This memoir documents Ladha's life as a third-generation Indian immigrant in Tanzania. His grandfather and other Indians made dangerous trips across the Indian ocean on dhows to make their fortune in East Africa.

Historical note: most of East Africa was largely colonised by the British and Germans. Following, the Treaty of Versailles Germany had to give up Tanganyika to Britain as part of the repercussions of instigating WWI. Tanganyika became Tanzania in the 1960s when it was joined with the islands of Zanzibar.

Ladha weaves his life into the socio-political circumstances and how he and his family migrated to other parts of the world following Nyerere's move to nationalise private businesses. From my vague recollection of Tanzanian history, I was not aware that the Late Nyerere was an ardent follower of Maoist teachings and was leading not only an economic but also a cultural revolution.

It was interesting to read about an Indian-African's experiences when the EA region was experiencing the nationalist movement in the 1960s and 1970s. I am glad that he shares how he was appreciated and maintained relationships with "indigenous" Africans especially in his university years- at a time where racial segregation was quite evident. His story brought to life my high school history knowledge which was mostly rote learning of dates, places and events. Though, ethnicity is still a rife topic in EA as it has taken many years for Asians/Indians to be recognised as a legitimate tribe in Kenya.

Nonetheless, I found the descriptive blurbs to be a bit misleading- because I originally thought Ladha was originally migrated to the West. That said I was appreciated that he talked about the Amin dictatorship and his short stint at Nation Media Group in Nairobi.

What I liked most about this book was the vivid description of EA at in the 60s and 70s. I liked that the author mentioned the three countries, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and described what life was like by then. I was interested in the social groups and how different races were ranked back then and how this impacted on their lives. It was heartbreaking to read about how Asians lost a lot during the period due to the political unrests. However, at some point, the representations of the black Africans seemed skewed but then again, I can’t complain about this because the book is written from a specific POV and the author is trying to explain how things were as he saw and understood them.

My favorite part of the book was the section about the students’ protests. I really enjoyed this part. I liked the description of the students’ unrests and the meetings with the president. The fact that the author was part of the protests at the frontline made this quite an intense read. I like how he explained the expectations that the students had and how they felt about the leaders before and after the protests. This stood out for me because even in Kenya, that is how the students unions were in those days. The students believed that they could make change and weren’t afraid to pursue their goals though most of them paid dearly for their bravery. Interestingly, he spoke about compulsory National Youth Service. I didn’t know that Tanzania was a leader back then but true to his word, the same service was later introduced in Kenya though I don’t know whether students protested against it. Luckily, it was later abolished. This part of the book is what will stay with me.

I was really curious about this book because it is about a part of East Africa’s history that I don’t know much about. I was hoping to learn more about the author’s experiences during the period. However, the book lost me a couple of times due to the way it is written. I understand that it’s a memoir hence it doesn’t have to follow a given style but I struggled with this. Nevertheless, I would recommend this memoir to readers interested in this part of history.