Yes, you're living on Jo'burg highest point: the Observatory ridge, adjacent to Urania Village, is at 1 808 metres above sea level, just 1 metre higher than Northcliff ridge and 27 metres higher than Linksfield ridge.
 And Johannesburg acknowledged its highest point in an unusual way: with a monument commemorating the little-recognised contribution of Indians in the South African War of 1899 to 1902.
The elegant sandstone monument was installed in 1902 and bears the inscription: "To the memory of British Officers, Natives, NCOs and Men, Veterinary Assistants, Nalbands, and Followers of the Indian
Army".
The copper lightning conductor on top of the monument was recently stolen, but has been replaced with an 18m high galvanised steel mask, placed several metres from the monument. Being the highest point in the city, the ridge is particularly vulnerable to lightning strikes.
Vandalised almost since the time it was placed on the ridge, within a year the inscriptions were covered in graffiti and the fence was broken. By 1960 the lead lettering had been removed and in the late 1980s some of the marble tablets were smashed. Originally written in Urdu, Hindi and English, only the English inscription still exists.
Built at the end of the war, in 1902, it is probably Joburg's first war monument. It consists of an obelisk cut from the ridge's sandstone, offering spectacular views of both the southern and northern suburbs. It honours Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Muslims and Zoroastrians who died during the war.
 The monument soon after it was built in 1902
remembered in a memorial on the Observatory ridge and a grave in the Braamfontein Cemetery - they are described on the tombstone as "Indian details".
At the time, the Indian Army officers were British subjects and about 9 000 men were brought from India to serve in a non-combative capacity as stretcher bearers, veterinary assistants, farriers (nalbands), grooms, water and ammunition carriers.
Eric Itzkin, the deputy director of immovable heritage in the City's arts and culture department, contends that the Indian Army was the biggest foreign contingent. It "helped turn the tide of the war".
During the South African War the Indians were "the engine of the war in many ways - they performed a critical function", says Itzkin.
They have never been recognised for their contribution, however, because of a reluctance on the part of the British military to "acknowledge the extent to which they relied on people of colour to bolster their power".
The city's tallest ridges are:
Observatory ridge: 1 808m
Northcliff (Blackheath): 1 807m
Langermans: 1 789m
Northcliff (Quellerina): 1 787m
Linksfield: 1 781m
Gillooly's: 1 731m
Posted 9 December 2005. Adapted from an article by Lucille Davie at www.joburg.org.za
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