There were two reasons that I was in Africa. The first one was that the mountain is there. I contend that every good journey involves a mountain high enough that it keeps a piece of you with it after you think you’ve gotten off. On top of the mountain is a doomed glacier of storied beauty that I needed to see before it melted into just a “once upon a time” memory described in a book or by an old man. The second reason I had long desired to come here was that my mother was born in East Africa (Uganda) and I wanted to feel a trace of what she once knew. Being under this sky, on this land, the pidgin that is Swahili ringing in my ears, I sought to better understand some part of her that ended when she was a teenager, a part that remained an unearthed root of my life.
Dar
The South Asian quarter (Uhindini) of Dar es Salaam is where you want to be if you have only one night in one of East Africa’s largest cities and you blog for a South Asian themed website whose readers expect you to work around the clock. It is also where the food is the best mix of Indian, Chinese, and East African. The gem dealer from Sri Lanka recognizes us as fellow guests of the dingy hotel. Your first night in a country should always be spent at a dingy hotel, otherwise you won’t learn how things in that country really work (such as how much cab fares to locations in the city should really cost). He tips us off to the fact that the best money exchange can be found next to the mosque at the end of that street. A good restaurant (I have the mutton) is directly next door to the hotel. The 34-year-old sits down with us at dinner and explains that if we want to find nice girls (why aren’t we married yet?) all we have to do is provide them with a little jewelry and some spending money. He swears that those two things will keep them satisfied and they won’t ever talk of divorce. I decide to keep my “blood diamond speech” under wraps just this once, even though Africa is the most appropriate place for it.
The Muslim friend I’m with tells me to stick with him for protection in this part of town. Five minutes later and three blocks north we pass the Pramukh Swami BAPS mandir, services just ending. “Your on my turf now,” I tell him.
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p>Closer to the hotel again, it sounds like some bar or disco is playing Bob Marley. Sweet. I wanted to check out a bar here anyways and this one apparently has good music blaring on a Saturday night. As we get closer to the source I see that the music I am hearing is in fact emanating from a large group of women sitting on a mosque floor. Yeah, it definitely wasn’t Buffalo Soldier I was hearing. It is probably not polite for me to keep staring like this either. Indian Point
There are two categories of routes that go up Kilimanjaro: the Coca Cola routes and the Whiskey Routes. Neither class of route is considered easy, given that the end point of every path is located at 19,340 ft, but the Coca Cola routes do come with wooden huts and bunk beds and a modicum of comfort. Over 5-7 days these are considered luxuries. We took a Whiskey Route (Machame) and camped in tents of course, since the journey matters.
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The view from Camp Barafu (Ice) |
Dizmus: “You see, they all take Coca-Cola route. It has, what do you call…huts. If you have group of 20 Indians, by first hut only 15. By second hut only 10. By third hut only 4 remain. You know fourth hut, last hut? The guides call it ‘Indian Point.’ You know why?”
Abhi: Why?
Dizmus: “All Indians quit by that point. Then they take a picture, then go buy a t-shirt to take home.”
He spreads his hands as if he is apologizing for telling us the truth and wonders if he has said too much and offended us (we’ve yet to tip him).
But my companions all laugh at this because they know it is likely true. We know friends and relatives just like this. The American inside of me thinks its funny but the Indian inside of me can only shake my head in embarrassment that this is the reputation. “Indian Point,” sound like a location I’d expect to take pictures at somewhere in the desert southwest of the U.S., not near the roof of Africa.
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Lunch at 15,000 ft. Is it wrong to feed a leftover chicken wing to a bird? Is that cannibalism? |
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Giant Tree Groundsels (not sprouting from my backpack) |
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The Prize at the peak. Its even more beautiful to look at when your body has died and only your thoughts remain. |
Yes, we finished. I think they call it Uhuru Peak because it is the point where your mind (receiving less than half the oxygen its used to but probably doesn’t need) declares independence from your body (which has just been slowing it down for days now anyways). There is no past or future there. There are no friends or guides in your field of view. There is only the empty blue present, which is just what you were hoping to find up here when you signed up. A few minutes touching the void is all you need.
