Indians, Education and Bahirdar University – Ethiopian Journey - Blog Post No – 34

Indians are among the most ardent travelers in the world. They have traveled to Africa too, but the reception and reputation that the Indians have got for themselves has been a mixed bag. The Indian freedom movement started in South Africa and Indians are admired and Nelson Mandela has been a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and his non-violence movement.

Both Great Leaders Dr.Abdul Kalaam and Nelson Mandela

But everything is not honky-donky about Indians in Africa. Most Indians have prospered in Africa and have made a name for themselves as traders and as businessmen. But the Indian way of frugalness and uncanny skill of making money in any situation is not very much liked by the easy going Africans. In some countries Indians were seen as exploitative and not assimilating enough with the local community.

Indians leaving Uganda in 1972

This antipathy and resentment sometimes had taken an ugly turn and Indians have been thrown out quite unceremoniously in Uganda where Idi Amin dumped almost the entire Indian community. Indian businessmen are not very much liked in Kenya and even in Zimbabwe.

But luckily, in Ethiopia most of the Indians came on teaching assignments and Ethiopians proudly say that they have been taught by an Indian some time in their life. The last Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie had been a friend of India and he was the person who encouraged Indians to come and teach in Ethiopia.

Last emperor of Ethoipia Haile Selassie with Mrs.Indira Gandhi

For a long time there were very limited number of government universities in Ethiopia and in early 2000, the Federal government of Ethiopia started many new universities and one of the newly set up university was Bahirdar University. Bahirdar University was not a new university. It was coming together of two institutes POLY (the polytechnic institute that imparted engineering education) and PEDA (the pedagogical academy that taught  Arts, Science and Commerce streams).

The new university was set up in 2001 and we were among the first foreign faculty who were specifically recruited for Bahirdar University.

Ethiopian Students

I belonged to the Faculty of Business and Economics and specifically to the Management department and there was another called the Accounting department.  The Management department’s head was Addis Gedefaw and we had another Ethiopian Teacher, Abraham. We also had a Nigerian teacher by name Ibrahim. The Management department had as many as four Indian teachers; Mansoor Ali Khan, Chidambaram, Dr. T. N. Murthy and myself.

Typical batch of Ethiopian Students 

At that time in 2002 the management department had a couple of diploma programmes, one in Marketing Management and another in Sales Management. The duration of the diploma programme was two years. In 2001 a four year course called ‘B.A in Management’ was introduced. It was quite strange to be asked to teach diploma and degree students as I was already teaching Post graduate students of Management. In India BA is not associated with management and at that time BBA was not in vogue. .  But I cheerfully accepted the challenge.

Ethiopian education system follows the American pattern which is credit based. The entire focus is on picking up credits and the credit weightage. For Example the subject ‘Introduction to Management’ could be a 1 credit, 2 credit, 3 credits or a 4 credit course.

So a one credit course is allotted 10 sessions of one hour each and a four credit course is given 40 hours. And correspondingly a student taking a four credit course in ‘Introduction to Management’ shows more interest in the subject and more respect to the concerned teacher. This was puzzling to the Indian teachers who are used to the system of standardized subjects without any difference in weightage.

The grading is based on the normal curve distribution. Students are given grades according to their position in the normal curve. ‘A’ grade is worth 4 points, ‘B’ grade is worth 3 points, a ‘C’ grade is worth 2 points and a ‘D’ grade is worth  1 point.

To pass and move on to the next semester a student has to have a minimum of 2.0 CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point  Average), which means that a student can actually get a D  (a fail grade) in a subject and still progress. All this was quite new to us but we quickly got into the flow. 

Bahirdar - By the side of the Sea - Ethiopian Journey - Post 16

Bahirdar City, Gojjam, Amhara region, Ethiopia 

By the time we settled down it was almost 6 p.m. We set out for a walk. It was cold. We had taken precautions and were wearing woollens. Ethiostar was in the heart of the city. Right in front of Ethiostar was the Amhara Parliament building. It was an imposing building with many beautiful statues on the front facade.

Very close to Ethiostar was POLY, the engineering division of Bahirdar University. PEDA, to whom I belong was around two kilometers away. Walking on the roads was a very pleasant experience. Not many people but lots of love birds. We quickly came back. Dr. Naidu, Associate Professor from the Mathematics Department had dropped in for a visit.

Dr. Naidu was a legend in Ethiopia. By 2002 he had already finished three contracts. He could speak Amharic quite well and was quite adapted to the local culture and customs. He would become our community elder – someone like Peddarayadu.

