In this post I look inside the February/March 1973 issue of The 1860 Settler magazine. The cover features Rajesh Khanna, the Bollywood heart-throb of the day, and his co-star Asha Parekh.
For more background on the magazine, click here
INSIDE
The 1860 Settler Magazine featured many adverts with local Indian celebrities. The Omo advert above shows the family of the famous golfer Papwa Sewgolum, as well as Gail Naidoo, whose father, Tony Harris was the leader of the popular Blue Ricks band.
One of the valuable things that the Settler offered South African Indians was a chance to see and identify with people that looked like them. Whether it was a sari queen, a housewife or a sportsman, the act of representation was an important one. At that time, South African women’s magazines in particular offered up image after image of white, western beauty ideals. These adverts in the Settler offered a more relatable view of the world.
Bollywood movies and its melodramatic heroes have long fascinated South African Indians. This interview with the actor, Sanjay Khan must have proved insightful to many people.
The letters from readers (alongside) were a regular feature of the magazine and offered an insight into how it was viewed by its audience. Mrs. P. Jairaj, for example claimed that it lacked a strong Indian character and believed that there were too many white models in the adverts. Praise and criticism both appear but it seems as if the Settler still remained popular.
RESOURCES
The 1860 Settler Magazine, Feb /March 1973.
Curating Culture 
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