November 05, 2012
The Pearl of Africa
by Namit Arora
A few years ago, my partner and I spent twelve days in Uganda. We visited two national parks to see chimpanzees and other animals, the Ssese Islands of Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile, the town of Jinja, and Kampala. As far as possible, we used the average citizen's mode of transportation and made no advance hotel reservations—choices that I think foster a greater engagement with the locals. As I often do when I travel, I shot some idiosyncratic video footage mostly as an aid to memory, akin to keeping a journal. Watching it again recently, I thought: why not make an amateur documentary? That's just what I did and here is the result (20 mins; also check out some pictures).
Why "Pearl of Africa"? Apparently, Winston Churchill, visiting Uganda at age 33, was so impressed by its mountains, valleys, greenery, lakes, wildlife, and friendly natives that he called it the "pearl of Africa", and the name stuck. I have a rather low opinion of Churchill but I find nothing to quibble about in this case. I too loved my time in Uganda.
Posted by Namit Arora at 12:30 AM | Permalink
Comments
Namit, this is brilliant and you are quite the David Attenborough! Amazing that you were able to produce this with a hand-held camera and no professional equipment. The footage of wildlife is especially good but many parts of your short film brought back memories of the year I spent in Uganda when I was 14.
Did you go to Makerere University (where Naipaul taught) and Bat Valley (near the university)? Did you see the huge fishing bats which fly from there every evening to Lake Victoria to fish and return at dawn to hang in thousands upside down from hundreds of trees and sleep all day in the valley? I went to school right near there.
Anyway, thanks for the nostalgia trip as well as a glimpse of several places I had not seen before!
Posted by: S. Abbas Raza | Nov 5, 2012 4:07:00 AM
Ah, now we know why Herzl and the early Zionists proposed the British Uganda Program in 1903:
Posted by: Patrick S. O'Donnell | Nov 5, 2012 8:00:29 AM
It looked like a professional documentary to me. Excellent commentary about the land, the animals and the people, especially for those of us who have not visited Uganda.
Posted by: Louise Gordon | Nov 5, 2012 10:27:11 AM
Lovely film - both the photography and the narration.(nice to hear your voice, Namit) Enjoyed it very much.
Couldn't quite understand Patrick's point. I know that Uganda was proposed as a temporary refuge for European Jews. But what does this mean, "Ah, now we know why Herzl and the early Zionists proposed the British Uganda Program in 1903." ? What would the reason be? That it is beautiful? Populated by people unlikely or unable to fight foreign intrusions? Rich in natural resources? Under the control of the British who were sympathetic to Zionism? Isn't that the type of calculation that begins all illegal occupations, including those by Britain at that time in Asia and Africa?
Posted by: Ruchira | Nov 5, 2012 11:28:59 AM
Ruchira,
It was intended to be tongue-in-cheek...
Posted by: Patrick S. O'Donnell | Nov 5, 2012 12:00:08 PM
Thanks, Patrick.
Posted by: Ruchira | Nov 5, 2012 1:10:17 PM
Namit, I enjoyed this so much I watched it three times! I guess I feel that it is a place I might never get to see. Africa is so huge and I only managed to see so small a sliver of it, but Uganda looks really sublime. Like Abbas said, I just can't believe you made this using a hand-held camera! You are so talented... I hope you make more documentaries.
Posted by: Leanne Ogasawara | Nov 5, 2012 11:05:05 PM
Wonderful, Namit -- many thanks.
Posted by: Elatia Harris | Nov 6, 2012 12:32:02 AM
Marvelous piece of work, Namit. It makes me want to go there in person. Many thanks.
Posted by: John Ballard | Nov 6, 2012 6:13:29 AM
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