108 – Wait, War and Weariness at Wereta, All in a day’s journey!

Picture Courtesy, https://pixabay.com/photos/ethiopia-road-loneliness-3503834/

The next day morning we got ready and started our journey by 5:45 a.m. As discussed in my previous blog posts we were travelling in two vans. Even though we were promised a 22 seater bus, due to a misunderstanding it resulted in a double booking and we had to travel in two vans. 

Luckily for us the bus was available and we had to make a transfer to Wereta. The entire tour plan was like a rough triangle. Bahirdar was one corner, Gondar and Simien mountains were the second corner and Labella was the third corner. Gondar to Woreta was 117 kilometres and from Gondar to Lalibela was 362 kilometres. 

There is no direct route from Gondar to Lalibela and inevitably we had to pass through Wereta on our way to Lalibela. From Wereta we had to travel 245 kilometres to reach Lalibela. So we did not lose in terms of time. By 10:00 am we reached Wereta and expected that our bus would be ready. 

But things don’t work that way, at least in Ethiopia. Mullugeta our guide got off the van and disappeared. Half an hour later he appeared, unflustered and looking fresh. Maybe he must have had a Shai and a cigarette! Who knows?

To our query, he gave a vague answer, “Yes the bus is expected”. “Exactly when” no one knows. “God only knows”, I muttered to myself in an extremely low voice. Did not want to displease any English knowing Ethiopian Gods! 

Wereta is a small dusty town, and foreigners are a rare sighting. Our vans drew crowds just as honey draws bees. The heat was oppressive and most of our tour members got off the vans and started exploring the small town. Some had Shai. 

Shai in Ethiopia is an extreme adventure for the tongue. The tea is served without milk and FULL of Sugar. When I say full, I mean FUUUUUUUULLL. The Indian equivalent would be having to drink Gulab Jamun syrup and that too extremely hot. Just like Kadak Chai in Hyderabad where the spoon had to stand in the sugar! 

For a long time, I didn’t understand why Ethiopians drink their tea with so much sugar. Later a book revealed the mystery. Most Ethiopian peasants are desperately poor and can’t afford breakfast. So a 15 Centimes Shai (around 75 paise) full of sugar gives them enough calories to sustain themselves till lunchtime. 

Picture Courtesy, https://pixabay.com/photos/ethiopia-children-poverty-700601/

But our family was stuck in the van. Pranav and Sahithi were being mercilessly ribbed and teased. The van was surrounded by small urchins. They would laugh, hoot, scream, whistle, open the curtain of the window, make faces, try to pinch. They would say things like hind, YOU, YOU, YOU, Rani (for Rani Mukherjee), Sha Ruk Ka (for Shah Rukh Khan). One youngster put his face inside, leered and said “Ati ka, ati ka, Ati ka”. Initially, we thought that was his name. later we understood what he was trying to say. He was imitating Aamir Khan and saying “AATI KYA” from the song “AATI KYA KHANDALA!” Talk about Bollywood’s influence on Ethiopian kids! 

Meanwhile, I forced Mullugeta to make a phone call. Grudgingly he took me to a payphone booth and made a call to Ghion hotel. The hotel receptionist (maybe Mullgeta’s blood brother) too appeared unflustered. He coolly informed us that the bus had just started and is expected at any time. 

Picture Courtesy, https://pixabay.com/photos/children-ethiopia-slum-702219/

Things at the van were spiralling out of control and Anasuya aunty could not bear it any longer. She decided to take things into her hands, literally! Armed with an empty two-litre mineral water bottle, she took off after the irritating/infuriating mob. She was muttering her teeth, just like a whirling dentist’s gun! She was a woman scorned and was fighting for her grandchildren’s dignity. Padma watched her mother go with a wide-open mouth. “Never saw Amma becoming so angry. She looks like Rani Jhansi Lakshmi Bai” 

The mob (average age around 8-10 years) was delighted. They danced just in front of aunty and scooted away. Aunty was no match for the agile Ethiopian kids. She gave the chase up after a distance of around 100 metres. 

The minute she turned her back the howling pack was at her heels, “give money, give pen, Aund Birr (One birr)”.  The baying was unrelenting and can be quite unnerving! We were used to it but Anasuya aunty found it very irritating. One enterprising youngster thrusts something in her hand. She recoiled! 

