25 - PROMOTING AIB'S "HONEST INDIAN FLIGHT"

I do not like to travel unless there is a specific mission to accomplish at the end of it.  And I hate crowds and avoid getting caught in them, unless it is unavoidable. The claustrophobic feeling has made me stop visiting cinema halls.   One crowded place during travel is Mumbai's local train.   And another congested way to travel is the airplane.

If one has to travel by air,  the seats have to be booked months in advance, to get a good bargain.
Since I can just afford the economic seats,  I have to tolerate the tiny cubicled seating for the duration of the journey. 

The waiting starts at the airport, in the immigration  queue.  After luggage is weighed and tickets are issued, you have to wait and wait to walk through the check in, where body checks and hand luggage checks are done.  Then  you check the display board, which shows the gate  that you need to match with your flight.  And then you walk and walk and walk upto the assigned gate, where the waiting for boarding begins.  I must admit that the international airport in Mumbai is very well decorated, with traditional frescoes along the walls, colourful Indian installations along the long walk towards the gates.  Everyone stops to click selfies with the aesthetic and colourful decos.

The duty free shops are also very interesting and luring at the Mumbai airport.  But the restaurants are not so attractive. 

At last it is time to board the plane and the passengers enter the plane, where 2 crew welcome us with bored mechanical smiles.  And as I enter the plane,  I walk past the business class seats, with extra leg room and softer cushions.  If it is the dream liner, then almost 400 people will board, with two aisles and 3+4+3 seats in each row.  Hand luggage is stored overhead and we settle down into our seats.   If you are lucky, then you will not have a cougher or a sneezer or a wheezer near you.  But your luck can still run out, if the passenger in front of you pushes the seat back in recline position.  Then you may not be able to enjoy the built-in video, unless you too push your seat in the recline position and then suffer in that uncomfortable position for the next 10 or 15 hours.   The other hazard is a howling baby or a very loud conversation between the passengers close to you.

The seat belts are fastened and the plane begins its slow drive along the airport path assigned for it, until it reaches the runaway,  where it speeds up and takes off and is airborne.  The speeding up invariably is a fist clenching time and so is the landing time.  But it is a great lesson in spirituality, because I'm sure that each and every person on the plane prays for its safe landing, at the end of each journey. 

What a miracle man has discovered, to be able to fly among the clouds, and visit far off lands.  All the petty discomforts are forgotten, once the miracle is done.

24 - SAUNTERING ALONG COLABA CAUSEWAY

As a child, my family and I visited Mumbai during the May vacation.  A must during our visit was a trip in the iconic BEST double decker bus, route 123, upto the museum at Kaalaa Ghodaa.  Then we would walk upto Regal theatre and continue on a shopping spree along the footpath stalls upto our favourite Kailash Parbat sindhi snack restaurant.

Unfortunately, the double decker 123 has been discontinued now.  But the charm of sauntering along the causeway remains the same.  The pavement stalls begin from Cafe Mondegar, next door to the Regal theatre.  Sometimes, when I feel lost and lonesome, I walk along these crowded pavements and lose my self pity along the way.  It is true that shopping is therapy for the lonely. 

There is such a variety of  goods to choose from.  I cannot use the term 'window shopping' because most of the stalls have no windows at all.  The wares are openly displayed.  Earrings and bangles, broaches and payals, necklaces and bracelets and bindis,  all shimmering and colourful and attractive.  Then come the scarves and the Indian salvars, the western tops and the long skirts and pyjamas with Indian prints and mottos.  Foreign tourists and Indian women too are seen bargaining and buying.  Interspersed are the stalls selling glares and bags and chappals and shoes,  all supposedly at 'cheap' rates, compared to the pucca shops that are present along the pavement on the other side. 

