Culturama October 2012

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India's Only Cultural Magazine for Global Citizens

VOLUME 3, iSSUE 8 october 2012

Brought to you by Global Adjustments

walking the talk Bringing the Gandhi behind the Mahatma alive

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D e a r

R e a d e r s

GANDHI SMRITI is on 30 January Road in New Delhi. It is the former Birla House where the Mahatma spent his last 144 days. I had the pleasure of finally visiting it last month and was moved to tears by the experience. Every Indian should visit it and partake in the multimedia museum, or shall I say every global citizen should. For Gandhi was born Indian, but really belonged to the world. The spartan room on the ground floor where he worked, rested and met people speaks of his life’s message. “Simplicity is universality” says the sign on the wall, along with “My life is my message”. The stick he used and the little waistcoat clock silently scream his character. There are footsteps that trace the Mahatma’s last walk towards the garden area, when he left the room after speaking to Sardar Vallabhai Patel, independent India’s first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. I quietly walk along his footsteps hanging my head. I can hear the tune of Vaishnava Janato, his favourite chant playing, and when I reach the place where he mounted and fell to the assassin’s bullets, the pillar with “Hey Ram” stands testimony to the Lord’s name on his lips, his dying words. I walk around the pillar in silence, and towards the room which has paintings on the ceiling and walls of scenes from his life. An artist sits on the ground retouching the paint, another artist lies on his back on a makeshift ladder-bed retouching the ceiling.

Who is going to retouch Gandhian principles, I thought. As we live in an India ravaged by scams and atrocities, it is time for Gandhi to awaken in all of us. Let us pledge to “live each day as if it were the last, and to learn as if we live forever”, as Gandhiji taught us.

This issue of Culturama is respectfully dedicated to his ideals through our comprehensive Feature story that talks about Gandhi the Man, along with a first-person account of his granddaughter reminiscing about her days with the Mahatma; our A to Z of India that compiles an interesting list of all things connected to Gandhiji; our Being India column that features Michael Nagler of the Blue Mountain Centre, California, recipient of the Gandhi award; and an inspiring interview with Olympic medalist, MC Mary Kom, who shows that it takes a simple heart and mind to carve a niche in this world.

Finally, I leave you with this link to listen to the Mahatma’s voice http://tinyurl.com/95gm3mc, a reminder of the magic that was.

Ranjini Manian Editor-in-Chief E-mail: globalindian@globaladjustments.com

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contents 8 Present tens

There's Something about Mary

ARMED with his ideals of truth and non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi inspired an entire nation and walked the country to her freedom.

We couldn't have chosen a better cover picture to depict the mood of not just this special issue on the Mahatma's life, but also of the nation's, that especially remembers on October 2, Gandhiji's birth anniversary, all that he stood for and continues to stand for.

12 Past Tens

Photo Wu Teng Guo, Singapore

34 Spaces

Raja Ram Mohan Roy 14 Short message service

Snippets of Indian Culture League of an Extraordinary Gentleman

Editor-in-Chief Ranjini Manian

Consultant Editor praveena shivram

creative head JayaKrishna Behera Editorial Coordinator Shefali Ganesh

Associate Designer Prem Kumar

Advertising

Man Power

48 seeing India

30 in your kitchen

Taste of Simplicity Square Root of Delhi Bengaluru and Chennai

40 Calendars

Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai

Chennai trishla jain, pallavi roy choudhury

Under the Sea

52 Being India

An India in You

56 at global adjustments

Delhi-NCR preeti bindra, ruchika srivastava,

58 GLOBAL CITIZEN

Sorry Hour

60 Holistic living

The End of Sorrow

Rising Realities

64 CHILD FRIENDLY

Mumbai & Pune Farah bakshay

E-Culturama Samyuktha Sunil

A dvisory Committee N Ram, Elaine Wood, G Venket Ram, Marina Marangos, Suzanne Mcneill

Smart Attack & Chopping Block

65 iseries

Chennai (Headquarters) 5, 3rd Main Road, R. A. Puram, Chennai 600028, India Telefax. +91-44-24617902 E-mail: culturama@globaladjustments.com Bengaluru 7/2, Edward Road, Off Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560 052. Tel.+91-80-41267152 E-mail: culturamablr@globaladjustments.com Delhi-Gurgaon Level 4, Augusta Point, DLF Golf Course Road, Sector-53, Gurgaon - 122 002. Haryana. Tel.+91-124-435 4236.

E-mail: del@globaladjustments.com

News & Happenings

62 MYTH AND MYTHOLOGY

Bengaluru mukundan T

natasha kapur

46 picture story

Ordinary Love

22 Feature

36 Look who's in town

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18 A-Z of INdia

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66 FESTIVAL OF THE MONTH

Navaratri

68 POSTCARD FROM INDIA

Mumbai/Pune Rustom Court, 2nd Floor, Dr. Annie Besant Road, Worli, Mumbai 400030.

Tel.+91-22-66104191/2 E-mail: mum@globaladjustments.com

Book, Movie and Music Review

Daylight Calls & The Silence of the Winds

70 Tell us your story

The House Whisperer

71 ,72 space and the city

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Property Listings

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Dear Editor,

Letters to the Editor

“I had worked in India a year ago and am now in Bagota (Colombia). I work for an architecture company here and even though I am very happy with the work environment and the people in Bagota, I miss India, her people, the sun and my life there. I am sure I would like to come back to India some day.

For now, I am happy to read Culturama online, which brings back wonderful memories and insights.”

— Maria Abascal, Colombia Dear Editor,

Dear Editor, “Culturama is a unique magazine that gives rich insights and understanding on the diversity of Indian culture. The September issue of your magazine gave us a lot of tips on the festivals happening across the country and the events calendar was very helpful too. As a well wisher and a client of Global Adjustments, it was my pleasure to participate in ‘Dilli Saaga’ last month (full report on page 65), an expat event organised in Delhi.”

— Eva Fouilloux, France

“As somebody who had an intelligently arranged marriage 26 years ago, I loved reading your explanation for the concept in your Dear Readers column last month. Your explanation of how the multiple wives of Indian gods represent a philosophical symbolism was good to read, especially these bits: ‘When mythology talks of Krishna and his 16,008 wives, Krishna stands for our pure real self and the wives stand for the multiple desires associated with us.’ and ‘To create, Brahma needed knowledge, so he married the Goddess of Wisdom, Saraswati; to Preserve the universe, Vishnu needed money, so he married the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi; and to Destroy evil, Shiva needed energy, so he married the Goddess of Energy, Shakti (also known as Durga and Parvathi)’.”

— Geetha Chander, India Dear Editor, “I have been reading Culturama since the beginning, and am quite fascinated with your magazine. It is very interesting for Indians to read too. You have taken the magazine from strength to strength. I wish you all the best for the future! I am a Sanskrit and Vedic scholar and have studied the Vedas, Upanishads, etc, for the past 11 years. I would like to add to what Devdutt Pattanaik says in his column, Myth & Mythology, about puja: ‘The word ‘puja’ probably comes from the word ‘pu’, meaning flowers in Tamil.’ ‘Puja’ is a Sanskrit word that originates from the ‘puja dhaatu’ that Panini has said, and means respecting and revering.”

— Uttara Nerurkar, India Dear Editor, “The myth and mythology piece by Devdutt Pattanaik in the August issue was insightful. A thought just occurred to me that an article on the different types of Indian saris would interest your readers.”

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— Nilakshi Borgohain

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Present Tens pRAVEENA SHIVRAM

There’s Something About Mary

There is no success without hard work and sacrifice.

Fortunately for me, I learnt that lesson early and imbibed it and have therefore been able to give 100% to boxing, irrespective of my success.

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THERE are some people who inspire with their achievements, some with their humility, and some by virtue of their heredity. But there are those rare individuals, who inspire with their very being, making every achievement an extraordinary feat, living their dreams with a matter-of-fact modesty, because there simply cannot be another way, and quite unconsciously, paving the way for an entire generation of achievers. Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom or MC Mary Kom, is one such, a pathbreaker in the truest sense of the word. Hailing from the tribe of Kom in Manipur, North East India, Mary’s passion for boxing, a virtually nonexistent option for women in sports, was fired by fellow Manipurian, Dingko Singh’s success as a boxer. In 2000, when Mary won her first state woman’s boxing championship, she knew she was on the right path, and her family, initially apprehensive with her choice, rallied behind this world-champion-in-the-making. Within a year, at the age of 18, Mary debuted on the international stage at the 2001 Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships, held in the United States, and won a silver medal. She won a gold five times after this and five times again at the Asian Women’s Championships. Marriage and motherhood notwithstanding, when critics wrote her off, Magnificent Mary or Kombat Queen, as she is also known, continued her winning streak.

She recently made India proud at the 2012 London Olympics, winning a bronze in the 51kg category, even though she usually competes in the 48kg category (Mary shifted to and trained in this category two years before the Olympics, as the lowest categoryattheOlympics for women’s boxing was 51kg). In 2006, she established the Mary Kom Boxing Academy,

with a vision to create quality boxers from underprivileged backgrounds. In an exclusive interview to Culturama, Mary Kom talks about her world within the ring and outside of it.

How would you define Mary Kom the boxer and Mary Kom the woman?

As a boxer, I am aggressive and hard. As a woman, I am caring and tender, but my family may be better placed to answer!

How much of a role does gender play in a sport like boxing?

There is no need that it should as it is not like the two genders are competing against each other. It is unfortunate that it is looked upon as a male sport, when it is equally friendly to both genders – that said, I think that perception is changing.

What goes on in your mind before you enter the boxing ring? And how does that change when the rounds begin?

Before a bout, I am focused. I know what I want to do against a particular opponent and how I am going to go about doing it. That is the focus I try and maintain throughout the bout for the moment there is a loss in concentration, one is on a very slippery slope.

Is it frustrating sometimes, when India’s cricket craze gets in the way of support for other sports? How does that affect your morale, and therefore, your sport?

It can be disappointing to see that all of the corporate sponsorship and fan interest is moving towards a particular sport, even when other sports are doing as well, if not better, for the country. If an athlete is struggling to make ends meet even after he/she is at the pinnacle of his/her sport, it can sometimes get to you. That is not to say that one is fighting for financial rewards – that is certainly not the priority – but, it is

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I box because I love it and because I always want to win so while there is an element of boxing for the love of it, there is a large element of boxing to win as well. an important component of an athlete’s life and his/her morale.

The responsibility that comes with success is not an easy burden to carry. What do you do to keep the heady nature of success away from the essence of boxing for the sake of boxing?

There is no success without hard work and sacrifice. Fortunately for me, I learnt that lesson early and imbibed it and have therefore been able to give 100% to boxing, irrespective of my success. I box because I love it and because I always want to win so while there is an element of boxing for the love of it, there is a large element of boxing to win as well.

When critics write you off, what do you tell yourself to continue to stay positive?

That they are wrong and I am much better than what they think and I will prove them wrong (smiles). That’s the initial response in the early years – after a point of time it matters less and less and the motivation comes from within and not from outside influences.

Today, as the world’s focus is on the north-eastern states becoming the hub for sports thanks to your contribution, how conscious are you of your identity of belonging to the Kom community of Manipur?

