Incredible India

"The burly Maulana, whose beard reached down almost to his rotund belly, then asked if I wanted some refreshment. I said I would like a Nescafe, which is the only kind of coffee usually available in northern India outside of the cities. 'No, no,' he said sternly. 'We have issued a fatwa forbidding the faithful from buying any American or British products.' I tried in vain to convince them that Nescafe is owned by Nestle, which is a Swiss company, but they had either never heard of Switzerland or could not see the difference. No, they said, wagging their fingers, as if they had caught me pulling a fast one, Nescafe is Angrezi. (In much of India the word Angrezi - English - simply means foreign or western.) Then something ocurred to the Maulana, who was also a member of the committee that issues Deobandi fatwas. 'I have thought of a legitimate loophole,' he announced with a smile. 'The fatwa only applies to products bought after 11 September. Does anyone here possess Nescafe that is older?' A student raised his hand. The mildewed sachet of instant coffee that he fetched from his room certainly pre-dated 9/11. It was one of the most satisfying coffees I have had."

- In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India by Edward Luce

If you are interestd in India, politics or asian studies, or if you have always been fascinated or puzzled by India, then you should almost certainly read Edward Luce's In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Wise of Modern India. Luce provides a highly informative and thoughtful analysis of India in this book, which is peppered with anecdotes and careful selection of data. He writes lucidly and in a simple style. The result is a thoroughly informative piece of work that is also fun to read. All too often, books of this genre fall into the trap of either boring the reader with jargon and leaden analysis or with unexciting narratives. Not this book, however. I was never bored at any point of time reading it.

One reason why the book is such a delight has to be the subject matter itself - India. The largest democracy in the world is abound with contradictions and unique circumstances borne out of its history, its sheer diversity and the world view of Indians of their place in this world and in the larger Indian society. There are plenty of interesting facts revealed. After learning about them, you may concur with its tourism tagline 'Incredible India' with a renewed conviction.

The second reason has more to do with the writer and his craft. Luce is the Washington Bureau Chief of the Financial Times. Between 2001 and 2005 he was FT's South Asia bureau chief based in New Delhi. He therefore writes with some authority on the topic of India. More pertinently in my opinion, his journalistic background gives his writing much verve. His strength lies in his accessible writing and concise descriptions, which is a hallmark characteristic of a seasoned journalist. Devoid of dry, technical analyses, his is a book that can be enjoyed by anyone who is keen to have a broad fundamental understanding of India. It is for the same reason that I enjoy reading such type of non-fiction writing on politics and current affairs, written by those with a journalistic mind and hands-on insights. Thomas Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem comes to mind.

I happen to have both books, and I'm pretty sure I will be reading Edward Luce's book again. Here's another extract taken from the book:

"Quite by chance, my tour of Film City coincided with the presence of Amitabh Bachchan, India’s most revered film star, whose sixty-second birthday had just been celebrated in dozens of newspaper supplements. I was halfway through an interview with Sanjeevanee Kutty, the civil servant in charge of Film City, when her assistant rushed in. ‘Mr Bachchan is ready now,’ said the assistant. ‘Ready for what?’ I enquired. ‘Ready for his interview with you.’ This qualified as one of Bollywood’s more improbable little twists. Having no idea that Bachchan was in the vicinity, I had not requested an interview. Had I done so, it would have taken weeks of faxes and conversations with public relations agencies to secure even the ghost of a chance. Led by Kutty in her official white Ambassador, we piled into a cavalcade of cars and rushed to the set. Like most of Bachchan’s shoots, it was a commercial. Whenever you are in India, the chances are that if you close your eyes and throw a dart it will land on a billboard bearing Barchchan’s distinguished grey-bearded visage. Whether it is for Pepsi-Cola, Cadbury’s chocolate, Parker pens of Maruti cars, no amount of exposure seems to dilute his brand equity. On this occasion, he was staring in an advertisement for Dabur, a health-food chain."

Magical Sky

Whether it is pockets of clouds hanging on that vast sheet of blue, or pockets of blue streaming through the breaking clouds, or just the interminable blue sky which seems to stretch the universe, they fill my heart with a kind of calm that only nature and its magic is capable of inspiring.

I love clouds, the big blue sky, their endless formations and langurous energy. They cost nothing but bring so much delight.

