How lucky can i get...

What i am going to narrate is a real life incident that happened today evening.

I live in a 5 room kitchen independent house in a quiet neighborhood of Quelimane. My house boy cum cook and guard stay in the outhouse in the same compound. Today, being a Saturday I work till noon. I got back home from office, polished off the delicious lunch and preceded to my room for a siesta. I watched a French Open tennis match for a while and then put off the television to take a nap. An hour later i woke up. I walked out of my room to wash my face in the bathroom. On the way, i unknowingly pulled the door of my room.

Wiping my face I walked back to my room to find the door shut. Following the force of habit my hand reached out to the keyhole where there should have been a key - Yeah, i said "There should have been a key." I looked down at the floor to see if the key had fallen down somewhere. On seeing no key it hit me - boss, the key is inside the room and you are outside. (An interesting point about the 5 rooms is that mine is the only room, the door of which, locks automatically on closing and it then needs a key to open. And there is no duplicate key - i came to know about this today)

I walked to the outhouse and called out to Mauricio (my cook!!) only to find that he had gone to the market. I looked towards the guards room, only to see it locked. That reminded me, my guard too had gone on leave just yesterday. "Wonderful", i thought to myself. I went back to my room and tugged at the door hoping that some miracle would open the door. For a moment i wondered i should do. I could not even call anybody since my phone was in the room. I walked out of the house to the window of my room. Two of the three windows were half open with a latch holding it to the frame.

I managed to open the outer window only to find that the inner window was shut. With a groan, i pushed it and to my surprise it was not latched. (This window is normally latch.) I peeked through the window wondering how i could open the door. I thought i would put a long stick through the window and open the door from the inside. I went around the house and located a 6 foot wooden stick and the mop (which Mauricio uses to mop the floor). I tied the two together and was just about to put it through the window when my eyes fell upon the table, which i had moved just yesterday, close to the window and my bunch of keys lying on it. With a 'thank you' on my lips i grabbed the keys through the window, picked up a coke from the fridge, got back into my room and with a smile on my face, started watching the IPL second semi-final.

Well well... So this is the situation i found myself in. A sleepy, sweet little boy (that's me!!) in shorts and a T-shirt locked out of his room in which lies the room key, specs, mobile phone, land line - and in the background all i could hear was the sound of the AC and some commentary on the TV. Inspite of all this, i was able to get my key, through the outer window (which was open by chance) and through the inner window (which again was unlatched, but should have been latched). The key was lying on a table which, just yesterday, i had moved near the window.

I don't think i could get luckier than this...

On the other hand, if the outer window was not open and the inner window was not open and the table was not near the window and the keys were not on the table... For sure, my room would have needed a new door...

Chief Chef

The 'Rice Bowl' gang will definitely appreciate my voracious appetite - If i may call it so!!- (Looks can sure be deceiving) and liking for some good wholesome (& FRUITful) food. Back home in India, it was never a problem when it came to food. But the day i flew out, i was wondering about the type of food that i would come across in Africa. I had no clue there was a surprise in store for me in the form of a 4 footer named Mauricio (my wonderful cook).

I would not mind taking him on in a bout of boxing but in the arena of cooking he definitely packs a punch. He's got this subtle understanding for taste and boy, he's a quick learner too. The first day he cooked for me there was enough food to feed two people more. Two days later, there was not a grain of rice that was wasted. Yes, it took him just two days to get used to the quantity i eat. And from that day onwards he has surprised me with his skills.

I did know where to start from, so i gave him a free hand for the first few days. But i did poke my nose when he made a verrrrrry spicy curry and so i had to place the chili powder under lock and key. The first two days were spent eating vegetables since, firstly, he was not too sure if i ate non-vegetarian food and secondly, there was no non-veg food at home. The third day onwards, its been a roller-coaster ride. Chicken, fish, shrimps, mutton... hmmmmmm...

I was really surprised, when one fine day on returning from office, Mauricio took me to the kitchen and showed me some cabbage, potato, beans, carrot, shrimps and eggs; and asked if he should prepare dinner using them. I wondered for a moment. "What a combination for dinner!!" My curiosity got the better of me and i asked him to go ahead. I was watching television when he walked in with a sizzler sort of dish with the above mention ingredients, and even some sauce. Well well, this is something that i never even imagined.

