Encounter with the real krostina!

The closest I had come to a “Krostina” was that bag that is divided into compartments until I bumped into this talented artist. Well, if you haven’t read my past piece about a krostina bag, let me bring you on par. Krostina is a bag that is divided into compartments. You can arrange your books in… - en klek, it is like a shelf. If you own one, you are a walking shelf.  It was quite popular in the 90’s downwards. Every teenager or scholar would kill to own such a bag. It was more or less like having an iPhone or an expensive designer bag. The kids who had a krostina seemed to be eating from a silver spoon. Although I didn’t have the bag, I didn’t fuss about it. I was an understanding kid but deep down I wanted that bag. Finances were just fine at home. We were neither poor nor rich. We were just surviving. We could afford the basic needs. It was not about owning a krostina, what mattered most, in my household, was that I had something to put my books in and sling to my back. After the year 2000, the bag was surely losing popularity. Very often, it was carried by nerds. There were other trending means of carrying books. There were those plastic book cases, one-hand bags and “smile day.” Smile day was a favourite for casual days, when we would wear casual clothes to school. For that day, there would be activities hence you only needed two to three books for the first few classes. If you don’t know what a smile day looks like, it’s a single pouch with two (or four strings depending on your critical thinking) strings which you loosen or tighten to open and close respectively.

 For some reason, my dad bought me a krostina when I was in high school. It was around 2007 or 8. *Covers eyes* It was long gone out of the market. I didn’t like the idea of owning such and my interest of owning that kind of a bag had faded with time. There were very few people who had it. To scale it down, it would be a drop in an ocean…but, like I pointed earlier, it was not about having to choose brands and all that, it was a matter of getting something to do the job [secure books and sling on the back].

Yoh, it took me forever to explain what a krostina is, well I won’t hold the thought here despite the cold weather of Potchefstroom. My hands are not weary yet. Anyway, that bag was the closest I had come to a krostina until I met the artist, Buhle Mazibuko. He came across as a passionate artist who valued tradition and had greater love for his accordion. By the way, Krostina is an accordion in English. Buhle hails from Free State, maane dithabeng tsa Qwaqwa. He shared stories with me about his accordion. I could sense passion and love for his instrument. He was playing his accordion at Napo Masheane’s live dvd shoot at the Joburg Theatre, Johannesburg. The theme for the dvd was “From the village to the city.” Well, that was when I discovered what a krostina is called in English. I remember the telephonic interview when Napo was briefing me about the show. As she painted the line-up of the show for me, she mentioned Buhle and his accordion among others.

When she was done painting the line-up, I had follow-up questions. The first one was to find out if she probably knew what a krostina is called in English. She brushed the slight embarrassing moment by saying it is conventionally known as a krostina to sotho-tswana speaking people. Now I know that it is an accordion. Coming to think of it, this instrument seems to have influenced life in so many ways. It is not limited to bags. Those of you who have used public transport, particularly buses, would know where this is going. There is a kind of a bus that is conventionally known as a krostina. Well, let me hold that thought here. Till next time!