Kashmir, the millstone around our neck on February 6, 2018Incessant shelling along the Line of Control (LOC) in Kashmir has led to the death of scores of Indian and Pakistani soldiers in the last few months, in addition to the casualties and suffering among civilians on both sides. Like an active volcano spewing smoke constantly, Kashmir is showing all signs of an imminent eruption, […]
India and Pakistan: the dance of death on January 26, 2018Despite officially and virtually being in a state of war since 1953, and dangerously close to an actual war in the last few months, North Korea and South Korea have now agreed to walk hand in hand under one flag at the winter Olympics next month. North Korea’s overt and covert acts of subversion and […]
Starving billionaires, thriving despot on April 26, 2016From the town of Livingstone in Zambia, it is a very short ride to the Zimbabwe border, just two-three kilometres away. The no-man’s land is the famous 128-metre high, 198-metres longrail-and-road bridge over the Zambezi River, which divides the two countries. It was opened in 1905 by George Darwin, son of Charles Darwin. From the […]
The smoke that thunders on April 26, 2016The flight from Johannesburg in South Africa to Livingstone was over the vast, flat expanse of Botswana. As the plane approached this small Zambian town at the confluence of four nations, named after the great Scottish explorer and missionary, I could see the famous spray of the waterfall from my window seat. From Livingstone, Zimbabwe […]
Swahili, slavery, socialisms and superstition IV on April 26, 2016Superstition is as old as us humans. Since recent discoveries trace the origin of our species to Africa, it is hardly surprising that superstition is most entrenched in that part of the world. Most superstitious beliefs are rather benign, such as those relating to black cats crossing one’s path, walking under a ladder or spilling […]
Swahili, slavery, socialism and superstitionn III on April 26, 2016My Malawi bus trip aborted, I returned to my motel in Dares Salam and began to plan my next destination. Air travel is generally very expensive in Africa. Direct flights are few; most flights in sub-Saharan Africa are routed through Nairobi, Addis Ababa or Johannesburg. I remember meeting a Sudanese diplomat a few years ago […]
Swahili, slavery, socialism and superstition III on April 25, 2016My Malawi bus trip aborted, I returned to my motel in Dares Salam and began to plan my next destination. Air travel is generally very expensive in Africa. Direct flights are few; most flights in sub-Saharan Africa are routed through Nairobi, Addis Ababa or Johannesburg. I remember meeting a Sudanese diplomat a few years ago […]
Swahili, slavery, socialism and superstition II on April 25, 2016Among the many people I met during my short stay in Dares Salam, there was a white South African man in his mid-40s who had been travelling overland in the continent for six months. There was not a hint that he had had enough. Then there was a young Dutch who had cycled all the […]
Swahili, socialism, slavery and superstition I on April 25, 2016Dar es Salam is Tanzania’s largest city, sea port, commercial centre and its capital in all but name. Although all government ministries and offices are in Dar es Salam, some legislative offices are now located in the more centrally situated town of Dodoma, which has long been planned as the future capital. Tanzania’s largest city […]
Terror in Timbuktu on April 24, 2016For French President Francois Hollande, the events in Mali have been a godsend. Hitherto seen as weak in contrast to his macho predecessor, Nikolas Sarkozy, Hollande now swaggers like a conquering hero on African soil, cheered by Malians with slogans of “Vive la France!” Could there be a more beautiful sight or a more inspiring […]