I love fruits and Mauricio has learnt that too. He now cuts an apple and a sweet lime after every lunch and dinner. He keeps stopping the fruit vendors who pass by my house and call me to see what they are selling. And yes, he keeps getting these sugarcanes from somewhere for which he does not even take money from me. He peels them, chops them into small pieces and keeps it in the fridge for me to eat. My my, he sure knows how to pamper me.

This chap has taken good care of me (my tummy, i mean) and am just waiting to see what more he has in store for me.

Happy Eating to me,
Happy Eating to me,
Happy eating, happy eating
Happy eating to me...

(For the uninitiated; 'Rice Bowl' is a chinese & sea food restaurant in Bhopal which serves delicious Butter prawns, Spicy fish red chili, Dragon Tail, Roasted Thai prawns on looooooooong tooth picks... I think I'll stop here :-))

A multiethinic dinner & a fire extinguisher

The day i arrived in Nampula (my first stop in Mozambique), i had no company for lunch as well as dinner. I ate alone at an Indian owned restaurant and tucked into some prawns & mixed fried rice. My first taste of local crusine. Little did i know that on the next day, in addition to some delicious food, i would also be treated to a few bouts of laughter, thanks to the subtle sense of humour of (lets call them) Mr T & Mr M. (Mr T is a Mozambican & Mr M is a Zimbabwean.)

I met Mr T & Mr M in the afternoon, on the second day. We did not get too much time to get acquainted as Mr M & i had some official work. It was only at the end of the day, when we got back to the hotel that we got some time to get better acquainted over dinner. It started off with some brief introductions of ourselves and, since we were at dinner, it carried on to food. Mr T expressed his liking for some spicy Indian food while Mr M had an opposite opinion. He had one bad experience with Indian spices and was not willing to take a second chance. His expressive narration of his experience gave me the feeling that the spices set off a fire inside him. But, on the repeated insistence of Mr T, Mr M finally agreed to taste some of the spicy stuff.

After going through the various Indian items on the menu, Mr T finally settled for an Aloo Parontha and some chicken masala. Mr M would not budge from some tried and tested local food. The waiter took down our order and left. Mr T was still looking at the menu in a very serious manner. Mr M and i looked at each other wondering what he was looking for. Without looking up from the menu Mr T commented, "I don't see a fire extinguisher on the menu." We looked at each other for a moment and then, suddenly burst out laughing. Well, i did not know that Mr M had such a bad experience... :-)

This was just an indication of what was to follow...

Football is a craze in Africa. With the upcoming league final & Euro 2008 our talks also drifted towards club football. Mr T was casually dressed in a jeans and T-shirt with 'FCP' printed on the shirt. Mr M interpreted it as 'FC Porto' a Portuguese football club and asked Mr T, "Did you play club football in Portugal?" Mr T was in a very jovial mood and winked at me as he replied back, "Yes. I did. Don't you know that i am a Portuguese." Mr M wondered for a moment and then realizing that Mr T was trying to pull his leg quipped back, "Then, you are the dirtiest Portuguese i have ever seen." And all three of us started laughing. (The Portuguese, i learnt later are generally very fair.)

Now, this was a dinner i would remember for quite some time...

Kids will be kids

This is based on a conversation - in hindi - that i overheard during my flight from Nampula to Quelimane. The conversation was between a family - Mom, Dad and their kid. This kid must be around 5 years old and spoke a lot. This conversation, i thought, brought out the innocence in a kid (and a smile on my face).

Let me set the surrounding first. I have already boarded the flight. Other passengers are still getting in. This family of 3 is in the row behind me. They settle in and wait as the passengers are still boarding the flight. Kids, impatient as they, are cannot sit in one place - quiet. And the same goes for this kid.

Before any announcement is made in a flight a beep is sounded. Three to four beeps were sounded but no announcement was made. Our kid comments, "Papa, plane ghanti mar rahi hai, lekin kuch bolti kyon nahi?" Apparently this kid has traveled quite a bit by flight and know how things are. When he made this remark i did not give too much thought to it and maybe missed out on the reply given by his parents but i did get the next thread in the conversation.

The flow of people boarding the flight had stopped, but there was no sign of the plane taking off. No announcements nor an indication. Our kids goes again, "Mummy, sab log aagaye hai, plane udti kyon nahi?" And papa replied, "Niche jaakar dhakka marna hoga". The kid quipped back, "Main dhakka maroonga to yahin pe reh jaoonga. Plane to ud jayegi". And now mummy dear adds to this, "Tum dono uttarkar dhakka maro." At this point the place started moving. I turned back and looked at the kid. He had excitement written all over his face as he looked out of the window. I wished the plane hadn't started moving. I wanted to know what the kid would reply!!

