It
is sometimes heard said that nothing really exciting ever happened in Zanzibar
in the 50’s and 60’s. In fact, it was
often said that one had to create one’s own excitement in order to make life interesting
and worthwhile.
This
is patently wrong. I distinctly remember
a number of occasions that I found to be quite interesting and exciting. The first occasion was when a film crew came
from the U.K. to film, on location the movie entitled, “West of Zanzibar.” What excitement there was on Portuguese
Street just opposite the hardware stores.
Crowds attract crowds, and before you knew it there were a few hundred
people trying to figure out what was going on.
The large cameras were mounted on heavy duty tripods and the cameraman
was filming the crowds that had gathered there.
Suddenly, and very dramatically, a tall, handsome Englishman came
rushing out from one of the hardware stores, paused briefly outside, pointed in
the direction to the South and then continued to rush towards the camera. The Director cried “Cut!” Before you knew it, the tall Englishman who
happened to be the actor Anthony Steele, returned to the store, and repeated
the same motions while the crowd applauded when he did it the second time
around. “That is a take!” shouted the
director and before you knew it, the entire crew disappeared.
Anthony
Steele was a tall, well built individual with deep blue eyes and was obviously
chosen for the role because he was a muscular individual. In the movie, he had
to be, for he was expected to fight off smugglers who sometimes attacked him in
droves and even after a fight there wasn’t a scar to be seen anywhere on his
face. His co-star was Sheila Sim, the
wife of Richard Attenborough who directed the movie “Gandhi” years later. Richard Attenborough was an actor in his own
right. Our encounter with Sheila Sim was
when she came to the telegraph office to send off birthday greetings to her
husband in the U.K. When word got to
the staff, everybody was out there trying to get a glimpse at the actress. Sheila was not extraordinarily built, but she
was a pleasant looking individual.
However, when she appeared in the movie itself, she looked
stunning. Apparently, the make-up
artists were able to do her up so exquisitely that she appeared to be like a
beauty from Vogue Magazine.....perhaps even prettier than some models that
appeared in there.
Ava
Gardener, another sexy and stunning actress from the States came to Tanzania to
film the movie “Snows of Kilimanjaro.”
In the movies she appeared like a goddess of beauty, but in actual life,
without makeup, she was not the same person.
In fact she was a bit of a disappointment to those of us in our teenage
years who sometimes fantasized about these actresses.
Another
actress who accompanied her husband to Zanzibar was His Highness Prince Ali
Khan. She was the American heart-throb Rita Hayworth. I recall seeing her at a party thrown for the
couple by the Ismaili community in Zanzibar.
While everybody who was invited to the party came in their finest suits
and the ladies in their delightful flowing gowns, Rita Hayworth appeared at the
party in a simple while dress with a while ribbon tied to her long hair. She had to be one of the most beautiful women
that I have seen. I saw her at very
close quarters but if she had put on makeup, it was so skilfully done so that
nobody would have noticed it. She had a
very attractive smile and she stole the show that night. She also had a figure that most women would
have wished was theirs.
The
third event was the Royal visit of Princess Margaret. She arrived on the State Ship, the
Britannia. There was much excitement in
Zanzibar over this Royal visit. My
remembrance of Princess Margaret was that she had a set of very beautiful green
eyes. She was also a shapely woman who
carried herself like a real princess.
For
the sports world, the visit of Sir Stanley Mathews who was one of the most
celebrated football players in the world at the time, was a real treat to
watch. He played for a local team in an
arranged friendly match, and his wizardry with the football was a joy to watch.
His control of the football and accuracy in passing it to his team players
entertained the crowds at Zanzibar’s then newly built football stadium.
Another
highlight was the visit of the all-India hockey team. They were considered the best field hockey
team in the world. When they played the
Zanzibar team, their stick work and strategy was so polished that they won the
game handily by a staggering number of goals. Their skills at the game were so
overwhelming that the local team discovered that they had so much to learn
about the game.
Zanzibar
had its turn in hosting the Gossage Cup Football competition. This was a hard
fought competition between teams from Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
There was always a scramble for tickets and those who either could not afford
the tickets or were not able to buy one were stuck to their radios (TV was a
thing of the future). Most football
enthusiasts gathered around radios to listen to the enthusiastic radio
commentator from Dar-es-salaam give a continuous commentary of the game and to
provide excitement to all the Zanzibar fans.
In
the music world Ravi Shankar the Sitar mogul from India would play to the
crowds in his inimitable way and provide sounds that were not familiar to the
music world in Zanzibar. What a
privilege it was to have a musician of his stature to entertain the mostly
Indian crowds. Years later after the
Beatles were given a crash course on the sitar by Mr. Shankar, his reputation
became worldwide.
Finally,
the sports visits to and from Dares salaam and Tanga provided us with the
excitement of children waiting for Santa Claus at Christmas. The Journey to and from Dares salaam by the
Al Said and sometimes Al Hatera, and the journey to Tanga by a motorized
Schooner, provided us with such camaraderie that it would make a special impact
on our friendships for life.
There
were many other incidents that provided us with much joy and I am sure
Zanzibaris will always remember these with nostalgia.
COMMENTS.
COMMENTS.
From Barghash Al-Said:
"I hope you guys remember the Zanzibar child actor in
the movie "West of Zanzibar". His name was Juma Udongo. I
remember movies being advertised on boards kept in different places and
especially the wording: Come and see Zanzibar's own film star.
