Coastweek -- Cynthia Salvadori at work in her Lamu retreat - she wrote an extraordinary number of books on a wide variety of subjects. PHOTO - COURTESY: JUDY ALDRICK |
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Cynthia Salvadori Remembered For
Her Books About Asian CommunitySHE HAD A DEEP LOVE FOR KENYA AND CAME
FROM AN ANGLO-ITALIAN-KENYAN HERITAGE
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Coastweek -- The news of Cynthia Salvadori’s sudden death in Lamu, on Monday 27th June, at the age of 76, will come as a sad shock to her many friends.
She will be remembered chiefly for her books about the Asian Communities and the Asian pioneers in Kenya.
She chose to draw attention to these communities at a time when their history had been largely ignored and their contribution to Kenyan society was underrated.
Her book ‘Through Open Doors’, published 1983, opened the eyes of many to the intricacies of the various religions and differing peoples that make up the Asian communities of Kenya.
The meticulous research and remarkable assembly of facts made this book an essential reference book on the subject, which would be hard to improve on.
She went on to collect the histories of the Asian pioneers in a number of books ‘We Came in Dhows’, ‘Two Indian Travellers’ and ‘Stories of the Punjabi Muslim Pioneers in Kenya’.
Her hallmark was always exact research with plenty of references, indexes and illustrations.
She was a perfectionist in her work and demanded it from the publishers and editors, with whom she worked.
Besides her interest in the Asian communities she also had a deep commitment to the nomadic peoples of the NFD, who lived on the borders with Ethiopia in an area that is amongst the poorest and least developed in Kenya.
She spent time in Marsabit and Moyale and was never happier than when riding her mule and collecting anthropological notes amongst the Borana people.
She later wrote a book about the Borana and also helped com-pile a dictionary of their language.
She wrote an extraordinary number of books on a wide variety of subjects.
She loved to write, contributing to magazines, fascinating articles on subjects as diverse as sea urchins, the mysterious graves at Ishakani, or Borana circumcision rites.
But as she often told me, she did not write for money, she only wrote on subjects that interested her and because she wanted to.
Her father Max Salvadori, also a prolific author and a former professor at Smith College, Massachusetts, had told her that important maxim for success as a writer, at a young age.
Cynthia had a great admiration for her father, but also inherited an artistic talent from her British mother.
Cynthia had a deep love for Kenya and came from an Anglo-Italian-Kenyan heritage.
She was born in Kenya and was always particularly proud of her mother’s ancestor Jack Haggard a former British Consul in Lamu.
He was the brother of the famous writer Rider Haggard.
Her father, who had been imprisoned by Mussolini for his anti-fascist views, came to Kenya as an exile from Italy in 1932.
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, he returned to Europe to fight, while Cynthia and her mother went to the United States where they eventually settled.
But as soon as she could, immediately after finishing university, she returned to her African roots.
Cynthia was a nomad who never liked to settle long anywhere.
She loved to travel and needed the continuous stimulus of a wide variety of people, cultures and religions.
She wore her erudition lightly, but was immensely knowledgeable and well read on any number of subjects.
Amongst her passions could be listed cats and horses, cross-word puzzles and detective novels.
She cared little about what she wore or luxuries of any kind, and always travelled light – never going anywhere without her notebook, camera and more recently her trusty computer.
Cynthia possessed immense determination and strength of character, at the end of her life she refused to have an operation on her arthritic hip, but suffered it with great stoicism, never complaining.
She also had the gift of friendship and sympathetic conversation and was most generous to those entire she befriended.
She was a person of great value, her multi-facetted talents will be difficult to replace or forget her like ever to meet again.
Cynthia will indeed be sadly missed.
- kindly contributed by Judy Aldrick, London, U.K.
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MERVYN MACIEL The excellent opus by my good friend and author, Cynthia Salvadori, provided me with most of the information. Her two tomes, "Through Open Doors" (first published in 1983) and "We Came in Dhows" (three masterly volumes published in 1996) were a real asset.
http://www.goanvoice.org.uk/supplement/MervynMaciel.html
A QUERY: By the way, could anyone share the names of books which we might have not noticed that focus on the Goan community of East Africa, or have references to it? And how many (or which?) would there be dealing with the Indian community there? Curious....
