Page 69 - MOKAZINE 2 ENG

discover moka
Denyse Gorapah, 54
“The Governor’s house was open”
PP P
X I moved to Moka after getting married.
There wasn’t much in terms of activities and distractions. People used to tell me with an air of superiority, “To res dan vilaz (You are a villager)”. But it felt good to live here! It is a quiet place made up of a mix of different communities, with a very good climate.
I remember that it was easy to go to Reduit by foot. The children often went to visit the Governor’s house. Nowadays, it’s not easy to go to the State House without being invited. P
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Dorothy Rajaram, 65
“We used to cut across the sugarcane fields to go to school”
PP P
X In the 1960s, there was no market or bus station, but there were sugarcane fields everywhere! We had to cut across them to go to school. With my parents, we used to get our groceries from Boutique François – which is still in business by the way – close to the Saint Pierre Church!
The houses were made of wood and sheet metal, with an open veranda. It was only after cyclone Carol that they were replaced by concrete buildings. They had large and spacious yards. When the children were not at school or attending mass, they were playing outside, and very often flying kites. The advent of television in 1970 changed everything.
As a kid, I once went to Naz cinema, which is located a few metres from Snack Mangouste – one of my fondest memories! It isn’t there anymore and we are still waiting to see what will replace it. P