gift the items to their visitors. 

As a Muslim, this time of the year is very frustrating. Muslim and other non-Christian spiritual care workers are not allowed into the prison due to the lock-down, yet Christian inmates have more services than normal with their volunteers coming inside in greater numbers than during the course of the year. Every Friday, it is a fight with management to even get to pray jummuah. One of the things I do admire about the Christians over this time of the year is that they will arrange parcels for all of the inmates who do not receive visits. 

All in all though, the festive season does signify that another year of my sentence is coming to a close. For that and the fact that I do not have to endure repetitive Christmas carols by agonizing non singing voices, I too have reason to be merry. 

Incredible India - My journey part 2

5th October 2017

This morning I awoke to the sound of zikr from the masjid nearby after fajr salaah. Here at every masjid after salaah everyone sits for a loud zikr program and it sounds absolutely fantastic echoing in all directions. The sound of the cockadoodledoo of the chickens seemed to be in competition with the zikr. I opened the door and stepped outside breathing in the fresh mountain air. As the sun began to rise the locals started their days work. The school kids made their way to the main road by hopping a ride on the shikara. 
A few minutes later the houseboat traders were out in full force selling their arts and crafts to tourists as well as to the locals. Our housekeeper Farook bhai and I enjoyed a heart to heart conversation on the balcony as we sipped a hot cup of masala chai. As the rest of the family made their way to the dining room, our personal chef miraculously appeared with a variety of eggs on a tray. After gobbling a hearty breakfast, we then enjoyed a relaxing ride on the shikara through the houseboat neighbourhood. We stopped at a few shops and showrooms appreciating the local arts and crafts like paper mache, wood carving and ofcourse carpet making. People usually go for honeymoon to Switzerland, Europe and to islands but to me Kashmir is undoubtedly one of the most romantic places in the world. This afternoon we were invited for lunch at the home of a family friend. They welcomed us at their palatial home with smiles and warmth and arranged a spread of kashmiri meals. We ended lunch with traditional kashmiri chai and cookies. As it started getting cooler, we made our way to the majestic Mughal Shalimar gardens built by Mugal emperor Jahangir for his wife Noor Jahan. In the vicinity close by is the most stunning garden in the whole of Srinagar, Nishat Bagh. This garden is noted for its beautiful sunsets. We also had the opportunity of performing prayers at the famous Hazratbal masjid. The masjid contains a relic believed by many muslims in kashmir to be the hair of the beloved Prophet Muhammed (saw). I noticed people of all faiths visiting the masjid. Many visit to take vows by tying ribbon pieces on a wall adjacent to the shrine encasing the hair. What I love most about this quaint city is the fact that everyone here resides happily with each other side by side. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, sunnis and shias all live in harmony. I would strongly recommend people to visit this part of the world. They are trying very hard to rejuvenate the tourism industry so that more jobs can be created for the locals. The ongoing political conflict in this part of the world has undoubtedly had a negative impact on the tourism industry and the media certainly do not help the cause either.....To be continued.....