The last ‘Peru and Bala’ show is hosted on Lotus FM

‘Peru and Bala’ is a comedic duo played by Vikash Mathura and Ray Maharaj, which is hugely popular amongst the South African Indian Community. Mathura and Maharaj were radio presenters on Lotus FM and they began featuring ‘Peru and Bala’ (personas of two old men) for ten minutes every Saturday morning on their ‘Weekend Lift Off’ show. They produced no less than 850 episodes for Lotus FM over a period of 17 years until they announced their retirement from radio in 2014. The ‘Peru and Bala’ characters were so popular that Mathura and Maharaj were able to build a brand around it, hosting lives shows, producing CDS, going on tours and publishing a best-selling book.  The ‘Peru and Bala’ comedy acts serve as a significant reminder to South African Indians of their past in this country, because it made fun of cultural and domestic issues that largely resonated with many people of Indian descent.