Addis Gedefaw, HOD Management Department 

The next day morning, we decided to take things into our own hands. Dr. T. N. Murthy, Dr. Srinivas Inguva and me headed out to PEDA. The way to PEDA was quite dusty and we had to take a short cut to reach the University. It was a nice stimulating half an hour walk. We made our way to the Management Department/Accounting department.  Dr. T. N. Murthy and I, met Addis Gedefaw, the Head of the Department. She received us very warmly. She said “You came in quite early. We were not expecting you for atleast another week”. She told us subject allocations will be done shortly and that she will inform us when they are finalized. She directed us to the admin department so that we could get our University identity cards and start working.

We came back to Ethiostar and headed for lunch. It was more of the same! All Ethiopian cooks appear to cook the same way. We ordered for rice and after lots of gesticulations and mime asked for  some tomato curry. One hour passed and we were not getting any food! Luckily for us Suresh dropped in and went to the kitchen to investigate. He came back and told us that there was only one cook who could prepare ‘Indian speciality of rice and tomato curry’. He has gone out and there was nobody else who could prepare our dishes!

We either have to wait or lump it! Out of desperation we ordered Inkulal curry (Omelette) and Avocado juice. Avocado juice was tasty and very filling. Pranav finished the Avocado juice and wolfed down the Omelette. Suresh was watching on with his mouth wide open in astonishment “Sir” he whispered in a low tone “that omelette had six country eggs! It was meant for the entire family. Do you think, he can digest it?”

I assured “I don’t think we need to worry. He washed it down with avocado juice”. Suresh was almost wailing “that is the problem sir. Avocado juice is very filling. And your son had an ample dose of both. Avocado juice is not like butter milk that will lighten the stomach. It will make it even more heavy”.  I started watching Pranav from the side of my eyes. He did not appear any worse for the wear. He was happiness personified.  

I went out and ordered thumb nail photos for university ID card. “Mister” the owner told me “come at 12 o'clock in the evening to collect your snaps”. My Blood Pressure shot up "what do you mean 12 clock in the night. I will definitely not come at 12 o'clock in the night to collect my snaps’. I could picture myself sliding and shuffling along fugitively, giving sneaky looks on all sides and collecting snaps dead in the night.

The owner was puzzled. He gave a quixotic look “Mister, I said, 12 o’clock in the evening" He glared at me.

I gave up. As I was returning from the photo shop, I saw a poster “13 months of sunshine and below, it was written, welcome to 1995!”. Then it struck me. Oh yes, Ethiopian calendar was seven years behind the English calendar that we follow.

I burst into our hotel room. My family was startled at my excitement. “is everything all right” Padma enquired anxiously “rocking, rocking” I assured her. “Nothing to worry. Do you know Ethiopia makes you younger? Now both of us are seven years younger, and we are back to 1995!”. I Looked at Pranav, gave him a-all-knowing wink and added “Pranav you are back in 1995, that will make you a seven-month old boy. Better behave yourself kiddo”

I and Padma walked out to the balcony and were admiring the scenery. Suddenly we heard loud shouts and then a steady wail coming from the hotel room. We rushed in ashen with fear. The scene inside stunned us. Pranav was seated in a chair and there was a 'cat who had all the cream' look on his face.

He looked smug and contented. On the bed was my two-year-old daughter Sahithi. She was  sobbing inconsolably. After lots of threats, inducements and cajoling, she stopped. We asked “Sahithi, what happened?”. Still sobbing she replied “Anna told me that all our ages go back by seven years. I am born in 2000. What will happen to me? I don’t even exist. Will police arrest me? Can I ever go back to India? If I had known that, this was going to happen, I would have stayed back with nannamma and tatagaru”. She was hurt and disgusted!   We kept a straight face with lot of effort. We dare not burst out in laughter. The poor girl was already in lot of trauma.

I went to the hotel receptionist and complained that the photo shop owner wanted me to come at 12 o' clock in the night. “Oh sir” he burst out. But he must have said 12 o'clock in the evening”. I was getting fed up. “what 12 o'clock in the evening?  how can you have 12 o'clock in the evening”?

The hotel receptionist explained to me “Sir, Ethiopia follows the sun as the criteria for setting the time, Unlike Europe where the day starts at 12 o'clock at the stroke of midnight, In Ethiopia time starts with the sunrise. So when the sunrises it is zero hour. So when it is European 7 o’clock in the morning it is 1 o'clock for us Ethiopians. So when it is 6 o'clock in the evening for Europeans it would be 12 o'clock in the evening for Ethiopians”.