Ramen & Asahi

Ippudo Singapore: its ramen impresses me not. As J said it, 'Can you imagine if we have queued for an hour and eaten this in the end?' I added: And luckily we only ordered a bowl.

All right, to be fair we only had the first item on the ramen menu. It was near closing time for the restaurant, we didn't have to queue, and most important it had beer. Asahi. So we chose Ippudo over Jones, the only two restaurants, i think, that were still open at this hour in Mandarin Gallery.

I couldn't take a second dinner, so I declined to order a bowl myself. Between the two of us, we had a bowl of ramen and 4 bottles of Asahi.

The ramen wasn't the only thing that didn't impress us. The choice of music that the resturant was playing was also conspicuously incongrous with the restaurant - its design, the food it serves, the ambient mood. We shook our heads.

At least, well, now we've been to Ippudo.

Unseen Moments #4: Be With You

When night falls
and the shops close,

when the streets are emptied
and the air turns chill,

when the chairs are turned
and the music is off,

when tired bodies are tempted by slumber
and souls by untold dreams,

when the ice-lemon tea has long finished
and the straw's bitten till
it's happily out of shape,

when we've talked
the same things over and again
and not getting any tired or bored -

I am just glad to have you by my side,
to be with you, see your smile, hear your laughter.

You with your flowing tresses
unfashionably out of place,
your slender frame covered
by your beige cardigan, my crumpled t-shirt
stained with your perfume -

I am just glad you are with me,
our hands clasped and our hearts beating to one,
all that matters is I have you by my side,
when night falls and that special moment dawns.

I see stars above

I remember the moment well. We were to set off at 11pm, our faces camoflagued (the great morale depressor), equipment on, reluctant bodies squatting by the side of the dirt track. The order to move would come next, then our tired bodies would nudge. This was the moment we had been dreading and absolutely detested: the start of zombie walking through the night till daylight, trudging through inhospitable terrain and fending off invisible undergrowth that obstructs and frustrates. It's an all too familiar process.

For now though, we had a rare few hours to rest. The sweltering heat during the day had finally given way to a more humane temperature under the cover of darkness. We were spread out on the grass patch in front of a disused block meant for troops training. Now and then pockets of chatter and laughter could be heard from the area. Most people, however, were just resting and trying to catch a few winks of sleep.

Like the others, I was lying on the grass and trying to catch some sleep. But no matter how I shut my mind or forced my eyes closed, sleep simply eluded me. I look up from my position once, and all I saw was a vast blue sky, illuminated by a galaxy of stars. I felt a little excited: when was the last time I was lying down and seeing a sky filled with stars?

Even though I was not in an enviable situation now, it was good to be able to see beauty, to see the wonders of nature. There were so many stars in the sky, and the ignorant me was wondering just how many stars could there be up there. Swept up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, I have long not seen stars and nearly forgotten the joy of admiring them. This was a moment I knew I would remember.

As I continued staring into the vast space above me, I noticed one bright spot that was slowly but surely moving across the sky. A plane, I thought. Instantly, like how a television show or movie could transport one scene to another, I imagined myself seated on a plane, taking a window seat, staring down from miles and miles above ground. I recalled the times when I took the plane in the past year, and at that moment I yearned to be flying again. If only I could change position there and then, seated on the plane heading to a foreign destination, instead of lying on a grass patch waiting for a dreadful journey.

I was feeling wistful, and quite happy at that. The next time I am on the plane, I shall again recall that moment, staring out of the window and looking far below while doing so. I shall imagine that someone is lying on the grass far below, looking up at the tiny plane that is creeping across the black sky.

Unseen Moments #3: Love

"Holding each other’s gazes
like lonely hands across a field of dark,
we may call this love
for the crippling inability to define this,
as our solitudes rise and fall like wings
on a single butterfly,
each destination in time a gratifying flower."

‘What we may call this’ by Cyril Wong

Unseen Moments #2: Infinity

Unseen Moments #1: Angles and Size

I love this shot of the photographer being photographed.

Yearning for Coffee Break

In Transit #3: Homebound

In Transit #2: Evening Reflections

In Transit #1: Moving House

Missing Borough

I. Miss. Borough. Market!

See: In and Around Borough Market