‘Revisiting Home Memory in M. G. Vassanji's And Home Was Kariakoo: A Memoir of East Africa’

Abstract

M.G. Vassanji’s tale blends personal memories with the political and social history of the region, particularly focusing on the Indian diaspora, colonial legacies and the struggles for postcolonial identity. Vassanji’s And Home Was Kariakoo: A Memoir of East Africa’ (2014) deals with exploration of memory and belonging as he visits to his hometown Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. This paper examines the theme of recalling home memory in M.G. Vassanji’s And Home Was Kariakoo: A Memoir of East Africa’ (2014). It is a work in which the historical and cultural fabric of East Africa is woven with personal his memories. This paper is an attempt to examine how the author has shown that memory shapes identity within the flux of migration and postcolonial transformation. Vassanji, a Canadian author of Indian descent born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania, returns to his childhood landscapes Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, and beyond to explore how memory The memoir reflects on the notion of ‘home’ as both a physical place and an emotional construct, revealing the interplay between nostalgia, displacement, and belonging. Through this lens, the text brightens the broader East African experience, offering insights into the continuing resonance of personal and collective pasts.

His memoir is based on the theme of ‘home’ which is a fluid and multifaceted concept for Vassanji. For the author, Kariakoo, the busy neighborhood of Dar es Salaam, becomes a metaphor for the complex interplay between belonging and exile. Vassanji reflects on the emotional pull of his birthplace his sense of alienation as a member of the Indian diaspora and the shifting dynamics of identity over time. The research work is imbued with a deep sense of nostalgia, but it also struggles with the inevitable changes brought by time and history.