Disclaimer - All the characters ,locations and events mentioned in this story are fictitious. A thorough research on the Masai tribe lifestyle has been made before penning this post.The story has been written for Internet is Fun on Vodafone! Contest
by Indiblogger.in
I
looked up at the sky which by then turned dark. It was very hot even at evening
7.The tepid air brushed my skin as I kept walking. There was no one in sight
for miles. I looked behind,turned around,right and left but I could not locate
my directors and my crew of Cameramen who traveled all the way from England to shoot the life of indigenous people of Kenya.We were all set to
film the Tribal people of Kenya, the Masai tribe who lived in Kajiodo district
in Southern Kenya. I helplessly watched my team
getting drifted away from me and searched for them but all my attempts to
search them were futile. My feet never ceased to rest.It was in the pursuit of
my crew. I kept walking towards my destiny. I am Dale Smith, travel journalist
with Travel-planet.com. It was 2010
, May 18. We were supposed to film the life of the Masai tribes,a cover story
to be precise.It was complete darkness all around. My torch light seemed to
retired as it started dimming.I carried a backpack with me which contained my
mobile phone,video camera and the basic essential things required for a
Voyage.My torch light finally stopped working. I looked at the dark sky and saw the Moon shining brightly and winking at me. I was stranded alone in complete darkness. I managed
to take baby steps forward . The night was young,innocent and full of peace. I
could not see or hear anything. The air was still. I moved ahead,tripped over
the green grass. I lay unconscious on the green meadow.

"Boy
.. return it back to me," I yelled at him. He got angered by my gesture.
He haphazardly pressed some key on my phone which played some music which the
Masains felt amusing. They performed a
jig and they all loved the music.He investigated my cell phone further and started
experimenting with it.
"Boy
..what are you trying to do with it...Please don't break it," I pleaded
him. “Does anyone here know English?," I asked the Masain tribe to which
there was complete silence. May be they perceived me as an Alien from Mars.
There was complete silence and we
looked at each other.
"Hey
White Boy... he will not break it..," A voice was heard from behind. He looked old ,dark
and his face rugged and full of stubble . He had fat lips and a broad jaw.
"Wow ,..so you know English?," I was in a state of ecstasy.
"Yes
White boy..," The old man replied. "Stop Calling me White boy
Sir.My name is Dale Smith," I retorted to which the Man smiled.
"Sure
Mr .Dale ..I will not call you White
boy..," He offered me a drink. My eyes were glued to the group of Masain
teens who carelessly handled my mobile phone.
"Probably
they want to learn how to use Mobile.Teach them the basics of how to use Mobile
and how to use Internet on that gadget," He coughed.
"Oh
yeah sure ..but before that I want something to Eat?..I am famished," I
requested the Masain head to get me something to eat.
"Oh
sad...sadly we are still in hunt for a Lion," He said.
"What
Lion...you guys eat Lion?," I questioned . "Yes!!," He said.
"PETA guys are going to get us jailed if they come to know that you cook Lions for meal and me supporting you guys," I said with a straight face to which the Old Man chuckled.
"PETA - It sounds like a tooth paste which is responsible for your pearly white teeth, give me too ," The old man laughed to which I helplessly looked at him
"Wuqh Jee Lu Kiuo Trin Pun Baahhu," A young stocky man said which went Greek and Latin to me.
"PETA guys are going to get us jailed if they come to know that you cook Lions for meal and me supporting you guys," I said with a straight face to which the Old Man chuckled.
"PETA - It sounds like a tooth paste which is responsible for your pearly white teeth, give me too ," The old man laughed to which I helplessly looked at him
"Wuqh Jee Lu Kiuo Trin Pun Baahhu," A young stocky man said which went Greek and Latin to me.
"Koshio
,wants you to join them in the Lion hunt," The old man spoke as he
returned me my mobile phone. "Wow good.. here I come dudes!," I said
.
I
checked my mobile for any damages but luckily there was none. "Can we find
Lions through this mobile and net?," The old man asked me.
"I
guess we can," I turned on my GPS
locator. We hunted for a while. The navigator beeped me indicating the presence
of a Lion. The GPS helped us in spotting a lion.I actually never wanted them to
kill any lions but sadly they did. We
walked back to their home. We rested.
"Dale,
the Masain women want you to cook today's lunch..," The Old man smiled.
"I am no cook and I can't cook Lions for that matter," I replied.
"Its
a humble request from them Dale," The Old man said. "OK lets
see," I said them. I quickly opened YouTube.com and searched for Lamb meat
stew recipe. I was shamelessly going to cook a huge Lion for lunch.I always preferred watching lions on Discovery and Animal Planet. I have never cooked a Lamb in my entire life ,but today they made me cook a Lion . Youtube.com
streamed the video for me . We checked the video and cooked as per the instructions given by the chef.
The stew was delicious, but it was that
awkward situation for me when you have to gorge over a lion for lunch. We rested again and the boys listened to the music on my
phone. They charged my mobile phone and once again listened to the music and
danced to it.
