There were no apparent reasons for the pain in my shoulder. It started one day when I lifted up my arm to write on the class-room board during teaching. The pain was so sudden that I put down my arm with a jerk. Some of the pupils might have noticed my action and wondered what it was all about. Even though, the pain subsided temporarily, it recurred each time I raised my right arm.
Back at home I had a hot bath after which some liniment was applied. Even though I slept well, the pain was still there when I got up next morning. I did not do much writing on the chalk board that day.
As the pain still persisted even on the third day, I decided to go to the hospital and consult a doctor. Accordingly I drove the 100 miles to Kasama General Hospital, even though it was a very painful exercise. The doctor had my shoulder x-rayed and then prescribed a few medicines. He told me that I should consult an orthopaedic surgeon if the pain did not subside within a week or so. He gave me the necessary papers. I was also advised to keep my arm in a sling.
I was very depressed. In fact I was supposed to go to Lusaka next week to participate in the metal workshop organized by the JETS (Science) Clubs. It was a week-long workshop to which I had been selected being the Advisor of Luwingu Science club. Now it was almost certain that I would not be taking part in it.
By the end of the week, my arm had become quite stiff and I realized that no time should be wasted in seeing the orthopaedic surgeon. The problem was how to reach Lusaka. I discussed the matter with my headmaster Simposya. By a mere coincidence it happened so that the headmaster was looking for a lift to go to the Copperbelt to buy some spare parts for his car. He agreed to take me up to Ndola in my own car if I would let him drive it. Accordingly we set out to Ndola on a Friday. I gave him directions to take me to a friend's house in Ndola where he left me with my car and departed. My friend Chacko took me to Lusaka the next day in his car and after dropping me at the UTH (University Teaching Hospital) returned to Ndola the same day, as he had to attend some urgent business at home.
By the time I reached the hospital it was about lunch time. On making enquiries at the orthopaedic department, I came to know to my great dismay that the orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Gold had his weekly clinic on the previous day and his next clinic would be on next Friday only.
My immediate problem was to find accommodation in Lusaka until next Friday. It was unlikely that I could manage to get accommodation at the Hubert Young hostel or the Long Acres hostel at such a short notice. Staying one week in a hotel would be very expensive and I did not have sufficient funds. The other alternative would be to gate-crash to some friend's house, but one week was a long period and I felt very reluctant.
It was then that I remembered about the JETS workshop. The Ridgeway Campus where the participants were to be accommodated was right across the road. As I knew I was expected for the workshop, I thought I would go and register there. So I removed my sling and walked over to the place, with my brief case in my "good" hand. The man in charge told me that he did not expect anyone so early, but he did not want to refuse accommodation as I had arrived already. He ticked against my name on a check-list and handed me a key to one of the rooms. The room number was on the tag and he gave me directions. He also gave me a name-plate to wear for identification purpose and a printed card showing the meal-times at the Campus etc.
The room was quite spacious and intended for double occupancy. Another guy whom I used to know before, joined me on Sunday. His name was Anthony and he came from a place called Mpika (pronounced 'empeeka') . He also had come for the workshop. While we were getting ready for the supper, he noticed that there was something wrong with my arm. I told him in one or two sentences about an unexpected pain in my right shoulder that was troubling me a bit and that I might require some help from him during the workshop. He promised all possible help and did not bother me with further questions.
The workshop started on Monday morning. Our instructor's name was Carpenter. I thought it would have been more appropriate if it were Blacksmith. There were about twenty of us. Many were personally known to me. All of us were provided with a large sheet of galvanized iron and a set of metal-working tools. Our assignment was to make a tool box using the sheet metal, paint it and stencil our name and school-address on it. The tools were to be placed inside the tool-box after making it. Mr.Carpenter would examine our work on Thursday afternoon and would allow us to take the tool-box and the tools along with us for the use of our science club. The participants would leave the campus after breakfast on Friday. I thought how convenient it would be for me to keep my appointment on Friday afternoon with Dr. Gold.
The crunch came when the session of instructions was over and Mr. Carpenter asked us to start the work. There was a great flurry of activities as everyone started measuring and marking the metal sheet. I found the sheet so heavy that I could not even lift it with one hand. I decided to wait until Anthony would come to my assistance. However, he was so busy with his own work that he hardly glanced in my direction.
Just before lunch break, Carpenter came round to see what progress we had made. Most people had finished measuring and marking the sheet, ready for cutting. He nodded approvingly to each person and then came to me. He was so surprised to see me standing there with the huge metal sheet lying on the floor and the tools in a heap beside it. He asked me for an explanation and I told him I misplaced the instructions. He asked me why I didn't go to his office and ask for another copy. I didn't say anything. He expressed some doubts about the authenticity of my intentions in being there and asked me to follow him to his office for another copy of instructions. I complied with.
