The electricity flickers on a normal night by Avenue de Commerce as I struggled to manage my homework underneath a candle, one of the few that were at home.
Bijli kabh wapas anne wali hai?
When is the electricity coming back?
I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily, feeling the humidity of Kinshasa in forty degrees celsius.
Où est-ce que je suis?
Where am I?
I remembered that in my text books, other countries had electricity on twenty-four seven and such heat didn’t exist. I sharpened my pencil to answer another history question, something that I loved doing.
It’s the year 2000 in Kinshasa and my family are like the other Indian entrepreneurs in Commerce, focusing on import and sales of electronics. There is a technology boom on the horizon and my parents were on their cell phones as one of the few that had the electronic gadget. But there is one thing we could not forget about Commerce was the electrical malfunctions that happen due to the overheating of the electricity cabinet.
Bijli aaj raat nahin anne wali hai.
The electricity won’t be back tonight.
To ab kya kare?
Kya karenge aaj raat?
So, now what? What will we do tonight?
This must have been the fourth night with no electricity and I had become accustomed to praying for electricity to come back as if God could flick a wand and the lights and A/C work.
Mon Dieu, si tu es là, peux-tu allumer l'électricité ? Please help.
Mal Matadi se kal anne wala hai. Pura din hum honge depot mein. Sonu, niche aa. Kuch khana hai? Sandwich wandwich? Aladdin se?
The deal was good from my dad. A shawarma from Aladdin was the answer that God gave in return for my prayers. I quickly ran back into my room to do some more prayers. Maybe a Coca Cola which my mom didn’t allow?
The flame of my candle flickered and as the wax melted, I stared into the subtle light and took it closer to my textbook.
God, why would America have a South and North war? Do they not look like each other?
My thoughts wandered and I lost focus as I stared into the candle. My finger began to play with the flame out of restlessness.
Light,
No light,
Light,
No light.
Light
Light
Sonu
Someone opened the door to my room and in this dark, I felt that I was on a movie set.
Qu'est-ce que tu fais?
Homework
C’est le vendredi?
I’m bored Mom
Avec une bougie ? Tu joues avec une bougie ? Peux-tu descendre?
As she left and closed the door behind her, I ran with the candle in front of my vintage vanity mirror and brought it close to my face.
Woah, spooky.
Boo, the neighborhood lost their electricity too. It got even darker.
I moved the candle in slow motion in front of the mirror, admiring the flickering light and the shadow of my face.
Sonu, niche aa. Shawarma aagaya hai.
I took my candle and walked with it downstairs.
We lived in a colonial apartment from 1968 with an upstairs and downstairs floor along with a garden. In the robust city of Kinshasa, the house was hidden with three others in the backside of commerce, alien to the world of loud music and screaming speakers.
At night, there was a silence that no one could comprehend. It was dark and quiet where no one would wander.
Mom, why don’t we get a generator??
Sonu, c'est comme si l'argent tombait du ciel
Mom, there’s no electricity since one week.
Hoon su karoon. Taro baap ne puch?
Oh Gujarati, munne badhu avre che…
Tang mat kar abh.
Everyone has a generator; the electricity just comes back like magic.
Ok, Sonu. Do you know how expensive a generator is? One is about $10,000. Just so you can watch your MTV, you want a generator.
I’m doing homework in the dark.
To kya? Hum sab homework karte te mere time mein. Room bhi nahin tha aur desk bhi nahin. Sonu, tu marne wali hai tere candle ke saat?
No, I’m not going to die but we have no electricity since a week and I feel that I can’t get any homework done properly.
In the past, people used to write such great books under a candle Sonu. Geniuses were born with candles on their side. There was no A/C and bijlee in those times. Try to get inspiration Sonu. You are living in Africa like Papa. Not in Canada. You have seen Africa. At your age, Papa was not even imagining that he would see Congo.
Why are we even in Africa and not in India?
Sonu, it is destiny. Why you don’t like Papa so you don’t want to live with Papa?
I never said that Papa.
So what’s this? Now, you get a special candlelight dinner in Africa. When you grow up, you will remember our candle light dinners with Papa and Mummy. That too you had Arabic food, not desi. The world is different Sonu. You will learn then you will tell all your friends, “Yes, I had shawarma with my Papa in Congo.”