The tragedy of Sewsunker "Papwa'' Sewgolum: This is Sewsunker "Papwa'' Sewgolum accepting the Natal Open golf trophy in 1965 at the club parking lot. This was because as a man of color, Papwa was not allowed entry inside the club (1/n)
This image is one of the most powerful images of the apartheid era and caused much embarrassment to the then SAF govt. Papwa Sewgolum was born to poor Indian parents around 1928. His childhood was spent in foraging fields & forests in search of food (2/n)
It was while on such a search that he walked onto a golf club & fell in love with the sport instantly. He would go onto become a caddy when he was spotted by Graham Wulff, the founder of Olay & an amateur golfer (3/n)
Realising Papwa's talent, Wulff took him to Europe as he wasn't allowed to participate in whites only golf tourneys in SAF. Papwa ended up winning the Dutch Open twice. It forced SAF authorities to let him play in Natal Open in 1960 (4/n)
Vindicating the decision, Papwa won the title in 1963 defeating 103 competitors, all White. In 1965, he won it again when the above image was taken. Sadly, Papwa's new found fame was increasingly an embarrassment for the regime (5/n)
He was debarred from participating in domestic tournaments & his passport was also confiscated, thus closing the doors of international circuit as well. A practically illiterate man, Papwa only ever learnt one thing and that was to play golf (6/n)
He died in abject poverty, not yet 50, in 1978 - a folk hero. Today, Durban has a public course named after him (Image from litnet.co.za) (7/n)

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