In 2004, my travel plans to Malaysia were thwarted by divine intervention and diverted as if by stroke of luck to South Africa. South Africa! Meryl Streep almost spoke to me in my dreams from “Out of Africa” and pronto here I was…first impressions somewhat stumped and staggered me seeing the wide unsoiled roads of Johannesburg, almost infinite expanse of greenery and rolling hills, Mediterranean style low-rise town houses and a riot of colors in the jacarandas crowding the lanes or leafy canopies lining the streets and the curious cheerful faces.

This certainly is far removed from the emaciated faces and the stark environs associated with Africa, a treat for the tired eyes that is so used to a ocean of humanity and a riverbed of houses almost sharing common walls so much so, that everything from culinary smell to prospective boyfriends is a common subject with neighbours.

Now that I call South Africa my adopted home, my romance with the country is insatiable. Johannesburg never fails to surprise a curious passerby, be it in its European flavor, its vast reservoir of restaurants satisfying even the most discerning gourmand, curious medley of shopping extravaganza, legal and uninterrupted gambling, African flee markets and exotic spread of wares, the much sought after wine, beer and whiskey festivals where the connoisseurs are treated to a near heavenly intoxicating treat to last a lifetime and of course repertoire of world cinema at temples of art aptly named Cinema Nouveau to delight the senses of permanent fixtures such as myself.

Feast your eyes and tactile senses at the Lion’s Park (you can actually enjoy secluded company with a playful lion cub, should courage not be a disputed topic), the innumerable wild life reserves, the Cradle of Humankind, while the azure skies, verdant locales, smell of open air Braai( South African equivalent of BBQ), the cheerful pubs doting the street corners, vibrant and animated nightlife will leave you with a relishing sigh.

While most visitors go starry eyed with the mention of Sun City and the sumptuous stately opulence of the hotel that once staged the world beauty pageant and immortalised our home bred Aishwarya Rai, I would suggest a weekend at Mpumalanga, a name that literally means “the place where the sun rises” in the local dialect, only a few hours away from Johannesburg.

The largest game reserve in South Africa, Kruger National Park, rated as an ultimate safari experience is a nature lover’s dictionary of delight with its baobabs, fever trees, marola and mopane trees underneath which lurk the Big Five, Africa’s home for lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino, the legends of the wilderness.

Sitting on an open top 4X4, the game rangers offer customised experiences to tourists with their exhaustive knowledge of the wilds and you may just learn that zebras are found in a “dazzle”, rhinos form a “crash”, giraffe a “journey” and quite ironically you will find a “parliament of baboons” assembled in the veld.

Offering a view of paradise in Gods window and the maze of caverns and limestone formations in Sudwala Caves, The Owen Hall is a natural amphitheatre where live performances can surpass human imagination.

Think of a land where whales frolic in the turquoise waters, adrenalin junkies launch themselves from the some of the world’s highest commercial bungee points, and two mighty oceans embrace each other tumultuously at Cape Agulhus, where wrecked ships have a tale to tell, where fashion struts the catwalks and the majestic Table mountain casts its protective spell over a rainbow nation that bore the world’s greatest liberation icon.

This is where some of the world’s finest wines are brewed in the innumerable vineyards dotting the luxurious landscape. Life cannot be more abundantly blissful than when you are soaking in the sights and sounds of Cape Town and Western Cape, satiating your senses and rediscovering the etymology of the word bliss in the multicultural favours and hues of the gorgeous Cape.

Here is a curious land where pepper sprays and unscrupulous crime live unflustered with the sweltering beauty and this menacing contrast makes the appeal unparalleled.

Locally the album won the Sama for the best traditional a cappella album in 2008.

Two groups, the 1860/2010 150 Year Commemoration Committee and the 1860 Foundation have already started preparations for the occasion, independently.

But leaders of various Hindu, Christian and Muslim organisations here want the programme to be organised under one umbrella, so, in order to overcome the divisions, they have convened a meeting of Indian-origin people tomorrow in Durban, to co-ordination the celebrations.

Stating that he would like to see a united front celebrate the occasion, Anglican Bishop Reuben Philip, a senior official of the KwaZulu-Natal Religious Forum, told PTI that he had been invited by organisations to be part of their groupings.

Bishop Philip, whose forefathers came from the former Madras Presidency, said: “We need to celebrate the sacrifices and progress made by our forefathers in a land that was foreign to them.

“Therefore, it’s important that all of us should get together and bring about unity. We should not be divided,” he said.

The president of the South African Tamil Federation, Micky Chetty, said they wanted all people to come together to celebrate the event.

“Our forefathers came to South Africa as semi slaves but despite this we have made great strides in all areas of life,” Chetty said, adding, we are spread all over the country and we want all people to be involved.

So arresting is the sight of tall sunflowers growing amid the rust-coloured shacks and dirt paths of Kibera that Matioli and his fellow growers have had to put up a “No photographing” sign to allow them to work in peace. Their reputations - the farmers are all reformed criminals - mean the warning is seldom ignored.

The unlikely story of Kibera’s first “organic” farm — its only farm of any scale — has its roots in the chaos that gripped Kenya at the start of last year. For weeks the sprawling, densely packed slum, home to up to a million people, was gripped by ethnic clashes and street battles between riot police and protesters demonstrating over flawed presidential elections.

“The majority come here to be treated for drug addiction, some also for schizophrenia,” says John Philip, a psychiatric nurse at the facility in Paynesville, on the outskirts of the capital Monrovia.