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I am extremely proud to be a member of the Kom community, but within the larger consciousness of being an Indian.

My community is my strength forever and also my responsibility and I am conscious of both these aspects, but not so much that I cant see the larger picture or focus on a larger consciousness as well.

What are the three things you would tell women achievers out there to always keep in mind?

1. Believe in yourself and your abilities.

2. Work harder than you think you can.

3. Always be humble and thankful to god, but don’t let narrow minded people bog you down in gender stereotypes.

Which one is tougher – taking on an opponent in the boxing ring, or being a mother to twin boys?

Depends on the opponent! But the boys can be a real handful as well – they go hours without being able to sit in one place and that can be exhausting for a parent. Thank god for Onler and my family and their help in handling the two bundles of energy.

Finally, if boxing hadn’t happened, who do you think Mary Kom would have been?

A sportsperson for sure – probably an athlete.

Punch-a-nomics • In 2003, Mary was conferred the Arjuna Award by the Government of India that recognises outstanding achievement in national sports. And in 2009, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India’s highest honour for achievements in sports.

• In 2006, she was awarded the Padma Shree, the fourth highest civilian award in the country.

• She was given the title of Magnificent Mary by AIBA in 2008.

• She was chosen as Pepsi MTV Youth Icon in 2008, and was awarded the Sportswoman of the Year in 2010 at the Sahara Sports Awards • In 2010, along with boxer Vijender Singh, she had the honour of bearing the Queen’s Baton for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games held in Delhi.

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Past Tens S u san P hi l ip

Raja Ram Mohan Roy An educational, religious and social reformer, Raja Ram Mohan Roy is one of the first independent thinkers to lay the foundation for a Modern India A Son is Born: On May 22, 1772, Ramkanta Roy and Tarini Devi were blessed with a son at village Radhanagar in Bengal. They named him Ram Mohan Roy (variously spelt Rammohun or Ram Mohun).

Child Prodigy: By the time he was 15, Ram Rabindranath Tagore at his Mohan had mastered Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit, painting desk, Government School apart from his native Bangla. He also studied the of Art, Calcutta 1932 Hindu scriptures – the Vedas, the Upanishads and other philosophical works.

Prodigal Son: Differences with his father forced Ram Mohan to leave home. For some years, he wandered through the Himalayan region, fetching up in Tibet to study Buddhism. Diverse influences during his formative years coalesced into clear-cut views against polytheism and ritualistic worship.

Return of the Native: After his father’s death, Ram Mohan returned to his family, and joined the East India Company’s Revenue Department in 1809. In 1815, in Calcutta (now Kolkata) he founded the Atmiya Sabha – an association for spreading religious ideas and promoting debate on theological subjects. Some of the best minds of the day were drawn to him, including Dwarkanath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore’s grandfather.

United They Stood: He helped Baptist Missionary William Adam found the Unitarian Mission in Calcutta in 1823, called himself a Hindu

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Unitarian and attended the services conducted there for several years. He believed that both the Vedas and the Christian scriptures propounded the theory of divine unity.

Demystifying Divinity: Having been exposed to the precepts of Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, and Hinduism, Ram Mohan believed that all world religions shared a common base. He formed an organisation called the Brahmo Samaj in 1828, along with Dwarkanath Tagore and others, seeking to incorporate the best of all religions, and do away with idolatry, rituals and superstition.

Social Conscience: Ram Mohan was also determined to eradicate social evils which had become intertwined with Hindu religious customs, chiefly child marriage, discrimination against widows and sati – the practice of the widow immolating herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. His efforts ultimately led to the banning of both child marriage and sati.

A Matter of Learning: Education was another area of focus. Ram Mohan felt Indians needed to keep up with global developments in science, mathematics and technology. He founded or cofounded institutions of learning. He also championed the cause of women’s education.

Royal Connections: The title of ‘Raja’ or King, was conferred on Ram Mohan by Moghul Emperor Akbar II when he sent him as his Ambassador to England to negotiate matters relating to his pension and allowances. During his travels in Europe, Ram Mohan presented papers to the House of Commons, dined with the King of France and attended the coronation of King George IV. Death Comes as the End: In 1833, Raja Ram Mohan Roy visited Bristol at the invitation of Unitarian friends. There, on September 27, he succumbed to meningitis. A statue of the man, known as the Maker of Modern India, now stands in the Bristol City Square.

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Short Message Service S aritha R a o

Malayalam g Showcasin aspects of re in Indian cultu tible easily diges snippets

Etikoppaka

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mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM

mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM

mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM

mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM mALAYALAM

Malayalam (mala-yaa-lam) is the official language of the South Indian state of Kerala. According to some historians, the earliest form of the language that was derived from Tamil has an abundance of Sanskrit. It is perhaps this unique amalgam that led to Malayalam having the largest number of letters in an Indian language. Malayalam has a rich literary tradition that extends from religious treatises, translated epics, drama, poetry and fiction.

Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan, as the last word in his name implies, is regarded as the 'father of the Malayalam language' as we know it today. Besides his contribution to literature, he is said to be the first person to give shape to the Malayalam alphabet. Some of the noted names in Malayalam literature include Irayimman Thampi, Thakazhi Sivasankaran Pillai, M.T. Vasudevan Nair, Vaikkom Mohammad Basheer, Lalithambika Antharjanam and Madhavikutty. According to the 2001 Indian census, there are 33,066,392 speakers of Malayalam in the country.

Phulkari ETIKOPPAKA (yae-ti-koppaka) is a village in Andhra Pradesh renowned for its lacquer-finished woodcraft.

Watching a craftsperson create an etikoppaka product is like watching a potter bringing a pot to life, only the wheel in this case is a lathe that spins vertically. A piece of wood is affixed to the lathe and the craftsperson does the entire shaping, hollowing and colouring of the product while the wood is being turned. Lead-free natural dyes are used, in colours like ochre, green, purple, red and maroon. Some cracks in the product are normal, since the products are made of very soft wood. The products available today are toys (like toy trains, rattles, tops), junk jewellery (earrings and bangles) and home products (like candle stands, vermillion boxes, wind chimes, key chains and decorative figurines). Etikoppaka features prominently in festive displays in South Indian homes during the annual Navaratri festival.

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PHULKARI (phool-kaari), which literally means ‘flower-work’, is a form of traditional hand embroidery by the rural women of Punjab as a ceremonial veil or shawl for special occasions. It is part of a bridal trousseau and is usually created by the women of the bride’s family, now increasingly outsourced. The groom’s family also presents the bride with a phulkari piece to welcome her into the new fold. Phulkari is usually embroidered with silk thread on coarse cotton and looks like the reverse of a darning stitch.

Red is an auspicious colour, hence it finds prominence in the workmanship. The most common motif is the sheaf of wheat and geometric patterns. There are also figurative pieces with scenes from village life that are used as panels rather than shawls. When the embroidery is done all over the body of a piece, it is called ‘baagh’ or garden. Since it is painstaking work, it also tends to be very expensive.

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Short Message Service

Moustache Contests If the names Handlebar, Walrus, Mutton Chop and Imperial don't ring a bell, head to the Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan next month for a crash course in facial hair. Traditionally, a luxuriant moustache was regarded as a sign of virility and worn as a badge of honour among Rajasthani men. At the Pushkar and other such rural fairs, a contest is held where Rajasthani men flaunt their moustaches with great pride to win a prize. There are many types of moustaches on display, the humblest being the Handlebar and its denser version, the Imperial. Some are mutton-chop, merging the side-burn and the moustache, leaving the chin clean-shaven.

Some moustaches are all about size, grown to great lengths and kept in a manageable coil in the turban or with a chinstrap.

For more on the subject, read Hair India: Bizarre Beards and Magnificent Moustaches of Hindustan, by Richard McCallum and Chris Stowers.

Throwball

photo emma horne, UK

Scary Mirchi

photo courtesy L&T Construction

Throwball is a non-contact team sport with seven players per team and five substitutes. The ball is ‘served’ with one hand from across the net and the opposite team player has to catch it and throw it back within seconds. The usual ball-sport rules of lines, nets and points apply. Throwball is presumed to have been introduced in Chennai in the 1940s, but it was not until 1955 that the rules and guidelines of playing the sport were formulated by Dr. Harry Crowe Buck, the Head of Department, YMCA College of Physical Education, Chennai. It took until 1980 for the first national level tournament to be organised in Bengaluru, Karnataka. However, for all its slow growth, what began originally as a ‘women’s sport’ introduced in India, has now become a popular sport in Asia played across schools and colleges, having its own international federation with regional bodies.

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photo : ENRIC DONATE SANCHEZ, spain

Depending on where you go in India, there are numerous ways to ward off the evil eye. The simplest of them is a charm made of lemon and chillies (mirchi) strung together and hung in vehicles and doorways to immunise them from the envious glances of others. When the lemon and chillies wither, indicating the absorption of withering glances, they are replaced with a fresh set. Depending on the region and the superstition, the number of chillies vary and so do the accompaniments, like a piece of coal, a conch shell, a black fabric-stuffed voodooesque doll with white features or, as in this image from Ladakh, the face mask of a ferocious dharampala (guardian deity) wearing a crown of skulls.

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A to Z of India S u san P hi l ip

League of an Extraordinary

Gentleman

It’s impossible to capture all facets of the life of a great soul, one who changed the destiny of a nation and continues to inspire people across the world. Limitations notwithstanding, here’s a mélange of people, places, events and concepts that the Mahatma touched, or was touched by.

Assassination: On January 30th 1948, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi fell to an assassin’s bullets while he was on his way to evening prayers in Delhi. The date is observed as Martyr’s Day, when, at 11 a.m., India pauses in silence for two minutes as a mark of respect to the Mahatma.

Gandhi Cap: Made of homespun, or Khadi, the white cap, with pointed ends both in the front and back, became synonymous with Gandhiji and the freedom struggle, as he wore it regularly.

Most leaders of the Independence Movement sported it too, including India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Hey Ram: Popularly believed to have been the Mahatma’s dying words, ‘Hey Ram’ is also a bilingual, semi-fictional Hindi-Tamil film with the central theme of religious bigotry and universal love. Written and directed by noted Indian actor Kamal Hassan, it was an Oscar entry.

Ben Kingsley: An actor best-known for his role in Richard Attenborough’s iconic film, Gandhi, Kingsley, originally known as Krishna Pandit Bhanji, was born in England, although his father, like Gandhiji, is of Gujarati descent. The film won both Kingsley and Sir Richard the coveted golden statues.

Influence on World Leaders: The success of Gandhiji’s philosophy of protest through non-violence has inspired many men and women across the globe, including Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Barack Obama and John Lennon.

Coining a Memory: Indian currency notes bear his image and so do many coins. Every major Indian city has a road named after him, often abbreviated to M G Road. Innumerable statues and busts of Gandhiji are scattered across the country. And also other parts of the world, including Pietermaritzberg, the place where he began his fight against prejudice.

Decoration (and rejection): Gandhiji was awarded the Kaisere-Hind, or ‘Emperor of India’ medal in 1915 by the British Raj for his contribution to the war efforts in South Africa. However, saddened by the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre five years later, he returned it as a mark of protest.