My favourite window shopping stall is the one that displays crystal rocks.  I slow down here, so that I can feast my eyes on the beautiful shimmering rock crystals that adorn this stall.  The interesting stalls are also of the ship-ware surplus objects,  like brass clocks, horns, telescopes, bells and items that have been salvaged during the dismantling of ships.  Some stalls can carve your initials and make made-to-order key chains, with metal and wooden bases, in a few minutes.  Ethnic Indian filigiree articles like jewellery boxes, vases, hookahs and wall hangings are also available.  There are fruit stalls and fresh coconut water stalls,  and the one Indian dancing dolls hawker.  I recall, how as teenagers,  we would always stop and watch in wonder at the two little plastic dolls that danced away without any battery or winding mechanism.  I shall buy one set on my next visit to Colaba.  The seller sits on one side and manipulates the dolls with thin strings which are almost invisible, and it seems as if the plastic dolls are alive.

These pavement stalls are only on the left side of the road.  When we reach the end of the stalls, we always cross over to our favourite sev puri shop, Kailash Parbat. 

There are many more interesting shops along the path.  Top brand shoe shops, watch shops, clothing shops, luggage shops, and of course the restaurants like Cafe Leopold, which became famous during the 2008 Mumbai attacks by the Pakistani terrorists.  And further along is the colaba market,  and then come Sasoon Docks, where From 4 am every morning, the fresh catch of the day is auctioned off to hoteliers.   Near the Colaba bus depot, is the Scenic Port Trust Garden, built along the shore,  from which vantage point, we can view the iconic Tata bungalow. And of course, the 123 bus route continues into Navy Nagar, a stronghold for the Navy residencies,  and the Afghan Church landmark.  This is also the spot where Parsee weddings of the richest of the rich are celebrated at the Colaba Agiary.

So, whenever we visited Mumbai as children,  we would attend weddings and navjotes at the Colaba agiary too.

Sauntering along the causeway always stirs memories of my childhood and that is one of the reasons that makes the walk memorable everytime.


 

23 - INTRINSIC TO JAPAN

If you ever visit Japan, be prepared with lots of yen.   Some shops just refuse to accept any other currency, not even dollars, and exchange machines are not always at hand.  The Japanese currency has coins upto 500.  Their coins are in the denomination of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500yen and for them,  it is just small change.  Keeping this in mind, it was yet a shock for me to read the price tags of fruits.  One pineapple was 1500yen and 4 bananas were for 500yen.

Another odd observation was that, at almost every kerb, there was a game parlour, with loud music blaring every time the door swung to let a client enter or exit.  Bright lights and with a full crowd inside.  So many young adults were patronizing these parlours that it was strange for me to note.  So it  was obvious that the Japanese adults, even middle aged men, enjoy video games, at public places.

Walking along a Tokyo footpath is a very mixed experience.  The sleek world brand shops, and the well heeled crowd made me feel that I was on an alien planet.  So many young boys and girls hold menus and discounted food coupons, trying to coax people to patronize their restaurants.  The pavement itself is an instructional signpost.  Painted on the pavements were messages that designated the areas for the public,  as 'no smoking' zones, 'cyclist friendly', no walking dog zone etc.  Special areas are designated for smokers, and these are labelled on the pavement and on certain closed booths along the metro station.  I recall the first strange sight as we exited the airport on arrival, was of a glass booth that invited smokers to freely enjoy  their cigarettes within its precinct.  So thoughtful towards the non-smoking public, is the Japanese government.

The footpaths are also specially embedded with one inch round metal circles.  These form a path for the visually impaired to follow easily and safely. As the footpath branches out onto a zebra crossing, these circular knobs are replaced by sharper, conical ones.  And they continue along the entire length of the zebra and onto the next pavement.  Even the public phone booths have two separate phones, one at the normal expected height, and another at a lower level, for the wheel chair bound persons.  So thoughtful towards the handicapped is the Japanese government.

The Japanese love their dogs.  They prefer tiny breeds and dress them and then walk with their little dogs in special dog prams.  I saw poodles, all trimmed and bowed, and all the possible tiny, hairy breed like the Pekingese, terriers, the Japanese Chin, the maltese, the lhasa apso..........The dogs were treated almost like their babies,  all dolled up and cute and cuddly and in safe little dog prams.
And the weather is so cool and pleasant, at 16 degrees C,  so most of the dogs are the furry ones that are favoured.