“Oh boy” I said to myself “This really takes the cake. Now I have to struggle with three times. The Indian standard time which is 2.5 hours ahead of the European or GMT and also this new Ethiopian time”. I Sincerely hoped that I could manage so much complexity.

I brightened up and asked the hotel receptionist “I heard that there are thirteen months in a year in an Ethiopian calendar. That is nice. I can work for twelve months and get thirteen months’ salary”.

The receptionist gave me a strange look "oh, the thirteenth month is only a book adjustment. Those five or six days are only to bring the calendar back to normalcy” He gave a very broad and toothy smile “I assure you sir, you will only get twelve months’ salary”.  

The Take off - Ethiopian Journey Blog Item - 10.

The day of the journey dawned finally. We went to Begumpet airport. The luggage was quite heavy and after all we were four people. We were given vegetable biryani by Dr. M. Uma. Being practicality personalised, she packed it in reusable containers!

We landed in Mumbai and immediately moved from the Domestic to the International terminus.  My children were unusually subdued. Pranav being a seven-year-old could understand but Sahithi was too small. We waited in the airport and it was interesting to see the tapestry of foreign visitors leaving India. There was a panorama of facial expressions on display. Some happy, some sad and some pensive.

I could make out many Indians also waiting like me. Then the check-in announcement was made and we finished all the formalities. Then the actual boarding started. There were many Indians and an equal number of Ethiopians. The Ethiopians appeared to be bemused at the number of Indians. But there were knowing nods and smiles. The Indian diaspora is well famed in the world for their ability to travel, adapt and make themselves comfortable in any country of the world. 

Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Everest. He was bubbling with excitement and was overcome with the adrenaline rush. First man, First man he kept muttering to himself. “Enna sir, ninnalkk teyila venam?” Translated it means “sir, do you want tea?”. Flummoxed and flabbergasted he jerked around. It was a humble Malayalee, he not only reached mount Everest much before him, he started and was running a flourishing tea business! Even though said in jest, it is typical of the Indians’ urge to travel and make themselves name and fame in even the remotest parts of the world.

India has the world’s largest diaspora. Diaspora is the number of Citizens of a country living in other countries. Over 1.55 crore Indians live and work outside India, a number greater than the combined population of Zimbabwe and Kuwait. Mexico has a Diaspora of 1.23 crores and Russia has a diaspora of 1.06 crores. Truly amazing!

We were flying Ethiopian airlines. We were warmly greeted by the Ethiopian air hostess. Standing next to her and wearing a beautiful Ethiopian dress was another girl. Both of them were strikingly beautiful. They did not look like the typical Africans that we see in the popular media.

We were seated and one of the air hostess came and said “fasting or non-fasting”. I was taken back ‘what does she mean?’. Understanding my confusion, she corrected herself “Vegetarian or non-vegetarian meals?”. I told her three non-vegetarian meals and one Vegetarian meal. An Ethiopian sitting next to me explained “Ethiopians love meat and meat products. So not eating meat products and having only vegetables and Injira (Ethiopian staple food) is allowed during fasting time. So all vegetarian food in Ethiopia is called fasting food”. I don’t know how the vegetarians would react! If veg food is fasting food, what is Vegan food? starving food! Your guess is as good as mine.

The Airplane was a wide bodied 787. Very spacious and very wide. I could make out a smattering of kids, most of them Ethiopians. It was a five-hour journey and we started making friends. A young man, Mr. Bala Krishna came up and introduced himself. Bala said “Sir, this is a very big contingent of Indian teachers. We are as many as 78 (including spouses and children). With you there are ten from Andhra Pradesh. Four from your family, me and my wife, Dr. Srinivas Inguva, Dr. T. N. Murthy, Mrs. Tasleem and her daughter”. I was thunder struck at his networking ability and ability to get data. “This man would be a great researcher” I told myself. 

He also told me that he belongs to POLY (the engineering division of BDU) and that the rest of us will be reporting to PEDA (Pedagogy Academy, the division for all other departments excluding engineering). I thought PEDA was a quite an interesting name, It means a sweet in Northern India!

Mr. Bala Krishna was a teacher from the Electrical department, Me and Dr. T. N. Murthy from the Management department, Dr. Srinivas Inguva was from the accounting department and Mrs. Tasneem was from the Law department. The five-hour journey was over in a jiffy and before we knew we were taxing down on the run way of Addis Ababa. We have arrived!!!