When work was resumed after the lunch-break, Carpenter came round the workbenches, to see how things were going on. I could not stand lazing around any longer. I started measuring and marking the sheet, very awkwardly, as I could not use my right arm properly. When Carpenter came to my workbench, he noticed how I was struggling and asked me if there was something wrong with my arm. I told him about a pain that developed all of a sudden and got his sympathy. He told me to take it easy and do the job without any hurry and left.
When the work for the day came to a close I noticed that all the others had their sheets cut into the required measurements and shape. I somehow managed to finish the marking and left the sheet on my workbench along with the tools and departed. My arm was aching so much that I rushed to my room and swallowed a couple of “panadol”. However I decided that I would not seek anyone's help hereafter. If I could not finish the work on time, well, I would leave it unfinished.
Cutting the sheet was the job for the next day. This was found more difficult than I thought, especially with the pain on my shoulder aggravated by the previous day's efforts. As I could not lift my arm above waste-level, I decided to place the sheet on the floor and kneel over it while cutting. It was a very tough job but I managed to cut the required pieces and made them ready for soldering.
To cut a long story short, I finished my work by Thursday afternoon and submitted it for inspection on Friday morning. Mr.Carpenter expressed his satisfaction, gave me a course- certificate and a cheque for my travel-claim and I left the Campus after lunch.
I kept my appointment with Dr.Gold on Friday afternoon. He looked at the x-ray and the other papers that I had brought along with me from Kasama and asked me to raise my hand above my head, to lower it and to extend it. To my surprise, I found that I could perform these actions without much difficulty. Then he told me that he did not find anything wrong with me and I could just go home. I was a bit disappointed and tried to tell him how bad it was before, but he cut me short and asked me what I was doing since my first arrival at the hospital. I told him I had been attending a metal workshop and he replied with a smile that it was the best treatment for me under the circumstances. He handed me back my x-ray and other papers and called for the next patient.
I caught a lift to Ndola and collected my car from where it was stored. On the next day I drove back to Luwingu, taking along with me the tool-box that I had made, with the set of tools in it and my right arm no longer in a sling, but on the steering wheel of my car.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
THE DAY THE RIOT BROKE OUT
The riot broke out without any warning. Everything appeared normal on the previous day which was a Sunday. Fr.Deltern from the White Father's mission in Luwingu conducted Sunday service and mass in the school hall as usual and the attendance was quite normal. In the afternoon, drum- beating started as early as 2 PM and the Kalela dancers started lining up immediately thereafter. By 5 PM the drum-beating was at its loudest and the dancing was in full swing. The dancers stood swaying and gyrating, one behind the other, with each one's hands on the sweating shoulders of the one in front, boys and girls intermingled, the line starting from the clearing near the boys' dormitories and snaking through the entire length of the foot-ball field. The sound of the drums was accompanied by shrill whistles, cat calls and what not. We had been watching this spectacle on every Sunday except during the school holidays, ever since we moved to the boarding school campus. It was quite a fascinating sight. The Kalela dance was the forum for all pupils to get involved in something interesting, irrespective of their age, sex or other characteristics.
During supper-time, Manachongo, the boarding master noticed a bit of restlessness among the senior boys. He knew the reason. The supply of meat that was scheduled to arrive from Kasama the previous day had not arrived due to reasons unknown to him. As a result there was no meat for the Sunday lunch. Formerly on such occasions, it was compensated at supper-time. As the supplier did not send any meat even by Sunday evening, no meat could be provided for supper as well. The boarders were greatly disappointed. It was rumoured that the C.E.O's office did not make the necessary payment and that was why the supplier did not send meat. Some of the senior pupils were even giving a hint to boycott the food but the majority of the boarders did not take it seriously. By Monday morning, everything appeared normal and the pupils had their breakfast as usual. At the beginning of lunch time some of the senior pupils went into the kitchen to find out whether there would be any meat for lunch. The cooks reminded them that the kitchen was out of bounds for the pupils and they would know whether there was any meat when the food was served. The boys were greatly annoyed and they stood at the entrance of the dining hall, asking each and everyone to boycott lunch as there was no meat. A number of juniors were intimidated from entering the dining hall that they went back hungry. As a result, a lot of nshima (cooked maize-meal) had to be thrown away.
As the boarding master knew what to expect at supper-time, the cooks were instructed to cook less food for supper. In the meanwhile the headmaster had been in touch with the C.E.O and was given assurance that his office would contact Shawn's butchery in Kasama and arrange with them to make an immediate delivery of beef.
Supper-time arrived and still there was no meat from Kasama. This time the girls also joined the boys in boycotting the supper. Some senior boys stood guard over the entrance of the dining hall so that the juniors may not sneak in. In addition, they procured a few tins of some detergent powder from the kitchen store and sprinkled it all over the cooked food so that no one would be tempted to eat the food even though hungry.
