I packed up and headed for home to make another fresh start. Call it Chamhembe Drift. Chamhembe, that southerly cold blistering wind, blowing you every other which way. You are game. Reminds me of that hit single by recently retired "The Headmaster", Bob Nyabinde eulogising about our various escapades and exploits into their Diaspora. Only to end up, breathless, clutching at straws.
Tunoenda kuchikoro, kudzidza gore rose! Sevamwe asi chabuda hapana! Vanoenda kuBotswana ...., asi chabuda hapana!
Who else to put it succinctly than the very ept Tuku! Nhava Izere Mhepo. Need I say more! Permanent hewers of wood and drawers of water wherever we Zimbabwe rolling stones go. That’s the price you pay for bad politics. And the polarisation that comes with it. Whooof! I digress, let me find myself. Where am I??
Yes, this rather boisterous cousin of mine, let’s call him Zindoga, took me for a spin in his recently acquired sports car and we made the trip to the City of Kings. We jammed Native Flash aka Flash Gordon’s CD 'Flashback/Ndangariro' done by an ensemble of young new school artists who have desire to mix their hip hop / ragga background with traditional pop music. Yes, they even play mbira.
The other day, I watched Native Flash and his dudes unveil their debut recordings at a recent gig. They treated us to their reworking of Ephat Mujuru’s Mugariro. Russell, the mbira genius was on vocals.
If you are a spontaneous dancers like me, then you can’t avoid it. The piece sounds fresh, blended and good. They spiced up Bhundu Boys’ Rugare. Biggie Tembo must have turned in his grave. How do you think the crowd reacted when they did their own of Khiama Boys’ Mabhawuwa, System Tazvida style?
I got rather touched by their idea of Zig-Zag Band’s Mudzimu Mukuru. The lyrics sounded so relevant. Their dreadlocked Billy Mo chanted:
Vamwe vane mota! Vamwe vane zvikepe. Ini ndazove rombe here iye iye woye.
What with the new social order of Hummers and Lamborghinis on one rung and others queuing for half loaves of bread for half a dozen hours. Another distant rung.
Ah! Time travels so fast when you are traveling. And having “fun”. The 'Chamhembe Drift Way' . I think I can be a travel writer too. That Drift thing, I borrowed it from the celebrated Kenyan Binyavanga Wainana who writes for Trevor Ncube’s The Mail and Guardian. His is Continental Drift! He skates between New York, London, makes a pit-stop in Mombasa, or some such exotic joint before he reaches Cape Town.
So here we are in our very own Bulawayo. Home to Iyasa Dance Group. Alongside Chase Skuza they lit up our televisions screens with a rendition of the late Solomon’s Skuza’s Banolila. Watching those dance routines always cracks me up all the time. Remember Fanyana Dube’s Nyama Yembongolo? Imagine Sku making an attempt at a crack single with that one. Only you don’t have to imagine because it’s happening.
We had intended to stay for only one day. Until my Zindoga’s car decided otherwise. It coughed and that was it! So we spent the next nine days covered in grease for our troubles. We could only laugh at ourselves.
With 'Chamhembe Drift', you don’t take anything for granted. All is not lost though. Three years in Mozambique, I am now a fluent Portuguese speaker. Try me. Just make sure you don’t get stuck wherever you are. Or if you manage your own Drift, you won't be bringing home a case full of knickers and designer jeans.
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