105 - Simien Mountains - God's Own Playground!

The day was the 29th of September, 2003 and the day of our visit to Semien mountain ranges. Right from the early morning, we could hear the rhythmic Amharic music. The Meskel festival was in full swing.  

We started at 05:30 in the morning. The roads were full of burnt wood and ash and uncannily resembled the south Indian festival, Bhogi. The streets were full of the acrid smell of burnt wood. Added to the cold climate, foggy weather and quaintly old fashioned houses, it looked as if we stepped out into a medieval world of kings, castles and wars!

But the loud purring of the van and the diesel smell that it was emanating brought us all back to the harsh realities of life.

The weather was cold, and we were wearing sweaters, mufflers, monkey caps and gloves. But still, it was biting cold. We would be driving 105 kilometres to the Semien mountain ranges, and we were thrilled but quite apprehensive at the chillness that we would have to experience.

The going was slow and Mulugeta our tour guide started grumbling. We were losing time and were forced to have breakfast in the vans. Mulugeta made a grudging concession. He gave us a scornful look and declared, “You can have a restroom/short tea break for fifteen minutes”. He had the demeanour of a haughty king doling out alms to his fawning peasants.

We did not wait for a second offer. The tour party jumped out and made a beeline to the nearest restroom. Most settled for Shai (tea without milk). My eyes fell on the roadside table tennis table. The table was hard, undulating and sported an apology of a net. The rackets were hard, lumpy and had a ‘blink and you will miss’ sponge padding.

The players were taken aback when I requested them to allow me to play. It was hard to play. The table was not exactly the correct size, and the surface was like Kanpur’s fifth-day cricket pitch. Once the ball hits some of the inundations, no one knew the direction that the ball would take.

I quickly adjusted and started playing confidently. Slowly the leering grins from the crowd turned into polite smiles and then into worrisome frowns. There was palpable tension. This was not on the cards.  They could not let a firang (a foreigner) beat them in their courtyard.

Suddenly a thin as reed youngster unravelled himself from the dusty wooden stool. Without a word, he took the racket from my opponent. I knew it was the wild west, and the best gunfighter was here!! The town’s honour was at stake.

By now our touring party too was taking an interest. I tightened my mental loins and tossed the ball. The fight was on. But it was a lost cause. The local boy had too much advantage. He had the support, knew the conditions well, handled the racket better and knew exactly how the ball would move once it hit the crevices. To cut a long story short, the local champion bet me. There was a triumphant cheer, and as a token of appreciation, I gave the winner 5 birrs! That gesture made me very popular among the locals. 

As we left town, Mulugeta lobbed in the next grenade. We would not be stopping at the handicrafts village of Beta Israel or the Ethiopian Jews. We were disappointed but not shattered. By then we knew that most of the Ethiopian Jews had already left Ethiopia and that the village, handicrafts and the local shops were all operated by the entrepreneurial Ethiopians who learned the iconic Jewish clay pottery from the Falasha before they migrated to Israel.

As we climbed into the mountains, nature manifested itself just like a peacock unfolds itself after a torrential downpour. The Meskel flowers were everywhere. They were so numerous that the entire mountain ranges looked as if God gave them a bath in turmeric! And in different shades too!

There were curving roads, misty fog, jutting mountain peaks, breathtaking meadows, long drives over flat surfaces and suddenly the way would end up in narrow ridges. We could see scary drops of over hundreds of feet into valleys on both sides. In many parts, there were no guard rails! A plunge into the valley would mean curtains!

The mountain ranges were rugged and jagged. The mountain peaks were not smooth and looked like as if they were thrown helter-skelter by some unknown force. I was already into the mood of the things, when a spirit spoke to me “You know, they are called gods own chess pieces. the local folklore is that gods played chess here and that is why all the mountain peaks resemble chess pieces. Simien is god’s playground”

I was taken aback, why would a spirit talk to me? Reality dawned. It was not any spirit.  It was Mulugeta who was whispering in my ear! I took my ear out of the range of his mouth and thanked him. Now I knew why the spirit had the smell of stale tobacco and strong Ethiopian coffee!   

