Matata means ‘trouble’ in Swahili, as Chico discovers after jumping ship on a journey from India to Africa in 1928. Instead of his original destination of Mozambique, he arrives in the British-ruled Kenya. With some skills and much sweat, he navigates the channels open to him under the racially segregated structure of the colony, while doing all to keep his Indo-Portuguese heritage alive, and dreaming only of retirement to his beloved Goa. Enter son Lando. Just two decades later all Chico’s plans are on hold. Just Matata, narrated by Lando, from the perspective of a eleven year-old boy, brings history to life in these multi-layered stories that straddle two distinct colonies in mid 20th century - the bucolic and romantic Goa (Portuguese India) and the adventure-filled and yet precarious world of British Kenya. These tales transport the reader in dhows and steamships across the Indian Ocean; and in ox-drawn Scotch-wagons, horse-carriages, steam locomotives and bicycles between the two cultures. Sin, Saints and Settlers sum it all. From cashews and the coco-de-mer, the stories, alternatively funny, sad or evocative, deal with the enduring dichotomy between generations, races, cultures and love, and the transformational impact of destiny-changing events in life’s perpetual journey.
http://www.matatatrilogy.com/
While maintaining a coffee farm in the Kenyan highlands, Isak Dinesen takes us on her journeys around the Kenyan countryside in her friend Denys airplane. In Out of Africa, the perceptive Dinesen accurately portrays the African perspective on life. The fundamental differences between the European and African perspectives depicted by Dinesen were an early warning that obviously went unheeded by the Europeans given the current desperate state of Africa. It is a continent mired in poverty, straining to eke out a pathetic existence while stagnated in negative growth.
Though Dinesen is not the characteristic culturally insensitive colonial, her outlook on life and interaction with her surroundings is still completely different from that of the African. She is enchanted by the beauty of the land and wildlife, but she admires it as one would view animals in a zoo. Dinesen is not so much a part of her environment as she is an outsider looking in. The whole landscape below us looked like a delicately marked tortoise-shell (Dinesen 152). Dinesen has a deep appreciation for the natural beauty of Africa. As Denys and she fly over the delicately marked tortoise-shell, Dinesen marvels at the appearance of Lake Natron, an unbelievable azure colour (153), in the midst of the scorched plains. Looking out upon the arid Kenyan country from the safety of her aircraft, Dinesen is sensibly removed from the scene; she would not so readily admire the scorched landscape in its starkness if she could actually breathe the dry, burning air down below.
After landing on the salty, white shores of Lake Natron, Dinesen and Denys quickly take cover under the wing of their aircraft. The proverbial protective wing of Western civilization shields them from the ruthless African midday sun. If you stretched out your hand from the shade, the sun was so hot that it hurt you (153). It is here that they encounter the Masai, by far the most majestic of the Kenyan tribes. Tall, graceful and naked, a group of five warriors appears on the horizon and glides quickly toward the aircraft. They wear no clothes because they need none. They do not need to protect themselves for they are not in danger; this is their home and they are comfortable under their sun.
The Masai have come to investigate the aircraft and its passengers, for they are outsiders and not part of the land. But neither Dinesen nor Denys speak Masai, and the Masai do not deign to speak Swahili, so communication between the two parties is next to impossible. That the Masai are trying to communicate at all is evidence of the change the Europeans have wrought on the country. A generation ago they would have been fatal to us to meet (153). Seeing that they can gain no further information, the Masai abruptly turn their backs on the outsiders and walk away. It is as if the outsiders have ceased to exist; the Masai’s response to the intrusion into their domain is to ignore it. Without further ado, they disappear into the burnt-white desert which they call home. At the time this was harmless enough, but the attitude from which this decision was made did not bode well for the future of Kenya, or the continent.
This attitude of indifference to the strange flying craft and to Dinesens adventures is also common to the Kikuyus who work for her on her coffee farm. The natives like the aeroplane.... [b]ut they did not really take any interest in her or in our flying (156). The natives, are concerned only with events occurring in their immediate environment, although to the nomadic Masai immediate covers such vast areas as the salt plains. Exploring is something as foreign to the African as it is natural to the European. The Masai know and care as little about the cool, wet highlands as do the Kikuyu about the parched plains, but both tribes are equally content to live in their respective environs as long as they comfortably can. Dinesen suggests that nothing but the supernatural, if even that, can induce the African to explore when she relates the anecdote concerning the very old Kikuyu, Ndwetti. Upon learning that Dinesen and Denys do not fly with any intention of finding God, Ndwetti declares [t]hen I do not know at all why you two go on flying (157).
