Side A One sweet day – Mariah Carey When somebody you once loved dies, a part of you also dies. You won’t realize it because that love was two decades ago, brewed in the 90s to the soundtrack of old school R&B. But it was your first love. Back when your heart delicately unfurled itself … More Love is a Mixtape
Dear Kenyan sisters and brothers, At last we are family. It’s been over a century of feeling like the unwanted bastard son that was dumped on your doorstep. Drenched and shivering from the storm, you allowed us to stay, but in many ways made it clear, we were not to overstep our mark with ambitious … More Letter from Kenya’s 44th Tribe
Tonight l want to sing. Melodies of pain. Harmonies of heartache. Songs of rage. For I don’t have the words to speak, so all I can do is sing. Come, my friend. Is your mouth dry from sighing? Are you as worn as I am? Does your soul ache? Are you afraid? Let’s sit here … More A Ghazal for Kenya
I lay in bed last night asking you to visit me in my dreams. To sit with me. Stroke my hair. Peel back your eyelid with your finger like you used to and give me that sweet sweet smile that would sweep away any melancholy clinging to my heart. Did you hear me? It’s … More And full stop.
Until only a few days ago, never in my lifetime had an Indian Premier visited Kenya. So with Modi set to arrive, a whisker away from Netanyahu’s visit and barely a year after Obama’s, the hype leading up to his visit was unsurprising. A website was set up for people to register for a special … More The floodgates that Modi opened
Part 3 This is for women who refuse to make space. It probably confused you that I didn’t lower my gaze when you stared at me. Perhaps that’s because you don’t know who I am. For a long time I didn’t know either until my Kenyan sisters showed me where to look. Plucked from India, … More For women who refuse
The Lion I am five years old. My mum has gone mad. Sitting on her heels, fingers splayed out on each knee, her eyes bulge out, pupils rolling back into her head. Her mouth is wide open, so wide I am worried her skin may start to rip at the corners. Her tongue sticks out … More of downward dogs and life lessons
Dear Mr. Njoroge, We haven’t yet met, but I attended the Imperial Bank depositor’s meeting that you called for in December. I remember looking at the lined faces that filled the room and thinking that if anxiety had a physical form, you would have had to wade through a swamp of nerves to reach that … More LETTER TO CBK GOVERNOR,
To the Shareholders and Directors of Imperial Bank, Exactly one month ago on a cloudless morning, a message soundlessly snuck into our family whatsapp group. It sat there nestled underneath photos of the newest addition to our family – a floppy eared Alsatian pup with a vicious teething problem. Imperial Bank had been placed under … More Open Letter to Imperial Bank
It has been six years since I was last in Lamu and as I squeeze through the narrow alleys towards the house where I am being hosted, memories pop out at me from each corner. I had forgotten how specific Lamu town smells. The humidity in the area teases out an almost aromatic fragrance from the … More Lamu: Tortoise Coitus and Farting Yogis
chanyado 