Nairobi, April 27 -- As I said, I got to see Prof Abdulrazak Gurnah from a distance as I attended the rather gorgeous 2024 Tuzo Ya Taifa Ya Mwalimu Nyerere Ya Uandishi Bunifu. I am always seduced by a good session where Africans celebrate themselves - we just party so well.

As expected at such a cultural event, there were the three Big Ones: Food, song and dance. There were also stories and poetry, even sessions of call-and-response wherein the collective memories of Tanzanians of a certain age were stimulated to remember the sayings of yore. Anthems were sung, jokes were made, we relaxed and enjoyed ourselves.

If languages had a fragrance, Kiswahili fasaha spoken in one of the Swahili accents would rival the night-blooming jasmine for ...