"I
have a request Dale.. the young fellows want your phone to play our tribal song
which was sung by Katharina Kate, the famous singer from Kenya," The old
man requested. I now functioned as their Official Google Operator. I downloaded
their Tribal song from Internet and played. A glimpse of Joy struck the Masain
crowd as I played their tribal song". Vodafone must have sued me for
extensive use of Internet while on roaming. But nevertheless Mobile Internet
from Vodafone was always fun.
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I
took a power nap. When I woke up, I saw a huge mob gather as one of their clan
member was ill. "What happened Toshio?," I asked the Old man as he
was the only English speaker. "A snake bit our Huyga and she is ill. Please help her Dale," He once again requested. I googled for remedies . "Quickly
find Eichenacea ...," I said. Within 30 minutes ,one of the Masain youth
got Eichenacea, a natural herb for snake bites. We applied Eichenacea on her
left foot where the rattle snake bit her. She recovered after 2 hours. The
girls family thanked me. I started to enjoy their company . I taught them how
to play games on Mobile, how to download songs and explained them everything
about phone and Internet. I also teached them how to use Internet on Phone.We viewed Television on my mobile, thanks to the TV application which was installed on my mobile.We watched wonderful videos and movies of their favorite actor Collins Mwadime. "You
know Toshio..I really wanted to be in
touch with you guys .But sadly you guys don't have Facebook," I said to
the Masain Oldman.
"What
is Facebook?," One of the Masain Tribe member asked his head Toshio.
"Facebook
is an online community where you stay in touch with people, " I smiled.
"Why don't you open a facebook for us ?," The old man smiled as he
spoke.
"Oh
Toshio..hope you aren't kidding me? ," I laughed. "No Dale, I am
serious," He requested.
I
quickly opened him a facebook profile through my mobile. Finally they decided
to free me. It was a wonderful time
which I spend with them. It was finally time
to say bye. I hugged Toshio and shook
hands with most of the Masain tribe
members. They wished me luck and took a group picture with me with the help of
my mobile. They were attached to me and gifted me a pug dog in token of their memory.This pug dog reminded me of the pug which features on the Vodafone Ad. It was my best experience. We
had lots of fun.I explored their life and later on went on to make a film on them which received
overwhelming response and many awards.My work demands me to stay outside most
of the time. So I hardly access internet through laptops or PC's.Mobile phone
is the last resort. 7 Months later when I logged into facebook ,I received a
friend request from Huyga. She was the same girl whom I helped when she was
down with snake bite.I accepted her friend request.
"Dear
Sir,..thanks for visiting us and saving
my life. We Masains, are thankful to you. Do visit us again. Love Huyga
! :-) " She wrote on my facebook wall.
"Its
my honor dear girl. Thanks to you guys for your wonderful time. Thanks to
Vodafone net.If I had not activated the Internet pack then I wouldn't have been able to
save you..Stay healthy and blessed. See you soon," I replied to her wall
post. I later on realized that Toshio and Huyga had liked my comment. Now the lifestyle
of the Masain Tribe has changed a lot.
They use phone and internet as a communication medium to connect to the outside
world. Jonathan Dimbleby of BBC world recently interviewed them. Here is the
video.
For me , I spend the best days of my life with the Masain Tribe people.For me Internet has always been fun and the fun quotient just increased to the highest level when I infused this fun into the soul of the ignorant Masain crowd.I
tell you today that I consider myself lucky enough to have
met the Masains who have a special place in my life. They have become
modern. I do talk to them and I am in touch with them through mobile and
Internet. I once looked upon them as group of tribal folks who couldn't use phone.But they inspired me and
their insatiable thirst to learn new things didn't cease. They learnt how to
use internet on mobile from me and
luckily it clicked for them. I salute them. Signing off - Dale
Images have been taken from Google Images. Video Courtesy - YouTube.com
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fab post !!! u really let all ur creative juices flow...loved the concept and more than fun u subtly brought out the utilities of internet in life. hope u win good luck :)
ReplyDeletesarah
wonderful post likhetu
ReplyDeletegood job
Thanks
http://drivingwithpen.blogspot.in/
Awesome one.....
ReplyDeleteAll the best.. Hope you win!!!! :) :)
Good try. All the best :)
ReplyDeleteGreat Post....Best of Luck for the contest Bro :-)
ReplyDeletehey really a creative post indeed!
ReplyDeleteenjoyed ...
Thanks a lot Sarah..bt i wish i could expand this more bt word contraints
ReplyDeletethank you CJ :-)
ReplyDeletethanks disha
ReplyDeletethank u neha ji
ReplyDeletethanks a lot janak
ReplyDeletethanks a lot janak
ReplyDeletei am happy you enjoyed it jasmeet
ReplyDeleteManaged to read your wonderful and creative post only after the results were announced but better late than never!!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the prize!!!
Congrats Ste, BTW, how was the match???
ReplyDelete