Rico, A book or several waiting to be written here!
shiv kumar On 4 May 2015 at 22:06, Goanet Reader <goanetrea...@gmail.com> wrote: > Jambo Bwana > > FN > > There was something very familiar about the figure I > encountered at the crowded weekday Mapusa market. Looking > closely, I realised it was Benjy, an old schoolmate. In > shorts, shoes and socks he stood, looking distant and > detached, but quietly confident at the same time. > > "You're still quite the Africander," I > half-jokingly said. This unexpected encounter > brought back a flood of memories of an archetype > that go back four decades and more. > > The image of the 'Africander' (or Goan in Africa) is writ > large on my childhood memories. They came in as a trickle, > in the mid-sixties, when one first encountered them. This > soon turned into a flood, thanks to the independence of the > British colonies in East Africa (Uhuru) and, of course, Idi Amin. > > When in school in the 1970s, this was an increasingly > noticeable group. Probably this was more so in the so-called > Old Conquest areas, and particularly in Bardez, due to the > demographics of migration out of Goa. > > (There's always an argument over which part of Goa has had > the highest out-migration to East Africa. Some say it's > Bardez, and others point to Salcete. But the first > English-language high schools in this then Portuguese colony > were all from the Bardez area -- St Joseph's Arpora, Mater > Dei at Saligao and Sacred Heart Parra.) > > Two thoughts predominate when one thinks of the Africanders > they were neither Africans nor Afrikaners, mind you, and were > rather particular about this appellation. The first was the > slight, but tolerable, air of superiority some carried along > with themselves. As everyone knows, there are pecking orders > within pecking orders within Goa and Goans. A Goan gets > respected more, or less, depending on which part of the world > he has migrated to, where he lives. All are not equal; for > that matter, there are hierarchies even within religious > communities or among caste groupings. > > But the more lasting impression is about the impact > the Africander had on Goan life back home. > Together with the influx around the early 1970s, > 'Old Conquest' villages like our got a new lease of > life. The schools perked up, so did the > playgrounds. Suddenly, school plays became > vibrant, and new sports got popular. We saw hockey > as a East Africa import; and probably some of the > chess skills came from there too (though more were > locally built more recently). > > Some villages stopped being homes merely for grandparents and > grandchildren, as was till then the case. Other > English-influenced Goans, returning from other parts of > India, also added considerable charm to local life. > > We were stunned once to enter our school-hall -- when then > looked large to our small eyes -- and seem large, canvas > modern-art style paintings decorate the flanks of the stage. > > Suddenly, plays like the three-act operetta Pearl the > Fishermaiden made it to our school stage. If Snow White and > the Seven Dwarfs came along, the acting was of the highest > quality. One can still recall the younger boys trained to > somersault around on the stage as dwarfs, and one of the > pretty girls take on the role of Snow White. Spoken English > took on a new polish, wrapped in accents and diction that > gave us a bit of a complex. > > This afternoon, seeing someone wearing an almost-gaudy > Africa-influenced shirt -- was it called the kitenge? -- on > the CHOGM Road at Sangolda brought back memories. > > Quizzes, spelling bees and elocution in English got > a boost with their arrival, and you could run into > the young Africanders often at the English 'Our > Youth' (later, Yuvavani) programmes of All India > Radio too. They were among the brightest and most > forward kids of our times. > > They brought back a new vocabulary to Goa. Words like "Jambo > Bwana" (in Swahili, "Hello Mister"), habari gani? nzuri sana > ("how are things going? very well") and hakuna matata ("no > problem") got heard here. If someone said 'Hodi' (May I come > in?) on approaching your house, you could guess where that came from. > > Anyone with a proclivity for the English language was assumed > to be an Africander. (If you're wondering, I didn't have any > direct connection there, but a brief 2005 visit allowed me to > understand why Goans loved the East Africa setting, strong > enough to believe that it would be their home. Forever.) > > They wrote to distant radio stations, got into hobbies like > DXing, and were fans of the Beatles. > > In those pre-Internet days, they served as a link to the then > distant, outside world. Invariably, they had far more access > to reading material than any of us. This was perhaps one > reason we latched on and built friendships with the children > of returning Africanders. > > Comics like 'Beano' and 'Bunty' -- though published > in the United Kingdom -- made their way home with > them. It opened our eyes to new worlds. Idi Amin > disallowed expelled Asians from taking along any of > their money with them; my aunt thought of > despatching piles of such magazines by the post to > us in Goa. These made a big difference in times > when children's reading material here was almost as > scarce as a hen's teeth! One competition in such a > mag planted in my mind the bizarre idea that one > could earn a living from writing. > > Recently, one thought of searching in cyberspace for those > unusual Lance Spearman comics that also came in from Africa. > Surprisingly, these can actually be found online if you > search hard enough. These were perhaps among the early > illustrated texts for African teens, published in Africa. > They had comics-like stories, but instead of drawings and > sketches, the publishers used black-and-white photographs. > One remembers the plots had African detectives sorting out > mostly local crime in local settings. > > Back in Goa, the Africanders met up on Fridays, the market > day at Mapusa, at the Terry Lobo-run Casa Bela in Mapusa. > The hotel is no more, it's squat, charming one floor has > given way to a multi-storey that, you would be told now, > makes more commercial sense. > > In some villages like Moira, Aldona and Saligao, it might be > true to say that the early 20th century 'clubs' got a new > lease of life, thanks to the card-players of games like > Rummy. Returning Africanders and their card-playing partners > even condescended to teach us youngsters the classic card > game of Bridge, more out of necessity and the lack of a > partner to make up a foursome. When I looked back and did a > rough calculation, it turned out that some of them had been > religiously making their daily evening visit to the club for > something like the last four decades. If they passed on > recently while in their eighties, this would mean they had > retired sometime in their forties. > > Some found their original home a tough region to fit back > into; and Goa, despite its reputation as being a "hospitable" > place, can be unhelpful to someone new wanting to adjust. > But others continued to play their useful roles. One of my > ex-Africander schoolteachers was a wine-maker, Scout-master, > skilled artist, taxidermist, and overall a man of amazing > skills and talents. > > It is only now, as more books get written on the > Africanders, that we realise more about their lives > and their times. But the story didn't always end > happily. The son of one of the richest Bardezkar > Africander died literally on the streets. It was > heart-wrenching to see him, one day, sit on the > back stairs of a club -- that an earlier generation > of Africanders had probably contributed immensely, > if not built. He tied a sullied cloth around his > neck, as if it was a princely napkin of earlier > times; and then proceeded to crack a raw egg and > gulp it down hungrily.... > > Just when it seemed that things were settling down in Goa, > the younger generation of Africanders grew up. A few managed > to cope very well in local life. For instance, at least two > I know are skilled translators of Devanagari Konkani. This > is amazing, considering that they perhaps never got a chance > to study their source-language ever in school. Others have > worked as professors, publishers and what not, adding to the > intellectual climate in Goa and other parts of India. > > But time has its own logic. By the mid-eighties, many were > already moving out of Goa. Australia, Canada and the UK-US > were their new found homes. The children of returning > Africanders were already leaving Goa in droves. Maybe they > found it hard to adjust, and preferred to be in other parts > of the globe. I don't see them, as some do, as being > entirely lost to Goa; But efforts are definitely needed if we > are to tap into this skill base -- the mistrusts aside -- on > a continuing basis. > > After exchanging some pleasantries with Benjy, I moved on. > But that's how it was. Nostalgic. > > ### > > Some old photos of Goans in Africa > http://yhoo.it/1bWQmYS > > http://www.navhindtimes.in/jambo-bwana > > First appeared in the Navhind Times