The smooth youngster gave her an oily smile, “Chigri Yelem, Chigri Yelam (No problem), Visiting card, visiting card!!”. Anasuya aunty looked down and saw a torn grubby cigarette packet. Torn unevenly and scribbled in a pencil were the child’s name and a payphone number! The enterprising kid has seen foreigners use visiting cards and created his own version!    

Finally the bus arrived at 12:30 p.m. and thanking all the gods (Indian and Ethiopian) we piled in! The bus was spacious and it was a 22 seater. Mullugeta took our leave and we were quite sorry to see him go. He was a nice guy. Replacing him was Daniel. 

The bus was big and spacious but the driver was driving cautiously. When I say cautiously, I mean cautiously. He would drive at 25 KM/hour. The bus would purr along like a contented cat. The minute the speedometer shot up to 26 KM/hour our driver would recoil in horror and slow down to 25 KM/hour. 

To lighten the mood, I cracked a joke, “You know this driver is the cousin of a goods train driver in India. The goods train was travelling slowly and the driver took pity of an old lady walking beside the train. He halted the train, hailed the lady and said, “Madam, hop in, I will give you a lift”. The Old lady looked up, sighed, visibly brightened and said, “thank you Beta for the offer, but I need to go HOME QUICKLY”!

https://pixabay.com/photos/trees-forest-woods-landscape-561575/

Such was our fate. But the only silver lining was that the bus was moving so slowly that we could take in the magnificent scenery, rather we could saviour it to the full, just like the Darjeeling express in India where one can get off the train, take some snaps and hop in. The journey was slow, measured and methodical. Later we came to know that the bus had mechanical problems and the driver was coaxing and cajoling the bus to behave itself!  - 1066

Memories, memories, getting VHS cassettes into the Digital DVD format - Ethiopian Journey - Blog Post No - 79.

"Live in the present, Live in the present', I keep telling myself and my students. But the writing bug in me takes me back into the history and quite frequently. I started writing about my stay in Ethiopia and found that my memory and copiously maintained notes and elaborate letters written by my wife Padma, helped a lot in penning down my thoughts. The blogs were shaping out very well but there was a yearning in the heart. I was not able to provide videos and snaps that captured the true essence of the wonderful time that we had in Bahirdar, Ethiopia. We have snaps but they are too personal and are not very representative of the times that we have spent. The snaps and the videos that are available on google and on Instagram are mostly, circa 2018 and are not of 2006. For example, all the snaps available on google depicting the streets of Bahirdar have the inevitable and omnipresent Bajaj autos which were not existent in 2002-2006. The videos too sport very modern buildings and frankly they do not have the feel and the touch of 2002-2006. I had a wonderful collection of VHS cassettes that were shot on my handy-cam which was purchased in 2000. The format was VHS and I had shot extensive videos in Bahirdar so much so that I was known as Anil the guy with video camera. We returned from Ethiopia in 2006 and before we knew it was 12 years since we returned. And three football world Cups have been played out. How the time flies! In the recent summer holidays, I took my old VHS cassettes to a VHS to DVD converter centre. The guy sneered at me “Saab, these are Jurassic age videos. They can’t be converted into digital DVD format”. He was having fun at my expense! I was truly gutted. Seeing my crestfallen face, the guy quickly added “Get the camcorder on which these VHS cassettes were recorded. I will give it a try”. My hopes were rekindled. I rushed back home and got the Camcorder along with the converter that allows the small cassette to be played just like the larger regular VHS Cassette in any normal VCR or a VCP. By the evening I got the news that I was fearing. The cassettes were done and dusted. They had too much fungus and were not playable. It was as if the roof had fallen through. It was a bit of history that was ruthlessly wiped off the face of earth. I was flabbergasted. But the guy held out a ray of hope. He would take it to the expert in Hyderabad who could try to do the MAGIC!!!! The DVD converter guy called me today. He was as excited as excited can be, “Sir” he could not hide his excitement, “We did it Sir!!! Your old VHS cassettes have been converted. We could save your valuable memories”. I went down to his office and thanked him profusely. “It is nothing Sir” the guy was embarrassed. “Your passion and your disappointment when I told that your VHS cassettes were rotten moved me to my core. I took it as a challenge to get them converted to the digital format”. He just charged Rs 100/- more, as conversion fee for each VHS cassette. I have gone through the DVDs and the results are amazing. It is like revisiting and travelling back in time. The DVDs have magically transported me back to 2002. Will start sharing parts of the digital videos very soon.

