JANTAJI, THE SUN BOSS By Baba Galleh Jallow Yapat pressed his foot on the accelerator and sent the brand new pajero dancing merrily on the sea of potholes that characterized all the roads in our little town. Any sign of slowing down drew a command from the angry Afang Tulubay. Faster Yapat! Faster! he growled. And Yapat groaned and pressed harder, and his exhaust pipe gaily purred as they danced on the never-ending sea of potholes towards the distant village of Fookunda. Afang Kangtei Tulubay could just not wait to see the dreadful Jalang Kutubu, lord of the darkness, red in tooth and claw. He just could not wait to put all those ungrateful blokes in their miserable places. He could not wait to let them know that it was not for nothing that he was called Tiger, the fire that burnt without a flame, Seydina, the sword that cut without a blade. It was not for nothing that he was called Nyawuleng, the red-eyed cock that flew without wings! Barawula, the ram that butted without horns! Jahatu, the scorpion that stung without a tail! Above all, he would let them see that it was not for nothing that he was called Jantaji, the Sun Boss, who shone everywhere and saw everything. Yes, the Sun Boss. That was how Afang Kangtei Tulubay was called by his most faithful cronies, the members of the prestigious Kangtei Tulubay Fan Club. Those were the famous Coolface Hotmouths, the Smoothcheek Roughies, the Quietlip Loudies and the Badman Goodies of our little town, not forgetting those high-class ladies, the Haja Jerejef Jefatis and Momkai Mungifis, without whose welcome presence the Kangtei Tulubay Fan Club would not have achieved such great renown. For our eminent madams were endowed with a glittering combination of wit, humour and razor-sharp oratory that tickled our common townsfolk and sent them gleefully dancing with joy. They were also experts in the rare art of singing, which, over and above all other factors, contributed to the immense business success of Huffhaff Enterprises and the ever-increasing fame of the Sun Boss himself. When these our famous ladies of the presumption, dressed in the beautiful colours of the peacock, their faces painted with the bright colours of the rainbow, sat on either side of our great Afang Kangtei Tulubay at fan club meetings, it was just such a delight to watch. In moments of intense revelry and pleasant merry-making, Afang Kangtei Tulubay would speak proudly of his ‘satellites’, by which he meant those eminent ladies and gentlemen of our little town who made up the prominent membership of the Kangtei Tulubay Fan Club. All those jealous fools who called him names and refused to call him sir were certainly not worthy of being members of his prestigious fan club. And that was why they were so bitter. But let them just wait till he puts in place his powerful Operation Cyber Smart. He would show them that he was Ratahal, the whip that struck without rising! After about two hours thirty minutes on the main road, Yapat slowed down and swerved into a bush road leading towards Fookunda. An experienced driver, Yapat knew the topography of our land inside out. He knew exactly how to get to Fookunda. Afang Kangtei grunted contentedly as he surveyed the scenery, a distant look in his eyes. Drive Yapat, drive, he ordered. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------