Ikopa river seen from the bridge of Ampasika
Dry. We need rain. Everyday I pass by Ampasika’s bridge and take a look at the Ikopa’s level that is alarmingly decreasing. I took this picture in debut October in 2008 during still during the dry season – actually, we’re not sure anymore of the exact start of seasons[fr] here – and today as far as my eyes could reach the area covered by water has halved. People are going down farther to be able to wash their laundry and you could see the trace of the former river’s level onto the dike’s shore.
During this month of February which is supposed to be right in the rainy season the rain pourred only three of four times and the effects are felt in daily life like an unbearable heat and a stifling atmosphere. I had a talk with a friend last week and he said that one of his uncles in the country side is ready to sell his fields because of drought.
It’s funny, I wrote this post yesterday (but didn’t publish it) asking for rain to come and it did lol. I hope it will bring some fresh inspiration to me too 
Congratulations to the winners. Click on the poster to see who the are and to visit their blogs.
As I’m reading my posts during that Monday January, 26 I still remember the ambiance while going home. There were few buses working so I had – not only me – to make it on foot. So I saw the TVM/RNM premises burning, I came across the looters in 67ha and people fighting each other on goods stolen from shops. And the rush to gas and basic foods that followed it.
As I expected, no HAT-newspapers talked about it today. Obvious. Yesterday, though, TVM said it would have a special session on this “Black Monday” but I don’t know if they kept their words or not.
If you pass by Anosy the builinds still carry the marks left by the flames from the broken windows and doors that day. It’s just heartbreaking and till now the main responsables of those horrible things are still wandering out there.
I heard of it yesterday on the bus. People said few words about it while mainly talked about the mourning of the Archbishop Gaëtan Razafindratandra[fr] who passed away last Saturday[fr]. Compared to the (total) one we had on June 21 2001, there wasn’t much buzz. In an interview on Allafrica a responsible of the Astronomic Observatory of Ankadiefajoro said people are more focused on other things and this one isn’t total thus doesn’t attract much attention.
Partial eclipse in Madagascar - January 15, 2010 by @irindra
This is a photo taken by @irindra who said he got help from friends and then sent on twitpic. This is my second eclipse and even if I was still young in 2001 I can say that they way we lived this 2010 one was quieter though the same uncertainty upon ”should we put on special glasses to watch it” was still on people’s mind. A famous entertainer even said on radio he burnt a plate with a candle and used it. For my case, my friends and I just took a photographic film, you know the one we use at hospitals for radiography. And it worked fine. If you didn’t look up in the sky today you wouldn’t have noticed this eclipse. This is to say it did have visible effects on the light and stuff. It looked like any normal day.
I’m probably getting old. In a sketch by a well know french humorist, Gad Elmaleh, he said that the symptom of “getting old” is when you listen to old songs and say “That is real music.” I agree. I like oldies songs and especially Malagasy ones. I remember the time when we had only one TV station, the TVM, that broadcasted music videos. I found it so boring at the time. They looped the same songs. It was only a couple of decades later that I started to (really) appreciate them. They have become like wine, time got them better. I’ve tried to look for some on video sharing websites and here is what I found. Enjoy 
Mireille – Izy irery
This song must be familiar to your ears. Isn’t it? I can’t date when this song was released, whether it’s among the tens of Without You’s covers or not. When I asked people they couldn’t either say something sure. Her name is Mireille and was among the Malagasy Stars back in her time. Now, as far as I know, she’s singing christian songs. BTW, sorry for the bad quality of the video.
Feon’ala – akory aby andreo
Produced and founded by Charles Maurin Pôty, the band knew a huge fame in the 80s but has found a way to stay in the spot light over the years till today. Their last official album was Betina (with a hit of the same title) in 2000 (I’m not sure of this year). Two partcipants of the last reallity show “Pazzapa” were said to release another album[fr] last year but I don’t know if they did.
Ejema – Djarina Banou
A sweet ballad from their album Makoa Mena.
Sakelidalana – Voahangy
They mainly use traditional instruments plus guitars in their songs. The kind of music they play is called “bà gasy” which means “Malagasy rythm” but is mostly found in the capital city. The song is old but the video is not.
Jean Rigo – Namana
Kaiamba[fr], a rythm that was born towards the 70s from the costal regions of Madagascar. It started to come back early in 2001-2 and has known frank success till now.
Jeneraly – Ilay vehivaviko
A Malagasy rock band that knew its piece of glory. Their songs are still often performed during cabarets or in karaokes. The real title of this song is “Na dia izany aza” but most of us know it as “Ilay vehivaviko”.
Music in general plays an important role in people’s identity and culture. Oldies are part of cultural legacy, they are traces left by artists who marked their times with their arts. In 20 or 30 years, I hope these songs won’t be forgotten and the future generation will still enjoy listening to them.
