Love takes many forms on a day as special as Mother’s Day; a time when mothers, grandmothers, aunts and motherly figures are acknowledged for their value in society.
This Mother’s Day, Rivonia Naidu-Hoffmeester was inspired by her daughter’s love for her grandfather, the late Dr RD Naidu, who played an active role in his community and in the anti-apartheid struggle as a freedom fighter. The family recently paid a visit to the road named after him in Asherville, which serves as a remembrance to the great man’s legacy.
Dr Ramsamy Dorasamy Naidu, affectionately known as ‘RD’, died on 26 April 1990 while addressing students at the then University of Durban-Westville. Described as a militant revolutionary and freedom fighter, Dr Naidu was invited by the students to support and address an important struggle-related rally, just two and a half months after Nelson Mandela was released from prison, and after the ANC, Communist Party and other similar organisations were unbanned in February 1990.
History records that when the fiery Dr Naidu got up to speak, he received a thunderous ovation for his unwavering commitment and involvement in the struggle on behalf of workers, political organisations, civic bodies and non-racial sporting federations. Mid-way through his speech, Dr Naidu collapsed and died. His death was unexpected.
Forty-year-old Rivonia said that her father’s Remembrance Day was a special one this year, because in the photo that she took beneath the road sign, she was with her six-year-old daughter, Madison-Sophia, and expecting her second baby. This photo depicts so much love and intergenerational connectedness.
“This is a very special moment for me because I’m pregnant here with our second child who will have the initials ‘RD’ just like my dad. In fact, we have already started calling him RD; it’s just another way for my dad’s legacy to continue, both through his grandson and granddaughter.
“My daughter calls him ‘Thatha RD’. Thatha is a Tamil word meaning grandfather and I find it so endearing. When she was six months old, we took her to see the road name for the first time and now we went back when she is six years old and it’s heartwarming to watch her learn about him and understand more as she gets older.
“When she saw the road name this time around, she said it makes her sad but happy at the same time as it means she will have something to remember him by forever.
“For me, that’s what makes this special. Seeing his name on a road in an area that he lived in and raised his family, his eight kids from his first marriage and then myself with my mom; and then watching how my daughter interprets what she is seeing and learning about him – it’s the intergenerational connectedness of having something like this to remember him by.”
Rivonia was seven years old when Dr Naidu passed away, however, she said the road named after him gives her some comfort.
“My dad gave so much of himself, sacrificing a lot of his family time as well, towards the struggle. He never got to reap the benefits of what he fought for. He never got to vote, he never got to contribute further and continue with the new government in shaping the new South Africa they all fought tirelessly for. Therefore, it’s important for us to have this road named after him. It’s comforting knowing that he is acknowledged in some way and will be forever.”
This year marks 33 years since Dr Naidu’s passing and Rivonia said that each year, she finds new meaning in the anniversary of her dad’s passing.
“I always say that I’ve learnt so much from my dad even though he died when I was just seven years old. I have learnt from his legacy, what he contributed to, and what he stood for; all of this remains with me. I never want what my dad committed himself to during the struggle and what he sacrificed to be forgotten and so I talk about him and memorialise him in every way that I can; from conversations with my daughter, explaining things to her at her level so she can understand, to documenting his life’s narratives in various ways.
“I also can’t wait to share his life’s stories with my son. This year, I thought of how my father would have felt, knowing that my husband and I have chosen to name our son after him. I would like to think that he would be proud,” said Rivonia.
Dr Naidu was a first-generation descendant of indentured sugarcane labourers. He was born near the Umgeni River Mosque in Durban in 1914 and his involvement in the struggle began at an early age when he started work as a van boy at the Bakers Limited company at the age of 17. He initiated the formation of a union of bakery workers and thereafter his involvement in labour and social struggles intensified.
Dr Naidu became involved with the Communist Party (known today as the South African Communist Party), the Natal Indian Congress (NIC), other trade union organisations, social and civic organisations as well as anti-apartheid sporting bodies.
In the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Dr Naidu became well-known for his outspoken commitment to the non-racial cause in organisations such as the United Democratic Front (UDF), South African Council of Sport (SACOS), National Sports Congress (NSC) and local organisations such as the Durban Housing Action Committee, David Landau Community Centre and the Asherville Ratepayers’ Association.
Because of Dr Naidu’s sacrifices in the struggle for a free and non-racial South Africa, the Durban municipality in 2008 re-named Stanley Copley Drive in Asherville as Dr RD Naidu Drive.
The Naidu family join management and staff of Springfield Weekly Gazette in wishing all mothers and maternal figures a blessed, safe and beautiful day this Mother’s Day on 14 May.
