A Flight Journey To Nairobi

After my voluntary retirement from service during the year 1993 and after performing my daughter’s marriage during the year 1999, I went for job trails at Nairobi (Kenya – East Africa). I tried my level best to secure a reasonable job at Nairobi, but could not get it during my span of four months at Nairobi. As my VISA expired, I was constrained to return back to India without a successful job at Nairobi.

I would like to mention some of the few issues below for reader’s sake, as this brief would definitely enlighten the readers. All the readers would feel happy to read this issue.

Two decades ago, I was at a village called Nakuru at Nairobi (Kenya – East Africa). This village is around 150 km distance away from Nairobi. I was on a visiting tourist visa then, i.e. VISA on arrival at Nairobi’s Kenyatta’s International Airport. I stayed there at Nakuru village, another village nearly called Kisumu and at Nairobi for four months. It was a very good place with nice weather. It was a hilly place. One can enjoy lot of greenery. One can have wonderful healthy pure weather with lot of unpolluted oxygen.

It drizzled for an hour and it would be little sunny the next hour. It was very chill round the year. Horticulture farms were seen in a couple of places. Different types of multi-color flowers were grown and exported to European countries regularly. The cultivation of Javari was more. Everyday Africans used to take Javari made chapatti or Javari made upma like food. Of course, rice was very costly there. A variety of vegetables were grown at many places. It had high breed crop. Tomatoes were in the size of orange. Potatoes were in the size of small coconuts. Chillies were in the size of small type banana. Bananas were in the size of papaya. Cabbage was also grown comparatively bigger size. Almost all the vegetables were very big in size and were of high breed produce.

I was at Subati Company at Nakuru for some time and the company is famous for its flowery-culture. This estate is located nearby Nakuru town and the main work of this estate is to develop flowery-culture particularly the rose plants and flowers. They have hired the technology and expertise from Israel. First of all they test the soil to find-out whether it is suitable for the growth and development of the rose plants. Israelis have the special technology by which they develop a special chemical which will fill the weeds. The grass is the main problem in the growth of the rose plants. When the soil is treated with this chemical, it kills all the seeds of the grass in the soil, in such a way that the new seeds will not germinate. Then they use some micro-nutrients to make the soil fertile and conducive for the growth of the rose plants. Then the rose plants flourish very fast. The entire rose garden is covered by a special mesh-type-net and they control the humidity and temperature and other factors which are favorable for the growth of the rose plants. The rose plants grow very fast and give world class rose flowers which are very healthy, strong and beautiful with fragrance. These rose flowers are of different types and are grown in different types of impressive colors. After inspecting all the rose flowers, they cut the rose plants and then grade them, weigh them according to the quality. They cut the rose plant along with rose flower and the stem. Then the stem is put in the flower vase. The flower remains very fresh up to 15 days and sometimes even more depending upon the climatic conditions. Then all these rose plants with the flowers are packed very nicely and are exported to Holland, in a refrigerated container. Holland is the market for the flowers for the entire world. From Holland these flowers are distributed to the entire world.

Subati is a very beautiful place with naturally formed lawns, tall trees and surrounded by the valleys and hills. The temperature is less than 10 degree Celsius and sometimes it is below zero degree.

There are fewer places like Nakuru, Naiwasha, Kisumu and surrounding villages of Nairobi city and other remote villages where these flowery-culture activities, cultivation of vegetables are largely seen. These activities are the lively-hood for the local residents. There are more employment opportunities foreseen in these types of business activities. Local African people are engaged in these activities on a full time job.

Any asthma patient or heart patient will be recovered fast, if one stays at this place for 3-4 months. We can see equator line from Nakuru village or from even nearby villages. The African people are always cooperative and with a helping nature.

On arrival at Nairobi Kenyatta International Airport from Air India flight during end of 1999 year, I just accompanied one of my relative, who was working then at Nakuru village, in car. The driver Mr. Simon, a young chap, who died later, drove the car at a speed of 120-140 km per hour, and I was afraid of that speed, but, it was a normal speed for them. It was a road worthy Subaru car and the roads were also four lane. No speed breakers were foreseen. All the vehicles, cars and very lengthy trucks plied with indicators. Even we just missed an accident i.e. collision with a parked truck. It was an efficiency and expertise of the car driver that saved us.

Most of the Africans drink, dine and dance. It is a common feature for them. But, of course, lot of poverty, unemployment, poor education could be seen in the backward areas of African countries.

But, lot of discipline is foreseen in African and many other countries. They do not spit on roads. They don’t urinate on road sides. They maintain cleanliness. They speak freely with Indians and Asians, Europeans and others. More Casanovas could be seen at number of places at Nairobi. At week-ends, many places are houseful. Open air theatres are seen at a couple of places at Nairobi. People watch movies by sitting in their orderly parked cars. Some Nakumatt stores which are as big as Big Bazaars’ are located in quite a number of places, where everything from small items to big items are available including, electronic items, clothes, garments, consumer items, cosmetic items, leather items, gadgets, play tools, perfumes, mattresses, gold, silver, toys, furniture, electrical, consumer items, mats and what not.

