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! 

92 – Person of Interest – American Mother – Tryst with Tis Abay Water Fall – Ethiopian Journey

Blue Nile falls/Tis Abay (Great Smoke in Amharic)

Aunty’s visit created a huge excitement in Kable 7, Bahirdar. In a small town everything is big news and Aunty’s arrival from USA was definitely BIG. Padma and the kids had decorated the house tastefully and had huge welcome boards (hand-made) hung in the drawing room.

Ebolu and the Coffee Ceremony

Ebolu (Kuldeep’s maid) brought casuarina branches and arranged a traditional coffee ceremony. She even added artificial roses and lights to add to the gaiety. Aunty enjoyed it.  

Anasuya Aunty, Pranav and Sahithi in the vast meadow in front of our house

That evening onwards we started to walk in the kable. With the onset of the rains the entire country side turned from a sulking dusky terrain to a green smiling maiden (Maidan as it is referred in India). There was greenery everywhere and the weather turned out to be pleasant.

Road leading to PEDA, Sahithi, Padma, Aunty and Gadadhar (Oops Pranav with the Mace)

We enjoyed the walks. Walking on the metal roads with sharp projecting stones was an adventure in itself. And once it becomes dark, it becomes pitch dark. It is so dark that one has to step gingerly, one step at a time. 

Padma and Sahithi with Ethiopian version of Tangedu Poolu 

The rains made the roads slushy and slippery too. It was quite common to see locals walk nonchalantly wearing huge gum boots -  the ones that we see factory workers wear.

Our Family snapped! in the background is the view point 

The Ethiopians we knew were pleased to know that Aunty came visiting. Most of their faces broke into winsome smiles when they were told that she came from USA. USA – most of them knew! The US green card lottery is an annual event that most Ethiopians eagerly wait for. US green card lottery is one mega gamble that no educated Ethiopian wanted to miss. They all wanted to try their luck.

Bahudurapu batasarulu

USA believes in diversity. It generously offers green cards to 50,000 worldwide immigrants to come and settle in USA. As Ethiopians were not migrating in huge numbers to USA they are eligible for the lottery. The scheme is called the US diversity Visa lottery Program. It is quite common to see many Ethiopians register for the US Visa lottery process quite religiously. It is a ticket to a better life and prosperity and many Ethiopians try their luck year-after-year.

The volume of the applications is very high and nearly 20 million people apply for the 50,000 annual green card visas that are granted. The lucky ones are selected by a lottery. Thus it was not surprising that my friends and colleagues held aunty in high esteem – She comes from the promised land!!!!

For long we wanted to visit Blue Nile waterfalls or Tis Abay (the Great smoke in Amharic) water falls. Till 2003, Tis Abay was a majestic sight. Water gushed down and fell in thundering cascades from a height of around 37 to 45 feet. From a trickle in the dry season to over 400 metres wide in the rainy season, the water falls are an awe inspiring sight in full flow.  

After a hydroelectric dam was constructed in 2003, the water flow had reduced drastically except in peak rainy season. But it is still a magnificent sight. And the route is said to be breathtakingly scenic. ‘It is the journey that is sometimes more exciting than the destination itself!!!!’. Tis Abay is located around 30 kilometers from Bahirdar. The day was 3rd August 2003.

From Left Padma, Sahithi, Aunty, Shilpa, Krishna, Suresh, Kuldeep and Balakrishna and standing infront Pranav

We were a party of Ten. Padma, me, Pranav, Sahithi, Aunty, Balakrishna, Dr. Kuldeep, his wife Shilpa, Suresh and his wife, Krishna. We decided to rough it out and take the public transport. The bus journey was not comfortable. The bus had seen better days and the ride was pretty bumpy.

Ethiopian Bus 

The Ethiopian custom of closing all the windows to avoid dust and cold air from coming in meant that the bus was stuffy and the ride was claustrophobic, to say the least. Most of the fellow travelers gave us curious glances but mercifully not many comments were made. May be Suresh’s and my strapping appearances and the huge beard that Kuldeep sported must have been the deterrents!

Road side view from the bus 

The scenery around us was a throwback to the nomadic times that our ancestors must have passed through. Pencil thin Ethiopian peasants hefting huge loads on their backs or on patient and slow moving donkeys or cows could be seen. 