Battling Brothers - Ethiopia and Eritrea – Ethiopian Journey – Blog Post no 72

Eritrean President and Late Prime minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia

Ethiopia and India have something in common. Both have a long-lasting military conflict with one of their neighbours. India has fought many wars with Pakistan and is still fighting a proxy, so-called ideology based war.

Ethoipia and Eritrea Maps 

Similarly, Ethiopia has fought and is still fighting with its neighbour to the north, Eritrea. Let us look at some facts and figures.

India’s land size is 32,87,000 million square km and Pakistan land size is 7,96,095 square km. Pakistan land size is almost a quarter of India’s size. By Comparison, Ethiopia’s land size is 11,04,000 square km and Eritrea is only 117,600 square km, one-tenth of Ethiopia’s size.

Eritrea is the 99th smallest country in the world according to size. Eritrea and Telangana state (112,077 square km) are of the same size, what a coincidence!!!

Tigray

Oromo

Amhara

Somali

Sidama

Ethiopia’s relations with Eritrea are quite difficult to explain, especially from a foreigner’s perspective. Ethiopia is the homeland of many tribes; Oromos 34.5%, Amhara 26.9%, Somali 6.2%, Tigray 6.1%, Sidama 4%, Gurage 2.5% and Wolayta 2.3%. Of these, the Oromos, Amharas, Somali and Tigray make up for the majority and they all have inbuilt contradictions among themselves.

Eritrea: In the middle ages Eritrea was called Medri Bahri (sea-land). The name Eritrea comes from the Greek name for Red sea (Erythra Thalassa). It first came to the notice of the eastern world with the formation of Italian Eritrea in 1889. Italy had left an indelible impression on Eritrea and its mark is profound in the country’s architecture especially in the capital city of Eritrea, Asmara. Asmara was referred to as ‘Little Rome’ by the doting Italians.

Eritrea Map

The territory later became Eritrea Governorate in 1936. But when the Italian army was defeated by the British army in 1942, Eritrea came under the British administration.  After deliberations in the United Nations, it was decided that Eritrea would be self-governed for its domestic affairs through an elected Eritrean Parliament while trade, foreign affairs and defence would be handled in a federal status with the Government of Ethiopia.

But in 1962, the government of Ethiopia cancelled the Eritrean Parliament and annexed Eritrea as one of the provinces of Ethiopia. But by then Eritreans guessed what the Ethiopian government was up to and therefore in 1960, they formed the Eritrean Liberation Front. After 30 years of armed struggle, Eritrea gained its de-facto independence in 1991. The name of the new state was defined as the State of Eritrea.

EPRDF

The freedom fight for separation from Ethiopia had a very interesting twist to it. After the dethroning of the Hailey Selassie’s government, Ethiopia was ruled by the Derg regime which was supported and funded by the USSR. But by the late eighties, USSR started weakening and its grip on its ‘friendly’ supported countries, started to decline.

By this time the fighters of two countries came together -  The Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) and the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a  rainbow coalition front consisting of The Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO), the Amhara National Democratic Movement  (ANDM), the Southern Ethiopian Democratic Movement (SEPDM) and the Tigrayan Liberation Front (TPLF).

Derg Regime 

The combined fronts defeated the Derg regime and that paved for the formation of a new government in Ethiopia headed by Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front and the Prime Minister was Meles Zenawi who himself was the head of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

Ex-Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi 

Although Meles and his administration claimed that they preferred a united but federal state that included the Eritrean state, as Meles’s TPLF fought together with EPLF, Meles left the decision to the Eritrean citizens hoping that the independence referendum would vote against secession from Ethiopia.

However, after the EPLF secured their borders and after the majority of Eritreans voted for independence on 24 May 1993, Isaias Afewerki became the leader of Eritrea.

President of Eritrea Isaias Afewerki 

This is what led to bad relations between the two neighbouring countries. The Eritrean – Ethiopian War took place from May 1998 to June 2000 between two of the world's poorest countries. Both spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the war and suffered tens of thousands of casualties as a direct consequence of the conflict.

Eritrean Army 

Ethiopian Army 

According to a ruling by an international commission in The Hague, Eritrea broke international law and triggered the war by invading Ethiopia. At the end of the war, Ethiopia held all of the disputed territories and had advanced into Eritrea. After the war ended, the Eritrea – Ethiopia Boundary Commission, a body founded by the UN, established that Badme, the disputed territory at the heart of the conflict, belongs to Eritrea.

