• For Part One of this article, see The “Indian Quarter” of the Durban CBD - Part One.

• For Part Two of this article, see The “Indian Quarter” of the Durban CBD - Part Two.

Walk from Yusuf Dadoo Street through the Ajmeri or Madressa arcades and you will come to the appropriately named Cathedral Road. Turn right and you will be faced with the mighty Catholic Church - the St. Emmanuel’s Cathedral. But in the cheek-by-jowl multi-cultural give-and-take that the Indian Quarter has become, you will have to first pass the iconic Manjra’s Café where all classes lined up and still do, for its signature dhall and rice. It is only for those with a strong body constitution for the dhall can cause tummy rumbles. The name “Manjra” is synonymous with traditional Indian Muslim cuisine and for decades no wedding of note took place without Solly Manjra cooking the main dish.

Waltz into Paheli Kingdom and take delight in a modern-day fairytale whose characters: the wicked King Jafar; the egotistical, ‘super-cool’ Prince Zaydan; and the charismatic, naïve Latifah are oh so real!

Mehndi application is a tradition inherited from the Indian subcontinent, encouraged in Islam as a sunnah (tradition of Prophet Muhammad pbuh), and a big part of pre-Eid, Diwali and wedding festivities in many Indian homes.

• For Part One of this article, see The “Indian Quarter” of the Durban CBD - Part One.

Diagonally across the road to the right from “Red Square” are the Ajmeri and Madressa arcades. They are in reality tiny lanes filled with a multitude of shops whose goods spew out onto the narrow pathway. One wonders if this is not a canny way to ensure that informal traders do not trespass! Old crafts and past times still linger. “Record King” plies a trade in vinyl with copies of The Temptations and Earth, Wind and Fire with tattered original covers snatched up at basement prices by aficionados. There is one watch repairer left in the arcades, squeezed into a shop window, seemingly oblivious to the times we live in. It was here that housewives once bargained for quality “India pots”, aghar batti (incense), plastic utensils and intricately designed gold jewellery.  It was here too that the most sought after tailors (darjees) got the measure of their clients and many a father bought his son the popular hand crafted carom boards, a wonderful past time before the age of the internet and cellphones.