Unarguably one of the most photogenic race in the world.

We also saw young girls and boys dressed in tatters but they sported beaming smiles and waved at us in gay abandon as the bus noisily made its way alongside!

Tissisat Village, gateway to the Tis Abay water fall

The bus dumped us at Tissisat village and immediately we were surrounded by a pack of Ethiopians, all of whom wanted a piece of us. They were all like the modern day Shylocks! They were all screaming at us and we could not make head or tail of what they were saying. Sahithi who was youngest in the group was in tears and Pranav too looked close to a breakdown. We were being dragged and buffeted from all sides.

Luckily for us Suresh had limited command of Amharic and he spoke to the crowd with his best teachers’ voice and slowly it dawned on the unruly crowd. “Omigosh, this is a group of teachers”. Slowly a hush descended and it was as if there was an invisible finger on their lips.

Out of the restless motley crowd one guy stepped forward. He had a saucy, jaunty look about him. He jabbered away at Suresh and Suresh slowly started nodding his head. Suresh turned towards us and said “this guy says that it is very dangerous to go to the waterfall by ourselves. The crowd is demanding 50 dollars per person (roughly 350 birr) to guide us”. It was a jaw dropping amount.

500 dollars for 10 people was 25,000/- Indian rupees!!!!. Suresh who visited the waterfall before dismissed the preposterous idea. He said, “Not to worry Sir! We can go to the waterfall by ourselves”. “That is fine” I told him. “But what do we do with this wailing, howling and restless wolf pack?”. Suresh hit upon the divide and rule that the British taught us.

He took the leader of the pack aside and made a deal. “Make peace and leave us alone”. We could hear talk of 100s of birr being thrown about but Suresh was patient. Infact he could become a great negotiator in a hostage release situation! He had that Zen calmness about him. It was the leader who was getting more and more rattled. Finally, a deal was struck and they shook hands and surreptitiously money was exchanged.

As the leader was explaining the deal struck to his pack, we beat a hasty retreat to the path that led to the waterfall. ‘Suresh”, I said “that was good. I am sure that the 100 or 200 birr that you gave him will buy us peace”.

“100 birr!!!” exclaimed Suresh “I told him that we are volunteer teachers and that we don’t get paid very well. I argued that 2 birr per person was enough to let us go” I gaped at him. Think of the Indian ingenuity and the ability to squeeze oil out of even desert sand! I mentally saluted Suresh for getting us out of a tricky situation.

87 - Tradition Bound Indian – Chocolate Box – Ethiopian Journey – Blog Post .

A Tradition Bound Indian (TBI) celebrated his birthday and there were many Indians, Ethiopians and a smattering of European teachers who attended the birthday party. As is customary many of the guests brought small gifts and tokens of appreciation. 

Most of the gifts were consumed quickly or stored away for future use or to be used as birthday gifts which could be off loaded to unsuspecting kids. TBI was totally taken aback by the large box of chocolates gifted by one of the European teachers from PEDA. 

If it had been any other teachers from any other country, he would have simply gifted it away. Hoarding comes naturally to Indians. Using and extracting the last part of any product is wired and is part of his DNA. 

One of my friend exclaimed in exasperation “We Indians!! we will drink Phenyl if we get it free!!!”. I added, “Not only will we drink the Phenyl but sell the empty bottle to the Raddi (plastic bottle recycler) fellow”. 

Such is the “extend the use till the last drop” syndrome of the Indians. Another Indian wittily asked “what do Indians do with old shaving blades?” and answered the question himself “Silly question, the answer is simple – We shave with OLD BLADES!”. 

TBI was nonplussed at the size of the box. It was a huge box and it had dark chocolate blocks, all individually wrapped. Indians born in the 60s and 70s were not very fond of chocolates. Chocolates were perceived as a product consumed by the kids.

TBI unwrapped one chocolate and tentatively took a bite. The taste almost knocked him off. It had the most peculiar taste, he had ever experienced. It was very bitter and not at all sweet. TBI was stumped. He somehow managed to eat the very bitter and awful tasting chocolate. 

From that day onwards TBI dreaded his dinner. After the frugal meal that he was accustomed (TBI was a pure vegetation, and a teetotaller – He never had a drop of alcohol in his life), he would take another block of chocolate and consume it. This was the most puzzling part – he could have simply thrown the offensive chocolate away or given the box away. But TBI was not wired that way.  Tightening his Loins, he would undergo the unbearable torture every night and religiously consume a chocolate. 