Badme region

As of now, Ethiopia still holds the territory near Badme, including the town itself. One of my Ethiopian colleagues very proudly said that it was the Indian army under deputation to the United Nation that patrols the Eritrea - Ethiopia border. I felt so very proud that our country is keeping the peace between these two beautiful countries of the Horn of Africa under the aegis of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). The entire peacekeeping force (the Dogra regiment) was from India.

Indian Dogra regiment, UNMEE

The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) was established by the United Nations Security Council in July 2000 to monitor a ceasefire in the border war that began in 1998 between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The mission maintained its headquarters in Asmara (Eritrea), and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), and consisted of 1,676 military personnel. 1,500 of these peacekeepers were from the Indian Army. In addition, there were about 147 international civilians, 202 local civilians and 67 UN Volunteers. USMEE withdrew its operations in 30th July 2008.

Asmara, Eritrea 

Asmara, the capital of Eritrea:  is locally known as Asmera and has an interesting story behind its name.  Legend says that women from four villages came together and built the first church and it was a mission accomplished. From those words came the name of the city, Asmera ("They made them unite" in Tigrinya).

Asmara, Eritrea 

Asmara is the capital city and the largest city of Eritrea. It has a population of just over 800,000 inhabitants and sits at an elevation of 2,325 metres (7,628 feet). At 2,325 metres it is the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude. In 2017, the city was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Indian faculty friends who worked in Asmara told me that the city is very nice to work in and that Eritreans are very similar to Ethiopians in their work culture and customs. The city is spectacularly clean and has a very pleasant climate - what in India is referred to as a ‘hill station climate’, very mild and enjoyable. The only grouse that the Indian faculty had is that the salary earned in Eritrea is only repatriable by 60% meaning that 40% of salary has to be spent in Eritrea itself.

Unlike the 60% only repatriable rule that Eritrea enforces on its foreign workers, Ethiopia till very recently allowed, 100% repatriation; 100% of salary can be saved and sent to India. But I am told that new rules have been framed and that from this year’s contract there is income tax being levied on expatriate salaries. This might mean a death knell for Indian teachers teaching in Ethiopia – what with salaries increasing in India and the double whammy of the increased cost of living and imposition of income tax will make Ethiopia a less preferred destination.

Lake Tana monasteries, Tracing the elusive Tracy, Pesky kids, Ethiopian Journey, Blog Post - 57

The next big event was the visit to the Island Monasteries. We were eager to visit, but the price quoted was quite exorbitant. Tourism in Ethiopia was in a very nascent stage and there were huge disparities between what was charged for the locals and the foreigners. In many cases the difference could be shocking. For a museum entry, the locals were charged 2 Birr but the foreigners would be charged 30 or even 50 birr!

Similarly the local Ethiopians paid birr 250 (Rs 1250) for an air ticket from Addis Ababa to Bahirdar but the foreigners paid birr 650 (Rs 3750) for the same ticket. If the same ticket is bought outside Ethiopia it would cost something like 1200 birr (Rs 6000). Foreigners were fair game for over charging in most countries!

The boats that are used for Monastery visits were speed boats which could seat around 10-12 people. They had quite rudimentary seating facility and had a tarpaulin to protect the passengers from the fierce African sun. Life jackets were provided but water and refreshments have to be brought by the passengers’ themselves. The charge for a day’s visit was 900 birr (Rs 4500/-).There was an Australian volunteer worker by name Tracy who was also interested to come along.

Our family (4 of us; me, Padma, Pranav and Sahithi), Tasneem and her daughter Namira, Dr. Neelima Ramakuru, Dr. T. N. Murthy and Dr. Srinivas Inguva were the members of the touring party. The cost came to 100 birr per person and it was a reasonable deal. But I suspect that the enterprising boatman had taken half the fare from the shrewd and battle hardened Indians but charged much more from the unsuspecting Australian.

We would be shown four island monasteries that are closest to Bahirdar town and also be shown the starting point of the Nile River. Ground rules were laid out. No playing of loud music, no wearing of foot wear in the churches, covering the entire body with clothes, no arguments about entry (some island monasteries restricted entry only for men and in others the entry was only for women), No touching of any antiques and religious artifacts unless the priest allowed it, etc.

The journey was quite smooth and after some time it looked as if we were travelling in the sea! The water was muddy, brown and turbulent too! Gliding silently alongside us were the very fragile looking Papyrus, weed boats. I told the other members “The boats are made with a wiry weed called papyrus. It is very light but can carry lot of weight”.

