We are all connected, we are one

We are all connected, we are one

Recently I had been on a trip to Kashmir and while one is struck in awe at nature’s grandeur, there was one wild connection that stumped me. Across the Dal lake there was a shop named Dar Computers. Having stayed in Dar es Salaam , Tanzania for a few years, the name caught my attention. Though bemused I just ignored it as a one off event. A fleeting thought casually reminded me of the majestic building Dar us Salaam , Bandra , Mumbai – would it also have some Tanzanian connection? I wondered.

However there was more to follow. Located in the lap of the majestic mountains of the Himalayas, Kashmir is famous for its natural beauty with enchanting valleys, limpid lakes, cascading rivers, trekking in mountains and a wide variety of animals and plants. As we sailed in a Shikara or Kashmiri boat through the crystal clear waters of world famous Dal Lake we saw the backdrop of Zabarwan Mountains near Srinagar. One look at these mountain ranges and I was again transported down memory lane to the Uluguru Mountains -  a mountain range in Morogoro , eastern Tanzania, Africa, named after the Luguru tribe. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief – was it real or was I fantasizing? Again I brushed my thought as a chance coincidence.

The next day we were going to Pehelgam. En route we came across a place called Bijbehara. This place is known for cricket bats and you can see the factories lined up on both sides of the road. What caught my attention was the cultivation of weeping Willows – a remarkable semblance to the Willow farms at Iringa in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania.

We all know that Himalayas are snow laden mountains. However there are mountain ranges rich in vegetation as the melting snow provides a rich supply of water and minerals. The forests of the mountains provide the water catchment areas for the streams and rivers. While many of us know this, you would be surprised to know that the mountainous ranges across Kilimanjaro located in Arusha, Tanzania are strikingly similar to these Himalayan peaks.

When in Tanzania I used to wonder about the conspicuously similar vegetation like neem, mango , arnica trees but little would I have thought that Kashmir and Tanzania – separated by thousands of miles could have replicas of each other.

 I happened to point  out the similarities in the dialect as well to a Tanzanian friend . e.g. we call a mango Amba in Marathi while they call it Embe, Pineapple is Ananas in Marathi while it is Nanasi in Swahili. She had then said that there is a book, which claims that eastern Africa was at one time connected with India! The author  claims that the Masais have the same cultural background as the Bharatiyas. He called them the Gopas!

I am told that when our President Kalam visited Tanzania, in his inaugural speech, he gave the same message - he said that yesterday he was at the other shore of the Indian Ocean in Mumbai and that day he was on this shore of the same Ocean!

Goes to prove the universal truth – We are all connected, we are one

Oye!  Tanzania

Anagha Hunnurkar

June 24, 2012