ODE TO THE INDIAN DUKAWALA.odt

8/18/2019 ODE TO THE INDIAN DUKAWALA.odt

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The cover

The cover depicts on the rich red soil, a typical Indian duka, a small trading store, in small towns and

remote country areas of East Africa.

The signage is also typically hand painted work of the duka owners. These were put up with any paint

at hand, and included some spelling errors.

The man behind the counter is my paternal uncle Jehangirji ustomji, who first opened a small

watch repair duka in the old Indian !a"aar, in early #$%& in 'airobi, (enya. )e later moved to the

then *overnment oad, now +oi Avenue, in the corner of a chemist shop, hemite-, ne-t to the old

Alibhai herrif hardware shop, going towards the (hoja +os/ue, the Jamat (hana, on the corner of

the old *overnment oad and iver oad.

0ater his youngest son ati joined him, and after his death ati carried on the little business till 1%%$,

when after #%2 years service he retired, and closed the little duka. At the time of writing, ati still

lives in 'airobi.

This work is a small tribute to the unsung intrepid pioneering Indian traders, and very often their

families, who braved the unknown ha"ards of the 3ark ontinent, carried on regardless of ease,

comforts, privations, ill health, and even death which they knew was their constant and real

possibility.

They have in no small measure played an important role, in the economic growth of the three EastAfrican nations of (enya, 4ganda, and Tan"ania, hitherto unrecognised nor given a deservedly

appropriate place, in the annals of these nations.

5ithout a record of these traders and other Indians who also played a very prominent and important

part in the economic and the political growth of these nations, the histories of these three East African

countries would be incomplete.

The cover and the work 6 of (ersi ustomj

All graphics unless otherwise indicate 6 of (ersi ustomji

A4TA0IA 1%#1

kersiru7gmail.com

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


3/31

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3one the +ombasa (isumu rail,

And of all the Indian rail men,

+any to India in dhows sailed,

!ut some majur the workers,

And suthar the carpenters,

As well luhar the smithy and tin workers,

tone masons and builders,

In the country they had laboured,

To commence a life new they remained,

Then soon a fresh and new Indian breed,

8f bold pioneering trading creed,

ailed in the creaky wooden dhows,

Along with the Indian crows,

If lost at sea to guide them ashore,

Towards ventures new to commence.

Hara Ambe, Hara Ambe,

An Indian dukawala,

On the East African plains


4/31

!raving malaria black water sleeping sickness,

3iseases fevers many and unknown ills,

4ndeterred by lions leopards and snakes,

!y hyenas owls bats and other nightly beasts,

'or afraid were they of the mysterious mchawi,

The lion skin wearing native magic man witch,

To strive and to pave a new way and life to be had,

Into (enya 4ganda Tanganyika then far inland they also spread,

Through scrubby lands jungles arid terrain,

+any wide rivers and muddy streams crossed they,

5here mos/uitoes tse tse flies bugs and vermin,

Infested bodies and their blood sucked,

aused many ill health and fevers to be had,

+ade not a few along their routes to fall dead,

8n one hot sunny sultry African morn,

uch an Indian on foot he trekked,

To seek a little plot in the land so hostile and strange,

8n the vast sprawling warm savannah plains,

Among grasses yellow and flat topped thorn trees,

'ear a brown barked flat topped acacia green,

Just the right patch of empty red earth saw he,

;:erfect for a small duka,< a tiny little store said he.


An Indian dukawala,



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9rom the hard dry red ground the duka it was raised,

The skin robed and spear totting locals gathered and watched,

As the duka rose it they languidly appraised,

)ammer blows on the plain loudly thudded,

As sides and top of mabati the iron corrugated ,

8nto a wooden frame with myriad nails attached,

'ow in the mvitu of the stark wilderness,

A small mabati duka a shop in the front,

5ith a couple of tiny rooms in the back,

8f the Indian dukawala


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To this strange mabati bo- they soon arrived,