English connections: He went to England to study law. Before devoting himself to legal studies, he tried to turn himself into an ‘English’ gentleman, taking lessons in music, dancing and elocution. But he soon gave these up, and left for India the day after he was called to the Bar and enrolled as a practitioner in the High Court.

Friend of the poor: C. F. Andrews, an English priest, first met Gandhiji in South Africa. Known as ‘Deenabandhu’ or Friend of the Poor, he was one of the few who felt able to call the Mahatma by his given name, ‘Mohan’.

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Jawaharlal Nehru: Nehru was deeply influenced by Gandhiji, and the latter promoted him as his political heir. Although ideological differences did crop up between them in course of time, the love and regard they had for each other never waned.

Kasturba Gandhi: She was only 13 when she married Mohandas, also the same age. She stood by him in all his endeavours, metaphysical and physical. Known simply as ‘Ba’, she died in prison of bronchitis, aged 74, in her husband’s arms.

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Lord Irwin: He took over as Viceroy of India at a time when the country was in total turmoil. His defining role in the Indian Independence Movement was the signing of the GandhiIrwin Pact in 1931, which led to the suspension of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Monikers: Mohandas was the youngest of six children, and was fondly called ‘Moniya’ by his family. Sarojini Naidu, poet and freedom fighter, whose relationship with him was close and warm enough to tease, nicknamed him Mickey Mouse (referring to his large, sticking-out ears).

Nobel Prize: The highest of the world’s accolades eluded him, although he was nominated five times and shortlisted twice. In 1989, when the Peace Prize was awarded to the Dalai Lama, the Chairman of the Nobel Committee made amends by saying it was “in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi.”

Others on Gandhi: “I have worn these sandals for many a summer … even though I may feel that I am not worthy to stand in the shoes of so great a man. It was my fate to be the antagonist of a man for whom …I had the highest respect.”

Gen Jan Smuts, Prime Minister, Union of South Africa, to whom Gandhiji presented a pair of sandals he had made in prison.

Sabarmati Ashram: Located on the banks of the River Sabarmati in Gujarat, it was set up in 1915 as a home for the Gandhian ethos comprising Education, Truth (Non-Violence and Love), Celibacy, Control of the palate (no liquor or meat), Honesty, Simple Living, Use of Self-made Articles, Conquering of Fear and Eradication of Untouchability. It is now preserved as a museum.

Time Magazine: It named Gandhi the Man of the Year for 1930.

The magazine, in its annual issue, picks a man, woman, object, idea, even a generation, which, for better or worse, has done the most to influence the events of the preceding year. The choice is widely regarded as an honour, equivalent to an award.

Untouchability: Gandhiji’s name for the ‘Untouchable’ community was Harijan or Children of God. He began his Untouchability Fast at the Yerwada Jail in 1932, and it brought some quick results. After his release, he made the eradication of untouchability part of his campaign.

Vaishnava Janato: Gandhiji’s favourite hymn is a Gujarati bhajan that speaks of the ideal life of a true follower of Vishnu.

Other favourite songs included Raghupathi Raghava Raja Ram, Lead Kindly Light, Here is Thy Footstool (from Gitajanli) and the opening verses of the Koran.

Websites on Gandhiji: http://gandhihistory.com/ http://www.progress.org/gandhi/gandhi01.htm http://tinyurl.com/8qe77vs

Phoenix Settlement: An overgrown, snake-infested plot of land near Durban became the laboratory for Gandhiji’s ideas of self-help, dignity of labour, and equality. On it he set up the Phoenix Settlement in 1904. Although it was vandalized in 1985, it was reopened in 2000, and Gandhiji’s ideals live on there.

Quotes from Gandhi: “A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.” “The weak can never forgive.

Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”

Rajaji: C Rajagopalachari was a core member of Gandhiji’s ‘political team’, and was called his ‘Southern Commander’. Their ideological bonding was extended when Gandhiji’s youngest son Devdas fell in love with Rajaji’s daughter Lakshmi, and married her with the blessings of both fathers.

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Xperiments with Truth: Or more correctly, ‘The Story of My Experiments with Truth’ is Gandhiji’s autobiography. It was published in weekly installments in Navjivan, his Gujarati journal, while the English translation appeared in Young India.

Young India: Gandhiji realised the importance of journalism as a means of communicating ideas and ideology early on in his life as a crusader, and was involved with many publications. The Young Indian which he edited became the mouthpiece for the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Zulu Wars: When the British declared war against the Zulus in South Africa, Gandhi’s loyalties were divided. His heart was with the Zulus, but as he was demanding his rights as a British citizen at that time, he felt it his duty to contribute to the British war efforts. So he organised the Indian Ambulance Corps, which helped look after the war wounded.

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Feature S u z anne M c N ei l l

Man Power Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation and architect of the Indian independence movement, breathed new life into the Indian psyche and revolutionised the world with his principles of non-violent resistance and devotion to truth

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MENTION the name of the “Mahatma”, an honorific meaning “Great Soul”, to an Indian friend, and the response is sure to be a smile and a murmured “Gandhi-ji” in response; such is the adoration in which India’s inspirational leader of independence is held. Gandhi’s life spanned an extraordinary period that witnessed the birth of the modern era, the growing demands for self-determination and, ultimately, self-rule for India a year before he died. A stubborn and non-violent agitator, Gandhi confounded his critics time and time again with an intellect that “blended mysticism and astuteness”.

He was fearless and truthful and his leadership embodied the philosophies by which he lived: disciplined, inclusive and pragmatic. Gandhi’s landmark achievements are known by many, but here we look at the personal characteristics and influences that made him the leader he became.

Mahatma Gandhi at work during his voyage from India to London - 1931 photo courtesy www.oldindianphotos.in

Background

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 to a high-ranking state official in Gujarat, Karamchand Gandhi, and his fourth wife, Putlibai.

His childhood was characterised by his mother’s devout Jainism, and he discovered a passion for the legends of Shravan, who displayed great devotion to his parents, and Harishchandra, renowned for piety and justice and who never uttered a lie in his life. Despite his desire to study medicine (an interest that was to remain with him all his life), Gandhi was persuaded to become a barrister, and in 1888 travelled to London to study law.

On leaving India, Gandhi swore to his mother that he would abstain from meat and alcohol, and consequently he joined the Vegetarian Society, formed in London in 1847 by progressive religious groups. There he met members of the Theosophical Society, formed to further universal brotherhood, and was influenced by Buddhist and Hindu literature. Encouraged to read the Bhagavad Gita, Gandhi found himself on an “eager spiritual search for deeper understanding”.

His childhood in a family of privilege and the generosity of friendship he had experienced during his time in London left Gandhi unprepared for the prejudice he would experience when he moved to South Africa. He lived there for 21 years, from 1893 to 1914, a period that was to shape Gandhi’s politics, ethics and leadership skills.

The end of the 19th century had seen an influx of Tamil labourers and merchants

from the Gujarati community to Durban. Racial prejudice was rife and Gandhi’s resistance to such insult, which often resulted in beatings, quickly promoted him to the role of community leader and teacher. Within a few years, Gandhi was the official lobbyist for the Indian community, a role that took him to London several times arguing the case that as Mahatma Gandhi acknowledging the greetings of British subjects, the thousands supporters - 1940 of Indian citizens of this British photo courtesy www.oldindianphotos.in colony were entitled to equal privileges with Europeans. When the Wat Tyler and Joan of Arc, and selective British government responded with an Christian teachings. Most importantly, act requiring the registration of Indians, in 1909 Gandhi wrote to Leo Tolstoy, Gandhi led a resistance movement of the Russian novelist and social reformer, non-cooperation with the new law. From asking permission to translate into these early beginnings, which sought Gujarati and publish Tolstoy’s “Letter to to redress the wrongs suffered by an a Hindu”. In this, Tolstoy remarked on oppressed community, Gandhi was to the “astonishing fact” that 200 million develop a call to action whose new goal Indians, “highly gifted both physically and mentally” allowed themselves to was complete independence for India. be subject to the power of “ a small Early Influences group of people quite alien to them The devout Jainism of Putlibai was in thought, and immeasurably inferior to provide a framework for Gandhi’s to them in religious morality”. Such thinking on which he was to build over the coercion was the result of the distortion years, including compassion for all forms of the truth of love, celebrated by all the of life, self-discipline and fasting for selfreligions of the world, but twisted into purification. In later years, Gandhi often a falsehood that condoned violence. resorted to fasting to protest against “Love,” declared Tolstoy, “is the only way injustice, with serious consequences to to rescue humanity from all ills, and in it his health. you too have the only method of saving The years in London exposed Gandhi your people from enslavement.” To meet to works on moral ethics by Plato, the force with love excluded all resistance Victorian social thinker, John Ruskin, by violence. “Do not resist the evil-doer and the American philosopher, Henry and take no part in doing so, either in David Thoreau. He read about historical the violent deeds of the administration, freedom fighters such as Martin Photo: Luther, basia in thekruzewska, law courts, the collection of taxes, usa

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Lord and Lady Mountbatten with Mahatma Gandhi - 1940's photo courtesy www.oldindianphotos.in

Mahatma Gandhi at the Railway station in the early 1940s photo courtesy www.oldindianphotos.in

or above all in soldiering, and no one in the world will be able to enslave you.” It was a forceful argument that Gandhi found convincing and unassailable, and he was particularly impressed that “above all [Tolstoy] endeavours to practise what he preaches ... He commands attention.” Here was emerging Gandhi’s belief in satyagraha, meaning “devotion to the truth”, and his principles of non-violent resistance.

Evolving Leadership

Gandhi returned to India in 1915, and within a few years was launching different satyagraha struggles against the exploitation of rural workers. He set up the Satyagraha Ashram near Ahmedabad. He was consciously putting into practice

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the concept of swaraj that was later to evolve into the Quit India movement.

Those who lived with Gandhi at the ashram vowed to follow six principles: truth, nonviolence, celibacy, control of the palate, non-stealing and non-possession. Here was the creation of an ideal community, a harmonious society built on truth and love. It was the prime exemplar of swaraj, meaning individual, spiritual and political independence – ultimately a stateless society.

Gandhi had abandoned the Westernstyle dress during his time in South Africa, adopting the simple garb of the labourers he supported. He then led a boycott of foreign cloth and stressed the importance of spinning as a uniting factor for the independence movement, and as a foil to the Western industrialisation he found so repugnant. Spinning was therapeutic and had economic benefits. For Gandhi it was a near-sacramental act, and he urged his fellow Indians to spin khadi every day.

Jainism espoused mutual tolerance between people of different creeds. Gandhi’s years in South Africa fighting prejudice were testament to his belief in equality, but back in India he was to pursue another such cause, the discrimination shown to the Dalits or ‘untouchables’ by others of the Hindu faith. Always impatient with the rules of caste, to Gandhi the exclusion of the Dalits from society was a blight on Hinduism. Nor did he hold with positive discrimination, arguing that such attitudes had to be purged from within Hinduism, not separated from it. In the 1930s, Gandhi famously embarked on a fast “to death” in reaction to the idea of separate elected representation.

