Book excerpt: Despite it being a foreign land filled with uncertainty, thousands of Indians migrated to East Africa in the late 1800s to early 1900s in order to find jobs or to trade. One such migrant was Mohanlal Kala Savani. Manu Savani, the youngest son of Mohanlal Kala Savani, shares the history of a hard-working and successful Indian migrant in East Africa through a series of vividly written vignettes, enhanced by a gallery of personal photographs. JAMBO, SAMJI KALA! offers readers a glimpse of the sociopolitical history of East Africa from 1918 onwards through the story of an ambitious man who landed at the port of Mombasa with a rudimentary elementary school education and empty pockets. Mohanlal Kala Savani was an aspiring young immigrant who worked with focus, resolve and a dauntless spirit to succeed in the world of business. The growth of the Indian film business in East Africa and overseas is an integral chapter in Mohanlal Kala’s story. With struggle and determination, in 1922 he imported an Indian silent movie with a hand cranked projector. That was a building block to the distribution of Bollywood films internationally. This detailed biography shares the story of a visionary who turned obstacles into opportunities and became a movie mogul, textile and cotton mega trader, industrialist, real estate developer and philanthropist.