In the meanwhile the headmaster called an urgent meeting of the prefects (a selected body of senior pupils who were authorized to assist in maintaining law and order among the pupils) and explained to them the situation. He sought their help in restoring peace in the campus and they assured their support to the authorities. However, there was a strong feeling among the members of staff that some of the prefects themselves were involved in causing the agitation among the pupils.
There were two M'hangos among the prefects- Vivian and Bruce who were identical twins and were exactly alike in appearance. It was difficult to tell them apart but for the smile on Bruce's face and the scowl on Vivian's. We received an unconfirmed report that Vivian was one of the ring-leaders of the present unrest among the pupils which later proved untrue.
The situation became worse by Tuesday morning. All the boarders appeared for the breakfast, but no one seemed to be in a hurry to get back for the lessons after that. They were standing here and there in small groups and discussing matters. Even though the bell for the morning assembly was rung, no pupil took any notice of that.
In the meanwhile, the boarding master brought news that some pupils had started fighting in one or class rooms causing damage to the furniture and light fittings. The headmaster ordered Mukuka, the caretaker, to go round and lock up all the class rooms, laboratories and the generator shed.
By mid-morning while the pupils were still roaming about the school campus, about half a dozen senior pupils went to the headmaster as a delegation. They had a number of grievances written on a sheet of paper. It was not just the matter of having no meat for food, but there were other things also. They said that the boarders had taken a unanimous decision to boycott lessons until their grievances were redressed. The headmaster said he would look into the matter.
As there were no lessons going on, I decided to go to the main shopping area for a few purchases. I drove to Patel Syndicate, the shop where you could get most of your requirements and made my purchase. I chatted for a while with Mulenga, the manager, and returned to the school.
As I approached the school, I decided to drive on to my house and leave the car in my garage. I saw Bruce M'hango standing at the turn-off to the school and he waved at me to stop the car. He came to me and told that there was a bit of a problem. There was an open space beyond the school buildings, in between the girls' dormitories and the staff houses. All the pupils had gathered there, chanting some slogans and some of them were instigating the others to stone the staff-houses and cars. The headmaster, the boarding master and the boarding mistress were with the pupils, asking them to disperse, but no one was paying any attention. The headmaster had asked some of the prefects to inform all the expatriate teachers to stay away from the vicinity of the pupils' meeting place.
In order to reach my home, I had to drive round the corner of the place where the pupils were gathered. Somehow, I had a feeling that as I was popular with the pupils because of my science club activities, they would not hurt me. However, I forgot the fact that in situations like this, it was the mob-psychology that prevailed and their actions were not controlled by the head but by the heart. I thanked Bruce for the warning, but decided to keep going. I slowed down at the corner of the meeting place for a better look when I saw the boarding master coming towards me. I heard him telling me in a tone of urgency not to stop but to go home quickly. The situation was so tense that even the presence of a foreigner could provoke the pupils to behave in a totally uncontrollable manner. I hurriedly went home.
There were no further happenings on that day. By late afternoon the pupils became so tired and hungry that they dispersed one by one. Many of them were very disappointed that they could not go into a rampage. Later we came to know that it was Vivian M'hango whom we suspected of being one of the ring-leaders who prevented the pupils from going into a rampage. As he was very influential among the prefects as well as among the pupils, no one could act contrary to his strong stand against any attack on teachers' houses and property.
The meat truck from Kasama arrived in the evening and the pupils decided to call off the agitation. The incident had a happy ending by the headmaster making an announcement in the assembly next morning that all charges against the rioters were dropped.
We all heaved a sigh of relief as peace was restored to the campus once again.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
THE PRESIDENT'S VISIT
It was with mixed feelings that we received the news of the President's visit. Our headmaster Simposya announced in the staff meeting that the President of the Republic Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda was intending to visit Luwingu within a period of two months and he would be addressing the pupils, teachers and parents during that time in the school hall.
Even though we had heard a lot about President Kaunda, we did not have the opportunity to meet him. In Africa, President Kaunda was not only well-known but also well-respected. He had the vision of a Unified Africa. He knew very well the importance of education in a developing country and he wanted all Zambians in the on-coming generations to be fully literate. With this view, his government in conjunction with the World Bank, formulated a plan called the Transitional Development Plan (TDP) under which new secondary schools were established in all the districts of Zambia. This was in addition to the existing "high schools" of the Colonial days. Luwingu secondary school was one such school.