Almost on cue we came across a boat that had as many as 10 to 12 Ethiopians standing nonchalantly, as if they were standing on rock solid hard ground.  And the papyrus boat looked old and dilapidated and wonder of wonders was bound together with the flimsiest of the tree twines.

Also boating on the Lake, were wiry Ethiopians on their grand floating machines– humble thermocol contraceptions that defied all rules of gravity. But the bright eyed fishermen were all smiles and proudly displayed their wares – freshly caught fish!

Eyeing all this with a very expectant look were scores of Pelicans, opportunistic cunning rascals who would scoop in,  take a fish or two in their enormous bills and fly away, caring a hoot to the indignant shouts of the fisherman.

The Jim Carrey in our group, Dr. T. N. Murthy was in his elements. Dr. T. N. Murthy resembled Jim Carrey and had the same amusing way of talking just like him! He would start off in his own peculiar nasal style “Good morning to the Indian, Ethiopian and Australian tourists. We are right now approaching, Nega Island. I request you all to care of your belongings. And, HERE IS the welcome party, waiting for the arrival of the service no 527 approaching the waterway (run way for the island)”. Meanwhile the rag-tag welcome party was full of excitement.

The welcome party had kids of all ages from 2 to 18. They would all be waiting for the tamasha of monumental epic proportion that would unfold the minute the boat approached the landing area. The kids would be jumping and some adventurous ones would even try to jump onto the boat itself.

Some kids would offer to hold hands. The smiling kids had an agenda of their own. They would help the unsuspecting visitors set their feet on solid ground and disarmingly demand “Und Birr (one birr)”.

We were swamped by kids. They wanted to touch Sahithi and Pranav. Piercing shouts of “Mito, Mito (Baby, baby)” would ring out. They wanted to touch, pinch and give a playful slap too. The attention that foreigners get in Ethiopia would get overwhelming and the attention is never ending and would come in wave after wave. Unrelenting and unabating!  

Some, more bolder ones would slide upto us and present their visiting cards. Nothing spectacular; they were small cards made out crudely from cartons or even packing material. They would even use the reverse side of cigarette packs. Their names and Island names would be written on the visiting cards. They expect us to pay them at least one dollar for each visiting card presented. They would shout “give money, one dollar (smart kids, they understood that 1 US $ = 8.50 birr!) give me pen, student, give food”. It was a slug fest with unimaginable light and sound effects.

Meanwhile there would be others who would volunteer to act as tour guides. Woe beside anyone who asked them the fee. They would quote 100 US Dollars without batting an eyelid. Once anyone asks, he or she is done. They would be pestered for the entire duration and I have seen kids arguing even after the boat picked up speed and left the island.

Right now it sounds funny but at that time it was frightening and irritating. Tourists were fair game for any scheme and it was almost taken for granted that they were the major show and their presence was for pure entertainment for the children and the local population 

The Shock of a Life Time! The Case of the Tamarind Tragedy– Ethiopian Journey – Blog Post no – 50.

Indians who employed Ethiopian maids started teaching them the Indian methods, customs and culture. The POLY Campus of Bahirdar University had an English faculty named Sulochana Madam. She was irked at her maid. Her maid was stylish and hep but did not take a bath on a daily basis.

Sulochana madam kept on harping on the fact that it is essential to take a daily bath. There were two reasons as to why some Ethiopians in Bahirdar would not take a daily bath. One was the scarcity of water and second was due to the beautiful weather, people hardly broke into a sweat.  May be it was felt that taking a bath once in three days or once in a week was enough.

Sulochana madam’s maid listened to her in rapt attention. Sulochana madam was at her eloquent best “For the best hygiene you need to take a bath daily. Take me for instance, I bathe three times a day” 

To drive the point home Sulochana madam dramatically announced “In the morning, afternoon and in the evening”. Her maid’s eyes widened in surprise “Oh, oh, why so many times, madam? What is that you do, that is so dirty, that you have to take a bath three times a day?!” Sulochana madam almost fainted!

That weekend she was throwing a party. She carefully took out her prized possession -  The one kg of Tamarind that she had carefully brought from India. The same tamarind that she jealously guarded from the other Indian families.

The same tamarind for which there were impassionate pleas from other Indians. She had listened with an iron heart when reports of other Indian families almost breaking down and Indians almost quitting jobs due to lack of precious tamarind were recited to her.