=iewed the unknown iron sheet kibanda,

A novel structure so maridadi wonderous,

9ull of curiosity first with trepidation then cautiously,

They entered the duka somewhat nervously,

To scan see feel to taste and try,

The many new goods foods tools and wares,

That they had never before seen,

'ew cloths and clothes knives nail implements and tins,

Sukari sugar groundnuts salt pulses and grains,

Unga the ground mai"e dengu the daal,

ice legumes and a variety of lentils,

ili pili the hot dried chilli bin!ari various spices,

3ried ground ginger the sharp tangawi!i,

ili pili manga, strongly pungent yellow turmeric,

Also the round black pepper berries,

'ow to add to new foods and to make delicious curries,

"umbaku the dark rolled tobacco,

To smoke in novel pipes the kik#,


7/31

And the dark brown scented snuff fine the ug#l#,

In fancy snuff>bo-es the tiny tabakel#,

Ama"ing to wash with Indian sabu sabuni the soap,

As well sigara cigarettes in packets or ready rolled,

And small hand mirrors for one


8/31

9rom them all he regularly ac/uired,

$akka the charcoal to cook with,

$swaki the acacia tooth brush stick,

+any other local produce and products,

And different local stuff he bought,

:aid for it in the tinkling rupiahs shiny ,

!rought to the country by the new white government serikali ,

Then replaced by centi cents and shilingi shilling,

?ear by year and on and on,

The little duka it did so very well,

*lassware jars pots and pans,

Even an odd iron frying pan,

9rom long nails in the rafter beams hanged,

'eedles buttons and coloured threads,

cissors ra"or blades machete the panga and spades,

%ata shoes in leather and canvas,

5hite $erikani the tough woven cotton cloth,

&itenge wraps and various pattered and coloured cotton bolts,

!y yard were there for all to be had,


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Also coloured bead necklaces and even metal bangles,

9or all the wanawake the women to wear,

5ith magic kiberiti the bo- of matches,

And ama"ing mafuta maji the clear kerosene,

$shumaa candles and hurricane lanterns with cotton wicks,

In hundreds of rustic grass huts were now nightly lit,

As well in the dark African night,

Amid the thick bushes and thorny trees,

The narrow earthen bush tracks and paths,

The hand held lamps lighted.


An Indian dukawala,


A $afuta new superfine oil and samli ghee,

*ave a flavour new and different tasting,

o very rich so very food enhancing,

And very different from the boring,

The old boiling way of cooking,


10/31

As r#ti the Indian flat chapatti,

9resh piping hot smeared with ghee,

'ow replaced the old morning mai"e meal the uji,

9or the ills and sicknesses of past and e-isting,

There were also now treatments new,

That came with the many new dawa the remedies,

9rom India and white man


11/31

8n the hurting aching parts to rub in,

As well Indian medicinal oils and salves,

8r cotton cloth plasters of mustard or turmeric.


An Indian dukawala,


The new aluminium saucepan sufuria,

As well the three legged cast iron pots,

And other such metal utensils,

8f the olden pots and the ancient wares,


12/31

rafted from hollowed gourd wood and earth,

The final end brought these,

hanged in bush and huts old cooking habits,

The shiny small and big kijik#,

The gleaming metal spoons,

To stir and eat with into use daily,


13/31

ame so very /uickly and so very early,

9or the enamel tea pots birika,

And the colourful kik#mbe the mugs,

As well the many coloured enamel plates the sahani ,

8f the old eating boards and banana leaf platters,

And the half cut drinking coconut shells and gourds,

It all brought demise rapid,

9or now coffee the kahawa or chai the tea,

)as become a morning ritual new,

A daily invigorating treat,

5ith a wheaten ghee smeared chapatti or two.


An Indian dukawala,


The red blue and yellow designed sinia the large enamel platters,

'ow in huts shambas farming plots and s#k# the markets,


14/31

Wanawake 'a s#k# the market women and hawkers in street,

8n colourfully scarf covered heads they bear,

5ith their loud cries of k#r#sh# kashew and tende dates,

Their various wares and produce they vend,

Impala and other skins also were soon discarded,

9or cotton shukas and kitenges as wraps,

8f designs and patterns in brilliant colours variegated,

5ith limerick or a verse at the bottom hems,

(aku penda malaika 'angu,

0ove you my angle,

The attire new by all women now adopted,

Even the +asai the amburu and the Turkana men of the plains,

8n the n'ika and everywhere else,

Their skin cloaks of old divested,

A fashion bold and new adopted,

A knotted drape of a red blanketi ,

!ought for mere rupia mbili,

At the small Indian shop duka 'a mhindi)


15/31

!ut the mode of dress for many more across the countries,

8nce more again the attire changed,

Another fashion of apparel new now accepted,

Shati sleeved shirt and pants the seruali,

Almost all men in the land started wearing,

And mamas the women too,

Their worn ochre robes and string skirts of past,

They replaced with colourful ngu# n!uri ,

:retty cotton drapes and dresses.