“During the war, the rebels who abducted them and forced them to fight fed them with alcohol and drugs — mainly crack cocaine, and they could never stop,” he said.

Liberia’s 1989-2003 conflict left a population bearing both physical and emotional scars of the ruinous war — and decimated the infrastructure that could help them. Almost six years later, the health system is still limping along.

Revolting to say, that on one hand, while coffin making has become a thriving business in Malawi, on the other, the Agricultural Subsidy program has brought a new lease of life to the new generation farmers, blessed with the Malawi government initiative of distributing subsidised fertilizers and improved seeds in tandem with training and certifying agro dealers to set up shop in remote areas. Grace `a such efforts, small scale farmers have enough not just to feed their families but also to buy some luxury amenities.

“I received a 50kg bag of subsidised fertiliser and 10kg of seed. I planted the seed and after applying fertiliser using the technological skills from agricultural extension workers, I was surprised at the yield I harvested,” says Matupa, a farmer. He harvested enough to feed his family and had extra maize, which he sold to buy a television set, two bicycles and a three-CD player. He was also able to open a grocery store.

This is significant considering Malawi experienced serious ravages of drought in 2002 and during the last growing season a 50kg bag of fertilizer that used to sell for $25 now sells at $6. This is remarkable in a country where an estimated 60% population lives on less than $1 a day.

This may also be attributed to the His Excellency Dr Bingu wa Mutharika, an economist, politician and current President of Malawi’s astute economic policies with the able and shrewd assistance of Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe.

This is also particularly pertinent in terms of Zimbabwe’s rapid collapse and most African countries grappling with acute food crises.

Denis Mukwege, 53, who runs a clinic in Bukavu, has said all sides have “declared women their common enemy”.

He says his award from the Nigerian Daily Trust paper of $20,000 (£13,700) will be used to fund a centre to help rape victims rejoin society.

His clinic receives an average of 10 new patients every day.

Women in DR Congo are often raped and subjected to terrible violence by armed men as part of the decade-old conflict.

The garments come in many different shapes and colours, and play little tunes - or other extraneous noises like telephone ringtones - all made by small electronic devices hidden in the lining.

As I was reading “Dinner with Mugabe,” a book by Heidi Holland, rated as one of the “most intimate portrait yet produced of Zimbabwe’s clever but brutal leader”, Heidi Holland “gets under the skin of a troubled man who turned from nationalist hero to international pariah, all but destroying his country in the process”.

The once “bread basket of Africa,” rendered cripple by complete economic collapse, cholera outbreak, fueled by collapse of health, sanitation and water services, single handedly by a man, who at the throes of a worst humanitarian crises calls US Bush administration initiated power - sharing deal proposition as the “last kicks of a dying horse”.

Inconceivable as it may seem to be, the rants of “only God will remove me” from ruling Zimbabwe, were once of a feeble, shy and pious child brought up by a doting Catholic mother, abandoned by his father, having “no friends”, constantly craving acceptance by peers. This rather complicated desire to be accepted, coupled by a deep sense of insecurity of a not-so-ideal childhood, led to a contradictory relationship with the West.

On one hand his immaculate English suits, impeccable control of the English language and scholarly pursuits have not prevented his resentment against the British and most European countries as deliberate attempts to humiliate him, thus justifying the war veterans to seize the land of the white farmers.

A withdrawn nature, an innate desire to be accepted by peers, and a pious mother’s belief that little Mugabe was chosen by God to lead his people, led to a convoluted mental make up of a dictator who relishes the lavish parties as the stomach-churning stench of death has become a reality for his countrymen.

Talking about the ways of the mind, and how it may be controlled, a common pattern runs through the minds of these monstrous dictators, be it Hitler or Mugabe, or religious fundamentalist groups. Most of them have rare skills as orators to be able to arouse in their supporters emotions of anger and hate to commit acts of violence.

The first target is inevitably young, lonely, impressionable kids, since at that age they are less likely to question the validity of their leader’s claims of authority. Hence propaganda programs(replete with standing ovation, hero worship, loud deafening music), channelized and selective information, frequent participation in rallies form tools as part of a larger political, military or religious scheme to gain control.

It was said when Hitler took the stage, he would first start haltingly, then would start to rock from side to side and begin to gesticulate with his hands. His voice would get louder and become more passionate. Sweat poured of him, his face turned white, his eyes bulged and his voice cracked with emotion. He ranted and raved about the injustices done to Germany and played on his audience’s emotions of hatred and envy. By the end of the speech the audience would be in a state of near hysteria and were willing to do whatever Hitler suggested.

Today, war-torn Darfur has 6000 child soldiers linked to rebel factions, government backed militia or fighting alongside the Sudanese army. The organization Save the Children estimates that 200,000 children are at work in diamond, gold, copper, silver and cobalt mines across Africa’s Sahel region, which includes Senegal, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Democratic Republic of Congo has about 40,000 child miners. Be it the gruesome Rwandan massacre, or the depraved demonic world of radical Lashkar-e-Toiba, responsible for the repugnant Mumbai massacre, the impressionable youth has been a pawn in the hands of malicious malevolence of few power hungry men, who have skillfully persuaded the human mind into inexplicable acts of sadistic carnage.

Imagine there’s no countries, it isn’t hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too. Imagine all the people, living life in peace...

And now imagine a world where nearly 700,000 children, had been born and grown up knowing nothing but war…