Sulochana madam had a burning desire, she wanted to throw a ‘party of all parties’. Her party should be the talking point in entire Bahirdar. She got up early in the morning and took a bath (what else).

A surprise was waiting. Her maid too made an appearance and she smelt of Jasmine and roses. Sulochana madam was thrilled. She mentally patted herself on her shoulder. “I am a great teacher, see even my maid has started to change”. She wanted to sing and dance.

Checking her happiness and exuberance, she handed over almost a half kg of precious tamarind and told her maid “Here, this is the most precious ingredient of all. It is not available in Ethiopia. I want you to clean it. We are going to make pullihora (the yellow rice a Indian delicacy and mostly served only for festivals and in temples)”.

Her Ethiopian maid sagely nodded her head. She went to the kitchen and made herself busy. She made a thorough job of cleaning the tamarind. Infact, a too thorough job! She very meticulously washed the poor tamarind again and again and had repeatedly flushed the juice down the kitchen drain. What was left was a sodden pulp. Her maid wondered “Crazy Indians, what would madam do with this soggy pulp. No smell or nothing tasty”. Shrugging her shapely shoulders, she did what was told.

Meanwhile Sulochana Madam got dressed. She went to the kitchen and almost fainted (Sulochana madam was becoming quite an expert when it comes to almost fainting). What she saw was a scene from a horror movie.  Her precious tamarind was a soggy mess! The situation was beyond repair. It was simply a river too far across to cross. And the bridge across was washed away!

What went wrong? Unknown and unexplained to the maid it is the tamarind juice that is continuously squeezed out of the tamarind and the pulp is simply thrown away. The maid did exactly the reverse. Threw out all the juice and retained the pulp!

Sulochana madam was scarred for life. She served her contract and left. She was never the same bubbling persona that she was before the Tamarind Tragedy. She had a permanent hurt, bemused expression that never left her face. It was as if she stared at death and came out alive. Experiences of that sort either make a person enlightened or impact negatively. I am sorry to say that it affected Sulochana madam very deeply. She felt as if the entire world conspired against her! Madam, take a bow, you have become a legend among Indian Teachers in Bahirdar! 

House Inspection - The experience that aged me by an year - Ethiopian Journey - Blog Post - 46

I was in the faculty room when a frantic colleague from the administration department approached me. He was definitely out of his zone of comfort. “Dr. Aneel” he beseeched “We need to go to your house”. "Is everything all right?” I enquired anxiously. “Oh, yes! Everything is fine. But your house is selected for the inspection”.  

I was frankly stumped. ‘What inspection, why me?’. Seeing my bewildered face one of my Ethiopian colleague, Abraham came to my rescue. A rapid fire Amharic conversation followed. It had a feel of an interrogation. Abraham was asking questions which were being answered in bursts of Amharic with lots of hand waving. The admin guy left. He conveyed what he had to convey. The rest was left to Abraham and the ferenji!

Abraham turned to me, gave a wide grin and said “Dr. Aneel, Chigiri Yelemi (no problem, pronounced Chigri Yellam). I was told that all foreigners who get free accommodation have to get their houses inspected. The university wants to know if the house is comfortable and if whatever is promised is delivered or not and if you are happy with the arrangements made. And today is your turn”. He was enjoying himself.

“Oh” I said and started browsing the internet again. It was my daily slot and if I miss my slot, I would not get to browse the net for the entire day!

Abraham game me a speculative look and pondered for a minute. He was fighting a mini battle with himself. Clearing his throat, he asked “why are you still here?”. Seeing my puzzled expression, Abraham said “Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, I forgot to tell you. The inspection team would start any time now. The admin guy was only checking if you are in the department or if you are at home”. I jumped! It was a shock of a life time.

I rushed home. I was breathless by the time I reached home (at that time I did not buy the helicopter, oops a bicycle for the uninitiated). I flung open the door. I rushed inside and made a grand announcement “They are coming; they are coming”! Padma was frankly getting very irritated.

“Who……… the army?” she enquired sarcastically. I gasped, it was as if somebody socked me in the solar plexus. “What army?”, it was my turn to be bewildered. I was irritated too. “seeing your panic, I thought that the Ethiopian army was coming”.

I let it go. Who in the world has won an argument with a wife! Adroitly side stepping the tricky army issue, I said “Bahirdar University officials are coming for a visit’’. “What for?” she enquired calmly.

