Beads and bands

Every little African girl loves to add color to her hair with beads and rubber bands.

Keeping pace with the seniors

The recent Balafon Festival at Cotonou brought together many greats of African music. The young Cameroonian singer, Sanzy Viani, kept pace with the seniors.

Two hands many skills

I was introduced to African music only recently. What amazes me is how musicians perform multiple tasks with ease and perfection. The famous Manu Dibango sang, played the saxophone and the keyboard in the same soul-stirring performance.

Hair on fire

Cotonou is a big city, small city. It is big enough to attract musicians and artists traveling through West Africa to stop and perform. It is small enough for us to attend some of the performances without jostling through traffic for hours.

Reggae artist Jahcoustix was in the city recently. While his hair was on fire, he managed to set fire to the feet of the audience.

Life on a sand bank

Cotonou city is built on a sand bank between Lake Nokue on the north and the Atlantic Ocean on the south. A channel that runs through the middle of the city links the lake with the ocean. While the port is the gateway for imported goods to come into Benin, the lake provides livelihood for thousands of fishermen, and the beach has something for everyone.

Diwali in Benin

This was our first Diwali outside India. Without the bang of the festival back home, we celebrated by lighting a few diyas.

Seven star football

Dubai is a rich city with a short history. This accounts for the city's insatiable desire to build the biggest and richest structures in the world. Despite the tiring afternoon sun and the dust hanging like a mesh curtain, these young men were busy playing beach football in front of the only seven-star hotel in the world - Burj Al Arab.