Arise Kenya Arise....

Arise Kenya Arise....

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Kibera si Nairobi; The Kibera Perfume


I recently encountered a man who left me holding my ribs to make sure they are not cracked. The tale of a man who came to Nairobi as an adult left me eagerly waiting for the chance to tap his story into my computer keyboard.



Here we go, this man had only watched Nairobi on TV and those days he claims our media houses only showed the good looking sides of Nairobi. To him Nairobi was the typical ‘green city in the sun’ that has been a figment of our imagination for long. The day he arrived in Nairobi his bubble was burst on his first night in an iron-sheet structure. He felt played but there was no one to blame, I have reasons to believe he was telling us this story as a self healing therapy.

The Morning After

He could not reconcile the picture he had of Nairobi in his mind and what he saw. I can imagine how he felt when he woke up that first morning. Too bad if it had rained and the small space in front of the house was covered with mud. A guy must have felt cheated, like a lady who woke up in a house belonging to a man she had sworn she will never give to his advances.  At this point, the morning after pill will never take away the mixed feelings.

The Kibera Perfume

He went ahead to tell us that when you board number 8 matatu’s to Kibera in the evening, you will be surprised by the expensive scent of perfumes from the commuters. You are bound to enjoy the ride as the conductors have also mastered their clientèle.

The music played will mirror the scent of the commuters. The stronger the scent, the more of soul, dance-hall  rhythm and blues are played. These are uptown sounds; Kibera residents are more inclined to roots reggae, and to some extent hip-hop and local urban music.

The shocker comes when you reach Yaya Centre or Prestige Plaza and the uptown side of commuters alight. You are left with the true, real and natural scent of Kiberans. You are now saying ‘Kwaheri Nairobi- see you tomorrow’ as you enter Kibera. The music will also be changed by the emotionally intelligent matatu crew.

This is a man I would like to probe more for tales from this side of town many people from Nairobi don’t know about. He made my day, and the people I was with may not know I chronicle my findings on Kenyan slums.

Oh yes, there is a big difference between Kibera and Nairobi. The simple one is scent, where as Kibera most people go natural, Nairobians have the power to determine how they would like to smell. Listening to tales from Kibera can leave you laughing to the core of your being.

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