This had become a daily routine and to his horror he realized that he was liking the bitter taste. Heart in heart he was waiting for his daily fix. He was getting used, rather getting addicted. 

Quite accidentally one day in PEDA, he met the European teacher who gifted him the chocolate box. He grudgingly told him “the chocolates are fine. The taste was bitter and very different. But with lot of difficulty I could eat the first one. After lot of struggle, I am able to consume one a day. Infact I have started liking the taste” Just to spice the conversation, TBI added “Those are wonderful as sleep inducers. I am able to sleep well”. 

The European’s face was flushed. He was struggling with some internal emotions. He finally burst out “Are you telling me that you don’t know what those chocolates are? Did you consume them all by yourselves, and you ate them one per day?????”. 

The European was staring at TBI as if he was Yeti, the legendary snowman. He was sputtering and stammering. It was as if someone sat on him and knocked the wind out. 

A glimmer of realization and an awful feeling started stirring and creeping in TBI’s mind. He asked with an almighty quiver “what do you mean type of chocolate? And what do you mean by asking me ‘did you consume them all by yourself???”. 

By now the European had a smirk on his face “Yes Sir, they were not normal chocolates. They were Liquor Candy. Chocolate that have generous amount of liquor. The ones that I gave you were from Switzerland and they were chocolates full of RUM”. 

He added with a grin “I never knew that you would consume them all. The custom is to share among friends and get done with them”. “Lucky you” the European exclaimed “you have not only consumed them all but seems to have got used to the taste. YOU MUST have LOVED the Rummy taste. You are a quite a RUMMY GUY!!!!”. To top it all, The European gave a leering smile and a knowing wink.  

TBI was shocked. The Five Foot Four TBI would have happily chocked the offensive Six and a half feet tall ‘ear to ear grinning’ European teacher with his hands and gone to the jail. But he realized that the entire episode would be out in the open. He would become the laughing stock, first at the university, next in Bahirdar and finally in India. 

Swallowing his pride, the shock of the revelation and the bile that had swelled upto his throat, TBI humbly returned to his home. He was a beaten man; his soul was crushed.  TBI brushed his teeth with enormous amount of tooth paste –the first time in his life. He cried in despair. The enamel might come off but the damage has been done. As he splashed water on his weary teeth and reddened gums, he told himself “It is of no use, I am a drunkard now. I will have to take this to my grave!”. 

matthew-henry-86779-unsplash

His lifelong penance of being a teetotaller was broken. He was addicted to alcohol as alcoholics who drink and brawl in the small and dinky bars in India. After that day TBI was a changed person. He would check with others about any product that he had a doubt. When in doubt he would simply refrain from using the product. He had learnt his lesson the hard way. Once Bitten (I mean once eaten) twice shy! 

85 - Indian teachers in Ethiopia - one of their kind - Ethiopian Travels - Blog Post no - 85

It is time to talk about Indian teachers in Addis Ababa. Indian teachers are recruited and selected by Global Placements, a placement agency in Hyderabad. As the placement company is in Hyderabad and as there is a conception that South Indian teachers are good at teaching, most teachers who land up in Ethiopia belong to the South Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

Among the south Indian states, it was Andhra Pradesh that had the most teachers in Ethiopia followed by Tamil Nadu. There was always an undercurrent of competition between Andhra and Tamil teachers.

Most teachers got placed in the many new universities set up in all parts of Ethiopia in the early 2000s. Very few Indian teachers who come to Ethiopia can fathom the big ten that they would terribly miss: Home, Movies, Television, Sports, Speed (of everything; life, internet, fast cars), Indian News, Gossip, Festivals, Indian food and moderness. Indians become brawling babies when they realize that they or their state or India are important for the local population. Even the biggest event of India hardly warrants any excitement for the Ethiopians. Only a major catastrophe becomes news.

Ethiopians are fond of athletics and EPL (English Premiership League). And unfortunately India does not do well in neither. I remember when I was almost waylaid by our silent, placid and laid back assistant librarian of PEDA (Circa August 2003). He was breathless “Dr. Aneel” he was gasping “Do you know Anju Bobby?”. “No, is she a new Indian teacher, I don’t know. Newly arrived is it?!!”. “NO, NO” he was horrified. “I am talking about the FAMOUS INDIAN, ANJU BOBBY!!!!”. I was non plussed, the only Christian Indian teacher’s name I knew was Clara Gladys my colleague from Accounting department, but he knew Clara very well himself.

