Memories of dictionary man who touched many

Words are power, and Mwalimu Ndalu never missed a chance to share that power with us. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • One characteristic of ideal teachers is the relentless determination to improve themselves in every way, and Ndalu is a shining example in this respect.
  • He believed, it appears, that the best way to convey knowledge is to present it in well-organised and programmed formats, like dictionaries.

“Touché!” is French for “touched, moved, affected”.

We mostly use it as an exclamation when we are impressed or moved. I have been deeply moved, even to the point of shedding tears, during the past week.

I cry easily, in either sorrow or joy, and so did my father. Apparently, the men of my family do not believe in that myth of men not crying.

So it was that I was crying this week alternately in joy and gratefulness and in the sorrow of bereavement.

The joy was from your overwhelming response to my call to you to “touch” me with a word from you.

Your reaching back to me, the feedback, in the form of letters, comments and even poems, has not only been an avalanche but much of it has left me, literally, in tears of emotion and appreciation. I knew you loved me but I did not realise how much, until now.

But I am not complacent, and I just cannot have enough of such a good thing. So, please, keep loving me and I will keep trying and writing more, and better, for you.

As I hinted to my editors, I am hoping that we may have a face-to-face celebration one of these days.

MOURNING GIANTS

As I said earlier, however, I have also had moments of sorrow and grief. My mind has been dwelling particularly on two dear departed sisters of our linguistic and literary family.

Friday last week, Wanjiku Matenjwa, whom Prof Ngugi wa Thiong’o once jocularly referred to in 1977 as my girl (meaning me), passed away in Nairobi.

Just about 10 days earlier, Lillian Katunge Kaviti, a prominent linguist at UoN, had also quietly departed this life. I will tell you more about these sisters, and especially Wanjiku Matenjwa’s story and how it was strangely interwoven with mine, in a separate article.

Today, I would like to share with you the amazing story of a teacher and scholar who loved dictionaries so much that he actually authored or co-authored at least six of them.

I think I have told you somewhere that I, too, love dictionaries and I read them avidly, in several languages. I have even co-authored one, which is not a bad record.

Ahmed E. Ndalu was a distinguished Kiswahili teacher and scholar, who passed away over two years ago, on February 19, 2018.

CATALOGUE

I am sure most of us who studied oral literature and fasihi simulizi at school, college or university will remember several of Ndalu’s books.

Titles like the seminal "Kamusi ya Methali za Kiswahili" (A Dictionary of Kiswahili Proverbs) and "Kamusi ya Semi za Kiswahili" (A Dictionary of Kiswahili Sayings), which he co-authored with my former KU colleague and teacher, Prof Kitula King’ei, will surely ring a bell in many readers’ minds.

Dictionary man that he was, Ndalu also had to his name "Kamusi ya Vitendawili na Mafumbo" (A Dictionary of Riddles and Puzzles), "Kamusi Yangu ya Kwanza" (My First Dictionary) and "Kamusi Angaza ya Kiswahili" (Kiswahili Enlightening Dictionary), the last two aimed specifically at young readers.

His last major published work, too, was a dictionary, "Kamusi Teule ya Kiswahili", which he co-authored with my friend Suleiman Mirikau and my KU colleague, Dr Hamisi Babusa.

Indeed, it was my recent encounter with this comprehensive Kiswahili dictionary that brought back memories of Mwalimu Ndalu.

I am both proud and ashamed to confess that Ndalu had asked me, several years ago, to work with him on a Kiswahili dictionary he was compiling.

That was at the time he was helping us at the Uganda National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) to formulate the country’s Kiswahili syllabi and other teaching materials.

GREAT CONTRIBUTION

I accepted Ndalu’s invitation readily, and we actually exchanged several pieces of draft materials.

But in my characteristic lack of concentration and performative energy, I failed to follow up on the work and Mwalimu quietly gave up on my contribution.

So I missed a golden opportunity to publish with some of the true stalwarts (vigogo) of Kiswahili.

Ndalu’s achievements, however, resurfaced in my mind with a particular significance following the loss of Ken Walibora and our subsequent discussions of his life and work.

You may, for example, recall my dialogue with Prof Evan Mwangi, in which I strongly applauded the contribution of so-called “upcountry” writers and scholars to Kiswahili studies.

I particularly connected Ndalu to Walibora because I thought that he, too, was a Kitale man. I only found out later that he was actually a Kakamega native.

But Ndalu worked over wide swathes of Kenya, including Nairobi, Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia. He taught at such prestigious institutions as Dagoretti High, St Joseph’s Kitale, Moi Girls Eldoret and, eventually, a couple of universities.

Admirably, too, Mwalimu Ndalu studied for his undergraduate and two master’s degrees, as well as his doctorate, amidst his teaching and writing activities.

FOCUSED INDIVIDUAL

This may remind my teaching colleagues of what I keep telling them about the ideal teacher. One characteristic of such teachers is the relentless determination to improve themselves in every way, and Marehemu Ndalu is a shining example in this respect.

One of Ndalu’s publishers described him as versatile, very hardworking and broad-minded. I would add, from my brief experience of working with him, that he was a meticulously well-organised person.

That, too, is a hallmark of a good scholar and teacher, and Ndalu’s predilection for the “dictionary” genre is a reflection of this.

He believed, it appears, that the best way to convey knowledge is to present it in well-organised and programmed formats, like dictionaries.

Apparently, he also shared my impression that the biggest problem of most language users is the lack of an adequate vocabulary.

Words are power, and Mwalimu Ndalu never missed a chance to share that power with us. Incidentally, he authored some 80 other books, apart from dictionaries.

For those who are ending the Ramadhan fast, Eid Mubarak!

Prof Bukenya is a leading East African scholar of English and literature; [email protected]