The district governor called a series of meetings of the heads of various departments in the district to make preparations for the Presidential visit. The schools in the district, especially the one and only secondary school had to play a very important role. Pupils and teachers were briefed adequately on the procedures involved and the part each had to play. The Ministry of Works did their best to give a face-lift to the town and its surrounding areas. There was a week-long campaign of cleaning activities within the school campus. The atmosphere was filled with an air of expectation. The teachers also got busy making the classrooms under their charge as well as the laboratories and departmental offices to look spick and span.
In the midst of all this excitement, there was some apprehension also. The reason was that the teaching staff consisted mainly of expatriates (foreigners) only. Many of us still remembered what another prominent African leader commented about his capital city a few years ago. He said that he wanted his capital city to look like an African city and not like "Bombay". When he visited some schools in his country he remarked that he would like to see "more African faces than the faces of expatriates". Even though there is ample justification in what he said, it could hurt very much when such "truths" were hurled in your face when you were recruited by the very same people and given a contract. We did not know what would be President Kaunda's reaction when he found out that the entire teaching staff consisted of expatriates.
Being a very enthusiastic amateur photographer, I wanted to take some pictures of the President's visit. To my dismay, I found out that I had no films in my camera. The nearest place where I could get some 35 mm film was at Norman Kenward in Mufulira, about 250 miles(400 km) away from Luwingu. The President's visit was now due in three weeks' time and it was unlikely that anyone from the campus would be travelling to Mufulira during the above period. As I knew how much a film would cost, I decided to send the necessary amount plus postage by registered post requesting to send a roll of film urgently.
Just two days before the President's visit, I received a registered envelope from Norman Kenward. It contained some money and a note telling me that the film could not be sent as my payment was short of 15 ngwee (about 15 cents). I felt very bad but could not do anything about it. So I put my camera safely away.
We had a science club at the school comprising of a number of students. They wanted to record the President's speech, but the school had no tape recorder. The headmaster gave us a broken-down tape recorder and told us to repair and use it. We opened it and found a couple of loose connections which we soldered up. We found that the tape recorder worked well.
At last the great day came. All the students and the teachers lined up at the airstrip to welcome the President. There were the governor, district secretary, heads of departments, party militants, members of the public and a lot of police personnel. The Mercedes car for presidential use was brought from Lusaka two days ago and kept at the district governor's place. As we stood there straining our eyes, someone spotted the plane even from a very long distance and cried out in joy. The Zambia air force jet landed smoothly and rolled to a standstill. There was a make-shift rostrum near the place where the dignitaries sat and a red carpet was spread from the step of the plane up to the rostrum. As we looked on, the door of the plane opened and a smiling President, as well-groomed as ever in his Savile Row tailored safari suit emerged, waving a white kerchief at the crowd. No sooner than the President climbed up the rostrum the military band started playing the national anthem. The President addressed the crowd briefly, then got into the Mercedes and departed for the guest house accompanied by a number of police vehicles, and other vehicles containing heads of departments, party officials and other dignitaries. We returned to the school to continue with our preparations for the presidential visit in the late afternoon.
The school and its surroundings were decorated with colourful banners and Zambian flags. The banner at the main entrance to the campus read "WELCOME YOUR EXCELLENCY DR. KENNETH DAVID KAUNDA TO LUWINGU SECONDARY SCHOOL". Seats were arranged in the main dining hall to accommodate over 500 people. The Zambia Information Service (ZIS) put up their public address system with a number of loud speakers all around the place. There were many security men among the crowd that had gathered already. One of them was asking questions to the students who placed the tape recorder under a table for recording the President's speech.
At 5 PM the Presidential motorcade arrived at the entrance of the school campus. The teachers and the pupils in two separate groups lined up on both sides of the path. The President waved at the pupils and shook hands with all the teachers with a smile and one or two words in Cibemba (pronounced "chibemba" which is the prominent language of Zambia).
When the President stood up to address the crowd, there was thunderous applause from the people for many minutes. The loud speakers carried the President's rich voice all over the place. He made a special mention of the expatriate teachers by saying that he was greatly delighted to find so many people from other friendly countries who were there to assist the Zambian people and he was extremely grateful to those people and the countries from where they had come. He wished all the expatriates in Zambia a pleasant stay as long as they desired.
After the President and his entourage left, we wanted to replay his speech. The tape had already run out but we were sure that most of the speech had been recorded. It was then that we noticed that someone had pulled out the microphone cable from its socket. As we had checked and double-checked everything before the arrival of the President and none of us could go anywhere near the dais thereafter, there was no doubt that one of the security men could have played this mischief thinking that our old-fashioned machine was some kind of a voice-operated time bomb or something. Needless to say that we all felt very disappointed.
In spite of such disappointments, the visit of President Kaunda, who is considered as one of the greatest statesmen of Africa, and his encouraging words still remain fresh in our memory even after so many years of leaving that Friendly Country.