FN
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--Matata Books
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--Matata Books
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Surprised that Jeanne didn't hear about Salvadori. Those who wanted to read about Indians in Africa were indeed pointed to her works.
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Frederick Noronha interviews Mervyn Maciel |
Source :Goa Messenger. 1st July 2003. |
Mervyn Maciel sees himself as a Kenyan-born Goan. This septuagenarian loved the African bush, and had a "particular fascination" for the tribes. Some years back he penned 'Bwana Karani' (Merlin, UK, 1985), a personal narrative of two decades in East Africa. The title literally translates to 'Mister He himself joined the Kenya Civil Service in 1947 and worked my way up from a junior clerk to a senior executive level. When his family (wife Elsie and four children) moved to the U.K. in 1966 following the Africanization of his post, he worked here in various managerial capacities in the private sector. "In retirement my days are taken up by doing social work for various charities; I still enjoy and do a fair bit of writing and believe it or not, even cooking some of our Goan specialties," says Maciel. After their golden wedding anniversary, they grow their own produce. Wife Elsie was the first Goan to have her "Goan Cookery Book" published in the U.K in 1983. His brother Wildfred was an avid writer and freelance journalist. Elder brother Joseph is a Jesuit, retired at St Xavier's High School in Bombay. More recently, Maciel mer...@bwana-karani.freeserve.co.uk was speaking at a luncheon hosted at Henley-on-Thames reminding former British colonials, who ruled Kenya, that Goans too played a role in Kenya. "Why we, former members of the Administration were excluded from membership (of the elitist Kenya Administration Club) for nearly 30 years is something I find difficult to understand. You obviously had your reasons, but with so few of us in the U.K., I can assure you, you wouldn't have been swamped, nor would there have been any takeover bid," he told them. "Unfortunately, our (the Goan) contribution in the civil service, more particularly the Provincial Administration, although verbally acknowledged in speeches by former Governors, senior officials and even politicians, has only recently, save with a few exceptions, merited a mention in some of the |
Maciel spoke to FREDERICK NORONHA, outlining this issue. Excerpts:
I have always felt that scant recognition was given for the tremendous Goan contribution in the civil service. It was as though the successes attained were the work of the Europeans only. To set the record straight, I felt my opportunity had arrived when, in 1997, I was invited by Sir John Johnson to contribute a chapter to the book, "Colony to Nation". But because of financial restraints it was not published until this year! FN: Why did the Goan role go un-noticed? As I said earlier, all memoirs by former white Colonial officials spoke only of the European achievement as though the Goans hardly existed. Many, it seems, chose to forget that during their early service careers, it was the Goans who 'showed them the ropes', even though we had no training ourselves! FN: From the chapters of colonialism -- a problematic period, to say the least -- how do Goans emerge? By and large, the Goans do come out in a positive light. But as mentioned earlier, any tributes were all verbal with nothing recorded for future generations. FN: How many Goans would there have been in Kenya and East Africa at any point of time? Do you have estimates? I'm not really sure, but I would say something between 18-20,000. Of this number some 500 were in the Administration; others worked for the various government departments. Many more worked in the private sector i.e. banking, commerce etc. There was a small number who went into business, grocers, tailors. Professionals (were there too) included doctors, teachers, lawyers, musicians etc. FN: For someone wanting to look at this field, which resources would you suggest? |
The excellent opus by my good friend and author, Cynthia Salvadori, provided me with most of the information. Her two tomes, "Through Open Doors" (first published in 1983) and "We Came in Dhows" (three masterly volumes published in 1996) were a real asset. |
FN: Where have the East African Goans since reached? Many emigrated to Europe (chiefly the U.K.), Canada, Australia and even the U.S.A. Some retired to Goa. Those, like me, who emigrated, left more because of political changes following independence and for the betterment of their children's future. FN: How did Goans do elsewhere in Africa? I have no experience of the other E.A. States, but imagine that the Goans were well respected and regarded in whatever territory they served. FN: There were very few Goans who took the side of the Africans in the de-colonialism struggle. How do you read this? Pio Gama Pinto, like his brother Rosario (a good friend of mine), had veins 'flowing with political blood'. They risked all to further the cause they believed in and, as in the