Fancy a capital city with only two sets of traffic lights and a dozen streets? Look no further than Victoria, the capital of Seychelles. The unassuming cosy city of 25,000 is located on Mahe, one of the islands making up the archipelago.
It is a rainy day and the town seems to be deserted. We trudge through the wet park grounds, avoiding muddy puddles between paving stones, towards a few huge collonaded buildings laid out in spacious surroundings with multicoloured long flag-like streamers greeting us. Definitely the mark of an important cultural and administrative centre.
There's a bus stop nearby but the area seems to be deserted. Where are the gleaming glass towers that are a ubiquitous to a modern city. Where are the neon lights? Where are the parking lots or garages? The quiet city spoke volumes of its demure culture.
We sense we are at the town centre as we approach the clock tower, a replica of that at Vauxhall Bridge, London. A colonial reminder.Then come the banks, post office, the courts, travel agencies, etc.
Walking furthur we are delighted to see more of the vibrancy that we are accustomed to in a city. Most buildings, of wood or stone, have balustrades on the second floor. Shutters and facades are painted in bright colours. They remind us of the 60s shop houses in Malaysia.
Unmistakeably Indian
Piqued by the many Indian stores and the aromas from the spices we walk into one and have a conversation with its proprietor who speaks our mother tongue. He tell us that the city is usually quiet, taxes are high and the pay for immigrant employees is inadequate. We are not surprised to see a Hindu Temple tower not far away, very close to the other city centre, Sir Selwyn Seylwin Clarke Market, dominated by a large mango tree. The two storeyed market is closed for the day but a glimpse through the iron gates gives us the unmistakeable colours and odors of an Asian market.
Temple surprise
From a vantage point we admire the colourful tapering temple tower, its height linking man and divine through art, the intricate statuary depicting the various gods and values of Hinduism, before entering the temple. The Navasakthi Vinayagar temple is in need of repairs. The rain has caused leaks in the ceiling and puddles on the floor in spite of pails positioned to catch the drips. The temple priest, musicians and helpers all speak our mother tongue as well. ( The muscian is a graduate who is unable to procure a job befitting his degree.)The temple serves about 5000 Hindus - 2% of the population- living on the island. I was surprised the priest had worked at the Southall temple in London when my cousin was a member of the temple committee. It is a small world after all.
Reflection of a culture
The quietness of the city is explained by the fact the citizens do their marketing early in the morning, specially on a Saturday. Leisure activities happen later on in the day. Besides it is the weekend, when government offices are closed.
Traces of the colonial in rustic charm
Going further up into the residential areas built on the slopes of hills we spy mango trees with lots of fruit temptingly hanging within reach. The houses and their gardens are also typical of Asian residences exuding rustic charm, except that the views, either that of the hillsides or the sea are enviable indeed. We get a good bird's eye view of the bus station before we find ourselves in the driveway of a rambling wood and iron restaurant named Mary Anotoinnette - the oldest restaurant in Seychelles. I don't think the name is supposed to remind us about her beheading! In the garden is a series of cages with fluffy rabbits. Hopefully not to be heheaded for a Creole meal! There are also a few of the endemic turtles in its backyard.
Tortoise mail
On the way back to the ship we spy a replica of the giant tortoise (unique to Seychelles, since these almost extinct creatures survived here because the archipelago is a sanctuary that has few of their predators). It is, ironically, at the entrance to the Post Office! We hope it is not representative of the speed of the mail.
The two churches are also simple with some interesting but modest stain glass windows. 82% of the population is Roman Catholic.
A place like no other - obvious Indian, South Asian, Creole, British presence and co-existence of two major religions of the world.
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