Besides sightseeing from the air, Dinesen also loves watching wild animals, especially herds of buffalo. Molded in the cast of the colonial Big Game hunters, Dinesen, ever the atypical colonial has changed into an admirer of live wild animals, rather than trophies. Farah and I had been up in the dark, ice cold mornings to creep and crawl through the bush and long grass, in the hope of catching a glimpse of the herd (154). Creeping and crawling through the undergrowth to try and catch a glimpse of a herd of buffalo, not exactly the most elusive of wild animals, Dinesen is clearly not a denizen of these surroundings. However, she demonstrates her knack for objective observation, a talent largely alien to the average colonial. This talent proves invaluable in seeing the difference between the African and European outlooks on life. Despite this talent, it is evident that Dinesen can never truly be free of her European influences when she occasionally lapses into the colonial mind set. She notes that the herd of buffalo has been somehow reduced (154). Her generally non-colonial perspective fails her here, as she seems to have forgotten the legacy of the colonials (and herself at one time) upon African game. Again, when admiring a herd of buffalo from the plane, Dinesen describes them as well within shooting distance, (155) hardly a measure any African would use to describe the same distance. The point however, is that despite those European influences Dinesen still displays a laudable understanding of the African perspective, especially concerning the African conception of time.
Natives dislike speed, as we dislike noise, it is to them, at the best, hard to bear. They are also on friendly terms with time, and the plan of beguiling or killing time does not come into their heads. In fact the more time you give them the happier they are... (156). To the European time is an obstacle. It governs life as nothing else does, and every attempt is made to use it efficiently. The thought that time past is time lost is a scary one; time is of the essence and hence must never be wasted. To the African, however, time is simply the ability to live; if you commission a Kikuyu to hold your horse while you make a visit.... [h]e does not try to pass the time then, but sits down and lives (156). This laid back philosophy of hakuna matata, no worries, has often lead the European to label the African as lazy and apathetic. In today’s hectic Western world of mass production, conveyor belts and above all efficiency, the hakuna matata philosophy may be inappropriate at best. But to the African, life, not time, is of the essence. This is the fundamental difference between the European and the African. Whereas the European attempts to mold his surroundings to accomplish his ends, the African rather adapts himself to his environment. Dinesen is one of those rare colonials who at least respects the African perspective on life as a valid one. Today we realize that though this perspective is valid, it is obsolete and in fact a heavy fetter hindering all attempts at upward mobility.
In the modern world, the European outlook has come to dominate our way of life. The Western mode of thought has become the convention; the ability of other countries and cultures to adapt to this standard largely determines their success in toady’s world. Some countries, notably the Asian ones, have been able to draw upon their cultural backgrounds as strengths. Sadly, Africa has had little luck in this sense. The roots of this problem may be traced back to the African outlook on life; indifference to change and a flexible conception of time. When the Masai turned their backs on Dinesen, and the old Kikuyus expressed Éanything but distrust and a certain feeling of shame (157) for European innovations, Africa was slowly digging itself into a hole from which it has yet to emerge.
What Dinesen acutely perceived all those years ago was the marked differences between the African and European views on life. The Europeans failure to reconcile these differences before liberating the continent has resulted in Africa’s plight today. Chronic famines, wars, dictatorships, and the sheer oppressive misery in Africa point to a continent at odds with the Western world. In the end, Africa’s ability to survive and prosper is contingent upon its success in learning to think European, a bitter pill to swallow so soon after throwing off the shackles of colonialism, but a necessary one.
Works Cited: 1. Dinesen, Isak. “From Out of Africa”. Ed. Mary Morris. New York: Random House, 1993. 152-57.
Extracts From: Mother India – Edited by Baburao Patel – June 1972
EDITOR’S MAIL
(in good humour and without offence)
Vyjayntimala presented hubby Dr. Bali with a seven pound bonny boy ?
The Punjabis never fail. Let’s hope the little fellow becomes a doctor and not a dancer.
Is China ready to fight Russia ?
Not yet ! But it will one day. China and Russia are traditional enemies.
Do Parsis believe in polygamy ?
All men believe in polygamy - if they have money and opportunity.
Dr. Baburao Patel likes some parts of communism. Will he become Red one day ?
I like a lot of Communism except its violence and denial of God.
I want to look like a fool.
That you do. At the party “Girnar” the other day no one suspected you of intelligence till you opened your mouth.