case of Pio, sadly, paid the price. Most Goans of that era, with a few exceptions were not political animals. Besides, those of us in the civil service could not join any political party or express our views. I think it was the Indians, rather that Goans, who agitated about being given a voice in the Legislative Council. Fritz D'Souza and Oscar Fonseca are two others who had political leanings. Jomo Kenyatta did include some Goan blood into his first Cabinet by appointing as his right hand man none other than Joseph Zuzarte, son of a Goan District Clerk (Peter Zuzarte). Conforming to the political correctness of the day, Joseph Zuzarte chose to go as Joseph Murumbi -- serving in Kenyatta's first cabinet as Foreign Minister, Minister of State in the P.M's office and even Vice-President. FN: You had some blunt words for the British administrators at their recent meet in the UK. What did you remind them? (There's no need for an) apology for highlighting the Goan contribution especially since the majority of posts in the Administration, especially those of Cashier, were filled almost exclusively by Goans. (This was) much to the annoyance of the other Asian communities as can be seen from comments made by that distinguished Q.C., J.S. Mangat. In telling how Goans in particular dominated the Administration, he cites Sir Charles Eliot who, in an official report in 1901 had this to say: "The District officers were usually assisted by a Goan or more rarely European clerk; in the Coast towns there is also a Customs official, usually a Goan; even the Germans envied the British Administration for their Goan staff who they observed 'have enough experience to avoid incurring the distrust which so many of our members inspire'." Mangat then went on to quote from a D.C.'s report which spoke of the trust one could place in the Goans. Needless to say, Mangat added, "All the names mentioned by the D.C. are Goan (Fernandes, Ferreira, Braganca, Menezes)." He must have forgotten the D'Souzas. (Others too were not) happy with the Goan involvement in Government service. I understand that when Winston Churchill visited Kenya in his capacity as Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, a delegation of White settlers protested against the employment of Goans in the Administration. No notice was taken of their protests, but in 1934 a Committee was instructed to look into the possibility of employing European clerks, and this is briefly what they had to say: "We have given consideration as to whether increased economy and efficiency could be attained by the more general employment of European clerks, and our opinion is in the negative. We have been favourably impressed by the dedication with which the majority of Goan clerks do the work required of them, and also of their conspicuous loyalty and willingness to work overtime, and their fixed determination to finish at all costs, the work that has to be done. It would be out of the question to employ in District offices, European clerks other than those of the highest integrity and proven ability, and in any case the salaries they would demand would be much higher than those paid to the Goans." So (I told the Kenyan administrators) "you got us on the cheap!" (I mentioned that) while some of us may still harbour memories of the injustice within the service, now is not the time for "if only's". We were privileged to work under men of quality and distinction, from some of whom we learnt much, and to whom I hope we were also able to leave behind memories of the valuable Goan contribution towards the building of the Kenya Nation. The speech was before some 100 former Administration (men who ruled Kenya) and their wives. (ENDS) |
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Vassanji's The Gunny Sack has a Goan teacher, if I remember correctly. Can'tremember if his short stories Uhuru Street, has any.The Goan Masala anthology has Africa-Goans touching on their lives.
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Dear Frederick et. Al,
I am confused by all the activity about books at the same time as I am teaching a class of selected novels by the International Writing program through Zoom on my laptop at the same time as I have been giving suggestions to John Otim of Uganda who is finetuning a novel on Idi Amin called Strongman inspired (he says) by my two novels at the same time as you mention Moyez Vassanji’s The Gunny Sack.
The senior publisher in America of Heineman gave me the manuscript of Vassanji’s “The Gunny Sack” to read and evaluate in the1980’s. I read it and recommended publication.
As soon as it was published, Vassanji was invited to the International Writing Program in Iowa City and I launched The Gunny Sack in Prairee Lights Bookstore and I taught it in my class on African Literature in the African-American World studies program and Moyez was in the class. He was very relieved when Mary Gravitt, an African American scholar who attended every class I taught, praised The Gunny Sack.
The following year Vassanji came back to Iowa City for the launching of his book of stories.
I taught his The Book of Secrets several times.