The mountain ranges were awe-inspiring. The highest mountain in Simien is Ras Dashen which at 4550 metres is Ethiopia tallest mountain and 10th highest in Africa. Similarly, Ankwar stood at 4462 metres (12th highest in Africa), Kidis Yared at 4453 (13th highest in Africa) and Bwahit at 4437 (14th highest in Africa). All were in the Simien mountain ranges. No wonder Semien mountain ranges were a UNESCO world heritage site!

Out of 75 tallest mountains in Africa, 51 are in Ethiopia. Ethiopia houses the mountains of Africa. We were peering at some of the highest peaks in Africa, just like watching Mount Everest and watching alongside some of the highest mountains in the world. Scenes out of National Geographic channel! 

104 – Gondar, a city that the Emperors built!

The trip started early in the morning, and we packed ourselves into the two vans. Early mornings in Bahirdar have a healthy nip, and the air is bracing. The scenic beauty unfolded itself before our unbelieving eyes and compensated for the rough drive. 

Our first stop would be Gondar, the historic city and the erstwhile capital of the Ethiopian Emperors. Gondar is the sixth biggest city in Ethiopia and for the statistically minded Bahirdar is the 5th. Both Bahirdar and Gondar lie on the banks of Lake Tana the biggest freshwater lake in Ethiopia. At 2133 metres over mean sea level, Gondar is at the exact height as Kodaikanal, the queen of the Nilgiris, the famous hill resort of Tamil Nadu. Bahirdar is at 1820 metres above sea level almost the same height as Lonavala (1871 metres) the hill resort in Maharashtra. Gondar was 175 KIlometres away from Bahirdar.  

Gondar is a modern city with a distinctive culture. It has been the seat of power of the Ethiopian Emperors and has some spectacular forts and churches. Gondar was also the place where the Jews of Ethiopia once stayed before they all immigrated to Israel. 

Called Falasha (or wanderers) the Jews called themselves Beta Israel. Most of the Ethiopian Jews have since left, but the Jewish villages still exist as monuments that tourists could visit. 

Gondar is also quite noted among the Indian community. – The cause for fame was the university of medicine and in 2002 almost all the teaching, non-teaching faculty and nurses were totally of Indian origin. Thus the Indian community was all white coated. I was explaining this to Padma and Anasuya aunty. 

Hearing this Kuldeep preened “Arrey Anil Bhai, hum bee tho Doctor hai aur hum bhi tho white coat pehenthey Hai (we too are doctors, and we too wear aprons)”. He was referring to himself as a doctor. A PhD in Mathematics and a Doctorate. And to top it almost all teachers in Ethiopia wear white aprons to protect their clothes from the chalk dust! 

“Dr. Kuldeep Ji. Talk about yourself. I am not a doctor by any imagination, and I don’t wear the apron”. I added quite caustically. I somehow was quite averse to wearing the apron to the classroom. I recited a joke about PhD doctors.  

A freshly minted PhD (who struggled for over a decade for his doctorate) proudly put a nameplate Dr. So and So on his apartment’s front door. The next day morning, there was a frantic ringing of the calling bell. Before he could go to the door, his nosy parker no-nonsense nine-year-old son opened the door. At the door was a man who was panting. “Is the doctor in?” was his worried enquiry. 

The PhD doctor’s son yawned, picked his tooth with an imaginary toothpick and drawled ‘Yes, he is, BUT HE WILL BE OF NO USE TO YOU”. With this, he banged the door in the face of the shocked visitor. More shocked and devastated was his father, who was rudely pushed from the ecstatic heavenly bliss to the hard reality of life. PhD’s are Doctorates and not doctors. Kuldeep roared his approval and laughed till tears came to his eyes.    