The intolerance between Hindu and Muslim also distressed Gandhi. “We are disgracing [God’s] earth …” he wrote in 1926 during a period of prolonged communal violence. He sought every means to keep the Muslim League leader, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, part of a national, not just Congress-led, independence movement, and resisted Jinnah’s own moves towards a separate Muslim state. The eventual partition of India in 1947, and the ensuing violence, probably caused the most profound misery of his life.

Gandhi enjoyed the friendship of women. In London he met the founder of the Theosophical Party, Annie Besant, who was to join him in his demands for Indian independence He was supportive of the suffragette movement, admiring the women’s non-violent stance and their bravery. Gandhi appealed directly to the women of India to enter the struggle for independence when he called on them to join the 1930 Salt March, encouraging them to demand freedom and equality, a social revolution in itself. Women returned his friendship with loyalty and devotion. In his final years, frail and unsteady on his feet, Gandhi was helped to walk by two girls he affectionately called his “walking sticks”. They were with him when he was shot and comforted him in his final moments.

Bapu, the Father of the Nation

To Gandhi, sacrifice – the rejection of “normal” pleasures – was the law of life. He had a “passionate resolve” to suffer and experience in daily life all the pain and sorrow sustained by his country’s poorest peasants and outcasts, but also initiated programmes against alcoholism, ignorance and poverty. (To this day, Gandhi’s birthday, which is a national

holiday, is a “dry day” with no alcohol served anywhere in the country.) He preached the virtues of ahmisa, nonviolence, and dharma, devotion to the truth. His speeches were enriched by references to the Bhagavad Gita, to folk wisdom and the religious philosophy of the ancient Vedic and Upanishadic eras that had given rise to the legends that had so inspired him as a child. He ate simply, dressed simply, travelled only by train, and then in third class. As he learned himself from Tolstoy, by this he commanded attention. His stance continuously wrong-footed the authorities, particularly during a period of repression in the late 1920s, who, almost comically, vacillated between arresting Gandhi and avoiding him altogether. In everything he maintained a “sweet reasonableness” of argument, and always addressed his opponents as “Dear Friend”.

However, Gandhi was prepared to take up the mantle of freedom fighter when necessary. He sought the leadership of the Servants of India Society on the death of his “political guru”, nationalist Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1915, and led the Indian National Congress from 1920 until 1934. He was pragmatic in realising that he would have to abandon his life of rural retreat and return to the political world when ardent nationalists such as Jawaharlal Nehru, disillusioned with the pace of change, threatened to abandon patience for revolution. And he was persuasive, managing even to win over unemployed millworkers in Britain, who blamed Gandhi and India’s boycott of foreign cotton for their lack of work. He was immensely brave, walking from village to village in Bengal to impart hope and courage during the anti-Muslim rioting in 1946, and was a lone voice arguing for a democratic rather than military response to the problem of Jammu and Kashmir post-1947.

Legacy

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, people living under oppression looked at the life and philosophy of the Mahatma, were inspired by it, and applied it to their own struggles. Martin Luther King, the AfricanAmerican civil rights leader, led a campaign of non-violent civil disobedience, and Nelson Mandela’s 1952 Defiance Campaign followed the Mahatma’s approach. President Obama has recently cited the Mahatma as the source of his biggest inspiration.

On that dark day in 1948, when “the light has gone out of our lives”, Jawaharlal Nehru’s funeral Address to Gandhi, captured the immense humanity that was at the heart of Gandhi-ji’s life, and the loss of a nation: “We will not run to him for advice or seek solace from him, and that is a terrible blow, not only for me, but for millions and millions in this country.”

Quotations by Tolstoy are taken from Tolstoy’s “Letter to a Hindu”. This can be read online with Gandhi’s Introduction at: www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/2733 All remaining quotations are from Stanley Wolpert’s book, Gandhi’s Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, published by Oxford University Press, 2001.

Gandhian Roots

The young girl wearing glasses peering behind Gandhiji is Sumitra Gandhi Kulkarni

Mahatma Gandhi’s granddaughter, Sumitra Gandhi Kulkarni, recalls some of her earliest memories of her grandfather WHEN I think about my earliest memories with Bapuji (a term of endearment that means father), a plethora of images come flashing in quick succession. For, you see, I was 18 years old when he died…

I have not seen a more elegant man who is half naked!

Bapuji, whatever he wore, did so with such nonchalance and confidence. If you are happy with what you are wearing, then you feel secure and at ease with yourself. People always depict him as meek person; they show him without hair, with thick-rimmed glasses and a stooped posture, but he had a broad chest like a soldier’s and walked ramrod-like. He insisted that we sit with a straight spine. He was also a very thrifty man. After lunch and dinner, he would eat only half a clove, saving the other half for the next meal! The other ritual was also after lunch. My grandmother used to make this goat’s milk fudge, a brown-coloured sweet that used to be stocked in Bapuji’s bedroom. After lunch, only my sister, brother and I would go to the room and Bapuji would pop one into his mouth and one into each of our mouths.

My grandparents never gave us any chocolates or toys, never celebrated our birthdays, never gave us new clothes, but they loved us, their eyes and ears caught everything. We were not treated as Bapuji’s grandchildren – any stranger could come and scold us if we did not behave properly. We did not know the difference that we were the grandchildren of Mahatma and that the others were not. That kind of democracy, that kind of oneness amongst the 100 to 150 ashramites from all the regions of the country and world felt like we were one family.

Both of them, in a very subtle manner, but in no uncertain terms, passed on their basic cultural values and art of living to us – they said that whatever you do, you do well, you must not cheat anyone, you must offer your best – it may not be the best, and you can never do it at the cost of another.

Bapuji’s one message was “nirbhay bano” which means “be free from fear.” The moment you are free from fear, you are true to yourself and you cannot cheat or hurt anybody. It is as simple as that.

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photo Alan Dougans, usa

Death of the Mahatma

Vincent Sheean was an American reporter and author who had covered trouble spots around the world in the years prior to and during World War II. In 1947, Sheean travelled to India and became a disciple of Gandhi in an attempt to find meaning in the violent and disruptive events he had witnessed during his years of reporting. We join his account as he rushes to join a prayer-meeting with Gandhi in the heart of New Delhi in the early evening hours of January 30, 1948:

“I got a taxi and went out to Birla House in time for the prayer-meeting. This time I was alone. I stationed my taxi under a tree opposite the gate of Birla House and walked down the drive to the prayerground. It was not yet five o'clock and people were still streaming in on foot, in cars and with tongas. As I came on to the prayer-ground at the end of the garden I ran into Bob Stimson, the Delhi correspondent of the B.B.C. We fell into talk and I told him about the journey to Amritsar and what had taken place there.

It was unusual to see any representatives of the press at the prayer-meeting; Bob explained that he had submitted some questions to the Mahatma for the B.B.C. and thought he might as well stay for the prayers since he was on the premises. He looked at his watch and said: 'Well, this is strange. Gandhi's

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Photo: gitte anderson, sweden

late. He's practically never late.’ We both looked at our watches again. It was 5:12 by my watch when Bob said: 'There he is.' We stood near the corner of the wall, on the side of the garden where he was coming, and watched the evening light fall on his shining dark-brown head. He did not walk under the arbour this evening but across the grass, in the open lawn on the other side of the flower-beds.

(There was the arboured walk, and a strip of lawn, and a long strip of flower-bed, and then the open lawn.)

It was one of those shining Delhi evenings, not at all warm but alight with the promise of spring. I felt well and happy and grateful to be here. Bob and I stood idly talking, I do not remember about what, and watching the Mahatma advance toward us over the grass, leaning lightly on two of 'the girls,' with two or

photo courtesy www.oldindianphotos.in

Funeral Procession of Mahatma Gandhi - New Delhi February 6 1948

three other members of his 'family' (family or followers) behind them. I read afterward that he had sandals on his feet but I did not see them. To me it looked as if he walked barefoot on the grass. It was not a warm evening and he was wrapped in homespun shawls. He passed by us on the other side and turned to ascend the four or five brick steps which led to the terrace or prayer-ground.

Here, as usual, there was a clump of people, some of whom were standing and some of whom had gone on their knees or bent low before him. Bob and I turned to watch – we were perhaps ten feet away from the steps, but the clump of people cut off our view of the Mahatma now; he was so small. Then I heard four small, dull, dark explosions. 'What's that?' I said to Bob in sudden horror. 'I don't know,' he said.

I remember that he grew pale in an instant. 'Not the Mahatma!' I said, and then I knew.

Inside my own head there occurred a wavelike disturbance which I can only compare to a storm at sea – wind and wave surging tremendously back and forth.

I remember all this distinctly; I do not believe that I lost consciousness even for a moment, although there may have been an instant or two of half-consciousness.

I recoiled upon the brick wall and leaned against it, bent almost in two. I felt the consciousness of the Mahatma leave me then – I know of no other way of expressing this: he left me. ...The storm inside my head continued for some little time – minutes, perhaps; I have no way of reckoning.

It was during this time, apparently, that many things happened: a whole external series of events took place in my immediate neighbourhood – a few yards away – and I was unaware of them. A doctor was found; the police took charge; the body of the Mahatma was carried away; the crowd melted, perhaps urged to do so by the police.

I saw none of this. The last I saw of the Mahatma he was advancing over the grass in the evening light, approaching the steps. When I finally took my fingers out of my mouth and stood up, dry-eyed, there were police and soldiers and not many people, and there was Bob Stimson. He was rather breathless; he had gone somewhere to telephone to the B.B.C. He came with me down the steps to the lawn, where we walked up and down beside the flower-bed for a while. The room with the glass doors and windows, by the rose garden at the end of the arbour, had a crowd of people around it. Many were weeping. The police were endeavouring to make them leave. Bob could not tell me anything except that the Mahatma had been taken inside that room. On the following day he told me that he had seen him carried away and that the khadi which he wore was heavily stained with blood.”

Vincent Sheean’s account appears in: Sheean, Vincent, Lead, Kindly Light (1949); Ashe, Geoffrey, Gandhi (1968). “The Assassination of Gandhi, 1948,” EyeWitness to History, www. eyewitnesstohistory.com (2005). culturama | october 2012

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Music & Lyrics To understand some of the ideals that Gandhiji stood for, we present two of his favourite hymns - Vaishnavo Janato, a poem in Gujarati written by 15th century poet, Narsinh Mehta, that was included in his daily prayers, and Raghupati Raghava Rajaram, a devotional song in Hindi sung by his followers during the iconic Salt March or Dandi March Vaishnav Janato tene kahiye Jay peerh paraaye janneyray, Par dukkhey upkar karey toyey, mana abhimana na anney ray... | Vaishnav... || Sakal lokma Sahuney vandhey, Ninda Na karye kainee ray vaach kaachh, Man nischal Raakhey, dhandhan jananee tainee ray... | Vaishnav... || Samadrishti nay trishna tyagee, par-stree jaynay mat ray Jivha thaki asatya na bolay, par-dhan nav jhaley haath ray... | Vaishnav... || Moh maaya vyaapey nahin Jeynay, dridh vairagya jena manma ray Ram-nam-shoom taalee ray laagee, Sakal teerath teyna tanma ray... | Vaishnav... || Vanloobhee nay kapat rahit chhay, Kaam, Krodh nivarya ray Bhane Narsinhyo tainoo darshan karta kul ekotair taarya ray... | Vaishnav... ||

He who understands the pain of others is one of God's own.