Vassanji tended to base his characters on real life people, which is acceptable for novelists. He also tended to draw from characters from different communities, which is also acceptable, as is making reference to other books.
I taught his novels several times, but have not kept up with his work because there is much to teach.
The Vassanjis are publishers too. They published some of my work, chiefly in their journal, which they brought out several times. The journal cam to an end suddenly. I think they did this to focus on publishing books. When I say “They”, I should say “Nurjehan Aziz”.
There is a major character who is a Goan teacher in The Book of Secrets. As a teacher ,who came from India, he was able to provide certain perspectives on Africa.
Best.
Peter
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Jean,
“In a Brown Mantle” is a novel. It is not a memoir. I never met Pio Gama Pinto. His presence in the novel is imagined.
The narrator of the novel was never a politician. This too was imagined.
Best.
Peter
From: goa-bo...@googlegroups.com <goa-bo...@googlegroups.com>
On Behalf Of Jeanne Hromnik
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2020 1:31 PM
To: goa-bo...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [External] Re: [GOABOOKCLUB] Cynthia Salvadori
Does that mean that there is no other published memoir by a single Asian in Kenya recording life in those 'early' days? Can that be true? I suppose Fitz de Souza's memoir doesn't qualify in this context as it was published after Salvadori's death.
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Dear Jeanne,
Jeanne,
I called my character Pius Cota.
Rosario Pinto assumed that the character was Pio Gama Pinto and decided that I did not know his brother well and when he returned from the US to England, he was going to sue me.
I never heard from him again. I did meet a Goan attorney in England who implied that Rosario had contacted him and he had told him (Rosario) there was no case.
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Is Pio relevant today in Kenya? Is gFreedom history taught in schools and, if so, and does Pio get a prominent place in it?I first heard of him when his sister, Sevigne Gama PintonAthaide gave me a small booklet that was published on Pio's third death anniversary.The booklet had tributes from Kenyan politicians and some who were co-fighters with him in Kenya's freedom struggle.I think a movie on the heroic deeds or rather on the revolutionary lifestyes of Pio and Sita would be great in letting young Goans know about their roles in Africa, which is a large part of Goan diasporic history.Sevigne is there to add her views. I was to visit her in Taleigao and told her daughter I would make come. But two trips to Panaji were occupied with some important personal work.Goa's journalists must get her views, not just on Pio but her fasts in Goa against Bandodksr and her time in the Maharashtra Upper House as a nominated Christian member.Someone should do when she's still alive. Also Francis Ribeiro, the Herald ex-sports editor, god-child of Pio, would be an interesting person to add, as an extensive story on Pio.Eugene
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Dear Jean,
A package reply to things you said and asked earlier.
I was working in the Ministry of Finance in Uganda. We had to take an oath not to give away secrets. I decided to write a novel set in a country called Damibia so (1) I could not be accused of writing about Uganda and making it possible I would end up in prison.
(2) I did not want to deal with all issues in Uganda: only what I wanted to focus on.
(3) Damibia was a good name because it sounded like Namibia.
(3) The narrator thought he was not a practicing catholic but he was always cursing, Damn and Hell. He realized that he thought he had left the Church but he realized the Church never left him.
His story was triggered by the assassination attempt on his friend and the leader of the country he had fled to England this led him to confess.
But in a Catholic confession, one tries to avoid the biggest sin. The duty of the father confessor is to draw him to the sin.
The novel has a number of conscience figures, who turn up from his conscience, the biggest of which is Pius Cota. He turns up when the narrator is going to do something bad.
When it came to writing “The General is Up”, I decided to use the name “Damibia” again since it had worked the first time.
Your other question was whether I ever met Amin. I did. The scene in “The General is Up” where Ronald has his back to the wall while he hears the General give a scary speech while launching a new development bank was based on my experience: I had my back to the wall in the real story from which that scene is taken..
I once went for a drive with my wife and daughters in Entebbe and as we turned round a corner, I found myself looking into Amin’s face and he into mine as he turned round the corner going in the opposite direction.
Way back, I used to have two nightmares about Amin. One, that he discovered that I had written a novel based on him and I would be trying to hide it from him. The other was that he would make me an ambassador to another country, which was first step to being killed.
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