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The final steps to the roof |
Unguja
After the climb and after a Safari (during which a monkey threw a rock at me) was the island. This island had for centuries been at the crossroads of empires (click on the picture below). The Arabs, Indians, Africans, Europeans all saw its strategic value. All came for the spices, which, by the way, is what I needed to bring back for my mom. She wanted cinnamon and cloves.
“Kem-cho?” I heard multiple times on the street, hustlers and shop owners trying to make a buck off this Mizungo. Sometimes I’d open my mouth, revealing my American origin, and the “Kem-cho” would be replaced by a question about what state I was from. My Korean friend had it worse. They tried a line from every Asian language EXCEPT Korean on her. She just about hugged the first guy that actually started with a Korean greeting.
Almost all the brown folks here were Gujus and many were Ismaili. In fact, whole areas of Stone Town reminded me of places in India I’d been. The only thing different was the skin color of many of the residents. My mother’s family took many trips back and forth between Uganda and Ahmedabad. In my mind I had always imagined a shocking contrast but I was beginning to realize that the similarities far outweighed the differences. If I walked through the fish market blindfolded then I might not be able to tell the difference between the Indian diaspora and the native Africans. This, after all, is the greatest reward of any trip: the realization that you may be able to assimilate in to yet another part of the world if you had to. Obviously, I was the lastest in a long line of people that had come to understand the same thing and stayed to make a life here in Zanzibar.
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I wonder who lives here. Oh, wait, I see. |
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There is an Indian restaurant on every corner |
Out of Africa
I kind of wish my mom was here. My dad gave her the phone because the front desk of my hotel couldn’t understand that he was trying to reach a guest staying there. “You mom spoke to her in Swahili.” Why did that make me so proud? She gave me a little book that had basic phrases in it before I left so I could get by. I used it some but I preferred instead to marvel at just how many words the natives had borrowed from the Indian coolies brought here decades ago.
My last night I waked down the narrow avenues of Stone Town alone. It was dark and three quarters of the shops (the Muslim ones) were closed because it was 7:00 p.m. and the owners were headed to the Mosques. I was making my way to the outdoor food stalls where the action was at. My friend and I had eaten here last night after our SCUBA diving adventure was behind us and we were willing to let down our guard. He had to get up in the middle of the night to puke his guts out but I enjoyed the lemony Red Snapper, Indian-style potatoes, and coconut nan, so I was headed back for more. God it was crowded in the alley. Mizungos everywhere but now that I was alone people thought I was native. A satisfied smile spread across my space. I duplicated the order from last night but added a fried banana dish to it. I sat down and stuffed my face with my hands, daring my guts to revolt against this goodness.
It was my last night in Africa but it will not be my last night in Africa. Next time I would like to go with my mom.
really value-added post.
Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya are like this too.
Evil monkey, eh, Abhi. Uh huh, I believe you.
But seriously, nice post about what sounds like a great trip. You should have taught Dizmus this nursery rhyme.
Sounds like a great physical and cultural hike, Abhi. Your reaching the top reminded me of how my body felt detached from mind when I made it halfway up El Capitan in Texas. The end of the trail didn’t even have a damned outcrop to write home about (and I hate carbonates to begin with), but the view from up there was splendid. Of course, you were looking at a glacier on the top of Kilimanjaro, while I climbed 2000 feet up some piddly hill, yet the exertion-attainment-detachment experience resonates here.
Tell me about the preponderance of mediocre lung capacity in desis (I’m no athletic prize, either, mind you). My dad and I have decided to leave Mom and Bro at home before heading out on nature hikes any more, as those two complain on a 5% grade, are dehydrated after 10 minutes and proceed to overheat and do the “Bataan Death March” back to the car before they die in the wilderness and are eaten by wolves. It’s funny and embarrassing at once.
Did you tip the monkey for having a picture taken with him? No? No wonder he pelted you with a rock.
Your time in Africa and this post make me want to travel in India and Kuwait with my parents. Yes, it’s important to do it with them.