Helping others in sorrow does not reduce his humility.

This person respects all people in the world, and does not condemn or criticize anyone.

He is pure in speech, deed and thought. His mother is blessed indeed!

He is equanimous and has given up all desires. To him, other women are [equivalent to] mothers.

He never speaks the untruth, not even if his tongue is tired. He does not covet others' wealth.

Delusion and attachment do not affect him, his mind is firm in detachment.

He is ever engrossed in God's name and meditation, and he embodies all places of pilgrimage.

Such a person has no greed and deceit. He has overcome lust and anger.

Narsi says: Such a person is worthy of worship, and alone elevates his entire race

Listen to this song here, sung by MS Subbulakshmi, renowned Carnatic vocalist: http://www.msstribute.org/music.php Raghupati Rāghav Rājārām, Patit Pāvan Sītārām Iśvar Allāh Tero Nām, Sab ko Sanmati de Bhagavān

Chief of the house of Raghu, Lord Rama, Uplifters of those who have fallen, Sita and Rama, God and Allah are your names, Bless everyone with this wisdom, Lord.

Listen to this hymn and watch a picture presentation on Gandhiji here: http://www.savetubevideo.com/?v=9yiV9bZcjdE

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In your Kitchen H arini S ankaranara y an

Taste of Simplicity From the hot desert sands of Kutch in Gujarat comes a simple tradition of food that leaves you with a lingering aftertaste of fullness SONAL Sundarani was brought up in Kutch, Gujarat. She still remembers the hot dry months when most people stayed indoors to avoid the desert heat. Far on the western border of India, it shares its boundaries with Pakistan. Strangely though, there is hardly any Pakistani influence either on the lifestyle or food. Most people are staunch Hindus, with some villages claiming history as old as the Indus valley.

AseparatekingdombeforeIndianindependence, Kutch was declared a part of Gujarat postindependence. The people of this region have more in common with the Sindhis, and their language sounding like a mix between Gujarathi and Sindhi. The food though, is predominantly influenced by their Gujarathi neighbours.

The greatest influence in Gujarat, however, has been the towering personality of Mahatma Gandhi.

Sonal talks about her grandmother who is about a hundred years old. “When my grandmother was still a child, she met Gandhi as a part of the welcome committee in her school and has since been a Gandhian. Everything in the house revolves around his principles and teachings,” she says. Gandhi’s photos adorn the walls instead of the numerous pictures of the Hindu Gods. Even the food served is pure vegetarian. A traditional breakfast in the house would start with theplas, a spicy flat bread, and a sweet pickle. Poha or beaten rice is sometimes a variation at breakfast.

The mid-day meal would typically consist of a couple of vegetables, Bajra or Jawar (a local hard grain) rotis, a spicy-sweet dhal, rice and butter

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milk. A simple salad of onions and tomatoes are a must. Many communities in Gujarat do not even eat onions and garlic. But for the Kutchis, the onion in the afternoon is a must to combat the afternoon heat. Desert options for lunch are limited. A chunk of jaggery satisfies the sweet tooth.

At dinner, one would find their plates filled with Kichidi and hot Kadhi and more rotis. Simplicity is the hallmark of Kutchi cooking. The hot dessert does not yield too many vegetables. The most commonly used vegetables are potatoes, eggplant, radish, tomatoes and, of course, onions and garlic. On special days you could get pooris, a deep fried bread, with spicy potato curry for breakfast and to soothe the tongue, the sweet yellow spirals of jelebis. Finally, wash all of it down with the famous masala chai redolent with sweet spices.

No self-respecting Kutchi kitchen would be without the three main spices — turmeric, red chilli powder and coriander. Kokum is their preferred souring agent in food. While simplicity may be the main characteristic of the food, this in no way undermines the complexity of flavours. The spicy pungency of the chilli is offset with the sourness of the kokum and the sweetness of the jaggery blends with the heavenly aroma of fresh ghee. Like Sonal’s grandmother who is rooted in tradition and yet managed to secure a Bachelors degree in Sanskrit, the people and the food of Kutch are steeped in the rich tradition of this region and yet manage to maintain their own identity in today’s world.

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Kichidi and Kadhi (Serves 4) Ingredients

Did you know?

That the people of Kutch have their own language called Kutchi? The written script is almost extinct and samples of this can be found in the Kutch Museum.

That Aamir Khan’s Oscar nominated film ‘Lagaan’ was shot on location in Kutch?

That the annual festival of Rann Utsav, that attracts visitors from all over the world, is a must for all who want to steep themselves in the lifestyle, culture and food of Kutch?

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For the Kichidi 2For the Kichidi Ingredients 1 cup moong beans or green gram dhal (split with their skins intact) 1 cup rice 4 tsp ghee or clarified butter ½ tsp turmeric powder ½ tsp whole cumin ¼ tsp asafoetida Salt to taste

Method

• Wash and soak the dal and rice in water for one hour.

• Add five cups of water in a pressure cooker and add the drained dal and rice • Add all other ingredients and mix well.

• Pressure cook till done.

• Check for seasoning and serve hot with Kadhi.

Ingredients

For the Kadhi ½ cup chick pea flour 1 ½ cups yogurt 1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp whole cumin ¼ tsp fenugreek 2 green chillies finely chopped 1 inch piece of ginger finely chopped 1 tbsp ghee or clarified butter 2 tsp jaggery grated or molasses (if you are on a diet or are diabetic, you could substitute jaggery with Splenda) A few curry leaves Salt to taste

Method

• Mix the yogurt and chickpea flour and add water to make a mixture the consistency of thick buttermilk.

• Add the jaggery, green chillies and ginger to this mixture.

• In a wok heat ghee and temper the mustard, cumin, fenugreek (careful with this, it burns easily) curry leaves and asafoetida.

• Cook on medium heat till the liquid froths up and comes to a quick boil.

• Take off the heat immediately and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

• Serve as an accompaniment to the Kichidi.

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Spaces

Chandni Chowk is a street with many alleys leading off it, and it has been a flourishing trade centre since its inception in 1650 in Delhi

square root of Delhi

ONE could stumble upon a piece of history in the most unremarkable by-lanes of Delhi. Nowhere is this more accurate than in Chandni Chowk.

Essentially, Chandni Chowk is a street with many alleys leading off it. It has been a flourishing trade centre since its inception in 1650 in Shahjahanabad, or Delhi, as it was known during the time of the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan.

Jahanara Begum, the daughter of Shah Jahan is credited with the creation of Chandni Chowk. It was a tree-lined square that evolved into an avenue flanked by merchants’ shops and havelis (houses of noblemen) and used as a thoroughfare for processions. A pool ran down the centre of it and on moonlit nights, the water in the pool shimmered like silver, hence the play of words for the name, Chandni Chowk (chandni=silver, moonlight, chowk=square).

There are numerous recorded impressions of Chandni Chowk

by Europeans visiting India in the 1800s. Although there are no cheetahs on leashes or trains of elephants, the space continues to be a sensory overload for the average visitor.

The jostle of the crowds is merely one aspect. The cacophony of hawkers announcing their wares and the haggling of the customers mingles with vehicle horns and the lowing of cows gone astray. Add to that the sparkle of mirrored shop counters and psychedelic wares. If that wasn’t enough, there’s the cloud of perfume as one passes an attar-wala’s (perfumier) stall.

Turn your head a few degrees and a chai-wala (tea-shop boy) brushes past, laden with glasses of aromatic spiced tea.

When it comes to taste, nothing beats the array of food

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available at Chandni Chowk – from jalebis (sweet spiral fritters), to lassi (Buttermilk – mostly sweetened), falooda (a creamy dessert made with rice noodles) to namkeens (savoury snacks). Some shops like Ghantewala, a sweet-meat seller, have been in business since 1740. And Karim’s is the place for Mughlai food of the richness that one would associate with the royal kitchens.

And there’s always Parathewali Gali (Street of Indian Breads).

Turn off the main Chandni Chowk road and step right into this alley of gastronomic pleasures. There are over forty different fillings that can be stuffed into the paratha or parantha as some call it. The fillings range from the mundane (potato, cauliflower, etc) to the exotic (cashewnuts, mince and also a sweet filling called Khurchan).

As with Bazaars in many parts of India, Chandni Chowk has its share of specialist lanes that market different commodities.

Moti Bazaar is renowned for its shawls, Fatehpuri Bazaar for fabric, Nai Sarak for stationery and books. Khari Baoli is a spice market with a plethora of condiments, pulses, dry fruits and nuts. There’s also the street for jewellery and silver ware, Dariba Kalan (derived from the Persian dur-e-be-baha = incomparable pearl). Churiwali Galli, is literally, the street of bangle-sellers.

Kinari Bazaar is renowned for its embroidered trimmings and for the tinsel that bedecks many a Delhi wedding.

The trick to making the most of a visit to Chandni Chowk is to tag along with a local who knows the right shop and the right price to bargain for.

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Look who's in Town benga l u r u

Catherine with family and friends at their favourite restaurant

Tasty Bytes

Britisher Catherine Yates, returns to India after 20 years and talks about the biggest change she’s noticed – the food!

AS FIRST impressions go, Catherine’s was not very different from other expatriates when she landed in India.

Only, that was twenty years back. “I backpacked through Rajasthan, Kerala, Chennai, Kolkata and Darjeeling and it was quite an incredible experience,” she says. Now settled in Bengaluru with her husband and three children, Catherine can’t help noticing the sea change food has undergone in India. “All we had back then were the innumerable dosa and chai (tea) shops around the corner. Though we still enjoy these, we have more options like pizza restaurants, which the kids are familiar with,” she adds. Being vegetarians, Catherine and her husband enjoy the wide range of food they find in Bengaluru, and share some of their experiences with us.

Here & There Back home in the UK, we had to plan meticulously and book our reservations in restaurants earlier and so on.

Bengaluru is more spontaneous; we just go out to eat when we want to! We seem to eat out more often here as the food is also more affordable. Also, since the weather here is more predictable, it is easier to head out every now and then. And Bengaluru is truly a food destination with cuisines from across the world.

Must Eat in Bengaluru I would recommend a lazy Sunday brunch at the

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beautiful Leela Palace with your family. It’s an experience in itself, as the hotel has a separate kids buffet and a movie screening for children. We also enjoyed the Indian food at ‘Herbs & Spices’. The ambience was great too, as it’s an old bungalow converted into a restaurant. Another place I would like to suggest is ‘likethatonly’, which offers a panAsian cuisine.

Best Tips Be willing to try new food; just be careful not to eat too much raw food until your body adapts to the food here. Don’t be afraid to ask what you are eating and what ingredients go into the food you are ordering. While being flexible, try to drink safe bottled water.

What’s the Buzz?

While eating out in local restaurants, we often find that the mosquitoes don’t bother anyone but us! We generally leave the place smelling of mosquito coils!

