SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

Burton, Speke, and the Cutchi Bhatia (and Others)

Internationally acclaimed, award winning, African Asian Canadian Author  speaks about the Burton-Speke journey to Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria, and his own “modest” attempt to trace it by bus. He will also speak about the importance of story-telling, the continuing fascination these two British explorers hold on the western imagination, and why the Burton-Speke story can provide altogether different narratives.

MG Vassanji has won the prestigious Giller Prize (twice) for his novels Book of Secrets (1994) and The In-Between World of Vikram Lall (2003).  He was also awarded the regional Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa) for The Gunny Sack (1990) and the Governor General's Prize (Canada) for best work of nonfiction for “A Place Within: Rediscovering India” (2009).