Jaffar Houssain Sobha: Preserving Mauritian Heritage Through Photography

For nearly fifty years, Jaffar Houssain Sobha has captured Mauritius through a thoughtful and deeply personal lens. Camera in hand, he has documented the faces, places, traditions and everyday scenes that form part of the island’s cultural heritage.

His passion for photography began the first time he held a camera and has never faded. Over the decades, Jaffar has built a remarkable collection of images recording a Mauritius in constant transformation. Determined to preserve and share this visual memory, he has even turned part of his home into a museum, where photographs and objects bring the island’s past back to life.

His first book, Flashback, published by Éditions Vizavi, pays tribute to Mauritius in earlier times. Through his photographs, he shares memories, stories and fragments of a heritage he is committed to protecting from being forgotten.

Travel-Îles meets a Mauritian photographer driven by one clear purpose: to preserve the memory of his island and pass it on to future generations.