The most wonderful thing was that, I hardly noticed any police personnel, and yet the public place rules were followed impeccably.  I wish this would be replicated in India. 

22 - TRIGGER-HAPPY AND SATURATED IN CORRUPTION

Every baby is born an innocent living thing.  ECCE  explained how the foetus can absorb the emotions of the mother and how the infant's behaviour and growth is affected by the environment and the persons around,  how nutrition affects the physical growth and how immitation nurtures the emotional growth.   Genetics also plays a small say in both the areas.  But no parent wants to bring up a murderer or a goonda.   No parent would willfully want their progeny to be criminals.

In spite of our nurturing, each one of us develops bad habits and  sometimes it can unleash a monster that causes sorrow to others.  Someone can become a chain smoker and pollute the family air, another can be a persistant liar and get away with petty sins,  a shoplifter,  a wife beater,  a boaster,  a drunkard,  a rapist,  a stalker............

If  one introspects, it is extra money or indulgences that lead to vices.   A rich minister pampers his son with unlimited cash, cars, guns, and the most dangerous item,  the gall to do whatever the son takes a fancy to, without any worry for the havoc this behaviour may cause.  And this leads to a Rocky Yadav  in Bihar,  who can kill an innocent like Aditya without qualms.  Power perpetuates goonda raj.

The gun licensing authority of India should issue a gun, but the latent clause that accompanies possession, should be that that individual must work at the border for 6 months.  This clause will ensure that these gun owners develop an empathy for the injuries that can result, and the positive use that a weapon should be put to.

But if the crime has already been committed, then the individual should be forced to join the armed forces and be sent to the border for life.   If the culprit is sent for life imprisonment, it is not beneficial to anyone.  The government should put this trigger happy person to positive use.

By the way, Mr Arnab Goswami of Times Now,  you so vehemently condemn such wayward deeds of powerful politicians,  that we hope that it doesn't backlash onto you personally.   But it is heartening to note that at least our fourth estate can kindle justice for the wronged,  who would otherwise be silenced.  And it seems so,  with the shoot outs of two journalists in Bihar. 

EVIL MULTIPLIES WHEN GOOD MEN DON'T CHAMPION WHAT'S RIGHT.

21 - WASABI AND DREAMS AND FORECASTS............

Japan's tourism revolves around the numerous shrine and temple sites, the rope train ride upto Mt Fuji and the bullet train ride.   And the Hiroshima site, which was not included in our itinery.

We visited the gardens around the palace of  emperor Akihito and empress Michiko.  The fir trees are so strange, they have an  outer space type of a look.   I have not seen such trees even in Switzerland.  All gardens that we visited had a manicured look,  so unnatural.

The shrines and temples are well maintained and aesthetic.   And everything is of wood.  The entire structures, floors walls, roofs, the idols, everything is of wood.   The visit to the Sanjusangendo Hall, with its 1001 wooden statues, was an out-of-this-time-zone experience.  The Shinto Inari shrine with its torii wooden gates that line the entire mountain and the walking path upwards with dark ornage wooden pillars, known as torii gates, forming a shady path, decreasing in size a it went uphill.  All these temples had an entrance ticket and were crowded with tourists and local students, in smart blazers and girls with pleated skirts and keds.  Every temple site that we visted, sold dreams and wishes and forecasts for your personal life.  One hundred yen was the minimum cost, to shake a hexagonal box, pull out a stick from a tiny hole on one side, match the Japanese numeral on it, to a series of drawers that were stacked, open the designated one and take out a paper with a forecast for your future life, written in Japanese and English.   At other temples, you had to drop a 100yen coin into the donation box, then pick up a little one cm bundle, with a little golden charm, then find out what it meant to you, by comparing it to its future forecast list.   And then there were little wooden plaques to buy, to inscribe your wish or dream onto it with an ink pen, and then hang it near the special assigned fence near the sacred spot of the temple.   We saw thousands and thousands of such plaques tied to fences, near every shrine.  Each holy site makes a lot of money by selling dreams and wishes to visitors, and on the entrance ticket too. 

