Ever so rarely one gets to read the kinda book that not only knocks the wind outta ur sails( if i may use the cliche) but goes on to leave an ever lasting impression. Alex Haley’s ’’Roots’’ is one such book.
To be quite honest when my brother in law gifted it to me on my birthday last month, i didnt pounce on it and settle down with it right away( as i normally do when i come across a hitherto unread book ).
That was cos i’d heard of Roots -- winner of the Pulitzer,the American National Book Award among several others, published in over 35 languages worldwide & hailed as one of the best works of recent times.
So i expected it to be one of those ’ heavy-to-read ’ classics. Great literature no doubt. But the sorta stuff that’s best taken in doses at regular intervals, rather than all at one stretch !!
I couldnt have been further off the mark.
Right from page one,’’roots’ fascinated me. A journey through time, cultures, and continents. From 18th century Africa to 20th century USA. It is a remarkable result of one man’s tireless quest to discover his roots-his ancestry.
Born in The southern US state of Tennessee, Alex Haley grew up listening to stories about his grandfather, and his father and all the generations before them. His grandmother’s stories, always began with an African named ’Kintay’’, who had been captured by slave catchers in Africa and brought to ’Naplis’ in America. When he grew up , Haley decided he wanted to learn more. All he had was the name ’kintay’, and a handful of african words passed on from generation to generation. What followed was years of extensive research. From the National Archives to Civil War records, to African linguistic experts....and finally to Gambia in West Africa.
It was there that he learnt about the existence of ’ Griots ’’. The griots of African villages are old men, who can best be described as a kind of walking, talking, bibliograph- of every family that lived in their village. The histories of their people are kept alive by word of mouth, and passed down through the ages.   
It was one such Griot who narrated to Alex Haley the history of the ’’kinte’’ clan. Beginning centuries earlier and ending with the present generation.
Somewhere in between was ’’Kunta Kinte’’, a 17 year old who had been captured by the ’’ toubob ’’ ( white man) in the year ’’the king’s soldiers came’’ ( interpreted as 1767, the year the british forces came to Gambia).
After 12 years of painstaking research and investigation, Haley finally had enough to weave a story..the story of ’kunta kinte’’.
An innocent yet dignified 17 yr old , kunta’s life in the little village of Juffure in gambia is cruelly shattered when he is kidnapped and brought to america by white men. The journey across the oceans is undescribably torturous, yet when he sees the american coastline 4 months later, he shudders, cos he knows what awaits him there is even worse. He begins life as a plantation slave. Four failed escape attempts and decades later, kinta is resigned to his fate- one of lifelong bondage, but yet he loses none of the dignity that he possessed as a young Mandinka tribal in Africa. Along the way he gets married to a fellow slave , and becomes the proud father of a little girl kizzy ( who we learn later was Alex Haley’s great-great great -great grandmother !!!! )
’’Roots’’ begins with kunta kinte in africa , and ends with Alex haley narrating how he traced his lineage.
In a sense , Haley has merely carried on the traditions of his ancestors in Africa. With ’’Roots’’ he has taken on the role of a ’’griot’’, and has transmitted to posterity,the history of his people and their lives.

There have been numerous films and books about the lives of African slaves in America. But this is simply the most gripping and inspirational account yet.   Its a book that everyone who loves to read, and everyone who doesnt really love to....should sit down and read !!!!

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