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    Congo: A Journey
    Congo: A Journey
    Congo: A Journey
    Ebook181 pages4 hours

    Congo: A Journey

    By Astha Singh

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    About this ebook

    "Set in the turbulent backdrop of Kinshasa, ‘Congo – A Journey’ is a story of Ramesh’s tumultuous ascent to Manikchand Seth, big boss. Ramesh, a young man from Gujarat could never adjust to a life of squalor and anonymity. As Democratic Republic of Congo struggles with political strife, coup d’états and economic crisis, Ramesh is consumed by the destructive desire to become rich. He closely watches the charmed world of sparkling champagne, glittering diamonds and exotic women.
    ‘He lazily appraises the vast expanse of the Congo River and aspires to be the king of the river port. “I will show those monied bastards” “One day I will be rich... I don’t know how, but I will be rich!”
    March 2006. Kinshasa is burning. The city witnesses the most horrible attempted coup d’états by Vice President Jean Pierre Bemba. As it rains bullets and the city succumbs, the coup paves way for Ramesh's meteoric rise to Seth Manikchand.
    It is a compelling, funny and poignant debut by the author, set in Kinshasa, a rich, teeming, squalid city by the River Congo, fraught with staggering contradictions, thriving on monstrous disparities. The story is a vivid portrayal of lust, revenge, voodoo and prison agonies in Ramesh's life in Congo. His story is overpowering, exhausting, violent and chaotic.
    The author follows lives of expat wives, prostitutes, businessmen, Juju (voodoo) men and warlords. From the society wife who finds solace in her Chanel pearls to a poor migrant’s feisty wife who runs a beauty parlor to the rich Indian Belgian who sneaks two bidis with his café noir and croissants. Ramesh's wife embraces a new religion to seek solace...
    And ...one man searches for himself in the city...
    "

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZorba Books
    Release dateSep 1, 2015
    ISBN9789385020254
    Congo: A Journey
    Author

    Astha Singh

    A graduate in English Literature from the prestigious Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi University. Singh worked as a journalist with The Pioneer before moving to Cameroon. She wrote various Africa based columns in The Pioneer from Cameroun. She has taught English Literature in different International Schools in Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast and Ghana. Singh has lived in many cities of West Africa including Yaounde, Baffusam, Nkongsamba, Doula in Cameroun. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Abidjan, Ivory Coast . She currently lives in Accra, Ghana with her husband and two children.

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      Book preview

      Congo - Astha Singh

      Manikchand Seth… Range Rover and Single Malt

      Manikchand Seth was the new millionaire on the block, and he was living it up. People called him "patron de patron, boss de boss, vrais patron, and boni patron".

      ‘I love being the patron. The Boss!’ He smiled that smile of glee, cunning and satisfaction, exposing his gutkha stained teeth. He had never been happier. Now was his moment. He was loving it, and living it. He felt like an old Russian airplane that has made a successful landing, woosh… on the legendary Kinshasa tarmac. The long, tedious and even dangerous flight, forgotten under the thunderous claps and cries of ‘Dans mon pays! Dans mon Pays!’ The unadulterated joy of making it despite all odds.

      ‘Ha! Ha! Ha! Who is having the last laugh? Now, I will show those bastards, the old money bastards what it means to have paisa? Arreey saala! Look how they open their shiny gold-knobbed doors, and lay out their best china for me. Now, they all come to me for personal favours,’ he thought to himself – he was

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