Abhi, You always write so well. Thanks for sharing this.
The section titled “Indian Point” is truly memorable.
I hope you travel more and write more. Especially in the countries of the Indian Ocean Rim: where desis, africans, arabs, persians and malays have lived, and interacted with each other, for millenia.
“Indian Point” bit is truly a gem. Makes me wonder how I’d fare on Mt.K! π
i wouldn’t mind some jewelry and some spending money. a gucci bag or two would suffice as well π
gorgeous story-telling. thanks for sharing, abhi.
I have been wanting to climb Mt. Fuji which is not as tall as Mt. K for sure. Seeing the pictures and knowing that an Indian from the western land made it to the top gives me inspiration that I too will tell the tale some day soon. Thanks for sharing!
Dude, I was thinking the same thing. π
Me too!
Maybe that gem dealer was on to something
I made that climb in 2004. Despite the fact that it is difficult it can be done in one night with no camping required so its definitely do-able.
great post! the part about Indian point has me wondering-is there some genetic connection for south Asians regarding the red blood cell oxygen capacity? Ialways have the worst time out of all my western companions when climbing or boarding above 11k. I know it’s not conditioning because we are on par with one another at lower altitudes.
some genetic connection for south Asians regarding the red blood cell oxygen capacity?
First, congratulations Abhi for Mt. Kilimanjoro trip. As I told you when we met in person, I almost myself did it but could not convince my brother. He had other ideas for our Africa trip. Over the years, I must have met at least dozens of geologists who have hiked Mt. Kilimanjoro when they are in Africa for field work. Americans have a fascination for this mountain, in part, due to Ernest Hemingway. Others have love of this stratovolcanic mountain too for many reasons. Like Mt. Fuji, it has thousands of people climb it each year. In Mt. Fuji, it is about 200,000 people/ year.
I would believe your guide that lot of Indian tourists from Africa and India perhaps do not condition themselves for high altitude intense hike lasting a week or so, before they go on this tour. When I researched, all travel agencies requested some prior conditioning.
However, before this thread devolves in into genetic “pseudo science” and self-proclaimed athletism, and one upism, as a group of people, there are no better climbers in the world than Sherpas from Nepal. If you read the history of Himalayas, and climibing, everyone including Edmud Hilary and other German/ Austrian climbers accord a special place to Sherpas, especially women sherpas (sherpinis) in the annals of mountain climbing. Often, just before the final ascent to Mt. Everest (which is more than 29,000 ft), women sherpas setup the final ascent camp for Everest (which is I think close to 28,000 ft or so). People often attribute that their blood is unique, but others that they live up there, and condition themselves in Himalayas since the day they are born.
Once again, congratulations on Africa trip, and being in nature for a while. I might do Mt. Kilimanjaro one of these days.
Thanks for this, Abhi! I have no claim or former claim on Dar es Salaam, but my daughter took one of the whiskey routes up Mt. K last summer. She did take blood thinners first, and was pretty cheerful all the way up and all the way down: http://picasaweb.google.com/acdouglas/Tanzania2007?authkey=SEzB9qcmE4o
Abhi, that was beautiful. Thank you.
Sounds amazing, thanks for sharing.
grin
Very well written. Transported me to Uganda. Good stuff especially for someone who has never been there – no desire to do so either π
Well this whole adventure took place in Tanzania so maybe you’ll still go there π
abhi i got to go to tanzania with my mom and see her birthplace a few years ago. it was wonderful=) thanks for bringing up good memories.
My african geography is pathetic. I assumed since your mother was born in Uganda – this took place in Uganda. Nope – highly unlikely to ever visit any part of Africa. But then again – life can be a Shane Warne.
