Bala’s second book (coming last quarter, 2021) is a memoir of an Australian who began life as an Indian South African. It is a compelling, personal account of life under Apartheid, and his fraught journey across Africa, Europe, Asia and, eventually, Australia in search of belonging and a sense of self beyond the toxic constraints of race, colour and class.

Advance Praise

It’s a fabulous journey through geographical spaces in Durban, in Africa, England, Europe, Asia and Australia.  A wonderfully rich if somewhat difficult life.

Uma Dhupelia-Mesthrie, author & editor of From Cane Fields to Freedom.

Alongside the unprecedented state of the world, what better time to read this rolling and inspiring life story.  I found it detailed and open hearted.

Hazel Carey, author of Ubuntu: My Life in Other People

This is an honest and riveting biography of Bala Mudaly, a Durban born son of a working-class family, growing up under apartheid. This book is a valuable addition to the growing body of literature on the experiences of second generation descended of Indian indentured workers.

Omar Badsha, Founder & CEO of South African History Online

Bala’s short story collection is entitled Colours of Hope and Despair.

This debut collection of poems and short stories explores varied themes, moods, genres and voices. In literature as in life, the boundary between what is real and what is imagined may be tenuous.

Equally, hope and despair may be co-related experiences. So loss and despair in some stories and poems in this collection give way to hope and possibilities

Bala is a psychologist and retired only this year at the age of 80. Oakleigh has been his home for the past 29 years, since he migrated from South Africa with his wife. Bala is partial to writing essays and short stories, which are usually set in Oakleigh and surrounding suburbs. He took up writing as a hobby two years ago when he noticed a slow decline in his spelling and creative writing skills. He is particularly fascinated with how characters in fiction come into being, take on a persona of their own, and often outlive their creator.