Uncovering the history of Durban’s Raj Cinema

ON READING Haresh Ouderajh’s eloquent tribute to the late “Raj” Bodasing, the POST, October 1-5, it came as a revelation to me that the Raj Cinema in Durban was named after this late visionary entrepreneur and lawyer.

- HARRY SEWLALL

I did not know this illustrious personality, but I am familiar with the family name which hails from northern KwaZulu-Natal. I used to mark matric English exam papers with a colleague bearing the surname, Bodasing.

As a youth growing up in Durban, I can safely say that I spent more quality time in the cinemas than I did at high school - an admission that got me into trouble often with my teachers and almost expelled at one stage. So I was astonished to discover that the Raj Cinema was named after an Indian, given that this cinema never screened a Hindi or Tamil film in the years I lived in Durban.