I told her the purpose of the visit. She asked a logical query that all homemakers ask “how many?”. I did not enquire about the size of the inspection team. “Oh, around three to four” I airily replied praying all the time. Padma was relaxed. Hospitality for three or four is easily offered. Some ready-made snacks like murrukulu were already available. A quickly made upma and a hot cup of tea could be offered.

Half an hour later, there was banging on the door. Heavy banging of the compound wall gate was the Ethiopian calling bell of choice. I opened the compound wall gate. I literally jumped out of my skin! It was a scene out of the movie ‘gods must be crazy’. Right in front of the crowd were the pesky, ever available local urchins whose entire aim in life was to giggle loudly and make as much noise as possible. They had helpfully guided the inspection team to my house.

Behind them were the local cops, four of them. One of them sported a cap and I guessed he was somebody senior in the police hierarchy (later it was told to me that he was a SP rank officer). And behind him, beaming at me was our Vice President (the Vice Chancellor) of Bahirdar University. All around him were many university officials. In all around a dozen officials had come for the inspection! One of them was the house owner, a professor from mathematics department.

I must have stared at them for a few seconds. My mind was in a whirl. It was unable to process what was happening. I was in a stupor. The Vice President gave a huge smile “Dr. Aneel” he said “how are you?”. “Fine sir, fine, come in” I said.

I remembered what I read in the books. The Show must go on. I ushered them inside, seeing to it that the pesky local kids don’t come inside along with the Inspection team. The kids did not like it a wee bit. Did they not help me by showing the inspection team the way to my house! They showed their dissent by banging the compound wall door continuously for the next five minutes. It was a tiring experience.

The inspection team entered the house. They looked at the garden. Their unscrutinisable Ethiopian faces showed no expression at all. Their faces were serene and calm (calm before the storm, I wondered). One of the officials gave 1% emotion when he looked at our rock mountain.    He appeared happy at the work done. He gave the rock mount a stare. “who did this?” he enquired. “My wife” I answered. “My wife!” he responded. I let it go. Readers who want to know the reason need to go to my blog No – 35 to know, as to why I did not respond. 

“Google! What the heck is that?” - Ethiopian Journey - Blog Post no – 36

Terms like ‘The only constant in this world is change’ and “where are we?” “Oh at the beginning” “Where is the beginning?” “At the start” might be very good opening statements in India but would fox and bemuse Ethiopians who would take things literally.

Idioms like “steps to be undertaken to solve the problem, Paradigm shift, trying to pound square pegs in round holes’” would confuse them. I learnt to use simple language and be as graphical and pictorial as possible. I would give them both Indian and Ethiopian examples which were highly appreciated.

Whatever I said, I would write the same on the board. Most of the class rooms had two boards and I would totally fill up the entire two boards and would not erase them. This was an advice from an Ethiopian colleague. The matter on the board would be copied by many other students including many who were not even remotely connected with management education. That was the hunger for information and knowledge that the Ethiopian students had in 2002.

Back then, Google was still a new medium and not many students have heard the word!  I am told by Dr. Elefachew Mossisa that I took the entire class of B.A in Accounting to the computer laboratory and told them in a stern voice to open the internet browser and type in the word ‘Google’. He told me in an awestruck voice that it was his first experience with Google and it is still etched in his memory. I had unwittingly introduced the magical world of Google to an entire batch of accounting students!

My very neat, crisp and clear handwriting was highly appreciated. Indian teachers were very much liked by the Ethiopian students as most of them had no accent at all and were easily understandable. But the same can’t be said about the accent of the Ethiopian students. Their English was very difficult to understand and they would pronounce ‘Fifteen’ as ‘fifty’. This led to lots of confusion.

Once I grandly announced “you will have an exam tomorrow at 8.00 a.m”. There were groans and slightly loud ‘Ahs’ but I thought that they got the message. The next day I gulped my breakfast, rushed to the department, got my exam papers and went to the exam hall. There was NOBODY there, except a very forlorn looking puppy, which was horrified as I ushered it away from the class room.

I waited for half an hour and went to Ms. Addis Gedefaw in a huff. I was irritated. I reported the exam boycott to Addis. Addis was frankly exasperated and said, “Anil, get used to our timings, you said 8.00 a.m and the students have understood it as 8.00 a.m, Ethiopian Time” (which is 2 p.m. according to European Time). I was flabbergasted.

