JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, Aug. 17, 2001: It is because of the efforts of the Siva Gnana Sabay that Saivism thrives in the mainly Indian residential area of Lenasia, the township south of Johannesburg that was created under apartheid to forcibly resettle the Indians of the Greater Johannesburg area. Today the organization that started out in a small way in 1969 runs two temples, a nursery school and a pre-school, as well as facilities for weddings and social events. It runs a Tamil school on Saturdays that has growing enrollment, as parents want their children to learn about their roots. Music classes are conducted immediately after the Tamil classes, where children learn to play Indian musical instruments like the harmonium, tabla and mridingam. In the afternoon members of the women’s wing of the Sabay get together to discuss charity projects.
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