Dear John - thank you so much for this valuable perspective. Another interesting contemporary account of Makerere comes from VS Naipaul's (great) authorized biography by Patrick French. Spending time at the university was hugely consequential for the eventual Nobelist, and even more so for Paul Theroux, who met him there for the first time.
On Wed, 14 Jun 2023, 02:56 John Nazareth, <[email protected]> wrote: > I had bought a copy of Ngugu's "Dream Weaver" when it first came out. What > struck me at the time was that it was written with a real Goan sensibility. > He mentions several Goan friends who permeated his life in Makerere. > When Ngugi came to Makerere in 1959 he said that it was his first exposure > to a multiracial atmosphere - a real contrast to the significant > segregation that existed in Kenya. > Now, many people may be surprised that I say that especially in the light > of the Uganda Asian Expulsion of 1972 that seemed to indicate otherwise. > But Makerere was indeed integrated. And not only that, there were several > Missionary-run *boarding* schools (mainly Christian) that Goans had been > attending since the 1950s. > Let me name a few. > I will start with the school I attended - St. Mary's College Kisubi. 8% of > the attendees of this school were Goan. Other such African schools in > Uganda that Goans attended in significant numbers were: Boys: Namilyango > College, Mwire College, > Girls: Mount St. Mary's Namagunga, and Gayaza High School. (Africans had > had several other first-rate schools like these since the 1920s in Uganda). > > These schools made Goans and Africans comfortable with each other - > especially because the "boarding" feature meant we were 24 hours together. > My wife too attended such a school - Gayaza High School. > It was this background that led to what Ngugi mentions in his memoirs, > especially his relationship with Goans (in my opinion). > But further, the fact that one lived on campus in Makerere meant that > other South Asians also integrated with Africans with ease as Ngugi > describes in talking about his plays. > > Of course, both he and Peter studied English in Makerere - and their post > graduate studies together elsewhere like Leeds, made them very good friends > - which they remain so to today. > > I got to know Ngugi myself and he was kind enough to mention my name too > at the end of his memoirs in the Acknowledgements, where he thanks: > “Peter Nazareth and John Nazareth for sharing memories and stories of the > past”. > > It is a short book and well-worth reading. > > Thanks Frederick for sharing the ebook. I will share it with my friends. > > John > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] <[email protected]> > On Behalf Of Frederick Noronha > Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2023 12:04 PM > To: [email protected] > Cc: V M <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [GRN] Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Makerere University (+ Peter > Nazareth) > > In the second volume of Ngugi's memoirs called "Birth of the Dream > Weaver", subtitled "A Writer's Awakening" that is set in Makerere, Ngugi > says a lot about Peter. The music he played at the University, he writing > and performing in a play, Peter's writing a critique of his play "The Black > Hermit" produced at the National Theater, and more, including references to > Peter's two novels. > > In Chapter 1 Page 1, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o writes: "Peter Nazareth might have > understood. Though a year ahead of me in college, he was actually the > younger by two years; he was born in Kampala, Uganda, in 1940 and I in > Limuru, Kenya, in 1938. We had worked together for Penpoint, the literary > magazine of the Department of English, but he had just graduated, having > passed the editorship on to me. So I communed with myself, alone, trying to > rally my nerves in a reality I felt helpless to alter. My one-act play, The > Wound in the Heart, would not be allowed at the Kampala National Theater in > the annual nationwide drama festival...." > > The full-text of this 254-page book is available here: > > https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sunchina.co.uk%2Fbooks%2Fngugi%2Fbirthofadreamweaver.pdf&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cfb2d5e4153ce4a08382b08db6c27ef55%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638222691012966447%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=vSg2tbBR4AghQ2g86ha5HTliIqFe3qf%2F05RFE1hkUwQ%3D&reserved=0 > > FN > > > I hope the New Year is going well for you. > > On Tue, 13 Jun 2023 at 17:50, V M <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > I was delighted to find the mention of Peter Nazareth, and an > > evocation of the heady post-colonial idealism at Makerere University, > > in this fine #longread profile of the great Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o: > > https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.t > > heguardian.com%2Fbooks%2F2023%2Fjun%2F13%2Fngugi-wa-thiongo-kenyan-nov > > elist-profile-giant-of-africa-literature&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cfb2d5e4153c > > e4a08382b08db6c27ef55%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638 > > 222691012966447%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2 > > luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=lKUObzVz3gx > > EGqFLa4rtAY4VQfQVSw%2FOFetW3Acn8I0%3D&reserved=0 > > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Goa-Research-Net" group. > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send > an email to [email protected]. > > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fd%2Fmsgid%2Fgoa-research-net%2FCAN1wPW4yjZqwohuQvbe7vp50ryMDspqHxhCcdd0-vL_wVp5B4Q%2540mail.gmail.com&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cfb2d5e4153ce4a08382b08db6c27ef55%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638222691012966447%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Z3t9X7Q6ll4VfL1CYatxuADfcJL1cnJKTjgMsTN9sXE%3D&reserved=0 > . > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Goa-Research-Net" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fd%2Fmsgid%2Fgoa-research-net%2FCAMCR53KHEJethkOQAwawod_nf%253DoyMoN_6mkMKo4v28KB8OONpQ%2540mail.gmail.com&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cfb2d5e4153ce4a08382b08db6c27ef55%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638222691012966447%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=7dXRqp7HQCnDMuKcuxVkbSrhBHzfEzLZpNtyLCJCd%2F0%3D&reserved=0 > . > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Goa-Research-Net" group. 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