In the Shadow of Kirinyaga by Sophia Mustafa; Tsar Publications; Price: Rs.850; 238 pp
The general consensus is that people of the Indian subcontinent attach little value to history. A put-down commonly employed in drawing room arguments across Indian society with telling effect, is ‘don’t talk about the past’. Yet contrary to popular global belief that the past is over and done with (Henry Ford famously remarked that history is bunk), study of the past — i.e history — is important because nations, societies and people are shaped and contoured by it. They are indeed the sum of their past.
Therefore contrary to what some of the high and mighty in Indian education who cavalierly shape and bend history to suit their whims and prejudices believe, historical narratives written in good faith are important because with the benefit of hindsight they sort out victors and villains and unsung heroes ignored by motivated or prejudiced historians. This is the outstanding virtue of Canada-based writer and novelist Sophia Mustafa’s In the Shadow of Kirinyaga. Though presented as a novel, in effect this is a painstakingly crafted social history of the pioneer Indians who not only built East Africa’s railway network, but subsequently monetised and played a stellar role in the socio-economic development of the once high-potential nation states of former British East Africa — i.e Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania — which became independent in the 1960s.
With the mainly mercantile East African Indians ignorant of the importance of recording their great contribution to the development of this region, and Indian intellectuals from the subcontinent under the influence of confused socialism disdainful of the remarkable entrepreneurial drive of their compatriots in Africa, the story of this enterprising, nation-building community was in danger of remaining untold. “East African Asians have always been a peripheral people working for the railways and at petty trading and business,” in the racially-prejudiced histories and novels of Europeans and as “stereotyped and marginal characters in African-authored writings,” says Mustafa, explaining her inspiration to pen this valuable social history.
What Mustafa is too polite to state is that perfidious Albion (i.e the Brits), pastmasters at the game of divide-and-rule played their cards to perfection in East Africa driving a deep wedge between the natives and culturally — but not politically — exclusive Indians. Even to this day Indians who raised themselves up by their bootstraps and taught Kenyans, Ugandans and Tanzanians the few vocational trades they knew when these nations became independent, are widely regarded as exploiters and rapacious traders by politically naive native Africans who remain massively ignorant of the wholesale loot of these territories by European settlers working hand-in-glove with British agri-business multinationals. Ironically with anti-Asian sentiment stoked by the British unabated in these territories, East African Asians have migrated in large numbers to Britain, Canada and Australia greatly enriching their economies with their professional skills and commercial acumen.
However this or any other political analysis of the decline and fall into mediocrity of the high-potential nation states of former British East Africa is far removed from the theme of the octogenerian Mustafa’s debut novel. This East Africa-born reviewer is well-acquainted with the author and an unabashed admirer of her contributions to the region’s Indian community as a member of independent Tanzania’s first Parliament and the author of The Tanganyika Way (1961), which recounted the story of Tanganyika’s (later Tanzania) transition to independence from British rule under its well-intentioned but foolish socialist first president, the Edinburgh University-educated Dr. Julius Nyerere whose ‘African socialism’ transformed its promising Asian-dominated economy into one of the most backward in the third world. Somewhat disappointingly In the Shadow of Kirinyaga steers clear of such rich material and restricts its focus to the social trials and tribulations of two Muslim families resident in Kenya where they eke out bleak but self-contained lives within an evolving society in which they are denied any political influence.
Nevertheless on another plane, In the Shadow is a culturally rich and assertive book which depicts the hard and uncomplaining lifestyles of first-generation emigrants from the Indian subcontinent who played a major — but finally unsuccessful — role in the socio-economic development of the newly-emergent nation states of East Africa. It meticulously details the rich customs and traditions which kept communities from the subcontinent going in the strange territories to which they had been driven by lack of employment opportunities in the land of their birth. The primary purpose of this novel whose initial chapters might prove somewhat tedious for Indian readers one suspects, is to educate westerners about the social mores and traditions of East African Asians who have migrated to — and are playing a valuable developmental role within — western economies.
In form In the Shadow is a novel set in Kenya in the 1920-30s.The narrative revolves around the coming of age of charming 13-year-old Shaira, the eldest daughter of the four children of Sabra, a widowed school teacher residing in Nairobi. Though Shaira is barely into her teens, inevitably arranging her marriage is uppermost in the mind of her mother. A wedding invitation from a Hindu family living in Nyeri, a small town in the north is a good excuse for Sabra to sound out the parents of 22-year Mussavir, a recently India qualified medical practitioner as a match for her daughter. The two families and the couple meet in Nyeri, a scenic town nestling in the shadow of Kirinyaga (aka Mount Kenya) and the initially sceptical and relatively progressive Mussavir is captivated by the innocent charm and simultaneous maturity of Shaira.