The plane started moving and taxied to the runway. It positioned itself for takeoff and halted. The halt happened to be too long for our kid. And he had another question, "Papa, plane kyo ruk gayi?" And dada replied, "Red signal." I smiled to myself as the kid acknowledged what his father said with an, "Ooooo". My my... what innocence, if i may say. I was just wondering about the way they accept things so readily.

Finally the plane started moving and it took of. It reached cruising altitude and the seat belt signs were switched off. And the kid asked his parents, "Khana kab denge??" I stretched my legs and smiled to myself as I closed my eyes...

1st impressions

Addis Abba was a transit point during my journey and hence my movement was restricted within the airport. It was Tanzania and the city of Dar Es Salaam that gave me my first taste of Africa. I was trying hard to fight the notions in my head about what i would see. I still don't have the words to describe what i was feeling - Excitement (my first trip out of India), anticipation (what i would see), eagerness (to see a new place), relieved (to get out of the plane after the long journey!!)

On arrival at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dal Es Salaam I filled my visa application form, and got talking to a Gujarati gentleman from Bombay, who runs a greeting card business in India, while i was waiting for my visa to be issued. I was called to a counter with a pigeon hole on which was mounted a tiny camera connected to a computer and a printer. The lady at the counter clicked my snap, the monitor displayed the visa with my photo on it; she printed the visa on a sticker paper and pasted it in my passport. "Welcome to Dar Es Salaam", said the lady at the counter as she handed my passport back to me. Now i was legally entitled to step into the city.

I collected my baggage from the conveyor belt and started walking towards the exit. I was stopped by a customs agent who asked for my passport and told me to open my bags. On seeing the transit visa the agent asked me what was in my bag. "Books and clothes", i said and she waved me on. I started moving towards the exit again. As i looked out through the glass paneled door I could see a man holding an Olam placard waiting for me. I was a feet away from the exit when a gentleman waved out to me from my right and directed me to come to him. "Now what??" I wondered. He has a stern face and an official looking badge around his neck. He asked for my passport, had a look at it and gave it back to me. I wondered if i had any formalities to complete here. "Can i go??", i asked him with a quizzed look on my face. "Yes" he said. I muttered a thank you and walked out of the airport. "So this is Africa", i thought to myself and smiled. Anybody looking at me might have wondered if i was crazy!!

Francis was the chap holding the Olam placard, i learned, as we drove out of the airport parking lot. We reached the junction where we would get onto the main road and there, Francis stopped the car. He looked to the right. He looked to the left. A few vehicles drove by on the main road. A few cyclists went by. People crossed the road. Everything was moving. Everything, except us. We were still waiting to get onto the main road. I looked at Francis and wondered to myself, "Is this chap an extra-careful driver??" (I'll come back to this point regarding 'driving' later in the post. I believe we Indians have something to learn from this.)

We finally got onto the main road and my eyes wandered along either side of the road as we drove towards the guest house and what did i see - A TATA Motors showroom, a Toyota showroom, Tanzania Tobacco Company, SHOPRITE, a cement factory... The tar roads had quite some sand on them. I reasoned that this must be due to the proximity to the sea shore. The roads seemed well maintained. Broad footpaths bordered the roads. The divider also was pretty broad and lined with trees here and there. After a 30 minute drive along the main road we turned into an arterial road which led towards the center of the city and, the guest house. As we drove on i could see more and more people on the road. Houses and apartments also became visible. The shutters of majority of the shops were down as it was a sunday.

The first this that came to my mind was - This feels just like India! The roads, the traffic, the atmosphere...

I tried to imagine the same situation with Indians in the picture. Believe me, you would get the feeling of being in India. What stands out among the people here is firstly their dark hued skin. Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all. And the mirror replied, "Sudeep Kodialbail". The second thing that caught my attention was their clothing. The men were casually dressed in loose fitting jeans and T shirts. The young ladies were dressed in typical western clothing while the elderly ladies were traditionally dressed and stood out with the bright coloured patterned cloth that they wore around their waist.

One thing that appealed to me and something that i will always remember is the cordial and courteous nature of the people i came across. A smile always on their face as they greet you irrespective of whether they know you are not.

