Once formalities completed for us to move, we shifted to Kampala in February, 1976. After a few hurdles, we got a house allocated in the Mutagwanya Estate near the Rubaga cathedral, with its Rubaga Hospital managed by German doctors, about four miles away from our working places in Makerere University and Mulago Hospital. The housing estate was situated on the Rubaga hill and it had a very beautiful view of Kampala city. The estate had 10-12 beautiful independent houses, each with a lush green grassy lawn with trees around that made it very pretty.
Settling down in Kampala became much smoother with the great and timely help of the Asthanas. Till today, we can’t forget their help and feel greatly obliged towards them. Our ties with them as a family grew stronger and stronger as the time went on.
Kampala enjoys a wonderful location, closer to the Lake Victoria at an altitude of 3,900 feet, on seven hills, namely, Kampala, Kasubi, Mengo, Namirembe, Rubaga, Nsambya, Kololo plus others like Nakasero, Tank, Mulago and Makerere hill. Kampala is not very far from the Equator. Close proximity to the lake coupled with a good altitude makes the climate very pleasant, with temperatures varying between 20-30 degrees Celsius with frequent tropical rains and the greenery around.
As the tropical rains were very frequent, temperature used to come down significantly and the roads and pavements got cleaned up - giving the city an even more beautiful appearance. Words cannot do justice to what this feels like -- one has to experience it to know it.
We reported at our places of work and started our duties diligently. Meenakshi started her work at the Department of Biochemistry, Makerere University. The university has a beautiful campus on Makerere hill with various departments and housing complexes for staff -- good independent houses and apartments in the form of flats in larger buildings. Makerere was once a great university, considered the best in East Africa -- the likes of VS Naipaul and Paul Theroux, both great writers, taught there in the 1960s. In fact, Paul Theroux, who lived in an apartment on the campus, wrote about his return to Makerere after three decades in his travel book Dark Star Safari.
Dr. AJ Lutalo Bosa, Head, Department of Biochemistry and Meenakshi's boss, was very humane and understood very well the hesitations and apprehensions of the newcomer. That made the settling-in in teaching an easier process for her.
Kampala being the capital, was far more cosmopolitan and had quite a good expatriate community. Despite the 1972 exodus, Kampala still had a huge number of Indians. Being in Kampala brought us close to to our own countrymen. Meera Rao who lived on the university campus was a great friend and was like an elder sister or mother for Meenakshi in difficult times. Mrs. Meera was an excellent cook and we still remember her cooking. Her good advice or suggestions were solicited and welcome. Her husband SRA Rao was with the UNDP and attached to the Department of Statistics at Makerere. They had two loving kids - Shivkumar and Shambhavi.
Amongst the old timers were the Bowry brothers who were elderly and like our parents. Their wives happened to be real sisters too. They hailed from Ludhiana, Punjab, and were originally working with the legendary East African Railways and later became builders. With their progeny well settled in Nottingham, UK, they were merely enjoying a retired life on their properties here and remembering good old days.
At the Bowrys' place we happened to meet Dr. Berry, who was working for the WHO. His daughter-in-law Ritu Beri is a world famous fashion designer today.
Another important friend, Kaka Harjeet Singh was a very good car mechanic and his Ismaili wife was a very good host. They had four sons, the younger two were twins, never still and real naughty. He used to help us maintain our old Ford Escort.as a special case, though he was catering for the police vehicles only.
I was assigned to the old Mulago Hospital in the General OPD. My stint at Mulago was more of a sedentary sort of life with hardly any emergencies. It was a lot different from what I used to have in the hospitals upcountry which had the minimal necessary staff and posed a real challenge regarding how to manage our patients well. Soon life started to come to a normal track and we were getting used to it gradually. Of course I would have occasional duties in the Casualty Department on Sundays to relieve other doctors. Those days Mulago Hospital was very modern, with six storeys. It was a teaching hospital and referal of repute in East Africa. The new building had been inaugurated by the Duchess of Kent in 1962 and was a gift of the British government to the people of Uganda at the country's Independence. On its rolls were famous and dedicated faculty like Dr. Dennis Burkit, known world over for Burkit’s Lymphoma and Prof. SMM Karim who is renowned for research on Prstaglandins as well as Prof. Krishna Somers, who is now settled in Australia.
It was always a good experience to interact and mix-up with so many people from various sections, from the hospital, university, UNDP experts, the locals long settled in businesses. But they were now devoid of all that enthusiasm because of Amin’s policies. That made the well-minded professionals upset and a little depressed. There is no denying the fact they had toiled with their blood and sweat to bring their businesses and enterprises to such great heights.