However though hardly off the steamer from Bombay, Mussavir has already been drafted by his autocratic father Dr. Bashir to serve in the British medical corps in Abyssinya which is being invaded by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Upon Mussavir’s insistence the two are engaged prior to his departure for Abyssinya. But in the brief and vicious war which is fought in that barren landscape, Mussavir is injured, takes to the bottle and is saved by a nurse whom he is obliged to marry. Barely into her teens, Shaira has to nurse a broken heart and experience a sudden metamorphosis into adulthood — a rite of passage so poignantly related that it is is likely to melt the most cynical of hearts.
Though completely unsung in India, In the Shadow of Kirinyaga is an important and valuable addition to the much-too-small list of books detailing the Indian diaspora in the East and particularly Africa. On the surface this novel is a social history of pioneer Indians who lived and loved once upon a time in the hauntingly beautiful territories of East Africa. But its defining characteristic is an under-current of regret experienced by all East African Asians unjustly forced out of these new nation states which they helped to bring out of the dark ages. Dilip Thakore
Career choices compendium
Careers — A Pathfinder by Vibha Gupta; Tata McGraw-Hill; Price: Rs.375; 665 pp
Not once upon a time, but less than two decades ago, the career choices of children from ‘good’ middle class families were restricted to law, medicine, engineering, the armed forces and the civil services. But in the mid 1980s when the process of loosening the nation’s licence-permit-quota regime commenced and particularly after the historic economic liberalisation and deregulation initiative of 1991, the number of career options available to India’s youth multiplied with bewildering complexity. With easier import of equipment, a kaleidoscope of atypical vocations including fashion design and modelling, disc and video jockeying and bar tending have become respectable, high wage professions. Careers — A Pathfinder is a thorough and extensive guide to the diverse career opportunities available in the complex new post-1991 job market.
The author Dr. Vibha Gupta, a mathematician and the founder trustee of the Delhi-based Personal Excellence Foundation (a non-profit education trust), newspaper columnist and publisher of Career Explorer, a monthly newsletter for school children, provides a systematic and methodical overview of the various career opportunities available to school and college leavers. The vocations detailed in this book range from naval architecture to music therapy, covering a wide spectrum of choices in between.
The most inviting characteristic of this useful manual is its reader-friendly format and simple, concise and consistent — almost monotonous — structure. Part I of the book, subtitled ‘Your Interest’ is divided into four sections — A, B, C and D “with subjects requiring similar type skills and interest in one (i.e each) section”. Thus section A groups arts, English, other languages and the performing arts together. Section B groups mathematics and science subjects such as agriculture, biology, chemistry and computer and home sciences, maths and physics. Section C clubs accounts and business study subjects and section D, social study subjects (geography, history, psychology, sociology etc).
The chapter on ‘education and training’ required for each one of the 100 professions chosen is particularly useful in that it details the academic and training requirements for success in each profession detailed in the book. It is informative and conveys precisely which examinations and additional courses a novice would need to write to get to the top of a chosen profession. Perhaps the most helpful sub-section under each profession is ‘earning and advancement’. It tells the reader the average remuneration of a beginner, the experienced professional and also discusses the scope for growth and advancement in each profession. Overall, each career vignette provides a fairly interesting employment profile and the reader should get a decent idea of what’s involved in each career choice.
However, in light of changing societal attitudes about ‘respectable professions’, this book is sadly conventional and engineering and medical professions are significantly more detailed than lesser-known new age professions. Moreover the huge ground Careers — A Pathfinder covers (665 pages) required the author to sacrifice depth for range. The result is a sketchy overview rather than an insightful survey. The next updated edition of this useful book would also strongly benefit from a global perspective instead of the current edition’s India-centric approach, since a large percentage of youth in India dream of working abroad.
The book culminates with a list of important examinations for each profession. For example which management exams or engineering tests should be written to get into the best colleges. This last section is very detailed and informative and is probably the most helpful part of the book. The section on scholarships for aspiring professionals is also fairly in-depth but would again benefit from a transnational perspective.
Careers — A Pathfinder is ideal for youngsters or first-year college students just beginning to think of their future and intimidated by career counsellors. It provides a simple, lucid introduction to each profession and advancement prospects within it. However, college graduates may find this book too cursory to be of any real help. Although the book makes for an interesting one-time read, it would be foolhardy to plan a career relying on it.
Arshiya Bose
