Postscript

So I spotted Mahendra again on Top Billing yesterday, and was struck by two points that had hitherto escaped my attention:

1. Apparently The Raghunath is "co-authouring a book on black African dramatists". In all seriousness, I can't wait to have a read. I wonder when it will be published and, also, who the co-author is?

2. His hair. I must say I found Mahendra's helmut hair after his race much more becoming than the usual '50s do he favours for his newsreading alter ego. I think his stylist needs to expand his repertoire.

And, on the matter of hair, how very fitting that the Raghunath featured on the very same Top Billing episode that also covered the most recent South African revival of the eponymous musical.

Which brings to mind the lyrics of the song, 'My Conviction'; please humour me in quoting most of them verbatim:

I would just like to say that it is my conviction
That longer hair and other flamboyant affectations
Of appearance are nothing more
Than the male's emergence from his drab camoflage
Into the gaudy plumage
Which is the birthright of his sex

There is a peculiar notion that elegant plumage
And fine feathers are not proper for the male
When ac---tually
That is the way things are
In most species

'Flamboyant affectations'?! I'm convinced that Mahendra must have been an ardent Hair fan in his wild student days, and has taken this advice to heart, or rather, to tie.

Mahendra gets top billing!

I don't really watch much television, aside of course for the news. But this evening, just after I'd flicked the set off, I received a phone call from a very excited fellow Mahendra spotter.

"Mahendra's going to be on Top Billing tonight," she said. After phoning various other Mahendra addicts, I had a moment or two to calm down, and there he was, not Mahendra the newsreader, but Mahendra the racer! He truly is a man of many facets.

I'm sure you're all dying to know details, but I think the full posting belongs to RK, the creative genius behind the blog.

For now, a quiz. Is the dominant colour in Mahendra's favourite tie:
a. orange,
b. red,
c. gold, or
d. all of the above?

As a final note, am thrilled that Top Billing has picked up on the Mahendra's Ties phenomenon. But to give credit where credit is due, this is not the first press the blog has received - The Cape S*n entertainment pages ran the story a couple of weeks ago. Will post a copy of the article as soon as I stop being slack and get round to scanning it in.