Why does Shantaram always use a cap ?
To hide his bald head. That man has go many things to hide. He uses his tailor’s suit as a birth certificate.
Why does Nandini Satpathy pronounce ‘importance’ as impotence’
I don’t know why she does that. She has some children.
How many times a day do you pray ?
A man in work is a man in prayer. That is 18 hours of prayer.
My husband does not like to see Rajesh Khanna films ?
On the road he can see more handsome faces without paying for them.
When did you curse Indira last ?
I have not cursed her even once. Indira is the best in the bad lot we have and I often pray for her long life.
Suppose God decides to give birth to you in Pakistan ?
God is more merciful than men.
How did the Arabs and Americans swallow Pakistan’s defeat ?
Both got a terrible attack of biliousness. The Arabs vomited their bile at the Jeddah Muslim Conference. The American bombed North Vietnam in bilious anger.
In America men sell their wives, I heard ?
They do wife swapping – not selling.
Do your friends count on your faults ?
My children do. My friends are very kind to me.
Are Sikhs reliable ?
Who licked the Pakistanis in the last Indo-Pak war ?
What is there in Indira that wasn’t in Jawahar ?
Jawahar was warm and soft. Indira is cold and hard.
How much of Indira Gandhi is Hindu ?
The Brahmin part of her must be a terrible Hindu. Why else would she go to Tirupati ?
S.G. Desai (Ulhanagar)
They say Sardajis are homosexual, What is your experience ?
I never shared a room with a Sardaji yet. But in England they like Sardarjis.
Bhutto is keen to redress Pakistan’s humiliation in the Indo-Pak war. What will he do ?
If Bhutto is clever he can become another non-paying guest of India like Muljibur Rehman. If we can feed BanglaDesh to improve Indira’s democratic image, why not feed Pakistan ?
W.H.O says that 83% of the population above 20 years in India is infected with T.B. Do you believe in this nonsense ?
It is sense, good sense, Asha. In India we have more tuberculosis than food.
Have you really decided to dedicate your brain to the nation after your death ?
No, I need it for my next birth. I don’t want scientists to make pickle from it.
Miss R. Manjula (Secunderabad)
Please predict Moraji Desai’s future ?
A quiet funeral with new virtues discovered in the obituaries. A dead buffalo always has more milk.
My wife is a staunch non-vegetarian ?
An angry Mathur woman can eat a man. So don’t provoke her.
A. Ramanujan (Bangalore)
Has any of your dogs ever mistaken your leg for a lamp post ?
Mine is not a leg of a lazy man. My dogs get out of breath keeping pace with me.
Why doesn’t Lata retire gracefully from crooning and dedicate herself to the cause of music like Sushila Rani Patel ?
Lata is a crooner, Crooning is a commercial pursuit. In commercial pursuit one makes money and does not serve a cause.
S. Swaminathan (Madras)
Tikka Khan is Pakistan’s Chief of Army ! What does it show ?
Another Indo-Pak war.
V. Sampat (Bangalore)
How did you spend your birthday ?
This year it was also my Golden Wedding Day and a forerunner of a great loss in my life.
Will Rajaji score a century ?
He can score two centuries if he wants. How does that help the country with Indira bringing communism.
Asha Shukla (Indore)
What does Mr. Bhutto mean by saying “I want to have heart to heart discussion with Mrs. Gandhi looking straight into her eyes ?
Bhutto is a megalomaniac. You must not take him seriously.
Bhutto says, “We want peace because we have not resources to set up for war” ?
That is the first truth Bhutto has said since he became President of Pakistan.
She will finish the communists too ?
The Americans have been at that game for 50 years and not succeeded yet.
Dilip Kumar is disappointing us now ?
You should be charitable to an old man especially if he has a young wife to support.
What makes Muslim more virile than a Hindu ?
Beef makes him a bull.
How can I decide my future ?
Your future is decided already. You just keep working. You cannot change a jot of your destiny whatever you do.
My eyes often water ?
Look at your wife a little more and they will dry up.
Do you hear rumours about our ministers ?
Plenty of rumours. And rarely is there smoke without fire.
Source:
Extracts From: Mother India – Edited by Baburao Patel – June 1972
EDITOR’S MAIL
(in good humour and without offence)
No one has come close in the 400 years of White President's to President Barack Obama, this country is blessed to have him. I shutter to think about Palin running anything she couldn't even stick it out as Governor of Alaska, let alone President? give me a break. This country needs to come together and work towards a common good for everyone.
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