I could not help noticing the number of Toyota cars on the road. Every second car is from Toyota

And something that really stunned me - the traffic sense. Whenever you meet someone who has just returned from the US or Europe you will always find them praising the way the people drive. They will talk about how when a car approached a junction, it will come to a complete halt, irrespective of the crowd on the road, and will allow cyclists & pedestrians to cross the road first before they move on. This is the way they drive here too. Its simply amazing. I made a reference earlier in the post about an extra-careful driver; Well it just that all drivers are the same. I saw this in Dar (Tanzania), Nampula (Moz) and in Quelimane (Moz) too. Its something that i could not digest initially. Someone who is so familiar with the way we drive in India. This is something that i have learnt till now during my short stay here and i believe there will be lots more for me to learn from Africa.

The Journey :: Mumbai - Addis - Dar

Finally the D-day arrived - 4th of May 2008. After galloping around (i mean it!!) to complete my documentation i finally found myself at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport early in the morning (2:30 am). I was booked on the 5:50 am Ethiopian airline flight from Mumbai to Dar Es Salaam via Addis Abba. I walked into the terminal, got my baggage screened, moved towards the check-in counter and put my luggage on the conveyor belt beside the counter.

"Mr. Sudeep, you are overweight" said the lady at the Ethiopian airline counter. I immediately remembered Shail and felt like quipping back "He!! he!! Me and overweight!! Wow!! Wish i really were". I am sure you guys must have already guessed that the lady was referring to the baggage that i was carrying which was 20 kgs in excess of the stipulated limit of 40 kgs. I looked at her, waiting for her to tell me that i would have to pay for the excess baggage. Instead she just kept punching the keys on the keyboard, issued my boarding pass and said "Have a nice flight." Heaving a sigh of relief i walked through the customs and immigration. Having completed all formalities i walked into the departure lounge for an hour long wait before my flight.

Hungry me

I did some window shopping at the duty free shop & hungry (as i always) i headed for the snack bar. On the way to the airport, dad told me to eat at the airport without having a look at the price. Now, that made me even more curious. I glanced at the snacks on display and then my eyes went looking for the cost -

Sandwich, samosa, pizza, puffs
The cost of it made me eat my cuffs

- When i initially saw the cost of a sandwich i wondered if there was a decimal point missing somewhere. It said...

Sandwich.............................................. Rs. 100

Wait... stop... before your imagination runs wild thinking about the fancy 100 buck sandwich, let me have the honour of describing it to you. Ingredients - 2 slices of bread, tomato & cucumber ONLY!!!! No salt. No pepper. No butter on the bread. Nothing. I believe i can make a better and more economical sandwich.

@ Addis Abba

The five and a half hour flight to Addis was on time at 5:50 am. After the hot sultry weather at bombay, Addis was a complete anticlimax. It was cloudy and wet with puddles of water on the airstrip suggesting that it had just stopped raining. The weather was simply amazing. A cool breeze blew across the open airport lands. Did someone say it was summer??

The airport at Addis was well maintained and spacious. I notices people of various hues waiting for their flight. Addis apparently happens to be a transit point for several destinations in Africa. There was this group of around 20 people who were waiting to board the same flight i was taking and they were make a lot of noise chit-chatting. Just before they proceeded for the security check-in they formed a circle, held hands and with heads bowed they maintained silence for around 2 minutes. This silence was infectious. They were the biggest group around making noise and when they stood in silence it was as if the entire airport became silent. This was a sight to see.

My flight from Addis left on time and around 3 hours later i landed in Dar Es Salaam. Another country... another place... What lay ahead, i wondered...

Coming up...
1. 1st impressions
2. Kids will be kids
3. A multiethinic dinner & a fire extinguisher
4. For the food lovers
5. Nampula

Perspective

What is the first thought that comes to your mind when you hear the word 'Africa'? Let me guess. Hmmm... Safari, Mandela, Diamonds, Poverty, ( sudeep ;-) )... Well, whatever it is, let it be. Read whatever you see below with no preconceived notions. I have come here with an open mind to see and experience for myself what Africa has to offer.

The write ups that you will find here will deal with 'Me & Africa' - views, incidents & experiences during my travel and the time i spent in Africa. These experiences commenced right from the time i stepped into the international airport at Bombay and will continue till the time i reside here. Humour, satire, PJ's, facts, heart touching incidents - i think you will find everything here.

So read on...

DISCLAIMER: The meaning conveyed though the assortment of words & punctuation marks wholly & solely represents the experiences of the author and should not be generalized to form an opinion.

CREDITS: This blog is a result of the consistent nagging by Mr Srey and the idea for the title of this blog was unknowingly given by Ms Neha.