On a holiday, I had gone to Naiwasha. Naiwasha is on the way to Nakuru and in Kenya and it is a very beautiful place, particularly, when the flamingos (flamingo is a bird with a long red beak) migrate to Naiwasha lake. At that time, it is thrilling to watch these birds. I was sitting alone on a beautiful lawn and was seeing and enjoying the scenery around, appreciating the nature. East Africa is very well known for the natural beauty with lot of wild life sanctuary and bird sanctuary. The roads are very good, very neat, greenery everywhere, no speed breakers anywhere in the city and also on high way roads. Road discipline is seen everywhere. The population is very less and people are very hale & healthy.

On another holiday, once on my way to Mombasa from Nairobi[East Africa], I heard about a very stranger mysterious place in Machacos district of Kenya and to satisfy my curiosity, I went to that place. It was at the outskirts of Nairobi. On the way to Mombasa, I enlisted the help of a young fellow at the Gasoline station and according to the indication, I had gone to that place. The place was very remote and located in a very thick forest, a very narrow and a steep road going upwards surrounded both sides by huge rocky structures and huge trees. There I found, a mysterious thing happening, I took the car and moved upward road for about two to three hundred yards. The road was very steep. There at one place, I slowly stopped the engine and put the gear in the neutral. With some hesitation slowly, I got down from the car and an amazing thing happened instead of the car going backwards, it started climbing upwards slowly. This was against the principle of gravitation. For about 4 or 5 minutes, the car moved upwards. I applied the car brakes. After climbing down from the car, I placed a tennis ball which I carried from Nairobi and placed it on the steep road. Surprisingly, the tennis ball started climbing upwards instead of going down. And third experiment, I poured some water on the road and even the water moved upwards defying the gravitational law. This was against kaloleni. After sometime, I gave some money to a little guy, that person went away. I was really wondering about this mysterious unexplained gravitational law. However, this place is located at the equator and easily we can observe this equator place and the equator passes through this place.

While making a journey from Mumbai, by Air India flight direct to Nairobi, during the journey period there was a technical problem. It was three hours leftover journey to reach Nairobi International Airport. The distance to cover was just three hours time. The flight was travelling over the sea. There was no land for any emergency landing. There was an announcement in the flight. "Your attention please. The flight got a technical problem. Our engineers are trying to rectify the defects. Please be calm. Please close the curtains. Please put on the belt. Please be ready with the oxygen masks. We are putting off the lights." This Air India flight was travelling with lot of vibrations. It was sometimes going on the left side and sometimes on the right side. The sound was like dhud-dhud with lot of vibrations. Apart from the above announcement by Air Hostess, there was lot of commotion, anxiety, fear, and all the passengers were looking very pale and helpless. Lot of sweating was foreseen on all the passengers. Even one passenger got mild heart stroke.

Then another announcement came. "We are trying to locate a land for emergency landing. There is no land foreseen. We are on the sea. Nairobi Airport is three hours journey from now on. All the passengers are requested to be calm. Our flight engineers are doing their best to rectify the technical problem. We are confident that everything will be set right." All the passengers started praying God, the Almighty and the Lord Christ. Nobody knew what is happening to the flight. Every passenger was nervous. This happened at night around 3.00 am. Suddenly, there was an announcement from the cabin crew members. "Your attention please. Our flight engineers have rectified the technical defects and the flight will be straight going to Nairobi Airport and it will take another two hours from now on."

Though all the passengers heaved a sigh of relief, still with nervous and no happiness was foreseen on quite a number of passengers' face. Another announcement came from the flight cabin crew that in another one hour’s time, the flight will make a landing at Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Airport. All the passengers are requested to be ready by putting their seat belts. But, at last, the flight landed somewhere far away from the original landing place. Thank God! For safe landing, all the passengers felt.

I returned back to India via Air India flight and landed safely at Mumbai International Airport. After checking out, though I had substantial amount to travel from Mumbai to Hyderabad by local domestic flight, dared not to travel by flight. Straight went to Mumbai Railway Station by taxi and purchased the Mumbai Express train ticket to Hyderabad, waited from morning till evening at the Mumbai Railway Station and returned by train to Hyderabad, the next day morning safely and successfully after completing the foreign tour.

With this flight journey experience, the author, so far, did not travel by any flight. Of course, it was a shocking experience. All the news papers at Nairobi (Kenya – East Africa) have reported about this incident matter, after a couple of days, in all the leading local news papers there at Nairobi.