Nippon - II

Posted on May 23, 2010 
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Nippon - Part II

 

Super fashion Society

In most places that I have travelled to, I have found people and their dressing as an engaging piece of information. You need not go searching for it. It is in your face. It is inescapable.

 

Tokyo appeared to be a super fashion conscious society. Of course, what one would expect in a super-developed economy. While women are always well-dressed in most parts of the world, Japanese men too seem to be spending inordinate mindshare on looking good. A significant percentage has their heads well curated.  I am told Venuezuela beats most countries when it comes to women’s fashion.  Am waiting to get there some time and see. But, it might not be an exaggeration to say that the Japanese well-dressed girls make Indian girls look like simplicity personified !

 

Bullet Train – A Ride

One key task that we had chosen was to board and experience a bullet train. GP and I managed when we took the day off to go visit Mount Fuji at Hakone. The experience from inside the train is similar to our own Shatabdi. However, when got down and saw another ‘Shinkansen’ (Local name for the bullet train) go past in the station, we saw what it meant. It was like a tornado through the platform in a micro-second. We managed to not get blown along by the tornado!

 

Pin Drop Silence

The city came across as a city of pin-drop silence. No one speaks in any place. They are pre-occupied in their hand-held devices playing games etc,. No honking on the streets. Very few car for a city of this size. No shouting / fighting / backslapping on the streets. Of course, I was suffering from the chaos-index back home.

 

Density – People and cars

Tokyo is a 20 million population city. I reconfirmed this fact when I did not find as many people as I should have. On day one, I attributed it to that being a Sunday.  But, I have not found enough people at all over the past week to reflect the population density that we have heard about.

 

The other thing that I found missing was cars. Or parking lots. In a place like Delhi or Mumbai, there are cars every where and we find roads once in a while. In Tokyo, I kept searching for cars on the roads. No where.  The public transport is amazingly well networked and is super efficient.  Delhi Metro can get to Tokyo of today if Mr Sreedharan continues at the helm for the next 10-15 years with the same amount of funds and execution mandate.  Nowhere was the station more than a few minutes of walk. We did not have to hire a cab even once for our city trips.

 

Just one illustration – the Chairman of a company with a multi-billion dollar market-cap and his entire senior management that we met travelled by local metro to meet us for the dinner.  And we too travelled the length and breadth of the city on metro while visiting their offices / businesses. Incidentally, the VP in this company owns a Lexus. Of course, I did not venture to ask which car the Chairman owned J

 

Smoking and Mobile

Every society has some things that are strange to a newcomer and almost inexplicable. One such thing about Japan pertains to the way they view smoking. You  find people smoking anywhere and everywhere. It is not disallowed anywhere. So, you find them smoking inside a train (air conditioned), in a five star hotel, in buses, in offices. In fact, the places where smoking is not allowed is mentioned specially. I am told by local friends that Japan is a smoker’s paradise.

 

On the other hand, mobile usage is disallowed in public transport. Prominent posters urge you to keep the phone on silent mode and not to disturb other passengers by speaking. Can u imagine that I put my ultra-modern Nokia on speaker mode in India since it does not work otherwise J  (Nokia, Listening ?).  No wonder, Nokia is not doing great business in this far eastern country !

 

Palika Bazaar and Pahar Ganj

We are experts at finding the place for the best deal, as Indians. We were successful here too. We found the local version of the Janpath or fashion street or Palika bazaar. We put our best Karol Bagh skills of negotiations to work for us. In Tokyo, these markets go by the name of Akihabara and Ueon respectively and managed to grab a few things for the kids so that we get our entry back into our homes with little negotiation.

