Art and music are both intrinsically interwoven into our everyday lives. This is true and can be seen through the Polish Ambassador to Kenya, MS ANNA GRUPINSKA who is an avid art fan and also loves Classical music. CAROL KIIRU enjoyed an afternoon chat with her

A drive down the leafy quiet suburbs of Muthaiga and the feeling of being at peace with nature is suddenly thrust at me. I almost feel like I should walk on tiptoe due to the tranquility which pervades the atmosphere. I finally get to my destination at the Polish Ambassador’s residence and as soon as I drive in I am taken aback by the beautiful and well manicured lawns.

I am led into the house and welcomed warmly by the Ambassador. Grupinska is a bubbly lady with so much life and grandeur and this I notice as soon as she greets me. She is an enchanting host. She leads me to sit on artistic seats made from quietly-coloured fabric.

As soon as I settle in the soft cushions, I take in the house and one thing that stands out is the works of art present everywhere in the living area: abstract paintings, African art, table tops, marbles that decorate the coffee tables and the colour used in her house all complement each other. Which leads me to ask, what interests you in art?

She quickly states that it gives her the element of peace that helps her go through the day. In particular she loves classical music and as a fan she is promoting this kind of music in the country. In her own words,” When I play classical music it helps me meditate and keep calm even after a hard day’s work.” She adds that as an Ambassador one is required to meet one’s duties and exercise their mandate keeping the relations mutual. “You are never away from your duties as you are called to attend to matters every time. Music addresses those hard long days for me and gives me the serenity to go on.” As she speaks it is easy to see the passion she has for that genre of music.

Looking wisgfully at the soft-coloured ceiling, she intones: “I love Nairobi. It is a God given gift for me to be here as I have always desired to come back here”.

Were you here before your posting? I ask. “You were not born yet but I first came to Nairobi in 1967 as a student for ten days. Kenya has been a friendly country since then to the polish army. After the Second World War the polish soldiers did not want to go back because at the time Poland was not independent. I had an uncle that my parents wanted me to visit and at that time my father was working for the UN in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the time and they sent me here.” With a reminiscing look on her face, she adds, “As a girl from a communist country I couldn’t get a visa and so my parents got the Ambassador of Mexico to Kenya who was a friend to my family to intervene. He assured that I would get back to my country and so the following morning I get my visa on a piece of paper. But they did not want to stamp the passport as I was from a communist. I finally got to Kenya and I had been really looking forward to be posted here.”

The look on her face is priceless as she describes her joy when she was accredited to Africa. “Dreams do materialise and mine came exactly forty years after my first visit. In August 2007 I made my second trip just to have a feel of my Embassy and also visit Rwanda which is also a country in my accreditation to see the biggest development project done by Poland in East Africa in Kibeho Rwanda.”

She readily admits to her fondness to classical music that she has undertaken. She is working on having concerts in Kenya and growing the genre of music. “I am a big fan of classical music. I work with the renowned Elizabeth Njoroge, a classical music guru and the director of Art of Music here in Kenya. We have the Ghetto Classics Project in Korogocho slums. We use music education to provide the youth living in the area with opportunities to better themselves and community by equipping them with skills that come with the discipline of studying art music.”

“How do you juggle the two that is your diplomatic duties and your passion in classic music?”  I enquire. Her eyes light up as she says that the two complement each other. “I think I came to Nairobi not only as a diplomat but to also bring a sense of change to the people. The city is changing because I attend very many different concerts organising, influencing and searching for classical talent. It takes most of my time of course when am off duty so to speak but even when I am so tired from work I still have the energy to work on classical events and creating awareness for it.” “I enjoy parks, wildlife, beauty of the nature in Kenya, I enjoy being with people and I have lots of friends but ultimately I love classical music. It is my heart and soul,” she adds. “I am a cultural animator I believe”.

Did you know?

This magnificent and kind hearted woman has not had it handed to her on a silver platter. She has had to struggle through life to get to what she has now. The zeal has been fueled by different factors that have helped shape her.  Her roots with Africa have long been there even before she was born. “I discovered this not too long ago. One of my aunts told me that there are some photos in the attic which had been taken by my great, great, great, grandfather. Once I got a hold of them I realised that they are all taken in Kenya in the years 1907 till 1913.”

As she tells it, the great great great grandfather was a very rich man back in Poland. He just got up and left his wife and three children and left for Kenya. They think he spent about six years and took photographs of the people of that time. Since she did not know where they were taken she consulted with Nigel Pavitt, a photographer, and made out where they were taken. Miss Anna Grupinska compiled the photos and is going to hand it to the Kenya National Museum before she leaves. He later got sick and went back to Poland. Her father also worked for the Economical Commission for Africa in 1964 and what he was working on was on the integration of East Africa.

She has had to make the most of what she had in life and even blow after blow she rose up again to face life. “Music eases the tension” is a saying in Poland and she used music to feel good. Anna’s father was put in jail due to his active nature in WWII when Poland was under the Soviet influence.

She also designs her clothes. Everything she wears is her own design and I think she could have a designer label “diplomatic” or something but that is just me. How did this come about, I enquire. “When you have two small children, a pair of shoes and no money, you have to survive. I sow everything that we put on at that time and slowly I could make my own clothes. Currently I don’t tailor my own clothes but I design and send it to my tailor in Warsaw, Poland.

Grupinska reads a couple of books at a time. When she gets home from work depending on the mood she picks one that goes with what she is feeling from her collection. She is going to do this even after she retires and the sound of music just keeps playing in her. As they say in the fables, the music will play on…