We stopped for breakfast at the roadside. The scenes were breathtaking, but the countryside was full of mud and was dripping wet. The Ethiopian rainy season was in full swing! Most of us were drowsing when both the vans came to a screeching halt. We were in a traffic jam! 

I got down to enquire. It was a nightmare that came true! There was a massive landslide, and the vehicles were stuck choco-o-block. There was nothing that we could do but watch with open mouths as puny workers struggled to get the rocks and the mud out of the way. It was man against nature! 

 

But on the other side was a sight that stunned us. Rising out of the sheer mountainside was a rock formation (the god’s finger) – that looked exactly like a massive Shiva Lingaa. This sight made the entire group very happy, and they all happily agreed that it was a splendid omen for our start, and the landslide be damned! 

By lunchtime, we reached Gondar. Like most big Ethiopian cities, Gondar was clean and had paved concrete roads. It also had many double-storeyed buildings. The weather was cold, and the air was fresh and unpolluted. We vowed to ourselves. “Next contract, we shall try to come to Gondar”. T.N.Murthy remarked, “Do you know, We can get INDIAN RICE in Gondar?”. What he meant was that we could get Chinese rice that resembles the Indian Sona Masuri! For the Bahirdar Indian community who ate broken soggy rice, it was like God giving boons! The entire troop immediately made plans to buy the whole rice stock of Gondar! 

Our stay was at Hotel Quara. After freshening up, we visited Debre Berhan Selassie, the oldest church of Gondar. It was a typical Ethiopian church, very modest but had spectacular paintings on the walls. Suddenly someone shouted, “look at the ceiling, look at the ceiling.” 

We looked up and the sight shocked and frankly spooked us all. Many faces were solemnly staring at us! Sahithi got a scare of her life and clutched her mother so tightly that Padma gave out a yelp of pain. Sahithi’s tiny nails were piercing her shoulder.

 It took us some seconds to realise that the faces were not real but painted into the ceiling itself. Later a priest told us that the faces belonged to angels and that there were a total of 144 angel faces, each with a slightly different facial expression. An experience of a lifetime! 

Next, we visited the Fasil Gebbi (the royal enclosure) or the Gondar Fort complex. It was founded in the 17th century by Emperor Fasilides (Fasil) and was the home of Ethiopian emperors. Its unique architecture shows diverse influences. 

The origins of the Fasil Ghebbi can be found in the old tradition of the Ethiopian emperors to travel around their possessions, living off the produce of the peasants and dwelling in tents. 

Emperor Fasilides broke this tradition of progressing through the territories, and founded the city of Gondar as his capital; its relative permanence makes the city historically significant. Within the capital, he commanded the construction of an imposing edifice, the Fasil Gemb or Fasilides castle. A wall with numerous gates delineated the area around the Fasil Gemb. Subsequent emperors built their own structures, many of which survive either in whole or part today.

The entry fee was 50 birr! It was so steep that most Indian teaching community at Gondar would not visit the fort even once during their entire stay. We never had such qualms and went inside. By Indian standards, the forts were not spectacular, but they were decent and quite old. The least impressed was Dr. Kuldeep who murmured “such forts exist in nook and corner of my state” No wonder he was so upset. Kuldeep comes from Rajasthan the state that boasts some of the best forts in India if not the world itself!  

Strangely the architecture looked familiar. Later google search proved me correct. The architecture had very strong Indian design aspects. The builders of the Gondar fort were Indians! It established the fact that Indians and Ethiopians had friendly ties from time immemorial. Habsiguda, the bustling place near Tarnaka in Hyderabad, gets its name from Habesha (or locals as called in Amharic). The Nizam of Hyderabad had a massive contingent of Ethiopians in his army, and most of them were stationed in Habsiguda! 

