Out, about down under

 In the shallow surf a baptismal ceremony is taking place. Two people standing in the waves accept a third and deftly dip him or her under the water.  Further down the beach a group of young men are dancing and chanting in the waves.  Every now and again one of them dunks into the surf and re-emerges to join the chanting dancers.  Are they a sports team?  A religious group? Its hard to tell from my birds eye view 16th floor balcony but it is good to see the public beach being used for so many things.   Dozens of surfers ride their boards into the early sun speckled water.  Runners, joggers and cyclists exercise along the long promenade – recently beautified for the World Cup. My hotel also overlooks the spectacular Moses Mabhida Stadium which dwarfs the Brian Boswell circus – relic from another age with its stained big top, laager of caravans  and a couple of elephants grazing outside.
I am in Durban for the Durban International Film Festival – now the largest in South Africa  – screening almost 300 films over 10 days.  How wonderful it is to enjoy a real cinema again with a clean modern screen, plush curtains, comfortable seats and a diverse and enthusiastic audience. Apparently development is on the cards back home for Joina City to become a haven for high end digital cinema. Lets hope so!
Festivals are about feting – and almost every evening we are treated to a cocktail party. Opening was in a huge marquee bordering the beach with maybe 1000 guests. Food seemed a dim hope until we figured how to put ourselves in the direct path of waiters laden with trays of interesting canapés – baby beef burgers, bite sized bunny chows, tiny kebabs, smoked salmon stacks and deep fried prawns. Another party featured extensive sushi and I am making the most of that, including some on offer daily at the substantial hotel buffet lunch as part of the cold salad and starter selection. With ocean views on two sides and a horizon full of ships waiting to come to the docks for offloading, there’s a lot to keep you in the dining room.
But what would Durban be without an authentic curry? So I was lucky to have a friend take me away from the tourist Esplanade to her favourite Indian haunt – Palki – specialising in South Indian food.  Painted in dark red with Taj Mahal mosaics on the walls the restaurant is run by a family originally from India.  The division of the menu into ‘veg’ and ‘non-veg’ is a sure sign of the Indian ‘Indian’ origin. A Bollywood film playing on the flat screen added to the atmosphere.
My friend is a regular and I just put myself into her hands, barely considering the menu. We started with onion bhaji and very special chicken parathas – the street food of southern India where dough is worked and layered before being spread with ghee and cooked quickly on hot flat metal discs over open fires. Ours were chicken and chillie and lovely to snack on accompanied by a cold bottle of chardonnay and plenty of straight tap water. Nice to know it’s clean and drinkable!
Highlight was the Chettinad crab – whole crab cooked in a spicy mix of tamarind and garlic with spices crushed rather than powdered and lots of garlic.
A meal for two – one large main dish served with basmati rice, and two substantial starters was  R300  (about US$37) and included the nice chardonnay (R85 US$10).
– g.jeke@yahoo.com