Even though we had heard a lot about President Kaunda, we did not have the opportunity to meet him. In Africa, President Kaunda was not only well-known but also well-respected. He had the vision of a Unified Africa. He knew very well the importance of education in a developing country and he wanted all Zambians in the on-coming generations to be fully literate. With this view, his government in conjunction with the World Bank, formulated a plan called the Transitional Development Plan (TDP) under which new secondary schools were established in all the districts of Zambia. This was in addition to the existing "high schools" of the Colonial days. Luwingu secondary school was one such school.
The district governor called a series of meetings of the heads of various departments in the district to make preparations for the Presidential visit. The schools in the district, especially the one and only secondary school had to play a very important role. Pupils and teachers were briefed adequately on the procedures involved and the part each had to play. The Ministry of Works did their best to give a face-lift to the town and its surrounding areas. There was a week-long campaign of cleaning activities within the school campus. The atmosphere was filled with an air of expectation. The teachers also got busy making the classrooms under their charge as well as the laboratories and departmental offices to look spick and span.
In the midst of all this excitement, there was some apprehension also. The reason was that the teaching staff consisted mainly of expatriates (foreigners) only. Many of us still remembered what another prominent African leader commented about his capital city a few years ago. He said that he wanted his capital city to look like an African city and not like "Bombay". When he visited some schools in his country he remarked that he would like to see "more African faces than the faces of expatriates". Even though there is ample justification in what he said, it could hurt very much when such "truths" were hurled in your face when you were recruited by the very same people and given a contract. We did not know what would be President Kaunda's reaction when he found out that the entire teaching staff consisted of expatriates.
Being a very enthusiastic amateur photographer, I wanted to take some pictures of the President's visit. To my dismay, I found out that I had no films in my camera. The nearest place where I could get some 35 mm film was at Norman Kenward in Mufulira, about 250 miles(400 km) away from Luwingu. The President's visit was now due in three weeks' time and it was unlikely that anyone from the campus would be travelling to Mufulira during the above period. As I knew how much a film would cost, I decided to send the necessary amount plus postage by registered post requesting to send a roll of film urgently.
Just two days before the President's visit, I received a registered envelope from Norman Kenward. It contained some money and a note telling me that the film could not be sent as my payment was short of 15 ngwee (about 15 cents). I felt very bad but could not do anything about it. So I put my camera safely away.
We had a science club at the school comprising of a number of students. They wanted to record the President's speech, but the school had no tape recorder. The headmaster gave us a broken-down tape recorder and told us to repair and use it. We opened it and found a couple of loose connections which we soldered up. We found that the tape recorder worked well.
At last the great day came. All the students and the teachers lined up at the airstrip to welcome the President. There were the governor, district secretary, heads of departments, party militants, members of the public and a lot of police personnel. The Mercedes car for presidential use was brought from Lusaka two days ago and kept at the district governor's place. As we stood there straining our eyes, someone spotted the plane even from a very long distance and cried out in joy. The Zambia air force jet landed smoothly and rolled to a standstill. There was a make-shift rostrum near the place where the dignitaries sat and a red carpet was spread from the step of the plane up to the rostrum. As we looked on, the door of the plane opened and a smiling President, as well-groomed as ever in his Savile Row tailored safari suit emerged, waving a white kerchief at the crowd. No sooner than the President climbed up the rostrum the military band started playing the national anthem. The President addressed the crowd briefly, then got into the Mercedes and departed for the guest house accompanied by a number of police vehicles, and other vehicles containing heads of departments, party officials and other dignitaries. We returned to the school to continue with our preparations for the presidential visit in the late afternoon.
The school and its surroundings were decorated with colourful banners and Zambian flags. The banner at the main entrance to the campus read "WELCOME YOUR EXCELLENCY DR. KENNETH DAVID KAUNDA TO LUWINGU SECONDARY SCHOOL". Seats were arranged in the main dining hall to accommodate over 500 people. The Zambia Information Service (ZIS) put up their public address system with a number of loud speakers all around the place. There were many security men among the crowd that had gathered already. One of them was asking questions to the students who placed the tape recorder under a table for recording the President's speech.
At 5 PM the Presidential motorcade arrived at the entrance of the school campus. The teachers and the pupils in two separate groups lined up on both sides of the path. The President waved at the pupils and shook hands with all the teachers with a smile and one or two words in Cibemba (pronounced "chibemba" which is the prominent language of Zambia).
When the President stood up to address the crowd, there was thunderous applause from the people for many minutes. The loud speakers carried the President's rich voice all over the place. He made a special mention of the expatriate teachers by saying that he was greatly delighted to find so many people from other friendly countries who were there to assist the Zambian people and he was extremely grateful to those people and the countries from where they had come. He wished all the expatriates in Zambia a pleasant stay as long as they desired.
