No rest for the weary: weekend in review

Today we're about to head out to Marian Hill Monestary, which was a big source of inspiration for Gandhi, especially around the creation of his intentional communities, like Phoenix. This has been a busy weekend, and I am looking forward to having a more relaxed visit to the Monastery. On Friday night we Skyped Christina and Dad, back in Waterloo. Dad was scheduled to fly to Vancouver on Sunday, and so we are now waiting to hear back from him.

On Saturday we made a trip to City Hall, where Mum had given an address years ago, during the height of apartheid, to the Catholic Youth of Durban. It was a gutsy thing for the Church to do at the time: Archbishop Hurley was on the stage, and Mum wore a white sari. Later, we visited St. Anthony's Church. Vincent Lawrence was instrumental in founding St. Anthony's, and many of my relatives here were educated in the adjacent school. Finally, we made a trip to Durban's Botanical Gardens, most of which was off-limits to Indians during Apartheid. We ended Saturday night with a celebration of Graeme's birthday. The family had organized a typical South African "braai," and, in Indian fashion, the men were all outside around the bri, and the women were largely inside. The food was fabulous.

On Sunday we interviewed Hassam Seedat. Mr. Seedat was an anti-apartheid activist, and also has an extensive Gandhi library. After the interview, he was good enough to show me his amazing Cycad garden. He even showed me how to propagate these rare plants. We also looked at a number of pictures, including of him and Farida, when they got married, as well as a picture of his newborn son, taken when Mr. Seedat was in prison for his anti-apartheid activities (he saw his newborn son for the first time in prison).

You can see all the pictures from this weekend here.