AN AFRICAN INTERLUDE In 1997,when travel to Africa was seldom my husband and I were thrilled at an opportunity to visit Nairobi, Kenya.The Maasai Mara game park unfurled in our minds as topmost priority . Our Sienna Springs resort was like a huge flower grown from the earth. During the safar we saw countless deer, giraffe and zebra.We spotted a huge cheetah hiding behind a rock preparingto kill a wildebeest .The cheetah edged by the inches and raced across the vehld,gorgeous, and strong, to pounce on it.The scene choked our emotions. The ostrich looked like vain,long-necked girls in short frilled frocks.The zebra herds looked like visual patterns of music on the green grass. A lion sleeping royally proved his unquestioned jungle lordship. An English gentleman was with us on the night safari.He was sour with us for having kept him waiting for a few minutes.We sped past jungle expanses.The eyes of animals looked like city lights;owls stared down from tree tops. Suddenly, the van came to a screeching halt.There stood before us a huge figure in bright red, blended with shimmering orange.A maasai had waylaid our vehicle ! He was tall and lean.His limbs seemed made of iron and his skin looked like aged leather.His outstretched arms ran full length across our vehicle.He was drunk and so very dangerous. ‘Drive to the other side ,man,' the Englishman shouted. ‘That would only provoke his anger,' the guard replied.We had to wait till he pleased to make way.He explained that even lions fled on catching the scent of a maasai miles away. ‘What do you plan to do ?'There was no answer.The maasai went on in drunken revelry;the driver and the guard were sunk in laughter at his talk. The driver then spoke in low tone over the wireless to authorities asking for rescue.He risked being caught by the maasai . When the rescue vehicle arrived we cautiously stole into it leaving the maasai talking loudly before the deserted vehicle. After the escape, our spirits bloomed again.We saw a whole family of lions feeding on fresh kill. Little ones came snarling at our lights,their mouths and whiskers covered with fresh, red blood. The guard told us that it was always the female which hunted and killed but waited for the male to have his share first.The truth of this statement was proved by the fact that the male sat a distance away with a look of supreme satisfaction while the female and the cubs were still at their meal.Sometimes there were two lionesses in a pack but never two lions.A single lion was always in command. We drove on.The animals disturbed from sleep made us feel like intruders. THE MAASAI VILLAGE Ten dollars each to see a maasai village:that was the bargain.And our driver, Michael ought to be with us as the previous night's incident with the maasai had terwoman stood grinning at thrified us.The deal was made and we drove again on the bumpy roads to stop by a cluster of houses compounded by a low wall.A maasai woman stood grinning at the entrance with a baby on her hip.The obvious prospect of money showed on her face.Michael and she exchanged a few words in the local language and she went into the compound to bring the village chief who alone could permit our entry.The chief was available but when we saw him our hearts sank.He was the same Maasai who had waylaid our vehicle the previous night.!I felt like fleeing again but Michael assured us that he wasn't dangerous anymore.The Maasai stretched out his long, strong hand for us to shake.We were shocked by his thorough, gentlemanly manners and impeccable English.We dared not mention the previous night's incident to him and he didn't seem to remember anything either but I couldn't help feeling like we were entering a lion's den. The mudwalled houses were built in a circular line.A new house was built when the chief was to bring in a new bride . Our Maasai friend had offered the brideprice for an eighteen year old girl.It didn't matter that he was eighty four and already had six wives. We entered the first house.It had an entrance passage which was used as cow shelter in the night.This led into a room divided into three sections.The first section was a mud platform, three feet high which served as a cot for two.This was the chieftan's cot shared with his eldest wife to whom the house belonged.Diagonally opposite was a single cot which the wife used for three days when a new bride arrived and shared her husband's cot hardly a few feet away.The new wife then shifted out to a new home. The third section of the home was the kitchen.One mud pot and a cow-skin container constituted the kitchen's requirements.The container was used to collect milk which was heated with animal blood. This served as the maasai's staple diet. The visit to the village gave a human flavour to our experience. We flew back wishing to return conscious that our visit was only a peep into an exciting world.