After the President and his entourage left, we wanted to replay his speech. The tape had already run out but we were sure that most of the speech had been recorded. It was then that we noticed that someone had pulled out the microphone cable from its socket. As we had checked and double-checked everything before the arrival of the President and none of us could go anywhere near the dais thereafter, there was no doubt that one of the security men could have played this mischief thinking that our old-fashioned machine was some kind of a voice-operated time bomb or something. Needless to say that we all felt very disappointed.
In spite of such disappointments, the visit of President Kaunda, who is considered as one of the greatest statesmen of Africa, and his encouraging words still remain fresh in our memory even after so many years of leaving that Friendly Country.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Appointment With Death
APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH
They had met never before. In fact they even did not know about the existence of each other before they met quite accidentally that day. However, fate brought them together on an appointment with death at a rendezvous on the Kawambwa- Mansa highway about two and a half miles away from the town of Mansa.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the late 60's and early 70's, Goldring Motors in Mufulira were the sole agents of Skoda cars in Zambia. The East European Skoda was a far-cry from today's luxury models. Zambia had many makes of cars, out of which the most prominent ones were Ford, Peugeot, Fiat and Volkswagen. Japanese cars like Toyota, Nissan and Mazda were already in the market, but most buyers were unsure of their performance in the long run in spite of their elegant appearance and attractive price index. In the midst of all these new models and different makes of cars, the rear-engined, modest-looking Skoda was in very little demand. However, Goldring Motors were offering easy hire-purchase terms, handsome discounts and extended warranty to encourage people to buy their vehicles.
Vijay was a teacher in one of the newly opened government secondary schools in a place called Mporokoso (pronounced m'porokoso) in rural Zambia, about 120 miles from the sleepy little town of Mansa (formerly Fort Rosebury). Before coming to Zambia, he had been teaching in Ethiopia. He was from the state of Kerala in India. Vijay was young, smart, energetic, well-liked by his colleagues and pupils and had a keen interest in outdoor activities. He was a bachelor.
During the school holidays soon after his arrival in Zambia, Vijay made a visit to the Copperbelt where he had some friends. He was badly in need of a car. His plan was to go to Lusaka to get a government loan and to buy a car from there. However, finally he decided to go for a Skoda from Goldring Motors as new vehicles were readily available and could be bought on easy instalment scheme without going through the hassle of obtaining a government loan.
Vijay made a down payment with some money he had and took possession of the vehicle. He said he would make arrangements with his bank in Kasama for the payment of the on-coming monthly instalments. After reaching his station, he wrote instructions to his bank and sent through the mobile bank when it made its very next monthly visit.
In spite of its unimpressive appearance, the Skoda proved to be a good car. It had very good road-holding, especially on the treacherous gravel roads of the northern province. Vijay enjoyed driving his car. As soon as the school term came to an end he left for the Copperbelt in his car. His intention was to spend the whole vacation with friends in Lusaka and the Copperbelt and return just before the reopening of the school.
His first port of call was Mufulira. He wanted to get his car serviced at the dealer's. In fact the dealer was waiting very anxiously to see Vijay. The bank had not paid any instalments and Vijay was at default. The dealer had sent one or two notices to Vijay but there was no reply. Vijay could not explain what went wrong. He tried unsuccessfully to convince the dealer about the poor communication facilities in the rural area which he attributed to his failure in receiving the dealer's notices. He even tried to contact his bank by phone but the connection was bad and he could not get a satisfactory reply. The only alternative was to drive the four hundred miles to the bank at Kasama and sort out the problem. The dealer insisted that he should leave his car behind until all dues were cleared. Vijay had no option.
While Vijay was walking back to his temporary abode, contemplating about his next move, he came across a friend called Eugene from another rural school who also was on vacation. He too was a bachelor. Vijay explained his predicament to Eugene and as Eugene was intending to spend a number of days in Mufulira, he lent his Volkswagen beetle to Vijay to go to Kasama and come back within two or three days. Accordingly Vijay set out to Kasama very early next morning.
Vijay managed to reach the bank before closing time. He found out that his letter had not been received by the bank. However, there were more than sufficient funds in his account to pay Goldring Motors. After arranging to send the necessary amount by telegraphic transfer, he took a longer route to Mufulira, via Mporokoso instead of through Luwingu, as he had to see the headmaster of his school on the way.
There was a place called Kawambwa on his way from Mporokoso to Mufulira. Just before reaching this place the engine of his borrowed Volkswagen came to a stand-still. In spite of his best efforts, he could not get it started again. He left the car on the side of the road and walked to the shopping area, looking for a mechanic. Then he came across a small garage where he found a mechanic who offered to help. However, he could not get the engine started. As he could not do much on the side of the road, the car had to be towed into the garage where it was checked thoroughly. Soon it was established that the engine had seized.