Must Eat in the UK Must try the traditional meal of fish and chips eaten out of a paper packet, best had from the Whitstable Seafront shops. The good old English pub, like the quaint Aldbury Village Pub, is another experience in itself, with cozy woodfires and warm ale.

Charles with his favourite mode of transport - the humble cycle!

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Look who's in Town chennai

Dog Days

Diana (left) and Tanja (right) taking in the sun with their pets

Germans Tanja Brix-Blaich and Diana Grieger, talk to us about Chennai’s pet-friendly side

AS NEIGHBOURS in Chennai, Germans Tanja Brix-Blaich and Diana Grieger have more than their nationality in common.

For one, they have both lived in Chennai for a little over two years. Two, after the first overwhelming experience of the city, ithey are both now seasoned Chennaiites, knowing fully well that “there will always be new things to learn”, as Tanja says, and "to let go of things and go with the flow", as Diana adds.. But most important of all is the fact that they are both proud owners of pet dogs. Tanja has two dogs, seven-year-old Lara, a Golden Retriever mix, and two-year-old Stanley, an original Chennai street dog, while Diana’s dog, Jacky, an “Indian Streetfighter”, was also adopted from Chennai’s streets. As ardent pet lovers, Diana and Tanja share some valuable information with us on nurturing pets in Chennai.

Pets in Germany Tanja: Pets in Germany are almost like a family member, like another child. If you go for a walk with your dog, it’s sometimes like going with your child to the playground. In fact, most of the times, you know the name of the pet, not the human being who walks with them! That certainly changed in India. Dogs are not very social here, and most times, the person walking the dog is the driver or the watchman; which is why we adopted one more dog, so Lara has another friend at home.

Diana: Like Tanja said, dogs especially are almost like

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family members. They are kept inside the house and grow up with the children. People take them along on holidays and always plan according to that. That’s how we treat Jacky here.

He is very important to us, and lives with us in the house.

Pet Care in Chennai Tanja: The good thing in Chennai is that if you go for a holiday, you have a maid who is looking after your pet. In Germany, we had to leave our pets in friends’ homes. I also think pet clinics are much cheaper here, though you have to look for a really good one.

Diana: Someone recommended ‘Dr. JP’s Pet Speciality Hospital’ in Adyar and ‘The Ark – 24 Hours Veterinary Clinic’ in Thiruvanmiyur to me. With both I have had good experiences.

Pet Tips Tanja: Before you decide to bring your pet to India, check if she or he can survive the heat. However, it’s so hard to think of leaving them behind!

Diana: I agree, though climate change and a long flight could be tough on your pet. We had to leave our 13-year-old cat with my mom because her life here would not be the same and we were not sure if she would have survived the travel.

Vaccination, of course, is very important. And do check the requirements when you want to take your pet back to your home country.

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events CALENDAR MUMBAI

Karaoke World Championships October 7

4th Floor, Palladium Mall, High Street Phoenix, Mumbai Twenty-four zonal finalists will compete for the title of India’s Karaoke World Champion 2012. Solo and group entries are permitted in the contest. The competition will see four groups competing to win an all expense paid trip to Finland to cheer the KWC 2012 Indian Grand Finale solo winners. Call 022-25645461 or 022-67969204 for details.

14th Mumbai Film Festival October 18 to 25 Cinemax, Infinity Mall, 3rd Floor, New Link Road, Versova, Andheri West – 400053 and Metro Big Cinemas, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Marine Lines, Mumbai – 400020

The 14th Mumbai Film festival features international and Indian cinema, and this year, the festival celebrates 100 years of Indian cinema, with a new section on the best of Indian cinema.

Visit http://mumbaifilmfest. com for more details or call +919323290523 for more details.

Trekking – Malshej Ghat Trail October 6

Participants meet at various train stations for the trek.

Organised by the Bombay Natural History Society, this trek will take participants to Malshej Ghats, 154 km away from Mumbai. The place is known for its scenic beauty and rich flora and fauna. Asif Khan and Vandan Jhaveri will lead the trek.

Call 022-22871202 or e-mail bnhs. programmes@gmail.com for details.

Mumbai Film and Comics Convention October 20 and 21

World Trade Arcade, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai – 400004 The convention is a platform for comic artists and upcoming filmmakers. Visit Artist’s Corner where works of artists will be sold or buy fun toys and merchandise.

Workshops for artists and illustrators will also be held. Call +919953495581 for details or visit http://comicconindia.com

Diwali Mela

Solo Art Exhibition

Blue Sea Hall, Worli Seaface, A.G. Khan Road, Worli, Mumbai – 400018

The Guild Art Gallery, #2/32, Kamal Mansion, 2nd Floor, Arthur Bunder Road, Mumbai.

Artist Prajakta Potnis displays an ensemble of paintings, sculptureinstallations and photographs on everyday objects. Her artwork focuses on the passage of time and the effect of this on objects like vegetables, household articles and the like. Contact 022-22880195.

October 25

An exhibition of products to celebrate the festival of Diwali with a wide selection of Indian jewellery, clothing, accessories, gift articles and more. Call 02224903333 for more details.

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For a slice of culture in Mumbai through Culturama’s pick of events this month

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On till October 27 | 1000h to 1830h

events CALENDAR DELHI

Photo Exhibition – Far and Near India

October 12 to 25 | 1100h Russian Centre of Science and Culture, #24, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi An exhibition of photographs taken by Russian nationals will be on display. The photographs bring out their memories and impressions of India with real-life pictures taken during their stay.

For a slice of culture in Delhi through Culturama’s pick of events this month

Ghazal Evening with Talat Aziz October 13 | 1830h Siri Fort Auditorium, Asiad Village Complex, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi – 110049

‘Shaam e Ghazal’ (an evening of Ghazal) will have ghazal maestro, Talat Aziz, present classical ghazals of the late Mehndi Hasan Sahab and the late Jagjit Singh. Ghazals are similar to sonnets and are a poetic expression of love, beauty or such emotions. The three-hour concert will be in aid of underprivileged children. Tickets can be booked on http://in.bookmyshow.com.

NH7 Weekender – Music Festival

Folk Forward – Fashion with Music

Enjoy one of the most exciting music festivals of the country for two days! The festival will feature the giants of rock, metal and folk fusion music bands. For more details on the artistes participating and entry, visit the official website http:// nh7.in/weekender/ncr/artists/.

This event combines Sufi music and an exhibition of lifestyle clothing.

Musicians from India and Pakistan will perform Persian and Punjabi folk music of Rumi and other renowned Sufi poets.

Contact 9891001515 for more details.

Scottish Dance Theatre

ANZA Melbourne Cup brunch

October 13 and 14 F1 Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida

October 30 |1900h Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi The Scottish Dance theatre in its first tour of India will present three famous choreographies

by Liv Lorent, Russell Maliphant and James Wilton. Hosted by British Council, this will be part of an educational outreach programme. For further details call +91 011- 23711401 or mail delhi. enquiry@in.britishcouncil.org or visit www.britishcouncil.org.in

October 18 and 19|1900h The Grand Hotel, Vasant Kunj – Phase II, Nelson Mandela Road, New Delhi

November 6 Australian High Commission, 1/50 G Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021

The ANZA Melbourne Cup brunch is organised by the Australia New Zealand Association annually to celebrate Australia’s famous horse race, the Melbourne Cup. It has participation from diplomats and corporate executives from across the globe.

Events include a live screening of the Melbourne Cup itself and a gourmet brunch. Email : melbournecup@ anzadelhi.org for details.

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events

CALENDAR BENGALURU

Disney's Beauty and the Beast Musical

The Great Indian October Fest

Sarala Birla Academy, an Aditya Birla school, presents Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ as a musical.

This is a Disney classic that is being recreated by the school with more than 120 children telling the story with songs and dances. The musical is directed by Alexander Abraham, choreographed by Daniel Ibess Clifford. The music arranged by Rohin Gabriel Joseph will have original tunes composed

by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. Call 25506100 or 25530137 for more details.

The Great Indian October Fest is a festival of music and entertainment that is held every October in Bengaluru since 2005.

The three-day event inspired by the German Oktoberfest hosts international and Indian musicians from a variety of genres. Besides the music performances, TGIOF’s other activities include food stalls, automotive, art and flea market events. Book tickets on http://in.bookmyshow.com

Indian Open 2012 – Golf tournament

Samhara by Nrityagram

October 12 | 1900h Jyothi Nivas College Auditorium, Koramangala, Bengaluru

October 18 to 20 Karnataka Golf Association, #1, Golf Avenue, Kodihalli, Off Airport Road, Bengaluru –560008 India’s oldest sports tournament is being held in Bengaluru for the first time. European Tour players, Swedish Peter Hanson, Scotland’s Richie Ramsay and England’s James Morrison, along with many of Asia’s leading players, are expected to participate this year. Contact + 080-40090000 for more details.

Camp for Youngsters October 20 and 21 Bannerghatta National Park

The two-day camp will have youngsters learning about the rich flora and fauna in the national park. Staying in a lakeside property, they will learn fishing, nature games and bonfire activities. The camp is spearheaded by Phillip Ross, an avid angler and nature photographer. Register online at http://www.toehold.in.

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October 12 to 14 Jai Mahal, Cunningham Road, Bengaluru

October 20 | 1930h Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Gayathri Devi Park Extension, Kodandarampura, Bengaluru

The Nrityagram dance ensemble and Sri Lanka’s Chitrasena dance company present a choreography by dancer Surupa Sen. The production, called ‘Samhara’, will explore two art forms, namely the classical Indian dance from of Odisha called Odissi, and the Kandyan dance form of Sri Lanka. Tickets can be bought online at http://www.indianstage.in/

Hindustani Vocal Concert – Pandit Jasraj October 28 | 1830h Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Gayathri Devi Park Extension, Kodandarampura, Bengaluru

Pandit Jasraj, renowned Indian classical vocalist, will perform live at the Bengaluru Sangeeth Utsav.

The pandit belongs to the Mewati Gharana of Hindustani classical music. Jasraj’s vocal range extends to three-and-a-half octaves and he is known for the use of precise diction. Tickets can be bought online at http://www.indianstage.in/

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events CALENDAR CHENNAI

Kaivalam – World Craft Summit October 7 to 10 | 1100h onwards The ITC Grand Chola, #63, Mount Road, Guindy, Chennai – 600032

Kaivalam, which translates to ‘handmade crafts’, is being organised by the World Crafts Council. The event aims at bringing together craftspersons from across the world to display their products. Craft heritage trips to destinations across Tamil Nadu are being organised as well. Parts of the event are also being held at Valluvarkottam and Lalit Kala Akademi. Call +91-9941012382 or email linda@apparaoart.com or visit www.worldcraftscouncil. org for further details.

Zumba Master Class October 13 | 1800h Rooftop – Citi Centre Mall

Participate in this fun onetime dance classes from a certified Zumba instructor from New Jersey. Zumba is a danceinspired fitness form that can be picked up by anyone with an ear for music or love for dance. Tickets will be available at the venue. Call 9790787813 for more details.

