'People here are cooperative'

Abdullah A Salum, a Tanzanian studying in Acharya Institute, considers his initial days in Bangalore quite an adventure. Even trivial things like coffee in small cups and hard chapathis made his life difficult then.

Now in his BBM third year, Abdullah who hails from the western region of Tanzania, is now well adapted to the City and says life here is much more competitive than what it is in his country. “When I see Bangalore changing so rapidly, I think about my country where people give importance only to politics and developmental issues are sidelined,” he says.

He says he is looking forward to travelling on the Metro rail but laments that he will not be here when it starts operating fully. “As I come regularly to M G Road and Brigade Road, I can see the construction process in progress. I have also read articles about Namma Metro. Some Bangaloreans are unhappy because of the delay in the project and the traffic problems. I am not bothered about those things. All I am expecting is to travel on Metro as soon as it opens for public,” says Abdullah.

As Acharya Institute has a good number of Tanzanian students, it was not difficult for Abdullah to make friends with them. However, he has some Indian friends like Nazeem, Naveed and Maruti, who is a localite. “Maruti has taught me a bit of Kannada and the others helped me in learning Hindi. We play football during free hours. Indian students are more inclined towards cricket. Though I am not a cricket buff, sometimes I catch up on the game. I like Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh.”

Abdullah says the City has failed to maintain hygiene in public places. “Some places are really dirty. May be this is common for a city which is growing very fast and welcomes people from other part of the country who come here for a living. I have seen Goa, Manipur, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mangalore. Among all these, Bangalore is the best.”
When it comes to food, he likes to gorge on Indian and Chinese food.

Chicken biryani, chicken fried rice and parathas are his favourites.  “After returning to Tanzania, I am surely going to miss Bangalore for so many reasons. People here are cooperative and have a rich cultural background. There is one thing common between us. We were both ruled by the British. But people here have come out of those days and moving forward to rule the world through the power of knowledge. My country has many things to learn from India,” he says.