An Indian dukawala,


The old hard dry digging sticks of yore,

These too were of use not anymore,

Its place now taken by grey jembe,

The new strong iron hoe,


16/31

The new jembe a tool of metal strong ,

Together with panga the metal machete,

hanges on the landscape wide it wrought,

5ith ardhi the soil now easily dug turned and aired,

!ig shambas over the land not before long stretched,

9rom early morn to till late in the day,

0ong and wide toiled mke the wives and women the mwanamke,

9or bigger cash crops to sow and raise,

eeds from the Indian duka they bought and planted,

0entils mung pulses and other beans,

The large cob bearing tufted mahindi,

Then soon potato cabbage and peas,

offee cotton millet they soon raised,

Tomato onion garlic and chillies,

!eetroot lettuce and radish,

&arela bitter gourd and mbiringani brinjal,

arrots cauliflower spinach green,


17/31

9resh green coriander, kakari cucumber,

figili, pungent white horseradish,

8n their shamba plots they established,

9or the many wahindi the Indians, and the wa!ungu the whites,

5ho now in the three countries resided.


An Indian dukawala,


The trade at the little rusted mabati duka,

It prospered and did so very well,

The myriad goods spread on the counter,

Along with bo-es of produce and grains,

In the midst of all a weighing scale,

To weigh it all in pounds or ratli,

!eside on the floor in front of the counter,

at tins of ghee cooking oil and kerosene,

0adled out with a long handle tiny scoops,

At only senti tan# five cents each,


18/31

=aried coloured cloths and clothes,

9rom the roof beams hung,

All in hot dusty winds gently swung,

Just above wall shelves thickly loaded and stacked,

An accumulation of large and small commodities rested,

The long time Indian dukawala of old,

8n many new deals and ventures big embarked,

till filled with vitality vigour and pep,

)e forged ahead in great big striding steps,

9rom the locals all and surrounds wide he bought,

Their labour produce and products,

In greater and larger and heavier lots,

And the donkey cart that hauled goods sundry,

'ow in its place a big load carrying lorry.


19/31

'ot long after the m!ungu : @ and the 3 ,@

In the loaded 8)+@ lorries rolled in,

!uilt their b#mas offices and bungalows,

Also for the men of the government the serikali,

9ollowed by the farmers and settlers white,

And not unlike the pioneer Indian dukawala,

5ith the same silvery corrugated mabati tin,

Their early farmhouses and homes they all also built,

Even the first 'ational !ank of India in 'airobi was of such mabati,

+anned by a pheta wearing +r. +ehta a :arsi.

'ow the white farmers with tinga tinga their tractors,

=ast farms and tracts they cut and cleared,

They ploughed and furrowed acres and acres,

8n the grass plains of fertile soil red and rich,

5heat mai"e oat and other crops they established.


20/31


An Indian dukawala,


9or the new white farmers and officials,

And other whites who now in three countries resided,

The Indian dukawala to them all supplies provided,

?ardley shaving stick *illette shaving kits and blades,

(iwi boot polish shining cloth with brushes,

0u- and 0ifebuoy soap cotton towels and napkins,

(olynos toothpaste tooth and hair brushes,

=icks for colds and =aseline for chaffed skin,


21/31

)aig whiskey tobacco cigarettes and *ilby


22/31

As well all their bibis the wives,

And all the bwanas the officers of government the serikali,

9or reasons not very sure but known to them only,

3isliked derided and mistreated the dukawala most unfairly,

)e cheats and overcharges claimed they,

And his business account he writes yearly,

In a language ungrasped and systems weirdly,

3ifficult to comprehend easily,

9or the white ta-man to assess clearly,

In vain manner such white bwanas men and bibis women,

ursed gossiped and denigrated the dukawala constantly,

Even as one arrogant white farmer lord,

alled him a sucking Asia tick,

In one East African 0egislative ouncil.

?et when life times and seasons turned hard and mean,

And even the white man banks became unfriendly,

It was on the nastily gossiped dukawala Indians,

9or their needs fads and even ready cash,

They leaned at such times heavily.