Scottish Dance Theatre

October 21| 1900h Sir Mutha Venkatsubbarao Concert Hall, Lady Andal School, #13/1, Harrington Road, Chetpet, Chennai – 600031 Catch the Scottish Dance Theatre Company in its first tour of India this month! The contemporary dance company will feature three productions, each choreographed by Liv Lorent, Russell Maliphant and James Wilton. For further details, call 044-42050600 or email chennai. enquiry@in.britishcouncil.org or visit www.britishcouncil.org.in

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For a slice of culture in Chennai through Culturama’s pick of events this month

Solo Art Show

October 6 to 15| 1100h to 1900h Art House India, #41, Kasturi Rangan Road, Alwarpet, Chennai – 600018 Celebrated artist T Athiveerapandian will display his exclusive collection of abstract landscapes at Art House India.

Simply known as ‘Athi’, he has exhibited his paintings both nationally and internationally. Call 044-24992173 for more details.

Stand-up Comedy

October 20 | 1930h Sir Mutha Venkatsubbarao Concert Hall, Lady Andal School, #13/1, Harrington Road, Chetpet, Chennai – 600031 Stand-up comedian and actor, Vir Das, is back in town with ‘Who let the Das Out?’. This event is organised by the Madras Mylapore Ladies Circle as a charity fundraiser towards building schools. Contact 044-49101010 for booking tickets or book online at http://shows.dinein.in/

Basics of Photography Workshop

October 27 to 28 |0930h to 0600 h Hotel Park View, 125, Valluvarkottam High Road Nungambakkam, Chennai 600034 Nature photographer Sachin Rai is conducting this workshop for beginners who love photography.

Participants have the choice to bring their DSLR/ digital camera for the workshop, the workshop organisers can also arrange for one. Any photographs shot by the participants can brought along as a sample to gain pointers from the mentor. Register online at http://www.toehold.in

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Picture Story

P ra v eena S hi v ram

Culturama’s fiction series continues, capturing the quotidian of everyday life in India through stories behind the ordinary, the mundane, the forgotten and the invisible

Ordinary

Love

IT WAS love at first sight for Marimuthu. As he stood in the middle of the road, his broken down cart crowded with tender coconuts, the sun disappearing into his dark bare skin, he saw her call out to him from the second floor balcony.

Coconut Man Her voice carried the alien words like a butterfly carrying the wind on its back – soft, light, comforting. He stood transfixed, and later in the evening, when he sat drinking with his friends under the banyan tree around which the slum grew like roots, he wouldn’t remember the girl’s maid coming down to buy a tender coconut; he wouldn’t remember beheading the coconut with his sickle, the sweet water bleeding onto his hands; he wouldn’t remember the maid pressing some coins into his hand (it was two rupees short); or that the girl and maid had long disappeared into the house. All he would remember was the beating of his heart, threatening to split his soul in half.

The next morning, the air still wet with the fading light of the moon, when Marimuthu left for the market, he was a changed man. Not on the outside – his shirt still hung limply over his body and his checked lungi remained listless like wet hair – but on the inside there was the hum and the buzz of a little tune, loud enough to drown out the cacophony of trucks, delivery men, hagglers and hawkers at the market, soft enough to remain hidden. As Marimuthu weaved his way through the sprawling market, his footsteps marking a familiar pattern through the criss-crossing web of stalls, he rolled the words around in his mouth, feeling its unfamiliar contours, slipping and falling at the edges.

Kokanet Maan He couldn’t wait to get started. He picked up his regular 100 coconuts, bound them together in four gunny sacks, strapped them to the back of his moped, and made his

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Photo jeniffer, USA

Photo Elaine Wood, Australia

way back to the city that was just waking up. When he reached home, his wife had already left for the roadside hotel nearby where she worked as a cleaner.

He saw the rice kanji she had left him by the door and smiled. He started to think of the day he would take her to meet the girl. He imagined his wife’s delight at the girl’slee white skin,usa pinked by the sun, like cotton photo webb, candy, at her voice filled with the light of a thousand stars, at the smallness of one of their world’s biggest wonders. He imagined it all, this meeting between a woman and a child, like a movie in slow motion playing in the theatre of his mind.

He unfastened his cart, chained to an iron peg outside their house, and arranged the coconuts, slowly this time. If he could, he would have liked to live in this bubble, the one real meeting enough to feed a lifetime of imagined ones.

His beat was the eastern side of the slum. He cycled to the rhythm of a lazy Sunday afternoon, even if it was the middle of the week. He tried to time his arrival as closely as possible to the day before, and watched the length of his shadow to determine the time. He reached her street a little earlier than expected, and cleared his throat, before letting out his customary hoarse cry. He went up and down the street, each time his cry getting louder and desperate. But there was no sign of the girl or the maid. He thought that perhaps he had come too early, or had he come too late? He stood outside the apartment and decided to

Photo Danielle Barkhouse, Canada

wait it out. She was bound to come; he knew it in his bones.

By late afternoon, there was still no sign of her. The Nepali photo ingrid ritter, UK watchman, suspicious of the coconut seller parked outside their apartment, tries to shoo him away. Go, go. Marimuthu asks about the girl. She gone. Where? Gone, gone. And the watchman held his hands up, a mock airplane flying away into the horizon.

Marimuthu left. Perhaps, he shouldn’t have come back.

Because, now, the bubble had forever burst.

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Seeing India E l aine W o o d

Under the

Sea

The Andamans are a diving and snorkelling paradise and one of the last frontiers of big game fishing.

Pack Your Smile Packing list for life in a postcard: sunglasses, sunscreen, swimming costume, fishing hat, light cotton clothing, camera and a big smile. Well, a smile was on the list until we arrived at Port Blair airport from Chennai and Mike was greeted with, “I am sorry sir, but we cannot allow you to stay.

Foreigners are permitted one visit a year to the Andaman Islands. And you were here in May.� It took some jumping through official hoops, in triplicate, for this little wrinkle to be smoothed, but soon enough we were on our way, smiles back in place, for a week of fishing for our supper.

Fish for Dinner The Andamans are one of the last frontiers of big game fishing. The quantity and variety of fish is huge. This is thanks to the remoteness of the islands in the middle of the Bay of Bengal, the underwater topography and a ban on commercial fishing. Our host, Dr Laurent Montels, spends six months indoors in France looking at teeth and six months outdoors, sailing

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around the islands looking for Spanish mackerel, giant kingfish, garoupa, great barracuda, marlin and tuna. His Surmai Fishing Club has two boats that take you and your line and bait out into the blue. It’s catch and release fishing, apart from the fish for dinner.

Finding Nemo Dolphins and huge manta rays passed gracefully by the boat as we drifted along the edge of the reef. Each day we packed a picnic and found a sheltered cove at lunchtime. Our favourite was Cinque, one of the many hundreds of uninhabited islands. Fantastically, ridiculously colourful fish and seashells were clearly visible from the boat in 15 metres of glassy water.

The Andamans are a diving and snorkelling paradise. Hours would pass as we explored the bright coral and floated above clouds of colourful parrotfish, Moorish idols and clown fish, to name just a few of the 1,200 species that swim in these waters.

We even found Nemo.

Life in a Postcard After a week of boats we were ready for dry land and chose Havelock Island, a three hour ferry trip from Port Blair.

Havelock Island is all about empty white beaches, towering forests, turquoise sea and a gentle pace of life. It is absolutely not Goa. There are no rows of umbrellas, no jet skis or beach touts offering massages, fake Raybans, sarongs, or rings and there is no litter. Our accommodation at the eco friendly Barefoot on Havelock resort was comfortable and perfect for the environment, the thatched roofs and timber walls blending with the natural surroundings.

Beachcombing by Numbers The island was almost uninhabited until Indira Gandhi’s government resettled Bangladeshi refugees here. (Not a bad deal for a refugee). Reflecting this lack of history the villages and beaches are numbered not named. Time magazine listed beach number 7 as one of the most beautiful in the world.

It is a 4 km curved sweep of dazzling white sprinkled with scurrying ghost crabs. Clear blue green water laps the shore.

There are sandy patches for swimming and undamaged coral reefs to snorkel around. A forest of soaring trees rises at the high water mark, a feature unique to the Andamans. The bay faces west and in the evenings we rinsed off the salt before enjoying the sunset, drinks in hand. It is dark by 5pm because although the islands are 1,200 km east of the mainland, India is on one time zone. (Apparently sunrise is at 4.30am).Dinner was fish or seafood, often prepared Burmese style. After all, the Andamans are only 200km from Myanmar.

The Elusive Wild Orchid Beach bums do not live by food, beach combing, lazing in hammocks and gin-and-tonics alone. Occasionally we developed an urge to wander. We explored the forests, following the trails made by logging elephants before the area was declared a national park. Our attention was divided between spotting some of the 350 bird species above or admiring the delicate ferns and lichens below, while keeping a look out for an elusive wild orchid.

Sombre Thoughts Back in Port Blair it was time for a history lesson that life was not always idyllic here. For almost 90 years the Cellular jail, named for its 698 isolation cells, held freedom fighters exiled under dire conditions by the British. On Ross Island, nature is reclaiming the British administrative headquarters, devouring the buildings in webs of trees and vines.

India’s booming tourism industry has the Andamans high on its development list. The question is who is going to do it, and do it the right way? Can this loveliness avoid becoming another tacky “package holiday” destination? Delhi recently opened 15 more islands to tourists and overseas charter flights would have begun in January 2005, but for the tsunami. Go now.

The writer is Australian and is on her second stint in India. Earlier, she was in Chennai for four years, and is currently residing in Mumbai for the last one year.

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Being India M ichae l N ag l er

An India in you MY PASSAGE to Mumbai had begun many years before, when I had the incredible good fortune (or was it divine grace?) to meet my spiritual teacher, Sri Eknath Easwaran, in Berkeley. Along with many things that drew me to him — his meditation technique (hard, but it actually works), the sheer power of his personality — he explained that part of his mission (and now mine) was, “to merge the best of the West and the best of the East. India needs the West today, and you need India very badly.”

Forty years on, I saw this at first hand. Over and over people told me, “India may have to import Gandhi from the West” (my reason for being here). And on the other hand, while I saw, frankly, the material disarray and lack of infrastructure in poor India; I also saw, felt, and breathed the essential ‘humanity’ of India’s great culture. Yes, I saw frayed tempers; yes, I saw some officials treating their subordinates with undue harshness. But I felt everywhere an atmosphere of respect. If I had to identify one thing that I pine for in the industrialised western countries it is this human respect. Today, in the West, we have pushed consumerism so far that we not only forget sometimes the humanity of others, we are forgetting our own.

(A recent sports car ad: Don’t just buy the car; be the car). To disrespect another’s humanity leads to violence; to disrespect your own is violence.

Swami Vivekananda had sternly warned us, nearly a hundred years ago, “It is one of the evils of your Western civilisation that you are after intellectual

When I lectured in India last November I found myself saying to all my audiences, ‘Don’t Imitate US!

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Photo federico donega, Italy

education alone, and take no care of the heart.” Heart unity, remember, was Gandhiji’s formula for people who are different, helping each other not only despite but because of those differences. Swamiji finished his warning by saying, “It only makes men ten times more selfish, and that will be your destruction.”

