The year was 1984 and I was in a seedy movie hall in Tirupati, South India settling down to watch ‘Beautiful People (some call them animals)’ with a paper cone containing spicy peanuts to enhance my watching experience. The movie was a brilliant wild life compilation crisply narrated; all about animal behaviours and their survival in the heart of the Kalahari Desert. It left a lingering impression but I did not think of it much then. Come 1988 I watched ‘Gods Must Be Crazy’ and this time I paid attention as the locales seemed similar to the previous movie. The movie was again shot in the Kalahari; I was curious which country encompassed the Kalahari; it turned out to be Botswana (and Namibia). Botswana then never crossed my mind until late 1990.
I worked in Malawi from 1989 to 1990 for a sad company called Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) which was and is a listed mega Indian company carrying out work all over the world. I observe that HCC presently delivers ~AUD 840M of infrastructure p.a. Without digressing too much the bone I pick with HCC is that they ventured into Malawi transporting hundreds of pieces of junk quality road building equipment from Samawah, Iraq for an ambitious high profile project in Malawi. These assets were well milked. Therefore we failed to complete the roadworks in Malawi impacting our morale and personal reputation amidst the local community. This is only one of the beefs for I have many more but then the whole Malawi experience is for another day.
On our last legs in Malawi with HCC and with prospects in India absolutely dismal (the balance of payments was precarious in 1990) as it was a shut economy, I was compelled to explore external opportunities. It was during these times that my dear friend Vageesh and I would talk about moving to Botswana, clutching on to chilled Carlsberg Green almost every night and discuss future plans panning well into the serene nights of Mtakataka (those are memories or what??). We would talk about many issues but the main topic was to establish ourselves in Botswana because it supposedly was the land of milk and honey undergoing a diamond fueled construction boom. One of our colleagues had already established himself in Botswana and the feedback from him on the country and opportunities was fantastic.
In late 1990, subdued with the way it all ended in Malawi, I came back to India and immediately commenced planning with fervour on how to land in Botswana. Long story short, after picking a few pointers from Vageesh who was residing at Tumkur, South India then, I booked a one way ticket to Lilongwe (capital of Malawi) to plant myself plumb on the long road to Gabarone, Botswana.
I pause here to reflect on Bob Dylan’s excerpt from his satirical classic ‘No direction Home’ where he says (he can’t really sing, can he?) “— when you got nothing you got nothing to lose —!”. Truly I had nothing to lose but the risks were immense. At an age when my appetite for stupidity and risk taking was abundant, I am glad I made the decisions I made which resulted in great experiences, adventures, a unique journey that taught me life lessons and help me grow exponentially.
The immeasurable kindness of ex-colleagues from HCC such as Mr Patil and Pappu Srinivas brings a lump to my throat. Without their gracious and all out assistance and support, it would have been impossible to foray into Botswana. Stranded (visa issues) and shuttling between Lilongwe (Mr Patil) and Blantyre (Pappu) to reduce the load on either of my friends was a learning experience. Despite kindness of my friends, killing time and pursuing my ambition of landing in Botswana was very challenging.
Botswana had embassies only in Lusaka and Harare. As a preferred option I landed in Lusaka and getting the travel visa was an easy fetch. In Lusaka again the kindness and love shown my Mr Sharma from Delhi and Dr Salim from Hyderabad was unbelievable. It was my first hand experience of expats enjoying the highest quality of life in Africa and reinforced in me that all this was possible if one worked hard and had focus.
The visa helped me fly into Gaborone (pronounced Khabarone). An average Zambian Airways plane ride hovering over the Kalahari with monotonous landscape was an unforgettable experience. Memories of the movies I had seen refreshed in my mind and the rush of excitement, joy and satisfaction of having succeeded in landing in Botswana came true. When one is that young, even a simple achievement seems bloody great.
The airport was tiny but ‘posh’. The swagger and the suspicious look on the immigration officer’s face was apparent. The reasons unknown to me then, became clear progressively as I attempted to survive and etch my path in Gaborone. Expats had taken over the country! My immediate instinct was to compare the Motswana (native of Botswana) with the Malawian. The contrast was STARK! The Motswana was confident and well dressed with a certain arrogance stemming from the diamond riches and the social security his country offered. Their wealth had put them in a pole position of being able to lend to the World Bank in those days!
In comparison the poor Malawian with no shoes, mostly in rags, much darker in colour (nah, not being racist but an observation) humble, respectful of expatriates and very complying, came to my mind. Also what caught my attention quickly as I came under Botswana skies with feet on their soil was a billboard loudly screaming “Dirisa sekause“! (use condoms). With AIDS ravaging the country and infecting close to a third of the 1.6M population, it was hardly surprising that the government was unabashed in promoting condoms’ use; how successful they were was anyone’s guess. Such campaigns become a success with time. That only occurs with education and natives experiencing the devastating impacts on their loved ones first hand over the years.
The rapid learnings, how I built my life over the next six plus years in Botswana, how I became a pioneer in inculcating self limiting beliefs in the initial years amidst the negative environment that existed within a significant section of the Indian community needs discussion. Even the most mediocre of achievements then provided me a quick burst of confidence only to be snatched away by a careless comment/act from someone I held in esteem. The petty but subtle politics, the class divide, the sadistic and perverse joy some derived in others’ misery, some rubbing in their success into those who were battered and bruised; all triggered in I making a conscious choice of moving out of the country in 1996 before getting used to the limited exposure and the ‘frog in the well’ lifestyle. Maybe it was the age and lack of experience which put me on the back foot? But again I think maybe not because I was tremendously successful in Malawi despite all limitations that existed within my work place. It had to be the environment, I conclude.
Having mentioned the above, I also remember some of the most amazing and brilliant times I had after making a handful of friends who are now friends for life. It was their friendship and support that contributed to my positive experiences during some of the most difficult times. The proximity to amazing wildlife, a marvel known as South Africa, Hwange National Park, Vic Falls, and several other attractions in Boputhathswana are my fondest memories and will stay so until the day I cease to exist. Two most important beings joined me in my journey in Botswana; my Mrs. and my beautiful elder kid Trishala. Avanti my younger one was conceived there but was born in India. I still remind Trishala in jest that she is a Motswana and belongs to the Mogkhatla tribe from Mochudi, where she was born.
Before I wander into excessive drivel, I conclude with a comment that Botswana was a huge positive after finding my tribe of like minded individuals. Until that happened it was an experience of put downs, class based treatment, Johnny come lately sneers, tolerating the ‘Oh we are from the Zambia and we have milked it there and now we are milking Botswana’ club’s arrogance and witnessing ‘will kick you when you are already in the gutter lying bleeding’ type of acts. I eventually picked myself up from all the unnecessary negative internal chatter and craved success and achievement. This was all possible because of a beautiful country called New Zealand which nurtured and built me over 10 yeras. It was not all smooth sailing in NZ but I had great outcomes that set me up well in Oz and for the future. Much sharing around the corner and in the offing; until then happy reading 🙂
desidownunder 