Our Assistant librarian was almost in tears “Dr. Aneel” he was wailing now “I need her phone number”. I took him to the Cafeteria. Almost sobbing into his coffee he told me his heart-rendering tale. I believe he was watching the live telecast of the World Athletic Championship being held in Paris. He was obviously enjoying his countrymen and women doing well.

Suddenly the long jump competition started. His eyes widened when he saw a young and very beautiful girl competing. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he saw the name of the country. It was INDIA. He almost jumped out of his chair. ‘An Indian and doing well in Athletics’. He could neither believe nor could digest the fact.

That Indian who stole his heart was Anju Bobby who was competing in the long jump. “Indian girl and she was really doing very well” he added with contempt!

Our Assistant librarian was smitten by the nubile Indian and was head over heels in love.  I was told in tears that for the next one hour our man was willing Anju Bobby with his heart to win and was greatly relieved when she bagged the bronze medal.

Incidentally that was the first medal for India in any world athletic championship. The assistant librarian was pleading “She is a fellow Indian, can’t you give me her E-mail address and her phone number?”. I was horrified. I assured him “I don’t know Anju Bobby personally and I don’t have her phone number nor her E-mail address”. As I bet a hasty retreat I said to myself “what would you do if you knew that Anju Bobby is married and that her husband too is an athlete and his name is George”. I let the man live in his own dreams. Why should I shatter a love smitten heart?

A place that has some real semblance of an attractive foreign assignment is getting placed in Addis Ababa University. Of course there is Defence Training Institute in Addis Ababa but there too the competition is very stiff. Only experienced university professors with doctorates have a chance to get a placement.

Indians in Addis Ababa tend to be snooty and full of airs. Padma warmly greeted an Indian lady “Namaste” in Bole supermarket. The lady recoiled as if she was shot. She took off and we all watched her with open mouths. With a little bit of training this Indian lady could make it to the Indian team in the 100 metres dash at the Olympics.

Ahmed sir who was with us bellowed in laughter. “Anil Sir” he remarked “Addis Indians are all like her. They think if they speak to us, we would ask some favours, like requesting whether we could stay at their homes, help us get some information from the Indian school or worse if they could help in getting an extension of our contract”.

He went on to add. In some cases, Indian teachers have fought and I mean literally. There was a case of an Indian teacher who had water coming from the roof of his bathroom. The tenant on the top floor too was an Indian. And both the Indians came to blows. Very sad and it left a bad taste in the mouth.

Most Indian teachers in Addis live in fear that they would not get an extension and this leaves them mentally scarred. They would not speak to other Indian teachers and would bitch like housewives, vicious and full of malefic intentions.

 So it was a shock when the news reached the Addis Ababa teachers when they came to know that Bahirdar University teachers from POLY, PEDA and community college came together and hosted a party that too for the Ethiopian University officials on the 31^st of December 2002.

“You mean they all came together (8^th wonder of the world)!” was the incredulous response “and hosted a party for the Ethiopians (9^th wonder of the world)”. Soon the Internet was buzzing. The teachers in other universities were asked whether a similar year-end party was held at their place.

After detailed investigation it finally dawned on Addis teachers that the BDU Indians had stolen a march over them. Not only did they unite but hosted a party for the Ethiopians. The Bahirdar Indian teaching community was quickly dubbed “The Best Indian Teaching Community in Ethiopia’. We were extremely proud to win the title.

Indians are starved for fresh vegetables in Ethiopia. The only ones we get in Bahirdar were Onion, tomato, Potato, Cabbage and Carrot. In Addis Ababa vegetables like brinjal (eggplant), Okra, beans, Donda (scarlet gourd), bottle gourd were available. But initially they were not available at supermarkets and an enterprising Ethiopian would source them from nearby farms and sell it on every Saturday morning. He would come to the apartment were the Indians stayed and sell the vegetables at very reasonable prices.