Why on God’s green earth would you choose to describe Swahili as a pidgin when it is not anything of the kind? Are you deliberately trying to be disparaging towards African culture, just to get in touch with your desis-in-Africa heritage? Or is there some other reason?
i went to kenya and tanzania when i was twelve with my parents and my brother. we don’t have any family roots there but my dad wanted to go on safari. we saw lots of elephants, zebras, ostriches and giraffes. while driving around we stumbled across a family of lions that had just devoured clean a wilderbeast and they were lounging around in a lazy stupor. the smell of the carcass was so horrible. we also saw a couple of cheetahs scarpering around in the bush which is quite rare. east africa feels familiar to me cos many of my desi friends have parents who grew up there. i don’t think abhi meant anything disparaging by describing swahili as pidgin. it has borrowed so many words from hindi, gujarati and arabic. anyway, why start a fight for no reason.
It is an American tendency. They tend to be disparaging without having to make any special effort for it.
yeah, unlike you, brownfob
Abhi: Nice narration of the trip. Them “Injuns” are everywhere, aren’t they? In Gujarati there is a popular phrase: “Jyan Jyan vase Ek Gujarati, Tyan Tyan vase Sadaa kar Gujarat“. Loosely translated, where ever there stays one Gujarati, there lives Gujarat for ever. Now get back to work.
What an excellent and nutritious post. Loved the bit when you reached the top, reads like time stood still. Was the fried banana dish nice?
Thanks for an excellent post. Another point in the world added to my list. Makes me want to hike beyond ‘Indian Point’.
Thank you for the post. I’m putting Africa down on my list as one of the places I need to visit before I die. =)
Swahili is a lingua franca and is, in the linguistic sense, a pidgin of Arabic, indigenous Bantu languages, a small amount of English, and desi languages (mostly Hindi and Gujarati). From dictionary.com:
This description of a pidgin is 100% accurate for describing the structure, vocabulary, etc., of Swahili. So calm the eff down before jumping down Abhi’s back. It is your decision to interpret his comment as disparaging, as opposed to historical.
Also, Abhi, your post was fantastic. Thanks for sharing your Tanzania-trip with us!
awesome post abhi! Mt.Killi is on my list
about the guide’s comment on Indians, I had a similar experience on the 42km hike upto 13,800ft in the Andes mountains. Initially the comment was similar. Then after seeing the gear that we had on us, one guide said to the other that these girls will definitely make it as they are not indians from india, they are from america.
I think the difference between the 2 groups of indians is in conditioning/training before going on high altitude hikes.
Show off but it’s all about the yoga I tell ye. π
we love ye hema and all. dont be mad.
Abhi, Maitri and Hema: Before you guys tell your tall tales have you read about these two Gujarati Girls Prarthana and Priya? It sure would humble the toughest “Sherpini” out there. click on this link: http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&issueid=60&id=11404&Itemid=§ionid=20&completeview=1
If it does not work, just go to current “India Today” and look for “Simply Gujarati” supplement
I did this last summer. Started from the base around 10 pm in the night, and hiked all night to reach the summit just before sunset. It is a truly awesome experience. But the descent absolutely sucks since the path is pretty much eroded volcanic dust, so it is completely bereft of any greenery to shelter you from the sun, and is quite hard on your calves since you are straining to keep from sliding down.
Oh, and I am a desi from desh who did make it all the way up.
South Asian, please.
Camille, I don’t think Swahili is truly a ‘pidgin’. Pidgins are simple forms of communication that spring up between two or more linguistic communities in order to communicate, but do not form anyone’s mothertongue. Pidgins are not true languages. When a pidgin BECOMES a community’s mothertongue, it develops additional grammatical features necessary to become true languages, and are then called ‘creoles’.
From what I know about Swahili, it is neither a pidgin nor a creole… it is a bantu language overlaid with a lot of borrowings from other languages as you mentioned. The basic grammer, syntax, morphology, etc. are still structurally Bantu.
22 ΓΒ· Eurodesi said
Why do you have to describe the earth as green (or God’s) when it is nothing of the kind? Are you trying to be deliberately disparaging towards blue water, which constitutes 70% of earth?
Regarding Indian Point and subsequent comments about how Indians who live in the US/west are physically more able than the wimpy Indians from India I have personally known people who have hiked in the Himalayas and scaled amongst the highest peaks in the world and who have belonged to hiking and mountaineering clubs and would go for climbs/hikes in the Sahyadris every weekend when I lived in India. I have also seen many locals scale the mountains without any fancy gear and shoes even. So next time don’t generalize about the entire sub-continent/country based on the cross-section of the couch potatoes you happen to know personally.
