South Africa mourns Ramprakash Gopidayal who pioneered TV, radio programmes for local Indian community

South African Indian media figure Ramprakash Gopidayal, fondly known as Ramu, received tributes on Friday following his passing from illness just the day before. Gopidayal, an introverted and camera-shy individual, kickstarted the first Indian community television programme, Impressions, on the national broadcaster South African Broadcasting Corporation during the apartheid era.

He initially joined the SABC as its first Indian-origin technician in 1980. With the decline of apartheid, the SABC launched Impressions, a weekly magazine programme focused on the Indian community, in 1986, for which Gopidayal took on the challenge of creating it from the ground up. As the programme's executive producer, he achieved remarkable success, offering young Indian-origin women their first opportunities as TV stars in South Africa.

Beyond the TV work, Gopidayal also managed the Kamal Sungeeth band at the SABC radio station's Indian community radio, Radio Lotus. Initially created to archive scarce Indian recordings, the band was later taken on roadshows across the country, establishing a national profile for singers who had never had such opportunities before.

Gopidayal also initiated the first-ever Indian songwriting competition in five main South African languages - Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, and Telugu. This competition catapulted songwriters from across the country to overnight national stardom. Gopidayal not only shaped Impressions but also played a pivotal role in creating a flagship television programme showcasing South African Indian culture, music, news, and community stories.

This platform served as a crucial vehicle for local Indian-origin musicians, artists, and cultural figures to gain national exposure during a period of severely limited media representation for the community. After leaving the SABC, Gopidayal ventured into the cellphone industry and even ran a successful business there. He also briefly served as the Station Manager at Hindvani, the first radio station exclusively catering to the Hindi-speaking community in South Africa.