Africa ! One of the largest landmasses on this planet. But mention "Africa" to anyone and you will find just one picture in their mind... well.. the picture might be different from person to person.. but it is strange to see that every person has just one broad stroke to describe Africa to themselves!! So I thought I will start off with these few pictures that Africa stands for in people's minds..
In order to be politically correct, I think I should start off by saying that I do not mean to belittle or malign any person, community or anything living or dead by writing what I am going to write. So please... dont chase me with daggers or tomahawks the next time you see me...
So back to the pictures that Africa paints in our minds..
1. Lush green jungles will all kinds of birds and animals in it - infact you might have to stop on the track to allow a pack of lions cross the road you see!!
2. Hoardes of malnourished and underdressed children - basically abject poverty
3. Lack of technological aides to ease our lives (the type that we are so used to in other continents)
4. Fierce civil wars (this point of view is rare because one needs to know SOMETHING about Africa to harbour this feeling)
5. Pyramids - yeah!! People remember that when you say that Egypt is a part of Africa too!
6. Vast expanses of sandy desert - yeah yeah.. we all know about Sahara.. dont we?
Some years back, I had come across a pic of the world at night. I searched the net for it, and here it is....
The pic was supposedly painstakingly put together by either NASA or Nat Geo and depicts the concentration of light on our planet during the night. Looking at that pic you immediately realise why Africa might also be known as "the dark continent". If I am allowed to be a little "deep" in my writings, then I would use the cliched axiom "knowledge is light" and that would bring to front a different connotation to the term "dark continent". It is amazing how little we know (or cared to know) about this continent!Ok. enough preamble! Let'sget to the point. And that point is that I have now secured a job in Africa and this will make me spend the next few years of my life in this continent. I intend to use this time and opportunity to form my own opinion about Africa and I would like to share it with you. So if you are interested.. read on.