Now Vijay was in a fix. He was stuck in a strange place in the middle of nowhere, about a hundred miles away from any familiar place and with the added liability of a broken-down car. Leaving the car with the garage people, he explored the possibilities of getting a lift to the Copperbelt. It was imperative that he should reach Mufulira as early as possible and inform Eugene what happened to his car. Then he should get back his Skoda from Goldring. Once he was mobile, he would be able to go to CAMS (dealers of Volkswagen in Zambia) and get the necessary spares to repair Eugene's car. As the engine had already been dismantled, it would be just a matter of fixing the rings and bearings and reassembling the engine, provided the crank shaft was not damaged.
In the meanwhile he realized that he was terribly hungry. In a place like Kawambwa, he did not expect to find any star hotel or even a decent restaurant. After looking around he came across a place from where he could hear some loud music blaring and where people were found going in and coming out. It was a tavern.
While he was having a drink and some snacks, he saw another Asian in the bar. He made his acquaintance and soon came to know that he too was a teacher, teaching at Kawambwa secondary school. His name was Victor. He was from Madras. Vijay told him about his predicament and asked him whether he was aware of someone going to the Copperbelt. By a mere coincidence, Victor himself was intending to go to Ndola, another town in the Copperbelt, early next morning. He said that Vijay could go with him in his new Toyota car as he was alone and could drop him at Mufulira, on his way. He invited Vijay to his house to spend the night there so that they could start very early in the morning. They left the tavern by 8 P.M. for Victor's house.
No one knows exactly what happened thereafter. Someone at the tavern who overheard their conversation said later that they were talking about leaving for the Copperbelt as early as 4 A.M. Between 7.30 and 8.00 o’clock next morning, some passers-by on the Kawambwa- Mansa highway noticed a car in the "bush" a few metres away from the road, not very far from Mansa town. Someone went to investigate and found indications of the car having gone off the road and hitting a tree head-on. Its bonnet and front part were extensively damaged. The place was littered with broken glass. There were two people in the car. One look was sufficient to realize that the man in the front passenger seat was dead. The driver was showing some signs of life. However, he was trapped in the crumbled part of the vehicle. It was quite evident that more men and materials would be required to get him out of the car. There was nothing they could do except to rush to the nearest police station and report the matter.
Vijay was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Later in the day Victor died on the operation table. The doctor who operated on him at Mansa General Hospital confirmed his death to the few people, mostly Indians, who had gathered together at the hospital on hearing the news of the accident.
Vijay and Victor kept their appointment with death even though they both were unaware of it when they met for the first time, only a few hours before it really happened. Fate wrote down their names also in the never-ending list of people who are being sacrificed on the altar of Road Carnage in Zambia.
They had met never before. In fact they even did not know about the existence of each other before they met quite accidentally that day. However, fate brought them together on an appointment with death at a rendezvous on the Kawambwa- Mansa highway about two and a half miles away from the town of Mansa.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the late 60's and early 70's, Goldring Motors in Mufulira were the sole agents of Skoda cars in Zambia. The East European Skoda was a far-cry from today's luxury models. Zambia had many makes of cars, out of which the most prominent ones were Ford, Peugeot, Fiat and Volkswagen. Japanese cars like Toyota, Nissan and Mazda were already in the market, but most buyers were unsure of their performance in the long run in spite of their elegant appearance and attractive price index. In the midst of all these new models and different makes of cars, the rear-engined, modest-looking Skoda was in very little demand. However, Goldring Motors were offering easy hire-purchase terms, handsome discounts and extended warranty to encourage people to buy their vehicles.
Vijay was a teacher in one of the newly opened government secondary schools in a place called Mporokoso (pronounced m'porokoso) in rural Zambia, about 120 miles from the sleepy little town of Mansa (formerly Fort Rosebury). Before coming to Zambia, he had been teaching in Ethiopia. He was from the state of Kerala in India. Vijay was young, smart, energetic, well-liked by his colleagues and pupils and had a keen interest in outdoor activities. He was a bachelor.
During the school holidays soon after his arrival in Zambia, Vijay made a visit to the Copperbelt where he had some friends. He was badly in need of a car. His plan was to go to Lusaka to get a government loan and to buy a car from there. However, finally he decided to go for a Skoda from Goldring Motors as new vehicles were readily available and could be bought on easy instalment scheme without going through the hassle of obtaining a government loan.
Vijay made a down payment with some money he had and took possession of the vehicle. He said he would make arrangements with his bank in Kasama for the payment of the on-coming monthly instalments. After reaching his station, he wrote instructions to his bank and sent through the mobile bank when it made its very next monthly visit.