 

Sayonara

Satya

     

The Nippon Diary

Posted on May 17, 2010 
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The Nippon Diary - 1   The Super Cabbie :

We got into a Taxi from our Hotel to get to the office in downtown area of Tokyo this morning. Inspite of a local resident who played the role of an active navigator for the cabbie, a couple of mistakes led to the drive getting longer than necessary – say, by about a couple of kilometers and ten minutes of time. We were, in fact, displeased enough to crack a joke or two amongst ourselves (in Hindi) about the Cabbie.  Soon, we had to eat the humble pie. At the end of the journey, the cabbie not only apologized but insisted on taking only 1000 Yen against the meter reading of about 1920 Yen. 

 

You can imagine the impact that it had on us – we travelled from ridicule to admiration about the person.  Just imagine – this is a normal cabbie that we hailed outside our hotel. On the street experience #1!

 

 

 Is this normal for a youngster to do ?

In the afternoon, we were travelling by the local train from Gotanda and had to change at a particular station. With enormous effort and after overcoming his hesitation, Rajesh politely enquired a young girl about the directions.  The hesitation was due to the fact that she was waiting for her own train during peak hours and more importantly, was enjoying her music with the iPod / ear phone. The response was unbelievable. Just as she took her ear-phones and began assisting Rajesh, her train arrived on the platform. However, she felt that she must accompany us to help us find our way. She gave up her chance of boarding her train, walked along with us over the bridge until a point from where she could clearly give directions to us towards our destination.  We were left stunned and soaked in admiration for this college going young girl of 18 or 19!   On-the-street experience #2!

 

As you know, the first impressions are very important. They end up playing a crucial role in building a lasting perception of any new experience – a person, a place, an event etc,. As a traveler, I have also been fairly conscious of the inaccuracy that the first impression could build vis a vis the reality of a new place. As I landed in Tokyo and prepared for the days ahead, I was looking forward to a nice experience with my own discounting factor built in my head.

 

At the end of day two and with a few on-the-street experiences, I do think that the reality is reasonably closer to my perceptions. My earlier experience of Japan is that of a day-long loitering on the streets of Osaka. This is a first on-the-ground experience of the country of the rising Sun. I am not jumping to conclusions as a traveler should not. At least not prematurely. But, the country is growing enormously in me. Perhaps, on us.

 

Some obversations – orderly, no honking on the roads, spit-and-polish clean, humility is institutionalized in the society, very hands-on people and so on.

  Electronic shitpot

Can u imagine a commode that is more of an electronic device than a mechanical one (because of the flush J). Imagine (or see the pic on FB) a shotpot that has sensors that you have taken your seat, that has electronic buttons just you would have in your high value car to adjust the stereo or lights.  You are controlling the variables such as the type of jet (mono / dual), the angle, the speed, gender sensitivity etc,.  I am told that this is still far from the real e-commodes with sensors that are already in the market.

 What is ICU for us -  is first aid for them !

For any one who knows a bit of healthcare, AED is a known acronym. It stands for Automated electronic defibrillator (AED) that is deployed first on the patient in the case of a heart attack. It is believed to be an effective intervention in at least 75 per cent of the cases. You will find the doctors applying it in hospitals across the world including India.

 

It is just a tad different in Japan. You find AED in malls, rail stations, hotel lobbies (all public places – See Picture on FB) with greater frequency than the first aid kits that I have seen back home. I guess it is partly to do with the economics of the country. India might get there when we get to a per capita of USD 40,000!  

 

Of course, there could be reasons that are less forgiving or escapist for ourselves as an individual or society.

  

Satya

           

Tera Bachpan

Posted on May 14, 2010 
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Hindustani :

Tera bachpan sirf chand ghadiyon ka hai

Uthaoon lutf waqt jo pariyon ka hai

Tera bachpan sirf chand ghadiyon ka hai

 

English :

Your wonderdays of childhood are indeed very few

May I enjoy to the hilt these precious moments with my fairy

 Hindustani :Kuch Resham (Silk) hai tho kuch makhmal (velvet) hai

Tera har zarra (atom) mere liye ajmal (most beautiful) hai

Har soch mein, har harqat mein khuda si pakeezgi (purity) teri

Dua hai taa-umra bana rahe shabanami (morning dew) taazgi teri

 