From Gondar fort, we went to Fasilides bath another UNESCO world heritage site. Fasilides bath is around two km northwest of the piazza, attributed to both Emperor Fasilides, and Iyasu I. The large rectangular pool is overlooked by a charming building and alongside are some massive trees with large exposed roots. 

Padma gave a huge sigh and said “Why did the emperor build a separate bath for himself? That too so far away. Why can’t he take a bath at the fort itself?” I mentally imagined an emperor trundling along ponderously from his fort to the bathing area, just to take a bath. And at that time there were no friendly Bajaja (three-wheeler autos) or cars! Shaking myself out of the mental stupor, I quickly explained “Bath does not mean a bathroom. It is a symbolic bath. This symbolic bathing takes place during the Ethiopian festival of the Timkat”. 

Although the complex was used initially for swimming (royalty donned inflated goat-skin life jackets to swim), nowadays, it is filled with water for the Timkat (Baptism) or Epiphany celebrations which fall on the 20th of January.

After the bishop blesses the water, the pool becomes a riot of splashing water, shouts and laughter as crowds jump in. The ceremony replicates Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River and is a sacred renewal of faith among the Orthodox Christian community of Ethiopia.

103 - The devil in Detail – Gondar, Simien and Lalibela trip.

Mulugeta our tour guide gave us the details of the tour. We would be starting on the 26th of September and would come back on the 30th of September 2003. The trip would begin from Bahirdar, and first, we would go to Gondar. Gondar boosts of some spectacular forts, churches and Fasilidas bath a world heritage centre. 

From Gondar, we would go to Lalibela, and incidentally, the 27th of September is Meskel the big Ethiopian festival. Meskel is the annual religious festival of the Ethiopian orthodox church which commemorates the discovery of the True Cross by the Roman Empress Helena in the fourth century. 

Meskel occurs on the 17th Meskerem in the Ethiopian Calendar or the 27th of September in the Georgian calendar. "Meskel" is the Geez word for "cross". Geez is the holy language of Ethiopia. Geez is the language of the holy scripts. It is the Sanskrit language of Ethiopia! 

Many Ethiopians who live in cities return to their villages to celebrate the national event. The Meskel celebration includes the burning of a large bonfire or Demera based on the belief that Queen Eleni as she is known had a revelation in her dream.  

The prophecy was that the queen should make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where the true Cross lay buried. The queen ordered the people of Jerusalem to bring wood and make a huge pile. Frankincense was added, and the bonfire was lit. The smoke rose high to the sky and returned, precisely to the burial spot of the true Cross.

The Demera procession takes place in the early evening the day before Meskel or on the day itself. Charcoal remains from the fire is collected and the faithful mark their foreheads with the shape of a cross. One of the significant occurrences of the festival is the coinciding with the mass blooming of meskel flowers, the golden-yellow daisies.  

We had not seen the Meskel celebration and were in great anticipation to witness it at Lalibela, the holiest of the Ethiopian sites. It is like witnessing Brahmotsavam in Tirupati. The festivities have the same energy and vibrancy of the Ravana Samharam performed on the 10th day of the Indian Dussehra festival.   

Then it was down to the costing. The trip estimation was 12,000 birr or 60,000 rupees. It was overall 1200 dollars or 100 dollars (Rs 5,000/-) per person, and It was a dirt-cheap deal. However, it was puzzling that the Indian community was so stingy that it was not willing to spend Rs 5,000/- on a trip that they would never get another chance to experience. 

I told the group that the costs were only an estimate and that expenses could go up or down. Everyone paid the 1000 birr without a murmur. 

I cautioned the group and told them to carry woollens, essential medicines, mosquito nets, trekking shoes and water. Water is critical as water quality is quite variable in Ethiopia and bottled mineral water was not available at all places. There was an agreement that we should carry at least five litres of water per person. 