38 ΓβΓΒ· Yogi said
Nobody is talking about gurkhas etc here buddy, so dont get your langoti in a twist. It is the experience of the african guides that the indians from India and Africa who try to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, are not in good enough shape to accomplish the feat. What is your problem with that? There is no denying that indians on average are the least physically fit race on the planet.
What next? You going to get all pissed off and defensive if someone points out that despite sending huge numbers of athletes to the Olympic Games India hasn’t won a single gold medal in a long time?
@34. yo dad, i saw the article on prarthana and prachi. it was interesting. those girls kick ass.
for 39. kaka
we do well in shooting competitions
Kaka: What’s your end goal? Creating a Sino-Nubian master race (e.g. Wutang Clan)? Becoming catamite/bard to the 5%ers? You are a one trick pony
Dear Kaka/Vyasa/Prema/Dev/Deva/Pele (why not pick the name of that great Chinese footballer? What was his name? Oh, there wasn’t one! Oops!), is that true of even the vast number of low castes that abound in India? I eagerly await your answer.
Love, Indian
Abhi, Thank you for this poetic post – felt like I was walking in your footsteps
This description of a pidgin is 100% accurate for describing the structure, vocabulary, etc., of Swahili.
Don’t absurd. Swahili is no more a pidgin than English is.
Wow, so much contempt for the vast number of low castes that abound in India coming from this “loving indian”. Its amusing how so many of the most ardent and thin-skinned “nationalists” who cannot bear to hear any negative facts about India or indians also happen to despise the majority of indians! Pretty screwed up.
So what is your point? That Abhi lied about what the african guides told him?
Dearest Kaka,
I have learnt from you that: Fact 1: Indians on average are the least physically fit race on the planet. Fact 2: This is a negative fact about India and Indians. Fact 2: The majority of Indians are low castes.
I can only come to the conclusion that you have massive contempt for the low castes for their poor physical fitness.
Lots of love, Indian
45 ΓΒ· Eurodesi said
Given your conception of English grammar, I see your point.
I’m starting to get the correlation between racism and ignorance. Here, from wikipedia.
“The Bantu languages (technically Narrow Bantu languages) constitute a grouping belonging to the Niger-Congo family. This grouping is deep down in the genealogical tree of the Bantoid grouping, which in turn is deep down in the Niger-Congo tree. By one estimate, there are 513 languages in the Bantu grouping, 681 languages in Bantoid, and 1,514 in Niger-Congo.[1] Bantu languages are spoken largely east and south of the present day nation of Nigeria; i.e., in the regions commonly known as central Africa, east Africa, and southern Africa. Parts of this Bantu chunk of Africa also have languages from outside the Niger-Congo family (see map). … The Bantu language with the largest number of speakers is Swahili (G 40), while the Bantu languages with the most native speakers are Shona and Zulu. Judging from the history of Swahili, some linguists believe that Bantu languages are on a continuum from purely tonal languages to languages with no tone at all.”
And from the UCLA Language Materials Project:
“Swahili is a Bantu language of the Sabaki subgroup of Northeastern Coast Bantu languages. It is most immediately related to the Kenyan Bantu languages of Ilwana, Pokomo, and Mijikenda (Digo, Giryama, Duruma, etc.), which are spoken in the Kenya coastal hinterland, and to Comorian (Ngazija, Nzuani, Mwali, and Maore) of the Comoro Islands. Other members of the group include Chimwiini of Barawa, Somalia, and Mwani of the Kerimba Islands and northern coastal Mozambique. Bantu languages are spoken as a first language in sub Saharan Africa by nearly a third of the continent’s total population. Many second language speakers of Swahili are native speakers of another Bantu language, or of a Nilotic or Cushitic language.”
not sure if this is a pertinent comment but i’m sure that some of us will have noticed how incredibly muscle bound and fit all those labourers are in india who do physical work including the women.