Leading to each shrine, one has to always walk uphill, along narrow streets, lined with tiny shops, selling "Japanese bean biscuits", my description, for the baked delicacies that were being sold at so many places.  A little sweet dough was poured into flat shaped metal toasters, then a sweet bean curd was put in and another layer of the dough, which was cooked over an open gas flame.   Quaint little shops selling very pretty and very expensive Japanese hand fans, hand painted chopsticks, and lots of magnets, key chains and show pieces with 'hello kitty' pictures.  Hot roasted chest nuts were the other snack available.    And green tea ice cream in cones.  Soya seeds, groundnuts baked into some sort of biscuit were also popular snacks.  And none of these were cheap, according to Indian standards.  Each ice cream was 350yen, and chestnuts were 450yen for 250gms.

Being a vegetarian, my travel director, a very accomodating and experienced lady, made sure that I was served veg sushi and a veg bento box meal, at every place that we dined.  So my veg sushi had sticky rice with a slice of green cucumber, rice with a slice of orange pumpkin, rice with a slice of dark orange carrot, rice with a slice of white bamboo shoot, rice with a slice of white raddish, and of course green sea weed and tofu with rice.   All these vegetables replace the different fish that make the original sushi bundles.   But I wanted the green wasabi chutney to liven up the bites, so I applied it generously on all my sushi bites, although my son and the travel director, both warned me that it would be hot and spicy.  I assured them that I loved spicy chutney anyway.  And then that was the first and last time that I shall ever ever eat wasabi.  My mouth was on fire and almost smoking,  and I had to douse my mouth with all the plain sticky rice in my bowl.  It surprised my son to see me use the chopsticks so adeptly to wolf down the rice in a hurry.  But he loves the wasabi Kit kat chocolates.

The Kinkakuji temple, known as the Golden Pavilion is the typical Japanese pagoda that defined my childhood memories of Japanese folklore that I used to read as a child.  This temple is in a lake and surrounded with the unreal looking green trees.  The temple's reflection is seen in the still waters, and it can be viewed without any tourists or visitors intruding into its pristine position, in the lake. 

On our way to Mt. Fuji, we spotted a few Sakura trees, the pink cherry blossoms, but the rains had begun, so we were lucky to have seen any at all. 

Everything in Japan looks unreal and plastic.  The very pretty and well heeled girls, the boys with streaked hair, their cute babies, the tiny breed dogs in special doggie prams, the roads with well behaved pedestrians and silent traffic, the neon lighted buildings at night, the plastic sushi and noodle meals displayed in the restaurant windows, the gleaming bullet train, the public cyclists on the footpaths,  the manicured gardens and space-like firs and birch trees,  the pandas in the Kyoto zoo and even mount Fuji, with its pretty bluish hue, topped with white snow and fluffy clouds near its top.



 

20 - ......AND MORE FROM jAPAN

Japan is known as the land of the rising sun and daybreak was at about 5am while we were there.  The weather was 15 degrees and so so cold.  And yet icecream was being sold at almost all the tourist spots that we visited, green tea icecream was the favourite.  The locals that I saw at Tokyo, were so so stylish and fit.  Perhaps it has to do with their marine diet.

Just as in France, here too there is no honking.  Cycling is promoted and is very popular.  The cyclists can cycle on the footpath and they do so in all shapes, sizes, ages and styles.  Cycles for the older age groups were shorter and sturdier with broader tyres,  the young mothers had special cycles, fitted with baby seats in the front and back, and for the younger generation, the cycles were trendier with gears and dynamo lights.

Traffic lights are followed very diligently.  Pedestrians wait at the kerb near a zebra, and then the traffic waits for the pedestrians way behind the zebra.   It was a treat to watch the busy roads come to a stop when it was the turn of the public to walk.  No one was breaking the rules,  not even when it was rush hour and people were jogging to reach the metro.  And the roads are clean.  Trash is left outside shops, neatly packaged into large plastic bags.

