The Truro and Belvedere carrying the first indentured workers to Natal landed in November 1860. The 162nd anniversary of this historic event will be honoured as Indian Arrival Month in Chatsworth.

The activities will centre around the Made in Chatsworth Market at Depot Road Memorial Primary School starting this weekend. A number of organisations including the 1860 Heritage Centre, Durban Book Fair and Sites of Conscience have partnered to put together an exciting programme for the community.

This weekend kicks off with the Chatsworth Book and Film Festival from Friday 4 November until Sunday 6 November.
 
The programme includes film screenings, writers' workshops, talks and book launches. Market organiser Kiru Naidoo said that Saturday evening's screening of the cinema classic Mother India at 7.30pm was sure to bring back memories. "I remember watching the film projected on a bedsheet in the backyard of a neighbour's house," added Naidoo.

Renowned Indian author and activist Dr Sudheendra Kulkarni travels from Bombay to the festival and will speak on Gandhi and the Internet Age at 2pm on Saturday. The backdrop to his talk will be an exhibition on indenture and resistance by the curator of the 1860 Heritage Centre, Selvan Naidoo.

Sunday will see the launch of popular Chatsworth activist, Kumi Naidoo's book, Letters to my Mother at midday. The memoir has attracted national and international attention with a large crowd expected to welcome Kumi Naidoo who had done pathbreaking work on the international stage heading organisations like Greenpeace and Amnesty International.
 
The launch will be followed by the "Superhero of Chatsworth Award" being conferred on legendary medical doctor and co-author of Legends of the Tide, Dr Neelan Govender at 2pm. Even though he is now in his nineties, Dr Govender continues to practice medicine and remains involved in community work.
 
Provisional Programme:

Friday, 4 November 2022

• 19H00: Movie Screening

Saturday, 5 November 2022

• 13H00: Dr Nanda Sooben in conversation with Kiru Naidoo
• 14H00: Dr Sudheendra Kulkarni, Gandhi and the Internet Age
• 17H00 1860 Heritage Centre Documentary on Indenture
• 17H30: The Making of Made in Chatsworth
• 18H00: Film-making workshop by Dr Eubulus Timothy
• 19H30: Film Screening

Sunday, 6 November

• ­­11H00: Book Launch: From Pain to Power to Purpose by Gaishrie Sharon Singh 
• 12H00: Book Launch: Letters to Mother by Kumi Naidoo
• 14H00: Superhero of Chatsworth Award: Dr Neelan Govender

 
The fuller programme will be updated on the Made in Chatsworth Facebook page. All events are free and open to the public. Enquiries may be directed to Kiru Naidoo on 082 940 8163.