Victoria Street Market

SITUATED in central Durban, Victoria Street Market started off to provide for the needs of the Indian community.

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It was built by the Durban Town Council in 1910, and was gutted by fire in 1973.

It then officially reopened in July 1990, making the market appealing to tourists due to its infrastructure. The price of stalls depends on whether the market vendor owns the store or rents it by size from the city.

Nandha Pillay, 75, from Unit 13 in Phoenix, has worked at the market since he was 18 years old.

“At the time, I lived in Chatsworth with my sister. She asked a neighbour to help find me a job. After a few days, I went to the market with him, and ended up working for him and his family for 25 years until I opened my own shop,” said Pillay.

The shop is called Pillay’s Curios.

“Because of that shop, I built a beautiful house and my three daughters are educated. One has a PhD in science, another is a teacher, and the third is in human resources.”

But he had to adapt to a changing economy over the years.

“I had three shops with 10 employees, but I had to downsize due to financial issues 10 years ago,” said Pillay, a tenant on the property.

He said people often browsed, but hardly bought anything, or they were afraid to go to the market as they believed it was unsafe. The infrastructure was also crumbling.