WOMAN OF MANY TALENTS

My research is not philosophical, its relevant. It’s real stuff,” says sociologist and anthropologist, Dr Sheetal Bhoola, who, charismatic and passionate, goes by many titles – including academic, radio presenter, master of ceremonies, mother and wife. Her recent nomination as a finalist for the sixth Woman of Stature Awards in Education crystallised all this in what she describes as a humbling and beautiful experience. At the awards ceremony on March 8, she realised that she was actually one of the youngest nominees amongst some stellar women who have made massive contributions to their country. This has inspired her to do even more, including attain her full professorship within the next five years.

Raised in Port Elizabeth, Dr Bhoola arrived in Durban at the age of 19. “Both my parents were entrepreneurs and were hardworking, so as I young child, I was taught the value of perseverance, dedication and commitment,” she explains. This was a perfect fit with the world of academia and she began tutoring within the Department of Sociology as a young student. But her real introduction to what was to become her future career came when she was awarded a scholarship to do her master’s degree by three universities

LA LUCIA’S DR SHEETAL BHOOLA WEARS MANY HATS – SOCIOLOGIST, ANTHROPOLOGIST, ACADEMIC, RADIO PRESENTER, MC, MOTHER AND WIFE – BUT FIRST AND FOREMOST SHE BELIEVES IN THE POWER OF BEING A GOOD HUMANITARIAN, WRITES SHIRLEY LE GUERN

– the University of KwaZuluNatal, the Albert Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany, and the Jawarlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India. In 2006 she began lecturing at UKZN as well as doing research. Projects produced at that time included the environmental assessment impact report for the Dube TradePort and King Shaka International Airport. Her PhD followed in 2015.

But this came with massive challenges, not least of which was having her first son in 2012 just before she was to begin writing her thesis. Little Pranay was premature and remained in hospital for three months. Today he is a healthy sevenyear-old. A second son followed in 2016, but sadly passed away after just nine days.

Despite her heartache and a number of health challenges, she nevertheless continued with her academic career, publishing widely in international peer-reviewed journals as well as contributing to several books.

Balancing work and family hasn’t been easy, she admits.

She often wakes up at 4am to do her research. Evenings and weekends are for family but, during the week, she remains very focused on building her career.

“I have had the honour of being a post-doctoral fellow at UKZN and, recently, I have been recruited by the prestigious Andrew Mellon Foundation as their research fellow on the critical food studies project which is run by the University of Pretoria, the University of Western Cape and UKZN. I recently was also invited to be part of the advisory council of the National Research Foundation Board of Humanities and Social Sciences,” she adds.

At the same time, she has enjoyed presenting her research at many local and international conferences as well as sharing her thoughts on the vagaries of human

ABOVE: Mr Sheetal Bhoola with her husband and son.

I am a spiritual person and believe in the power of being a good humanitarian

behaviour on Radio Lotus. Many of these shows are central to her research on the migration of international brides within the Indian diaspora, the local tourism industry and culinary tourism in Durban.

In addition to her academic career, Dr Bhoola has also followed in her parents’ entrepreneurial footsteps. “As a young girl, I had the opportunity to present on the AUM programme for SABC which also stimulated my passion for the stage. I pursued being an entrepreneur in 2005 and began an event co-ordination and compèring business known as MadamMC.”

Through this, she has shared stages with the likes of the late Ahmed Kathrada, Prince Buthelezi, Pravin Gordhan and other newsmakers.

Most of all, Dr Bhoola is a philanthropist at heart and has worked with a number of non-profit organisations doing everything from coordinating and compèring events to cooking and making sandwiches.

“I am a spiritual person and believe in the power of being a good humanitarian. I love entertaining and enjoy connecting with individuals from all walks of life. I also believe in growing and learning from others and that, through varying connections with people, you learn more about yourself. I believe strongly in travelling and challenging myself to engage in different experiences. I’ve hiked in India and gone scuba diving in the great barrier reefs in Australia and learnt to snowboard in Germany.”

In her spare time, Dr Bhoola loves baking, cooking, going to the beach, playing chess and reading.

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