Another sorry tale of a sacred place lying in ruins

Durban — This week’s feature on old and new Durban is another sorry tale of a sacred place left lying in ruins.

Sadly, this is the state of affairs at the Cato Manor Garden Chapel.

Writing in our sister title Post in 2018, Janine Moodley said: “Containing a crematorium, an ashram and a chapel, the Cato Manor Indian Cemetery, started by the local Indian folk, was said to have accommodated people of all religious and cultural backgrounds.

“It was one of the first Indian burial sites in Durban, but operations ceased in the 1970s.

“Gravesites dating back to the 1920s have been found.

“The earliest tombstone discovered was from 1928 and belonged to Roonkan Ramwasamy Naidoo, who travelled with his parents from India to South Africa in the 1860s.

“His grandson, 77-year-old pensioner Dasarath Naidoo, who was born in Cato Manor, said he hoped funerals would be conducted there again.

“Dasarath’s nephew, Logan Naidoo, 54, of Newlands West, spoke of his frustration with the destruction of the tombstone, which was constructed of marble.”

Moodley quoted Naidoo as saying: “His tombstone, which had a message engraved by my grandparents, existed until 2013 and was demolished without notification.

“They had no respect for our ancestors. My great-grandparents built schools in the area and had a road named after them. They lived at 79 Roonkan Road in Stella Hill, which now houses UKZN’s Howard College campus.”

Naidoo said: “The site was turned into a commercial spot for people to profit from. It is a far cry from anything resembling what it needs to be.

“It needs to reflect the heritage and the history of the people who lived there, and were buried there.”

The tombstone, discovered in 2003 by a group of workers, read: “In memory of our beloved father, Roonkan Ramwasamy Naidoo. Died 15 August 1928 at age 73. Peace. Perfect Peace. Erected by R Balram Naidoo and Bros.”

In last week’s Sunday Tribune, Taschica Pillay reported on an ongoing legal battle by Durban advocate and environmentalist Kuben Samie to reclaim the cemetery.

Pillay spoke to Raj Naidoo, of Queensburgh, whose great-grandfather was buried at the site in 1928, and said his relative’s tombstone was demolished in 2013.

“We were shocked when we visited the cemetery site and saw the land had been cleared to make way for the storage of shipping containers.

“How is our heritage being preserved? There’s no respect for the dead,” said Naidoo.

Independent on Saturday