The Savanna of Eden

The Savanna of Eden

Safari in Masai Mara park was the highlight of the Africa tour – an experience unmatched and probably impossible outside of Africa at this time. We saw a vast expanse of land, that many wild animals call home. This land is mostly untouched by man, other than the tracks made by motor vehicles that ply every day on designated paths.  We saw many animals grazing leisurely, not distracted by what is around them, not even looking up to see what the stopped safari jeeps are up to. We saw another species of animals – wildebeest – thousands of them on their migration route, file past all of us, calm and collected but with a steady, steely purpose as if responding to a pied piper whose tune is not audible to us humans. Fierce animals – lions and cheetahs – saunter along very close to the vans (within 10 feet sometimes), casual and nonchalant.  Different species of animals – zebras, wildebeests, gazelles – grazing side by side with no fear of each other and scant attention to any predators.

It appears that all these animals are acting their designated roles in this cosmic setting, responding only to their natural instincts and with no other intellectual stimulus. We witnessed the circle of life in its full glory – animals born, tended to, fed, dead and scavenged by the creator’s rules and provisions.  This life story has been played out for thousands of years with no change. I don’t think animals have acquired any new skills to prey or to escape from predators in the last 1000 years. So, it was like watching a microcosm of life as it existed say, four thousand years ago, even before man appeared on the scene. Or maybe, a flash of the Garden of Eden, right in front of our eyes.  This experience is far superior to visiting a dilapidated structure built 2000 years ago; here we are seeing a natural process that has remained intact for a much longer period.

We were amazed at the role played by the ugly detested beast – vulture – devouring the flesh of dead animals and thereby ridding the grasslands of animal remains. We wondered what the situation would have been, if these scavengers were not around. Everything created for a purpose.

Humans are outsiders to this ecosystem, a passerby visitor, not a participant. It is humbling to note that without our (human) intervention, or may be because of that, life forms can thrive on their own. Of course, they have; but witnessing this with our own eyes was a revelation.

No doubt, this safari was a spiritual experience, far beyond mere sight seeing.

Masai kids are world kids

We talked to a group of Masai Mara kids when the safari vans had to stop on the way for some mechanical work. We shared some snacks with them and engaged in some conversation with them at that time. What struck us first was the ease with which they could converse in good English – these 7 to 11-year-old kids – probably attending elementary school – had no trouble or hesitation in talking to a group of tourists from a different region and culture.

Of course, more kids soon joined the first batch as they saw food being distributed. As we ran out of our stash of food, we were expecting to see pandemonium and fight to grab snack packets from each other. But what we saw was, kids sharing their treats and a few politely refusing when there weren’t enough to satisfy all, still maintaining composure and engaging in animated conversation with us. They didn’t just leave in disappointment, rather quite eager in answering our questions and even asking us about our whereabouts. This conflicted with our pre-conceived notion about poor kids and what we have seen in movies. Somebody warned us about the bad experience of a few well intended people who distributed food to street children in India. But neither we nor the kids – a group that have nothing in common – felt any awkwardness in having an open impromptu conversation and sharing whatever food was available in a civil manner.

One girl especially, had the marking of a leader. She suddenly became their spokesperson.  When Tina asked who among them was the leader of the pack, another shy girl chipped in, ‘I am’. She was soon reprimanded by the other girl who had established herself as the leader saying, “she is just kidding, she is not the leader”. We felt all these were just natural maneuvering among well-meaning kids.  When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, presto came the confident answer, “I want to be a journalist”. We were stunned that she knew what a journalist does, let alone aspiring to become one. Hope we would see her as a modern ‘Christiana Amanpoor’ some day reporting and making sense of world events.

This scene would have played out this way, in any part of the civilized world. Kenyan kids demonstrated that they are not different from any of our kids and they have the right and talent to belong to the grand world stage.

Tourism corrupting the Masai innocence?

On the other end of spectrum, we saw this Masai lady succumbing to the temptation of making a fast buck by taking the tourists for a ride. We saw her in different guises – first as the sophisticated Masai Mara young lady who is keeping the Masai tradition of drinking cow blood and sleeping in a small hut with nine other family members – then as a waitress and helper in the resort we stayed – and then, we heard, as the charming hostess for the riders of hot air balloon.  She explained the hard life the Masais lead, untouched by the greed of the outside consumer society as if they are the last bastion that remains to protect the world from an apocalypse. This was all a farce, playing on the sympathetic nerve of the tourist who typically travels from a wealthy country for a peaceful vacation in Kenya, who would naturally fall for such a sob story. She was blatantly soliciting some members of our group after the ‘hut tour’, which smelled a rat. Her future appearances in other roles confirmed our suspicion.

We are in awe of the Masai culture, the way they have blended their life with the nature, their healthy stature and athletic abilities. Masais won our heart by the demonstration of their high energy, their dance moves and simple life. There is no need to exaggerate or falsify anything. It is unfortunate when they make a mockery of their great tradition by staging such a ballyhoo for the tourists.
The little girl that we met and talked to on the road side was genuine. This lady has lost the Africa authenticity as she grew up to be a service provider for tourism industry. What a shame!

Friendship is a bouquet of 78 blossoms

A college re-union 34 years after graduation in a continent far away from where we all live and work. What are the odds that we get a group of 78 people for such an occasion?  But we made it. We came, we melded, and we went away with much stronger ties and the desire to keep this friendship aglow. It was great to see how we supported each other, turned every challenge to a bonding opportunity and genuinely enjoyed each other’s company.

Kudos to the Sat Guru tour arrangement and meticulous planning by our tour committee, we were able to enjoy the tour without many incidents or delays. Idea of shuffling the safari companions every day was probably apprehensive to some in the beginning but worked out quite well at the end. We got to talk and share anecdotes with people who we normally do not mingle with, otherwise. At the end, we were just one large group – no cliques, no higher echelons, just one ITFA fraternity. We could not leave without the assurance of another tour next year.

Our Kids – breath of fresh air 

Our next generation is flying high.  They demonstrated that they are very comfortable being on their own while travelling in the company of their parents and friends. That shows their confidence. All of them have tremendous potential and are making us proud. Our future is in good hands. Feeling great that our band of indolent CETians could engender such a capable generation. Nurture, I guess has overwhelmingly pulled ahead of nature to shape this crop of kids.