The temples and gurudwaras were good social meeting places for all of us especially on Sundays and on festive seasons. The community lunch, langar, in Kampala's gurudwara, was a welcome change for homesick people like us, who are used to eating the simple dal roti in India. We used to relish this food from the core of our hearts. Even more enjoyable were the interactions with the friends from a cross-section of the society comprising Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Europeans. The atmosphere was so congenial and friendly despite all the problems Uganda faced. The Akhand Paath, Dussehra, Holi and Diwali were special occasions to celebrate with all the people flocking in great numbers with all the gusto. Dandia and garba dances by the Gujaratis were a treat to watch. For people like us from north India, it was something novel, special and very graceful. It was an exhilarating experience worth mentioning.and enjoying.
Despite shortages of essential commodities, security problems and the greater risk of venturing out at night, there was a spirit of taking life as normal and facing it boldly. That’s how the Ugandans went about their business as usual dismissing all their worries with a casual remark of Hakuna Matata, Swahili for ‘no problem’!!!!
As the tropical rains were very frequent, temperature used to come down significantly and the roads and pavements got cleaned up - giving the city an even more beautiful appearance. Words cannot do justice to what this feels like -- one has to experience it to know it.
We reported at our places of work and started our duties diligently. Meenakshi started her work at the Department of Biochemistry, Makerere University. The university has a beautiful campus on Makerere hill with various departments and housing complexes for staff -- good independent houses and apartments in the form of flats in larger buildings. Makerere was once a great university, considered the best in East Africa -- the likes of VS Naipaul and Paul Theroux, both great writers, taught there in the 1960s. In fact, Paul Theroux, who lived in an apartment on the campus, wrote about his return to Makerere after three decades in his travel book Dark Star Safari.
Dr. AJ Lutalo Bosa, Head, Department of Biochemistry and Meenakshi's boss, was very humane and understood very well the hesitations and apprehensions of the newcomer. That made the settling-in in teaching an easier process for her.
Kampala being the capital, was far more cosmopolitan and had quite a good expatriate community. Despite the 1972 exodus, Kampala still had a huge number of Indians. Being in Kampala brought us close to to our own countrymen. Meera Rao who lived on the university campus was a great friend and was like an elder sister or mother for Meenakshi in difficult times. Mrs. Meera was an excellent cook and we still remember her cooking. Her good advice or suggestions were solicited and welcome. Her husband SRA Rao was with the UNDP and attached to the Department of Statistics at Makerere. They had two loving kids - Shivkumar and Shambhavi.
Amongst the old timers were the Bowry brothers who were elderly and like our parents. Their wives happened to be real sisters too. They hailed from Ludhiana, Punjab, and were originally working with the legendary East African Railways and later became builders. With their progeny well settled in Nottingham, UK, they were merely enjoying a retired life on their properties here and remembering good old days.
At the Bowrys' place we happened to meet Dr. Berry, who was working for the WHO. His daughter-in-law Ritu Beri is a world famous fashion designer today.
Another important friend, Kaka Harjeet Singh was a very good car mechanic and his Ismaili wife was a very good host. They had four sons, the younger two were twins, never still and real naughty. He used to help us maintain our old Ford Escort.as a special case, though he was catering for the police vehicles only.
I was assigned to the old Mulago Hospital in the General OPD. My stint at Mulago was more of a sedentary sort of life with hardly any emergencies. It was a lot different from what I used to have in the hospitals upcountry which had the minimal necessary staff and posed a real challenge regarding how to manage our patients well. Soon life started to come to a normal track and we were getting used to it gradually. Of course I would have occasional duties in the Casualty Department on Sundays to relieve other doctors. Those days Mulago Hospital was very modern, with six storeys. It was a teaching hospital and referal of repute in East Africa. The new building had been inaugurated by the Duchess of Kent in 1962 and was a gift of the British government to the people of Uganda at the country's Independence. On its rolls were famous and dedicated faculty like Dr. Dennis Burkit, known world over for Burkit’s Lymphoma and Prof. SMM Karim who is renowned for research on Prstaglandins as well as Prof. Krishna Somers, who is now settled in Australia.
It was always a good experience to interact and mix-up with so many people from various sections, from the hospital, university, UNDP experts, the locals long settled in businesses. But they were now devoid of all that enthusiasm because of Amin’s policies. That made the well-minded professionals upset and a little depressed. There is no denying the fact they had toiled with their blood and sweat to bring their businesses and enterprises to such great heights.
Despite shortages of essential commodities, security problems and the greater risk of venturing out at night, there was a spirit of taking life as normal and facing it boldly. That’s how the Ugandans went about their business as usual dismissing all their worries with a casual remark of Hakuna Matata, Swahili for ‘no problem’!!!!