In the first few weeks everything worked smoothly. Indians took this process as a normal phenomenon. Very soon they realized that they were enjoying the forbidden fruits. As long as no one was getting the vegetables there was a longing and feeling of missing something. As soon as everyone was getting the same precious things, there was a burning in the heart. “How can someone else enjoy what I am enjoying and that too without any pain”.  

The Indian Jugaad kicked in and the Indian teachers hit upon a dubious method of manipulating demand and supply. (My only hope is that no one had written a research article and got it published in a reputed journal of Economics).

The next Saturday the mobile vegetable vendor was shocked to see Indians waiting with huge shopping baskets. They fell like hungry vultures and took as many vegetables as they could pack in their shopping baskets.

The Ethiopian vegetable vendor was nonplussed. “Why are they buying so much?” as he saw each man and lady packing as much as five to 10 kgs of each vegetable. He knew by experience that their average consumption was hardly kilo/week.

The poor naive guy. He must have thought that the Indians are buying in bulk so that they could sell it on the side. ‘Nothing like it Sir!!!!!!!!’. They  were  buying  in  bulk  so that they could deny the other Indians from laying hand on the precious vegetables. By  denying fellow Indians vegetables, the ones that have got the vegetables felt a sense of achievement and satisfaction.

This very soon caught on and it was a madhouse and after some time the entire exercise was given up by the frightened vegetable vendor. Vegetables are available now in the supermarkets and the Ethiopians charge a hefty premium. They now know that Indians are desperate for their weekly rations of vegetables.

Similar was the case with tamarind. Ethiopians did not use tamarind. It was not part of their cuisine. Till the early 2000 tamarind trees would grow wild and Indians could get as much of the tamarind fruit as they wanted. But the greed got better of us. Some enterprising Indians started cutting and spoiling the huge tamarind trees. This was noticed by the locals and presto before we knew the huge tamarind trees disappeared from plain sight and tamarind was not free and it had to be bought.

May be missing home, is what that leads Indians to act differently. We had the case of an Indian teacher who would walk as many as five kilometres to buy Nyla cigarettes as they were available for 15 centimes less. 15 centimes work out to less than a rupee, exactly 75 paise to be exact. To save 75 paisa this teacher would walk five kilometres! I told Padma “he would get exhausted by the time he reaches the shop and I am sure he has a shai costing at least 20 centimes!”. He was saving 75 paisa and spending a rupee!

We had a POLY teacher who stayed in a house opposite to our own. One Sunday he came to my house and asked Padma if she could tell a recipe to cook Fish eyes. Padma was totally stunned. Very naively she asked “sir, what fish eyes. I only know about the name Meenakshi (Eyes like a fish) but a dish only with fish eyes. I am not aware”. The teacher was adamant. He wanted to know how to cook fish eyes.

He told me that there was a market near POLY where fish was sold. Usually the eyes, the scales and the body organs are removed and the clean fish is handed over to the customer. Our brilliant teacher found out that fish eyes could be had for gratis (free). He wanted to get these, make a dish and save money. Padma had to be revived with the help of smelling salts!!!

Another very exalted Indian teacher dropped in. He told me “Anil Saab, I am told that University officials want to award foreigners who did exemplary social service and I want to apply for the award”.

Naïve as I was, I beamed in happiness “sir, that is great news, what social service have you done?”. “Kya Anil Sir, aap bhi” he added “I am giving my maid 100 birr a month and because of me her family is  surviving. Where else can there be a better example of social service”. I was so shocked that even Pranav and sahithi’s best antics could not bring me out of the stupor.

It is not my claim that all Indians behave this way throughout the world. I have served in many other countries and found that Indian behaviour is the same. They behave the way they behave in India and these other foreign countries had huge Indian population.

The case in Ethiopia was different. The Population of Indians in entire Ethiopia would not cross a couple of thousands. There were very few Indians and this led to inbreeding in thinking and excess socialization. “Proximity breeds contempt’. The extreme intimacy leads to problems. And the lack of alternatives for food complicates the situation and examples like the ones cited above happen.

84 - Addis Ababa Lion Zoo - Sidist Kilo, Ethiopian Journey, Blog Post no - 84.

Mathematics examination got over and next day was off for Pranav as he was granted an exemption from writing the hindi exam. He would have to take both 2 and 3^rd grade hindi exams in 2004.  Our family and Pradeep walked down from Arat Kilo to Amist Kilo.