?et the Indian dukawala to them provided all their needs,

8n a risky unknown chancy surety,

5ritten on a flimsy unguaranteed paper pieces,

The ubi/uitous and hastily signed,

The bwana wa!ungu*s the white man


23/31

The many I 8 4s, and chithies the chits,

Irrespective of ugly taunts and jibes,

5ithout anger resentment or hate,

The sahibs and their wives supplied he ,

5ith all their fancy needs whims and cash ready.


An Indian dukawala,


The tiny scattered villages into towns grew,

And the towns into cities changed and bloomed,

And now for the inade/uate little duka,

Its ripping tearing ignoble end loomed,

As the hammer claws thousands of nails,

5ith high piercing screech it pulled,

3usty mabati sheets from the timber frame felled,

The small old duka on its spot no more dwelled,

In the old duka


24/31

8n the roof a neon sign wide and tall,

Another bearing his name high above the glassed wall,

'ow the mall is the pride of everyone and all,

9rom distances great they come to it to behold,

In the new air>conditioned comfort to sit,

The sapping African heat to beat,

rowds come to stroll to buy or just to see,

To drink a long cold beer with freshly fried sam#sas to eat,


25/31

5ith its cool cafes restaurants and stores,

In speciality bouti/ues and shopping malls,

There was none other like it so new,

o cool clean and so very neat,

To beat this rustic dukawala muhindi*s,

'ew venture a modern business feat.


An Indian dukawala,,


The Indian dukawala though stopped not where he now was,

9or on and on he went to build greater enterprises,

Arcades karkhana workshops and factories,

To make fabricated goods products and fineries,

'ow needed ever more and more,

In the fast growing East African countries,


26/31

4nlike the little mabati shop of days gone,

That now stood no more a part of old history,

9or now high from the roofline of many storeys,

The coloured neon signs winked,

3ay and night these proclaimed,

*oods and products all now made locally.


An Indian dukawala,


The long forgotten Hara Ambe, Hara Ambe,

The Indian railway builders< working chant,

To spur them on to shift to carry loads heavy,

'ow it became ;)arambee, hei, )arambee hei,<

A working chant of the local hamali the cart men ,

:ushers of laden handcarts heavy,

And the high loaded two wheeled cart the mk#k#teni ,


27/31

The front man steering ;)arambee< he cried,

)is pushing mate at the rear ;)ei< he replied,

As their heavily loaded carts they wheeled,

?ears passed the colonies now desired to be free,

eeking fighting for nations new to be,

9rom fetters of colonial white man to be unchained,

;)arambee< ;)arambee< one of the their leaders hailed,

;)ei, hei< his faithful multitude loudly replied,

8f a nation rich and thriving on the East African plains,

A nation of high yellow swaying savannah grasses,

5ith scattered green flat topped acacia trees,

8f thousands the rallying cry it now became,

;)arambee )arambee< their leader loudly shouted,

;)ei hei< wanainchi the struggling people responded,

Through severe trials tribulation and deprivation,

And even though their leader was incarcerated,


28/31

At a faraway place desolate and isolated,

The country


29/31


An Indian dukawala,


The pioneering dukawala Indian he is not young any more,

)is work and efforts taken over by children now grown,

*one his very busy days of old and complicated new role,

)air in a white fringe surrounds the head bald,

In a silver coloured +ercedes that sits before his modern home,

)e drives past and observes all that he owns,


30/31

9or deep within him fully well he knows,

5hen the time as it surely comes,

Alone bereft and empty handed he goes,

0earned and read of two books only,

5ith schooling of only years four,

8nly to read and numbers to note he knows,

Able not to write at length all,

eeks he now a learned scribe,

5ho in many words will describe,

The many tales of his hard long work life and slog,

8f his visions and of a great trading lore,

8f at least one Indian dukawala on East Africa


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prema, shanti, ahinsa...

upendo, raha, latifu...

love, peace, kindness...

8nly 8ne )uman ace...

@@@@@@@@

(ersi ustomji. :lanet Earth. E->(enya. Australia.

opyright (ersi ustomji, 1%#1.

kersiru7gmail.com

@ :.. and 3.. After the *overnor of the colony, :.., the :rovincial ommissioner was in charge of

a large province of the country, and 3.., the 3istrict ommissioner in charge of a smaller district of

the provinces.

@8)+, all East African the government vehicle bore this registration plate which stood for, 8n )is

or )er +ajestyprocessed for the

work by (ersi ustomji.

Documents

ODE TO THE INDIAN DUKAWALA.odt