The girls are so pretty and so well dressed.  They walk fast and that too with high heels.  I just watched their shoes, as they walked past us.   What style!  And many of them were holding the cutest babies I have ever seen.  Even in Paris we did not see so many well heeled ladies.  And the men look fit, without protruding paunches. While the females flaunt their legs and stilleto shoes,  the males flaunt their hair styles,  with lots of coloured hair, streaks of white being the most favourite.

Here and there, traditionally dressed Japanese girls, in kimonoes were also walking around. 

But what made me sad was that so many of the smartly dressed girls and boys, were wearing cloth masks over their mouth and nose.  It seems that many of them are allergic to the pollen in the air.  But it marred the general feel of the well heeled youth and gave it an eerie feeling.   There were a few homeless persons too,  sleeping in the shade of the metro building, on the outskirts, with large cardboard boxes as protection from the chilly wind.   But no one was begging.

What made me happy was that everytime we entered a restaurant, or a shop, or just looked at anyone eye to eye, they would bow deeply and greet us very swiftly in Japanese.  It was very touching to experience this courtesy so often.

Every eating place had a bowl of chopsticks as cutlery.  And a bowl of green tea as starters.  And a deep bow and a verbal greeting.



 

19 - A DIFFERENT PEOPLE

In the far east,  is this achepelago of 6,852 islands, in the Pacific Ocean, called Japan.   My son was adamant that he wanted to visit this country and for three main reasons.  Being a sushi chef at the Trident Mumbai, he wanted to achieve his best and get the over achiever of the year award, by doing his all to do his best in the field, and so he wanted to see the authentic Japanese chefs.  The other reason was to visit Jiro Ono's sushi restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro at Tokyo, which has a 3 michelin star rating and has been featured in the awarding winning documentary by David Gelb.  And the final reason was to visit and witness the auctioning of Tuna at the ksukiji market.

The first visit that we completed on our own, was to visit the Ksukiji tuna auction.  We took a taxi, to the market at 2 am.   Only limited onlookers are allowed to witness the auction, on a first come basis.  So people come early and wait for the 6.00am auction.  Each person gets to don a green vest, and then we are allowed 15 minutes to observe the auction of frozen tuna.  What was the difficulty here was that from 3am, when we reached, upto the time that  our turn came to witness the auction, that is 6.30am,  we all had to sit on the floor and wait, in the room assigned, and the other negative was that, to reach the place and return, the taxi fare turned out to be exhorbitant, because in Tokyo, taxi fare starts at 730 yen.  Of course, it is an AC cab and the driver wears a blazer and uses google maps for directions.

We tasted a lot of sushi and bento box meals, and noodles and octupus balls and all sorts of fish on a stick, especially at the Nishiki market area.  This area is aka Crawford market of Mumbai, with a maze of narrow lanes, lined with shops and restaurants.  But it has a skyroof and so we were safe from the rain, while we walked along the lanes.  It is a strange phenomenon in Japan, that restauranteers post volunteers on the footpath, with large placards, displaying their menu, to pull customers into their foodplace.  The other strange phenomenon is that their restaurant windows display plastic replicas of their dishes, sushi or noodles with egg etc.

Very few people can converse in English, so maps are very important to be able to find your way back to your hotel.  And so finding the underground restraurant of Jiro Ono, which boasts of having had Barrack Obama as a guest,  was very tricky.  But my son had only that on his mind and he was even wanting to dine there, no matter the cost.  Unfortunately, when he went to the place, he was shooed off and lost face for all his endeavours to be at the sushi place of his dreams, for which he had travelled from India to this far eastern island.

But whatever was taken away from his self esteem by this rebuff, was made up by the serenity and beauty of all the shrines and temples that we visited, and of course the view of mount Fuji.  A volcano that looks mystical, with its smoothly ascending facade, tinted blue, with the virgin snow at its upper layers.