An African Odyssey
Dancing on the continent's beats, one tap at a time
A vast savannah stretched for miles! A casual lion strolling about, the mane shining under the scorching sun. Trees spotting the landscape occasionally—oh look! There’s a leopard sitting there, wagging its tail royally. That’s the image of Africa in my mind, the cradle of humanity. What about you?
Although I have traveled to only 4 countries in the continent, two of which are nothing like the above image. Egypt is like a portal into another era- of carved temples and fascinating lores, sheesha and the Red Sea. Morocco is blue-tinted, with mountains and desserts and mazes of markets !
When I started gathering names of countries for traveling the world from my city project, a friend suggested Ethiopia. And I said a hearty yes, thinking about the cuisine and potential Ethiopian experiences in Bangalore. Yet the hope was shattered after the first web search itself. There was no Ethiopian restaurant in town and all the results were flight aggregators promising me to fly to Ethiopia. As if I don’t want to. I decided to expand my country to the whole continent itself, since Africa has always fascinated me, way more than Europe or Asia.
And my lived experiences were nothing like what plans I started with! Isn’t that how life feels like. I looked at the only African food place in the city and it was both far and had unappealing photos. I searched for any African art workshops happening around, most of them were paintings of African women in headscarves. When I visited Tanzania two years ago, I actually learned painting from an artist. And it is one of the core memories I have of the island.
I thought about getting African braids! It might look cool but most women keep it for 4-8 weeks. Without shampooing. One fun fact I found was dreadlocks originated in India! And I couldn’t possibly go to the office with my braids. But it was trying out the braids hairstyle on my face (through AI) which convinced me to not go for it :P
So the third idea went down the drain. After a long list of ideas and possibilities, I started where I should have started - history.
There were two interesting threads - the first was about the Siddis community who are of African descent and came to India as slaves by the European colonizers. They have been living in Karnataka for centuries.
The second was about the huge population of Africans in Bangalore, which eventually was reduced due to rampant racism and the proliferation of drugs and prostitution. Today a very small population still lives near Kammanahalli and that’s where I decided to go. Firstly, I texted my friend to go on an “adventure” so that in case the shady bar turns out to be very shady, I have reinforcements. Secondly I dressed up in my Zebra pants ready to Waka Waka
I discovered an obscure blog about a lounge owned by Africans so headed towards that. Today a huge Reliance trends stands in its place. Despite searching around and checking some nearby places, me and my friend were unable to find any community.
Not every search yields to a result, some get stretched to another season of the show.
I decided to check out the Afro-Jazz scene which is pretty popular in Bangalore pubs. I also hopped into Latin dancing socials. Though I know a bit of Bachata and Salsa, the African Kizomba (originated in Angola) always stumped me. It was a fun experience grooving to the beats and rhythm.
This video is a vibe, way better than my awkward steps!
One day a friend sent me a picture of an instrument he got as a gift. It looked familiar, and a quick search revealed the name as Kalimba. Though my eyes sparkled on the second line: It originated from Zimbabwe! I impulsively ordered it.
I believe that on a normal day (without my project in progress) this conversation would not have led to an action. But because I was in a hyper-aware mode, looking out for African experiences all around, and this clicked. Quite similar to the number 55 betting scene in the movie Focus.
Kalimba is a delight. The sound is very soothing, almost meditative. It is super easy to hold and play. And yes as someone who gave up on Ukulele, I had almost started to believe that musical instruments is not my thing. Too soon to commit, but I have learned to play 3-4 melodies on this gorgeous gorgeous instrument. Currently, I am sending audio messages to my friends, asking them to recognize the tune. But it would be nice to have a tripod and record short videos of beautiful music, all through the touch of my thumbs. To everyone who has ever felt like they are not musical, this is your sign to order a Kalimba from Amazon and see your fingers create magic!
I am learning Kalimba and Djembe, went to an Afro-Jazz party, and also discovered Kizomba all over again.
Jambo! See you next week! This time exploring Australia :))
Youtube has a bunch of great Kalimba tutorials, I will share the one I learnt from.
Another cool thing I discovered was Djembe drum circles in the city! The next one is on 9th March, and I am excited to go. Djembe is said to have originated in Mali and the name comes from the saying "Anke djé, anke bé" which translates to "everyone gather together in peace" and defines the drum's purpose. Such a cool origin.
This is what the previous circle looked like!
I also dabbled in learning more about the original African art. Some fun videos on that are:
Google Art and culture’s wonderful collection of 60 African artists of various mediums and disciplines
Imigongo is Rwanda’s art form which uses cow dung on a wooden canvas to create art!
I strongly recommend listening and dancing along to this video early in the morning.!
I couldn’t possibly be done in just a week! There is so much more to discover and learn and unravel. Yet I was pleasantly surprised at how musical this blog turned out to be!
I am learning Kalimba and Djembe, went to an Afro-Jazz party, and also discovered Kizomba all over again. Jambo! See you next week! This time exploring Australia :))
I would definitely try dreadlocks. Djembe looks fun and something that I can try my hands on.