It is in the lush life. The hustle and bustle of its inhabitants and the sound of serenity that meets the sensorium unlike any utopia you’ve imagined. There is a reason why the locals promote the mantra: “maweer.” This is also where the proverb originated: “Marry someone who will love and fight over you like your Auntie does with her Tupperware.” (I mean – not even Plato himself could construct such wisdom and knowledge). This is where the monotonous reality ignites into a kaleidoscope of colours: scattering fractals into the observer’s imagination.
The story starts with the a routine task, the first First Thursday. It has become a type of caucus where Culture meets Cape Town. Every local and those with imagination have the opportunity to observe the artists’ seasonal preferences. The fun part for me, however: observing the observers. A wallflower, if you must.
It is almost the same as restaurant or church hopping, or maybe even pub crawling, but walking upright but the category is exceptionally different. It is organized chaos as a tapestry of cultures gather for the evening on this Thursday. We are always a hand-picked group strolling from one location to the next. Laughter dances from the walls and a piano usually stands in one corner – playing jazz of some sort and the walls become the sanctuary for observers. Thinking back, it reminded me of something I only stumbled upon recently: fractals: a description of something partly random and chaotic phenomena. What I am thinking of is not a geometrical figure. It is the figurative ability to see a pattern in the chaotic phenomena.
The cultures, perspectives and belief systems that create this phenomenon of Cape Town and the magic in First Thursdays. It is a unit, a pattern of some sort. All interlinked and intertwined in the capital’s CBD. It is truly absurd and absolute chaos when you stand back and wonder where all the springs of creativity originated, but that truth will remain unknown.
And that is where the question originated: What if, in some absurd reality, Cape Town is a fractal in itself?
Please note: This is not about science, but it was written after a glass of something too many.