Ethiopian Diary

Finally a breather in between hectic work schedule .. this is the much awaited update on my Ethiopian sojourn .. It is common nowadays to travel to US & UK. A journey to other european countries or may be australia/new zealand would evoke some curiosity, if not more. But a trip to ethiopia!!!! Just the mention left most of my friends amused, interested, shocked and surprised all at the same time. Let me try to tell somethings about ethiopia which may be lonely planet or wikipedia might not have mentioned.

* Ethiopia had very bad famine and a major food shortage in the 80s. But to my great surprise, most ethiopian locals, have a habit of wasting a large part of their food in their plates during lunch and dinner time. Atleast we Indians are taught never to waste even a morsel.

* AC and fans are non existent in the entire country, not even in the best of hotels. Its less to do with technology backwardness and more about the salubrious climate. Much of the country is located at altitudes between 2000m to 3000m above sea level. The capital addis is around 2500m above sea level, now thats as high as Simla.

* Ethiopians follow a form of local orthodox christianity, with some interesting traditions like ritual fasting, engraving a cross on the forehead and tatoos.

* The most famous ethiopian is the runner Haile Gebresellasie, who at various points of time has held every world record in distance running from 1500m to 10000m. Last I heard, he has broken the Marathon world record as well. Now thats inspirational for someone like me, who is still planning to break the 2 hour barrier @ Mumbai Marathon 2010 come january

* Addis Abeba is widely regarded as the political capital of Africa. It is the headquarters of African Union as well as many Africa based UN organisations. Atlast count, there are 78 embassies in the the capital's central business district. Local areas in addis are named after countries whose embassy is located there. Lunch at Rwanda, followed by coffee at the boulevard in Congo and the dinner @ the pakistani restaurant in Namibia. One area to avoid is Chechnya, notorius for its nightclubs and late night brawls.

* Ethiopia is atleast 10 years behind india in development. High cost of communication and poor internet connectivity comes as a surprise to people coming from india. Africa as such is not poor. Countries with gold and diamonds like South africa have been traditionally affluent. Now add oil producers like Angola, Nigeria and a few others to the list. But what the region lacks is a sound political system. Its either the military junta or the communists. Each have taken turns to loot their own people. That is when I really value the democracy we Indians are so proud of, despite its so called limitations

* Ethiopia is among the rare few african countries never to have been colonised, though the Italians tried a couple of times.While the locals are proud of this fact, they have definitely missed out on the perks of colonial rule - good education system, culture & work discipline and to some extent exploitation of natural resources, each of which were contributions of britishers to India.

* My local culture quotient was greatly enriched by two aspects - Ethiopian cuisine and the Eskesta - ethiopian shoulder dance. The cuisine has a strong italian influence, with pizzas and pastas. But the local dhal tadka - called Shiro and the local dosa (pancake) called Injera turned out to be my favourite. One evening to remember, was when I tried hard to teach my hotel chef how to prepare good rasam with rice and ended learning to cook injera-shiro myself :). Among fruits, my favourite is the Cactus fruit. Yes, the same plant which grows in deserts as well as in decorative pots at our homes. I must confess, this fruit is really yummy. I wish to take some back to India, only If the Indian custom authorities are a little more liberal in their rules.

* Eskesta is all about rhythmic neck and shoulder movement, a clear contrast from spanish dance forms which focus on rhythmic hip and leg movements. Set to the fast piano notes, its quite a delight to watch. The hotel gym instructor, who also ran an aerobics session in the evening tried a fusion of aerobics with Eskesta, much to the chagrin of a two left footed creature like me. Nevertheless, I tried.

* The largest indian population in Ethiopia are not Indian business men mainly gujrathis like I had thought before, they are actually Indian teachers, whom the ethiopians hold in very high regard. Long before IT became India's major service export, Indian teachers were already spreading knowledge in a remote corners of africa. Most of these people are employed by local universities on a UN funded programme, with dollar salaries which are significantly higher than what the locals get paid. Now thatz one reason, any Indian tourist is greeted with a pleasant namaste followed by a discourse on bollywood from Amitabh Bacchan to Shahrukh Khan. Sadly, the actresses are never once mentioned.

* The most popular indian export is neither the teachers nor bollywood. Its Bajaj. The autos were introduced in the country some 10 yrs back and have caught the imagination of the locals like nothing before.

* The economy finally .. yes .. claimed to be growing at 11% over last 5 years, albeit on a v v small base. Total exports miniscule at USD 2 bn a year. On a per capita basis for the 70 mn population, that would be among the lowest in the world. No oil, no gold, no diamond, no great english, no technology, no port, no rail, poor roads, but yes .. good air connectivity. That leave agri products and agri input dependent small industries like textile and leather. Inflation at 35% last year (needs to be verified). Completely import dependent economy, with a currency pegged to the dollar. Power production - 95% dependent on Hydro Electricity. The El Nino or whatever phenomenon, this monsoon is expected to nearly cripple an entire country's economy, with nearly 50% power deficit. Tourism potential v high, but largely untapped.

* Ethiopian expat population in US number around 15 m. Compare this to the nearly 25 mn Indian origin residents. But given Ethiopia's population of nearly 70 mn (compared to over 1 bn in india), that would be a sizeable expat population. But per capita earnings of the expats from the two countris are poles apart. Unlike the Indians, the Ethiopians predominanty work in low skill jobs. But it is still noteworthy, as much of the migration happened in the post colonial period and not directly a consequence of african slave trade of 18th and 19th century.

* Ethiopians consider themselves as among the most beautiful in africa. They are not black, but brown and moderately built, with pleasant features. Most of it supposedly inherited from the very attractive Queen of Sheba, who ruled in 10 century BC and married King Solomon of Israel. But what inspired the popular party game 'Queen of Sheba' .. is still a mystery to me ??