We saw an imposing gate and peeped in to have a sight of Addis Ababa University, one of the most premier universities in Ethiopia. We did not venture in as we were eager to see one of the most popular Addis Ababa’s prime attractions -  Addis Ababa’s Lion Zoo, located in Sidist Kilo.

The Lion Zoo was established by Emperor Haile Selassie in the year 1948. It had Apes, Lesser Kudus, eagles and tortoises but the main attraction that drew all the visitors with a magnetic pull – to see the king of the African jungle, Lion from a close quarter.

Several lions, Lionesses and cubs were kept in Zoo but in cages. There was not enough space to house them in their natural habitat and our heart went out to the majestic beasts who were caged. They frankly appeared dejected and bored with the charade of visitors who would stand in front of the cages jeer, mock and call names.

The lion enclosure was a circular structure that had small cages for individual lions and Lionesses. Lion cubs were segregated and carefully nurtured in a smaller cage that they had exclusively for themselves. Once they grow up they would have a cage of their own.  The circular structure had an inner and an outer railing. There was enough space between the lions and the visitors. The inner circle allowed the keepers and veterinary doctors to access the lions as and when needed.

There was a Beautiful garden with lush green trees. A children play area with slides, merry go around, swings and seesaw was attracting the kids.

The lions kept in the Zoo were genetically similar to wild lions found in Cameroon and Chad. They looked like the Indian lions except that they had dark black manes. This was noticed by our two and half year ticking time bomb, Sai Sahithi. She looked at the Lions solemnly and asked, “Anna, why are the Addis Ababa Lions’ mane black unlike Indian Lions whose mane is brown?”.

Our resident professor Pranav Pratheek pondered and answered “hmmm, that’s a good question, Sahithi. Let me tell you. You see, we Indians are brown and that is why Indian Lions manes are dark brown and as Ethiopian lions belong to Africa and as Africans are black, their Lions’ mane too is dark black”. His eloquence and matter of fact smartness stunned us all.

Pranav had a sleeve up his arm, “Tell me Sahithi, why is that the lions mane is matted and dirty?”. Sahithi did not even pause for a second, “That’s easy Anna. Addis Ababa Zoo has ran out of its supply of shampoo. Once they get shampoo, each and every lion would get a shampoo bath”. All of us burst out in laughter much to the annoyance of the dozing lions.

The sight of the majestic lions bowing down their heads like matronly women in beauty parlour and getting their hair shampooed obediently flashed in our mind. Even today that mental image of rows of lions having shampoo bath and later getting their mane air dried remains etched in my mind.

The sky was overcast and the cool weather stimulated the lions. They became playful and started jumping around. Their jumping was the trigger. The crowds started cheering them on and soon all the lions were jumping and roaring. The skies opened up and it started raining. The downpour caught us unawares and we ran to the play area but there was no place to hide. We got drenched.  

All this was being recorded by a Videographer who had people assisting him with the film shoot. We were about to leave when one of the videographer’s assistant rushed towards us “Would you like to see the lions getting fed?”. We jumped at the offer. The keepers entered the inner circle and seeing the mutton slabs the lions got excited. The keeper would offer the meat through the bars and the lions would grab the meat and retreat inside. It was a gruesome yet riveting to watch.

This time the videographer himself approached us. They were from ETV (Ethiopian Television). They requested us to give some video bits that they could use. They were making a documentary about Addis Ababa’s Lion Zoo and wanted insights from the visitors especially foreigners.

I went back and said jauntily “ETV wants to interview us” “What!! ETV!! How come ETV has come to Ethiopia. Is Addis Ababa’s Lion Zoo so famous?” Pranav was shocked beyond belief. Then it struck me, Pranav thought ETV meant Eenadu Television the famous Telugu television channel in India and not Ethiopian Television.

I spoke first. I said “Addis Ababa’s Lion Zoo is very good, but I think that more animals should be added and children would love new animals, especially monkeys. If the government allots more land and allows the lions to roam freely, it would add to the drama. A safari too can be planned. That would make the Zoo more interesting”. Pradeep also spoke, he said, “It should be maintained properly”.

Pranav was on pins and needles, till he was given a chance to speak, he said “It is very good but the lion cubs are given a very small cage. They should be given a bigger cage” Sahithi added “I liked it very much”.