Those of us who were born and or lived in Tanzania, a country endowed with such beauty and laid-back-ness, enjoyed an experience that we can never forget. Ask any ex-Tanzania Goan, and they will tell you about the incredible life we enjoyed in Tanzania, which for most of us were the best days of our lives. Some of them had made their way to Tanzania from Bombay, Goa and other parts of India and Pakistan.. Many of them, after leaving East Africa settled down in the Toronto area.
Over a quarter century ago, they felt the need to get together and reminisce and socialize and hence came the annual Tanzanite dance around the Canadian Thanksgiving day, and the Tanzanite picnic in the summer. The Tanzanite dance especially is a sell-out every year. Having attended several of the Tanzanite dances for which I would drive up from the Washington DC are where I lived at the time,,I would be overcome with joy and nostalgia. Old Swahili nicknames that we used to call each other were quickly recalled. The conversation becomes a mixture of English and Kiswahili. To add to the aura of the occasion, Kiswahili songs are crooned by the band, and sometimes floor shows are presented with participants dressed in African clothes. Officials of the Tanzanian embassy are invited to the dance and they are inevitably impressed by the way people express their love for the country that they left. The exodus of Goans and other Indians from Tanzania began in the years following the indepndence of the country then known as Tanganyika in Decembwer 1961. Since most Goans worked for the Government and private industry including banks, we had to make way for the indigenous people in a process called Africanization. It did not matter whether you had opted to stay in the county and become a citizen of the new nation. When your position was Africanized, you had to look for another job or migrate.. That is why there are large groups of ex-Tanzania Goans in many parts of the world including Goa. A Tanzania Goan event popularly known as Tanzanite is a gathering of people from all over Goa with no distinction of village or caste. It is not unusual to find ex-Tanzanians from all over Canada, as well as the USA, UK , India and even Australia at these functions. And they are not all Goans. You will find other Indians, Chinese, Seychellois etc. who lived in Tanzania. There are no restrictions other than, one must have lived in Tanzania. In Goa where I now live, I hosted a picnic for ex-Tanzanians on the grounds of my residence which was well attened and thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. In the days following the event, I received many calls from ex-Tanzanians living in Goa who found out about the event. they had found out about the event from friends and were disappointed that they had not been invited. At the time we held the picnic we were not aware of some of these people. We now have a list of names that easily exceeds a hundred.. Such are the bonds of friendship among the Goans who once lived in Tanzania. I dont know why anyone would resent us having our Tanzanian events. It is just a gathering of like spirits who had a common expeience of living in an incredible country. Would one object if people had a dance for Bombayites or Poonaites or IITians or ex-students of a particular school ?