English :

Some things about you are as fine as silk and some soft as velvette

Every atom of yours is the most beautiful for me

God’s purity I see in your thoughts and deeds

I pray that you retain this freshness forever

 

Hindustani :

Tera bachpan sirf chand ghadiyon ka hai

Uthaoon lutf waqt jo pariyon ka hai

 

English :

Your wonderdays of childhood is indeed very short

May I enjoy to the hilt these precious moments with my fairy

 

Hindustani :

Lautkar na aayega yeh lamha phir kabhi

Jaane kab ho fursat – o – tanha phir kabhi

Lutaoon mohabbat ka har boondh har pal

Na mehasoos (feel) karo pyar se mahroom (deprived) muasat phir kabhi

  

English :

These moments will shortly be gone forever

Will I ever get this leisurely time of solitude with you

I intend exhausting every drop of love on you

Lest you ever feel short on affection from me

 

Hindustani :

Tera bachpan sirf chand ghadiyon ka hai

Uthaoon lutf waqt jo pariyon ka hai

 

English :

Your wonderdays of childhood are indeed very few

May I enjoy to the hilt these precious moments with my fairy

 

Hindustani :

Tera bachpan sirf chand ghadiyon ka hai

Uthaoon lutf waqt jo pariyon ka hai

Tera bachpan sirf chand ghadiyon ka hai

 

English :

Your wonderdays of childhood are indeed very few

May I enjoy to the hilt these precious moments with my fairy

Gods and Mortals together - A Farida Khanam Concert

Posted on May 5, 2010 
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Gods and Mortals together  – Farida Khanam Concert  

The parched tongue had barely gotten wet when it was all over. The thirst was to drink the Ganges and what we got was one spoonful of it – although it was pure and ethereal. In sum, I will take it gratefully.

 

First – the nearness to God part :

Pure. Soulful. Spiritual. Godly. I sat there so mesmerized that I found myself not even clapping at the end of each of those Godly renditions by Farida Khanam.

 

Uzr aane mein bhi hai; Aaj Jaane ki Zid na karo; Mohabbat karne waale and a couple more.  But, that was it. About 90 mins of Farida Khanam !

 

I have no doubt that I am nowhere qualified to comment on the musical-saint’s performance. Actually, I do not think it is even appropriate to call it a ‘performance’.  It was her personal communion with God. And, a few of us were fortunate to witness it.

 

The way FK would start a new piece. Reach out to help the Hormonium accompanyist to make his adjustments. Go into an eyes-closed 90-second trance to catch the vibrations and the raga of the next rendition out of that thin air inside the FICCI auditorium and start with a flourish – honey and sugar there on. Chiding the Sarangi Ustad for stealing the applause by saying - ‘Aapne maje lutaa liye’ – after the audience went into a rapturous applause for the Sarod-Tabla jugalbandi!  

 

The only thing that can better this experience for me is to shadow her and see her do the ‘riyaaz’ at home. I am dead sure that will be getting a bit more closer to God than in a public rendition.

 

A gifted Conversationalist:

The legends of performing arts become one with a huge attribute to their credit - the ability to connect with the audience emotionally – the short conversations, the anecdotes, the humility, the gratitude. The ‘adab’, the impeccable diction. All of these were in great abundance last evening for those of us who found our way there.

 

Live is better than recorded:

On many an occasion, I have come back from a live concert of a ‘legend’ feeling a bit let down and getting into a bit of a critical mood. And, I have also chided myself for being the ‘gustaak’ – that I am rating or judging legends with no ability of my own.  This one was from a different world.  I think the FK-live has a million more dimensions to it than the FK-CD version. I felt similar after a Mehdi Hassan performance many years ago and even after a performance by Rita Sahni in Lahore.  I sincerely hope that some one is archiving away their public performances for the future. This has not been true for any of the other big names among Ghazal maestros in my personal experience.