In spite of its unimpressive appearance, the Skoda proved to be a good car. It had very good road-holding, especially on the treacherous gravel roads of the northern province. Vijay enjoyed driving his car. As soon as the school term came to an end he left for the Copperbelt in his car. His intention was to spend the whole vacation with friends in Lusaka and the Copperbelt and return just before the reopening of the school.
His first port of call was Mufulira. He wanted to get his car serviced at the dealer's. In fact the dealer was waiting very anxiously to see Vijay. The bank had not paid any instalments and Vijay was at default. The dealer had sent one or two notices to Vijay but there was no reply. Vijay could not explain what went wrong. He tried unsuccessfully to convince the dealer about the poor communication facilities in the rural area which he attributed to his failure in receiving the dealer's notices. He even tried to contact his bank by phone but the connection was bad and he could not get a satisfactory reply. The only alternative was to drive the four hundred miles to the bank at Kasama and sort out the problem. The dealer insisted that he should leave his car behind until all dues were cleared. Vijay had no option.
While Vijay was walking back to his temporary abode, contemplating about his next move, he came across a friend called Eugene from another rural school who also was on vacation. He too was a bachelor. Vijay explained his predicament to Eugene and as Eugene was intending to spend a number of days in Mufulira, he lent his Volkswagen beetle to Vijay to go to Kasama and come back within two or three days. Accordingly Vijay set out to Kasama very early next morning.
Vijay managed to reach the bank before closing time. He found out that his letter had not been received by the bank. However, there were more than sufficient funds in his account to pay Goldring Motors. After arranging to send the necessary amount by telegraphic transfer, he took a longer route to Mufulira, via Mporokoso instead of through Luwingu, as he had to see the headmaster of his school on the way.
There was a place called Kawambwa on his way from Mporokoso to Mufulira. Just before reaching this place the engine of his borrowed Volkswagen came to a stand-still. In spite of his best efforts, he could not get it started again. He left the car on the side of the road and walked to the shopping area, looking for a mechanic. Then he came across a small garage where he found a mechanic who offered to help. However, he could not get the engine started. As he could not do much on the side of the road, the car had to be towed into the garage where it was checked thoroughly. Soon it was established that the engine had seized.
Now Vijay was in a fix. He was stuck in a strange place in the middle of nowhere, about a hundred miles away from any familiar place and with the added liability of a broken-down car. Leaving the car with the garage people, he explored the possibilities of getting a lift to the Copperbelt. It was imperative that he should reach Mufulira as early as possible and inform Eugene what happened to his car. Then he should get back his Skoda from Goldring. Once he was mobile, he would be able to go to CAMS (dealers of Volkswagen in Zambia) and get the necessary spares to repair Eugene's car. As the engine had already been dismantled, it would be just a matter of fixing the rings and bearings and reassembling the engine, provided the crank shaft was not damaged.
In the meanwhile he realized that he was terribly hungry. In a place like Kawambwa, he did not expect to find any star hotel or even a decent restaurant. After looking around he came across a place from where he could hear some loud music blaring and where people were found going in and coming out. It was a tavern.
While he was having a drink and some snacks, he saw another Asian in the bar. He made his acquaintance and soon came to know that he too was a teacher, teaching at Kawambwa secondary school. His name was Victor. He was from Madras. Vijay told him about his predicament and asked him whether he was aware of someone going to the Copperbelt. By a mere coincidence, Victor himself was intending to go to Ndola, another town in the Copperbelt, early next morning. He said that Vijay could go with him in his new Toyota car as he was alone and could drop him at Mufulira, on his way. He invited Vijay to his house to spend the night there so that they could start very early in the morning. They left the tavern by 8 P.M. for Victor's house.
No one knows exactly what happened thereafter. Someone at the tavern who overheard their conversation said later that they were talking about leaving for the Copperbelt as early as 4 A.M. Between 7.30 and 8.00 o’clock next morning, some passers-by on the Kawambwa- Mansa highway noticed a car in the "bush" a few metres away from the road, not very far from Mansa town. Someone went to investigate and found indications of the car having gone off the road and hitting a tree head-on. Its bonnet and front part were extensively damaged. The place was littered with broken glass. There were two people in the car. One look was sufficient to realize that the man in the front passenger seat was dead. The driver was showing some signs of life. However, he was trapped in the crumbled part of the vehicle. It was quite evident that more men and materials would be required to get him out of the car. There was nothing they could do except to rush to the nearest police station and report the matter.
Vijay was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Later in the day Victor died on the operation table. The doctor who operated on him at Mansa General Hospital confirmed his death to the few people, mostly Indians, who had gathered together at the hospital on hearing the news of the accident.
Vijay and Victor kept their appointment with death even though they both were unaware of it when they met for the first time, only a few hours before it really happened. Fate wrote down their names also in the never-ending list of people who are being sacrificed on the altar of Road Carnage in Zambia.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
