Dear Ahmedbhai, Dear Zuleikhabehn The Letters of Zuleikha Mayat and Ahmed Kathrada, 1979-1989

In this collection of letters between a South African political prisoner and a community organizer in Durban, two people who have never met become dear friends during the last decade of apartheid. Ahmed Kathrada is being held in Robben Island when he sends a letter to a former flat mate and receives a reply from the man's sister, Zuleikha Mayat, the "Betty Crocker" of South Africa and the editor of the best-selling cookbook Indian Delights. Virtual strangers, these two have in common their small-town Transvaal childhoods, and they find much to explore in their different approaches to culture, politics, and religion. The letters are written with wit and style as they discuss both the issues of the day and the sustenance found in memory.