As we had kids (Pranav and Sahithi), it was decided that we carry homemade food. Padma volunteered to make masala pooris, Murukulu (a readymade snack) and Mango pickle. Kuldeep's items were fifty chapattis, pudina chutney, garlic chutney and alu (potato) curry, Tasleem got to prepare fifty chapattis, T.N.Murthy got one kg fried groundnuts, Geeta madam got pullihora and chips, Dr. Neelima's items were lemon rice and mango pickle.  

Man proposes, and God disposes. Exactly twelve hours before the trip Mulugeta dropped a bomb! There was a change in the plan. The bus that we had booked was not available. Another group of tourists booked it, and that information did not percolate down to Mulugeta. 

Now we would be provided two minivans. The travel itinerary changed too. We would first go Gondar, then from Gondar to Simien mountains. From Simien mountains, we would return to Gondar. From Gondar, via Oreta, we would go to Lalibela. The bus would be available from Oreta onwards. And from Lalibela, we would come back to Bahirdar. And to top it all there would be two Irish tourists who would be joining our group. Like all things African, it was a flat ultimatum delivered in a no-nonsense tone. We had no choice but to accept. Time was not on our side. It was Mulugeta's way or the high way (get lost you, Indian group!)

That day evening, we had the final meeting before the trip. Dr.T.N.Murthy took to the floor, cleared his voice and spoke in the most stentorian voice. As he spoke we cowered, such was his eloquence "Good evening, brothers and sisters of Kable 7 and Kable 3 (Jeevan sir's house was in Kable 3). Our trip starts tomorrow. All of us have to maintain time. 

Don't think that it is only Anil Ramesh Sir's trip. It is our collective trip. We are spending LOT OF MONEY. Let us share responsibility. We will have buggy leaders every day. Day one it will be Anil sir, 2nd day it will be me, the third day it will be Dr. Kuldeep, 4th day it will be Jeevan sir, and on day five it will be Dr. Neelima and Tasleem. Let us take collective decisions. FRIENDS WE HAVE TO ENJOY TO THE MAXIMUM AS WE ARE SPENDING LOT OF MONEY" .  Even after 16 years, the speech still rings in my ears. It had the same effect on me as Mark Anthony's speech had on the commoners of Rome! 

Then came the dilemma, what to do with our Valuables? Passports, gold and relevant documents. Pesto, an idea flashed! Why don't we entrust them to Chidambaram (our ever helpful, eager beaver next-door neighbour)?

I knocked on his door, and Chidambaram cautiously it. I barged in and gave him the bag. I chirped "Chidambaram sir; please keep this bag. We are off to the trip tomorrow morning" I was sounding more confident than I was feeling! 

Chidambaram gave me a look that would have burnt lesser mortals. He took the bag without a word and nodded his head. 

I came back and gave Padma conspiratory wink "It is done" I smirked. As I was smirking, there was a knock at the front door. Who else, it was Chidambaram. 

He was carrying our bag. Without a preamble, he said "I don't think I can keep this bag. I might have to go to Gondar on an official trip. In which case, I can't guarantee the safety of your valuables." 

I was bewildered. Chidambaram and I belonged to the same department, and there was no official trip on the anvil. "what official trip?" I gaped at him. It was my best imitation of a fish gasping for air. Chidambaram fixed me with a stern look "I never said that there is an official trip. I said if there is an official trip". 

I often thought of myself as being smart. I cooed to Chidambaram. My voice was dripping with sugar "That is right, that is right. Official trips can be a pain in the backside". I brightened up "Sure, sure, if there is an official trip, where would you keep your valuables?". 

Mr. Chidambaram looked at me as if he was looking at an eight-year-old imbecile "I never trust anyone with my valuables. I would carry it with me" and added with extra emphasis "on my person". 

My defences collapsed as if they were a bank of sand hit by a Tsunami. I took my bag and bade him goodbye. I had to go to PEDA campus and request Rajani madam to take care of my valuables. Luckily for me, she accepted to keep them. Exhausted, we quickly went to sleep as we had an early start the next day morning.