Yesterday in Paradise
By Cyprian Fernandes
It is said, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but I loved the cover of Cyprian Fernandes’s book Yesterday in Paradise. The backdrop of the Savanah with a cheetah in the foreground and insets of wildlife pictures of Kenya and Nairobi city as it is today makes the cover very appealing.
Was the book as good as its cover? Of course, it is a page turner. Page after page, it revealed the challenging, exciting life of Cyprian as a journalist.
“Fill my butt with pain killing injections and give me a pair of crutches, and give me a letter saying I am in great pain,” Cyprian told the doctors in the Medical Emergency Room of the Munich Olympic Games after faking severe pains in his legs. He was told he has to be hospitalised.
“No, no,” Cyprian pleaded. “I am a journalist and have to cover the field and track events.”
That did the trick. Cyprian crutched his way into the Olympic arena the first journalist in the world to interview medal winners. This is the type of stuff true journalists are made of to get a story. Cyprian has proved it time and time again his unhindered probing into investigative journalism in Kenya and internationally. It is no surprise that Cyprian had a bullet with his name when it came to Kenyan politics with behind the scene revelations of murder, assassinations, killings by the Mau Mau and corruptions in the government.
There are chapters in the book that are uplifting to read. Birth of the Gold Rush – Kenya’s Olympic Heroes. Joe Zuzarte Murumbi – a rare African politician and a honest man. Fr.Hannan, paedophile – a very sad, disturbing story. And The African Goan – an insight into the Goan psyche and the gradual disappearance of the Goan in the future. This chapter will not sit well with the ageing male Goans that are unfairly referred to as dodderers but not by Cyprian.
The book is an excellent read. It is:
A page-turner.
An engaging tale.
Interesting and informative.
A Kenya of yesterday.
Truly, Yesterday in Paradise - lost!
Every Goan should list it as a must book to read.
Emiliano Joanes
Canada.
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