  

Anita Singhvi – Could hold on her own

When a thousand people come expecting a FK-live concert and there is a lesser known artiste slated by the organizers to do the opening performance for almost an hour,  the challenge is far more for the artiste in question. From that perspective, Anita’s performance was well above the benchmarks. I must admit that I had not heard about her before. However, I came away with a lot of appreciation for her. My sense is that we will hear a lot more of her over a long period of time.

 

Now, the stuff from the mortals :

ICCR needs to be congratulated for making it possible for the mortals like us to see FK in action. I am not sure if I will get another chance unless I trail her to different parts of the world. That is where the credit to the Babus stop.

 

Dr. Karan Singh, President of ICCR walks in when the artiste is into her second or third piece. Not expected from a man of his stature and cultural richness. Sorry, Dr Singh. Did he make up with his other contributions ?  Well, almost yet not quite.

 

And some Shinde (was that he ?) saunters in at 2020 hrs for a performance that started at 1900 hrs. There were hundreds more coming from the normal gate and dozens more from the VIP entrance. And when these VIP-idiots come in late, the entire Babu-machinery gets up to attend to their usual chamchagiri – vacating seats, making room for them along the aisle, and more.  Can Shinde not find a seat for himself ?

 

I recall a sequence from ‘Shankarabharanam’ (1982 or so), a landmark movie in Telugu wherein the musician stops his performance irked at this lack of appreciation for the artiste when a VIP comes in, disturbs the proceedings with less-than-perfect etiquette.  I was just hoping that either Anita or FK does that, for a change.  I know it is too much to ask for.  After all, ICCR is the bill-paying body for the concert.

 

This is where the Prithvi Theatre (founded by Shashi–Jennifer Kapoor) in Mumbai is a class apart. Even God, with all his personal might and mightier chamchas, cannot dare try and enter the hall at 1901 hrs for a 1900 hrs event.  May we have a few more emulate that courage of conviction to their loved area of work.

  

Satya

      

 

nandoosky - Tattyappa’s journal

Posted on April 28, 2010 
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Nandoosky,

 

Some things that I wish to share with you are, perhaps, too adult-like-thoughts to be shared with a child like you. However, I do find it important to put them in a place where you can see, read and reflect upon when you grow up.

 

There are times when you do a lot of things with a lot of enthusiasm, keenness and personal initiative. Painting, for instance. Or the craftwork. I have seen you immersed in these activities for long stretches of time with no need for any handholding. Swimming is one more such activity. I feel wonderful on those occasions.

 

There are also times when you are reluctant to do some things as suggested by Kutta or tattaya. While you love dancing and would not want us to discontinue your dance classes as a part of our (mock) threats,  I do find you less enthusiastic about doing your dance practice at the pre-agreed times.

 

Those moments are very interesting for me, as a parent. Dozens of thoughts, reflections go through my mind in those short intervals of time. Many of those thoughts are so precious for me to leave behind – as these thoughts range from highly elevating to the absurd J

 

Needless to say, we can take refuge in the ‘why should I do ?’ for any piece of suggested action in life. In fact, it is important that we question every aspect of life without exception. I believe there is nothing holy and beyond question. Our norms, practices, choices are all open to be questioned.

 

There is one truth, however. Any area that one wishes to pursue in life needs a lot of devotion. It needs a lot of unconditional commitment and dedication. Rigour in what you want to do and pursue,  enormous amount of patience, appetite to put endless hours of hardwork are minimal criteria for any of us to achieve anything in life.

 

I know these are all words that are from the adult world and would make no sense to you. However, you will be one even before we realize.

 

I would want you to know that tattyappa has a million things to share with you and find myself challenged to be able to share this with you in your language. Poor education of mine has not helped either.  Some time soon, you will chance upon this somewhere and have fun reading this up.  I hope I will be around for another round of tongue-lashing or a huge ‘KKT-Huggy’ from a grown-up Nandoosky.  To me, both are equally endearing.  (Apr 28, 2010)

  

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