Page 65 - CAO 25th Ann Coffee Table Book

In time, I met my husband and completed an MBA. And then it came: the call from Carte Blanche – they wanted to give me a try. My first year was a disaster; they only gave me three stories that entire year. I understood that the producers in Jo’burg didn’t want to take a big risk on someone they didn’t know but there was more to it than that. Whenever I told someone I worked for Carte Blanche, they told me that I didn’t have the right look, that I was too short, that I sounded too Indian. I began to think about all the things I would need to change about myself to be on this ‘white’ TV programme.
That’s when I realised that I wasn’t being true to myself. I was holding back, I wasn’t bringing radio Devi to Carte Blanche. So I decided that 2003 was going to
be my make-or-break year. I was going to be Devi with the red dot on her forehead, speaking the way she does and dressing the way she does. I was going to get Carte Blanche and South Africa to trust me.
I found a story about drivers’ licence fraud at the Rossburgh Testing Ground. We had undercover footage of a man selling the answers for learner’s licences, so we went to investigate. I decided that if I saw the man from the footage and he ran, I’d chase him, even if the cameras were rolling. And that’s exactly what I did, screaming at him to stop. That’s the story that put me on the map. For the first time, people saw an Indian woman who was prepared to do whatever it took to get the story. I had showed SA the real Devi. From then on,
I was holding back, I wasn’t bringing radio Devi to Carte Blanche. So I decided that 2003 was going to be my make-or-break year. I was going to be Devi with the red dot on her forehead, speaking the way she does and dressing the way she does. I was going to get Carte Blanche and South Africa to trust me.
I knew that I couldn’t and wouldn’t change who I was based on people’s idea of who I should be. I could never be anyone other than myself.
I believe that we’re too weighed down by cultural, racial and lingual identity. These things don’t define us; they don’t dictate our success. I believe that we need to redefine our vision of success, starting with: who we are. I was lucky. I grew up knowing I was female but thinking I could do anything, be anything. Today, we need to pay attention to the way we raise our children and our grandchildren. We need to make sure that no matter what, they know that they can make a valuable contribution. We need to empower them to create their own possibility.
Thank you.
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