Live online classes in South Africa
Indian culture classesfor families in South Africa.
Sanskrit, shlokas, chanting, the Ramayana and the Gita, storytelling, public speaking, Bharatanatyam and yoga, taught live from India, in small batches, at hours that work in South Africa.
Indian South Africans have been in the country since November 1860, when the first ship carrying indentured workers from India reached Durban. More than a century and a half later, many families have kept the festivals and the prayers while the language behind them has thinned, and that is the most common reason South African parents write to us: a home where the shlokas are recognised but no longer understood. The clock is simple. South Africa is three and a half hours behind India with no daylight saving, so the Indian evening batches land at 3:30 and 4:30 on a weekend afternoon, every week of the year.
Our batches, in South Africa time
Africa/Johannesburg
- Saturday morning8am ISTSat 4:30amin South Africa
- Saturday evening7pm ISTSat 3:30pmin South Africa
- Sunday morning9am ISTSun 5:30amin South Africa
- Sunday evening8pm ISTSun 4:30pmin South Africa
Times are shown for a term-time weekend and follow South Africa's own daylight-saving calendar, so they may shift by an hour in summer. If none of these suit, tell us the hours that do: batches are built around the families who join them.
What families in South Africa can learn
Every class below is open to every age, and every one is taught live in a small batch.
Samskara Seeding
through Culture & ScripturesThe texts, the stories and the customs, taught so a child grows up inside the tradition rather than visiting it once a year. This is the track most families begin with.
Confidence Building
Voice, argument and presenceSpeaking, debating and standing in front of a room. The skills that decide whether what a child knows ever reaches anybody else.
Art & Craft
Dance, drawing and making, in the Indian traditionClassical dance, drawing, painting and making, taught through the forms and festival crafts this culture produced, including live online Bharatanatyam for beginners. Batches are opening now; timings are arranged with the families who join.
Yoga & Wellness
For kids, adults and seniors, and for the back and neck that acheLive online yoga in small batches, taught by qualified teachers in the tradition it comes from. Separate batches for children, adults and older learners, and focused batches for what people actually come to yoga with: back pain, a stiff neck and shoulders, weight, sleep and stress.
- Yoga for Kids
- Yoga for Adults
- Yoga for Seniors
- Yoga for Back Pain
- Yoga for Neck & Shoulder Pain
- Yoga for Stress, Anxiety & Sleep
- Yoga for Weight Loss
- Yoga for Women's Health
- Yoga at Your Desk
- Pranayama & Meditation
For Adults
Gita, sutras, chanting and songAdult batches, taught at adult pace and without any assumption of prior knowledge. Most of these learners are beginners who never had the chance earlier, and evening batches are set with the group.
Where in South Africa?
South Africa spans more than one clock in places, so each city page shows the batch times for that city rather than for the country as a whole.
Taught from India, live
Teachers in Bengaluru, in small batches, with the camera on. Nothing recorded, nothing outsourced to an app.
Built around South Africa hours
Two 45-minute classes a week at a time that works on a school night where you are, not where we are.
English throughout
Instruction is in English. No prior Sanskrit, Hindi or reading of Devanagari is assumed of anybody.
Batches by age
4 to 6years
Learning by ear, through story and repetition
6 to 10years
Sound and meaning together, with reading begun
10 to 15years
Text, grammar and discussion in full
Questions from families in South Africa
Nobody at home speaks an Indian language any more. Can my child still start?
Yes. Teaching is in English throughout and nothing is assumed: most learners start from nothing. A child who already knows some prayers by sound often has the easiest start of all, because the first work is learning what those familiar sounds mean and saying them precisely.
Do the class times change during the year?
No. Neither South Africa nor India observes daylight saving, so the gap holds all year: the Indian evening batches are at 3:30pm on Saturday and 4:30pm on Sunday in South Africa, in January and in July alike.
Is the time the same in Durban and Johannesburg?
Yes. South Africa is on one clock, so the times on this page hold in Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town and everywhere else in the country.
What time are the classes in South Africa?
Our batches run Saturday morning IST (Sat 4:30am in South Africa), Saturday evening IST (Sat 3:30pm in South Africa), Sunday morning IST (Sun 5:30am in South Africa), Sunday evening IST (Sun 4:30pm in South Africa). If none of those suit, tell us the hours that do and we will build a batch around them. We schedule around the learner, not around Indian hours.
Do you have a centre in South Africa?
No, and we would rather say so plainly. Every class is taught live over video by teachers in India, and our office is in HSR Layout, Sector 2, Bengaluru. That is what lets a family in South Africa learn from a teacher who grew up inside this tradition rather than one who is the nearest available.
How do we pay from South Africa?
Fees depend on the batch and how often it meets, and we take international payments. Message us on WhatsApp for the current fee list in your currency. The 30-minute trial class is free, with no payment details taken.
Book a free class from South Africa
Tell us the learner's age, the class that interests you and your city. We will come back with a batch that lands at a sensible hour in South Africa.
Free 30-minute trial class
Teaching families in South Africa.
One free class, a real teacher, and no obligation afterwards.
Or call +91 91803 77502 · Mon to Sat, 9am to 8pm IST
Questions before you book?
Message us with your city and the learner's age. WhatsApp is free from South Africa and is how most of our families reach us.