Dr. Neelima Ramakuru from the Physics department had sent an e-mail to her husband. Sending an E-mail was a minor coup in BDU at that time. E-Mails would take upto to 10-15 minutes to get transmitted. As she was heaving a sign of relief, her husband shot a reply “What are you doing in the university at mid night (1200 p.m.)” Dr. Neelima was totally nonplussed. Then it struck her. Her husband would have got an e-mail with the time stamp as 1200 hours and immediately assumed that it was 1200 in the night. Actually it was only 6 p.m. in the evening and there was light everywhere, including the University.

Working hours at Bahirdar University were a breeze. Most Indians would be allotted a load of two subjects per semester and they would be given subjects which could not be taught by the local Ethiopian teachers. Once a class was taken the faculty was free to go. So it was up to the faculty to stay in the campus or go home. As Indians had been accustomed to staying on the campus for eight hours most of them preferred to stay in the campus and work on the internet that was maddeningly slow! 

14 - Man is a creature of his own habits.. The reality check! - Ethiopian Journey - Blog Post No - 14

By the third day morning the spirits were down and tempers were fraying. People were snapping at each other and we could cut the tension with a butter knife.  By that time, we had mastered our way in and around the hotel. We found a place where we could make phone calls. But International calls were exorbitant and costed around 14 birr (70 rupees) per minute. At that time, it was quite expensive. We had an old couple who had come to Ethiopia post their retirement. The husband coached his wife. He told her what to speak, and what points to cover during her rapid fire international phone call. And she had one minute time to do it.

The lady was overcome by the situation. She blurted out something and may be the connection was not good. She took four minutes to finish what she had to say.  This somehow triggered her husband. He started shouting at her “you made me spend, 60 birr. This was we will not be able to save anything”. Overcome by emotions the old lady burst out crying. It was heart rendering to see the her cry so profusely. But the man was unmoved, he had spent 60 birr and that was too much for him.

I had read that the most selfish and the most self centered only venture out of their comfort zone to go to foreign countries and become NRIs. The main objective is to scrooge and save as much money as possible.  I was seeing a live demonstration and didn’t like it one bit. I took a vow. I will save but will not be stingy!

By the third afternoon people were starving. There was a local Indian restaurant called ‘Sangam’ in Addis Ababa. But it was in Bole road and we have to take a cab. We were told that cab drivers fleece the tourist and charge around 100 birr for one journey. So that is 200 birr just for the journey and we were also told that a nice Indian meal at the Sangam would set us back by at least 500 birr. 700 birr for a meal sounded exorbitant for all, including me.

There was a knock on the door. It was Vasavi, Bala Krishna’s wife. She was down for the count. She said ‘Padmakka, I don’t like this place at all. It is too cold. We can’t go out. I simply hate the food. No rice, no dal, no sambhar and no curd. I feel miserable” Overcome by the situation, she wept uncontrollably. She said “I will tell Bala. I want to go home”.

Padma was touched. She could not bear her pain and anguish. She consoled Vasavi. She told her to be brave. “Nothing to panic” Padma added “we are all with you. Look at us. We have kids. They don’t like it either. They are surviving on bread and jam. And on biscuits”. Seeing the logic of the situation, Vasavi brightened up.

Me and Bala swung into action. We hunted for hotels and restaurants that serve rice. There were many restaurants but they all served either Ethiopian food or European food. We had problem even explaining what rice was or how it looked.  

The present generation have it good. They can just google rice and show the hotel owner what is rice and how it looked. But we were in 2002 and it now appears like pre-historic time!

After a good two hours, WE FOUND A CHINESE HOTEL. The owner was sour and non-communicative. He showed no surprise or happiness when we almost jumped in joy when he said “yes we have rice’. We rushed back to the hotel and four of our family, Vasavi and Bala, Dr. Srinivas Inguva and T.N. Murthy rushed to the restaurant.

After an agonizing wait of forty minutes our RICE arrived. There was a very watery looking tomato paste/Puree/tomato curry as a side dish. The rice was not rice. It was a watery goo. The tomato curry was something of a culinary puzzle. But boy, we were as excited as Ali Baba when he saw the treasure in the cave. We fell on the rice and tomato goo and finished it off in a gusto. The cost was 12 birr. At that price it was a steal. We explained the issue and told the sour owner that the rice needed to be more dry and that he better spice up his curry. He gave a grudging nod. We hoped that we would get better service the next time around.