India, you play a role in saving us from destruction — the destruction of having forgotten who we are. But you can only help us by remembering who you are. Which is not Bollywood and cell phones. Martin Luther King said, “I can only be what I ought to be if you are what you ought to be; and you can only be what you ought to be if I am what I ought to be.” Gandhiji called it swadeshi. It was because of swadeshi, that he declined to come to America when he was urgently invited by a Negro

delegation in the mid thirties, saying that his role was to build an “ocular demonstration” of non-violence and what it can do in India, her modern homeland, and that if he succeeded there someone in America could take it up and make it her or his own. King was eight at the time.

When I got an award for “promoting Gandhian values outside India” I thought to myself, ‘I never feel that I am outside India!’ Swadeshi is not a cocoon; it is a ‘groundedness’ that enables you to reach out without losing yourself.

There was a note of urgency in my appeal because if you keep on imitating the West you won’t be of any use to us — just a competitor.

As ML King said, the happiness of each of us not only doesn’t compete with, it needs the specific happiness of the other. Of all others.

And as Gandhi said, in what is probably his last recorded speech in English, “If we want to give a message again to the West it will have to be the message of love that our great unconquerable teachers left for us.”

The irony is not lost on me that the reason I love India is the same reason I never came here until last year — because of my great teacher, Sri Easwaran, who showed us that only by staying close together and close to home could we incubate our own spirituality. And so there I was, ten years older than the Independent Indian nation, and five thousand years younger than her ‘unconquerable’ civilisation, saying to my new friends, “don’t imitate us.” It went over pretty well.

The writer is the recipient of the Jamnalal Bajaj International Award for Promoting Gandhian Values Outside India for 2007. He is also a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

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at Global Adjustments

Connecting Cultures GLOBAL Adjustments recently hosted its largest ever ‘Taste of India’ programme, conducted for 48 youth delegates from Japan. The students had been selected to come to India and learn about Indian culture and cross-cultural business practices. We gave them a traditional welcome, shared insights about India, showed them our beautiful offices, had a traditional south Indian meal, and ended with pictures in traditional Indian clothes.

In sharing our culture with them, the students were very eager to learn more about India and how they can apply the knowledge to their professional careers. It was exciting for us to have such a large group filled with energy and excitement as they begin their journey of becoming Global Citizens!

Festive Spirit

The nationalities that participated in the medley of festivals at the Dilli Saaga event this month were from countries as varied as Japan, Korea, Germany, UK, France, USA, Hungary, Holland and South Africa. Celebrating Raksha Bandhan (a festival celebrating the bond with a between a brother and a sister) and Janmashtami or Krishna Jayanti (birthday of Lord Krishna) were the order of the day, with colourful displays and an exciting interactive session at the Park Hotel in Delhi. As Marcel van Mourik, gifted photographer of these pictures, and spouse of HR Head of a leading aviation major, says: “I learn from your events, and I enjoy meeting new people; the colours and themes make for great photo opportunities too.”

The event ended with a reading of a translation of the Bhagavad Gita, a Sufi mystic’s inspirational passage and the touching prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Dilli Saaga is a club set up by Global Adjustments and AGS4 Winds, offering end-to-end expatriate services in India to explain Indian insights to spouses of expatriates.

Look out for our next event in November!

All Dilli Saaga events in Delhi, and India Immersion Centre events in Chennai, are for expatriates to learn, link and leave a legacy. Call us for our monthly or bi-monthly activity or email iic@globaladjustments.com

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Global Citizen N ei l M i l l er

Sorry Hour Photo keri mcleod, usa

Is there a “language” for an apology? Our writer explores the various cultural nuances of what it means to say, “I’m sorry”

LAST month, the German pharmaceutical company, “Chemie Grunenthal” apologised after it was confirmed that the morning-sickness drug they produced was related to birth defects. This, of course, was 50 years after it was pulled off the shelves. To admit a mistake in front of your world can be a dangerous thing. How does it affect your brand, your customer base, your legacy? The response to a mistake can make or break how you bounce back from it.

Looking at how companies apologise in different cultures brings a lot of insight and guidance when it comes to the art of saying, “I'm sorry”. The opening example is fairly typical of a German company which will often take decades to admit to any official mistake. Japanese executives coming from a face-saving culture with a high value on quality routinely are forced to apologise for not meeting high expectations. When Toyota had to issue a massive recall in 2009, the president of the company used words like “agonizing”, “extremely regrettable” and “deep remorse”. When the American airline JetBlue had a serious logistics failure keeping passengers stuck on airplanes for several hours, they issued a public apology. Their COO did his best to come across as a regular guy who is just trying to put things back in order.

Here, in India, the word “apology” is most frequently found after the word “demand”, usually referring to an outraged group or political party that wants someone to be held

accountable. Sensitivities run high, but it is often difficult to find someone at the top level willing to accept responsibility.

One thing which is generally common among all apologies is the fact that people are usually not satisfied with them.

It seems that everyone is using a different scale to judge whether an apology is “good enough” or not, and it is hard to get a perfect score.

You may not find yourself as the spokesperson for a massive tragedy, but the ability to apologise in different cultures is definitely a part of the Global Leader’s skill set.

Author Gary Chapman has said that there are five “languages” or elements to an apology: 1. Expressing regret – “I’m sorry” 2. Accepting responsibility – “I’m wrong” 3. Making restitution – “How can I make this right?”

4. Genuine repentance – “I will do my best to never do that again” 5. Requesting forgiveness – “Please forgive me” If you ever find yourself in a place where you need to give an apology (in the business world or outside of it), think through all the different “languages” and make sure you are addressing the one that is most important to your audience.

Speaking directly to your listener’s most important concern will help you, and them, move forward to a better place.

The writer is Head of Business Strategy for Global Adjustments (GA). He is American and has been living in India for the past two years.

For a copy of GA’s New Training Catalogue featuring all of our courses and modules, contact courses@globaladjustments.com.

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culturama | october 2012

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culturama | october 2012

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Holistic Living E knath E aswaran

The End of

Sorrow

At the end of Chapter 2 in the last issue of Culturama, Sri Easwaran said that behind the mask of humanity we are all one. As we begin Chapter 3 this issue, we delve into what this Oneness truly means Photo Moniek de Zwaan, the netherlands

THIS is an inspiring vision, but when we reflect on it, doubts may creep in. Do I really want this “universal Self” if it means losing my personality?

Perhaps Arjuna had similar questions, because right after this glorious summary of sanatana dharma and Self-realisation, he asks on behalf of all of us, “Well, but what’s it really like?”

“Tell me of those who live established in wisdom, ever aware of the Self, O Krishna. How do they talk?

How sit? How move about?” (2:54) Arjuna is a practical man – a warrior, after all, a man of action, not a philosopher. He is asking, “How can I recognise those who have realised the unity of life? What are their distinguishing characteristics? I don’t want to hear philosophy or metaphysics; I want to know how they live. If things don’t go their way, do they get angry? When challenges come, do they run away? When they’re annoyed, do they take it out on those around them? Do they show grace under pressure, or do they get upset and say, ‘Don’t come near me, I’ve had a bad day’?”

Arjuna doesn’t use words like God or superconscious. He asks about being sthitaprajna – “established in prajna,” the highest wisdom, so firmly established that even if the whole world tries to blow him off his feet, it cannot. We ordinary human beings are just the opposite, pulled this way and that by urges and cravings; the moment something beckons, we run after it. To live intentionally, we need to establish sovereignty over every level of consciousness, which is what this word sthitaprajna implies.

Krishna’s answers paint the portrait of an illumined man or woman as deftly as Leonardo.

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He begins with one telling phrase: “Such a person has done away with all selfish desires.” That’s the whole answer in a nutshell.

But it’s scarcely an inviting way to start. We can almost hear Arjuna thinking, “All? Can’t I keep just a few – one, five, you can count them on one hand. I have hundreds of them; I’ll give up all but five.” Sri Krishna says, “All. Every selfish desire must go.”

Then, seeing Arjuna’s expression, he explains: There are no selfish desires in this state because there’s nothing to desire; you have it all. You are completely satisfied, in the Self by the Self alone. And he expands on the practical consequences: They live in wisdom who see themselves in all and all in them, who have renounced every selfish desire and sense craving tormenting the heart.

Neither agitated by grief nor hankering after pleasure, they live free from lust and fear and anger. Established in meditation, they are truly wise. Fettered no more by selfish attachments, they are neither elated by good fortune nor depressed by bad. Such are the seers. . . .

As rivers flow into the ocean but cannot make the vast ocean overflow, so flow the streams of the sense-world into the sea of peace that is the sage. But this is not so with the desirer of desires.

They are forever free who renounce all selfish desires and break out of the ego-cage of I and mine to be united with the Lord. This is the supreme state. Attain to this, and pass from death to immortality. (2:55–57, 70–72) Freedom is the watchword here, as it is throughout the Gita. It means that no emotion can overwhelm you, no craving can drive you into action. As long as you have selfcentered desires, Sri Krishna is saying, you are dependent upon others, dependent upon outside circumstances, the plaything of fortune. Unless you find your centre of gravity within yourself, you cannot help manipulating people to bring about your fulfillment – a compulsion that can wreck any relationship, as most of us know to our cost. Once you realise your identity with the Self, however, you are your own support. You need nothing, and nothing can shake you.

Your heart is full, and when your heart is full of joy and your mind full of peace, where is the need to manipulate anyone?

You are always complete, whatever others give, whatever life takes away.

In this state, to borrow an image from St. Teresa of Avila, all the bees of desire that are wandering about – in the shopping centre, the theatre, the casino, the clubs, the beach – come back to the hive of the heart. That is where the honey is being made. When absorption in this

state of consciousness is complete, the mind is flooded with an almost unbearable joy, one taste of which makes the pleasures of the senses pale. No words or thoughts can describe the supreme felicity of this state. How can you describe the indescribable? How can you capture in words a state from which words and thoughts turn back frightened?

All this sets personality ablaze. Years ago, when I began teaching meditation in the U.S., I was asked if Self-realisation means becoming a zombie. I had to explain that in the Gita’s view, life as most of us live it is embarrassingly automatic.

Far from having fascinating personalities, each of us goes about wearing the same mask with minor variations and responding to life with the same basic urges and fears. Only when these masks are removed does personality begin to shine. If you want to see true originals, look at men and women like Mahatma Gandhi, Teresa of Avila, Jalaluddin Rumi, Francis of Assisi, each of them one of a kind. In my experience, Gandhi’s personality was like a noose; if you went near him, he could snare you in love and remove all fear from your heart.

— To be continued

Join us every Saturday India Immersion Centre in Chennai facilitates a weekly spiritual fellowship group following Easwaran’s Eight Point Programme of Meditation. E-mail us for more information at globalindian@ globaladjustments.com. If you are in other cities, visit www. easwaran.org for e-satsangs.

Reprinted with permission from Essence of the Bhagavad Gita: A Contemporary Guide to Yoga, Meditation & Indian Philosophy by Eknath Easwaran (Nilgiri Press, 2011). Copyright 2011 by The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, P.O. Box 256, Tomales, CA 94971, www.easwaran.org.

culturama | october 2012

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Myth and Mythology D e v d u tt P attanaik

Rising Realities Where does change begin and where does it end? We asked Devdutt and he answers with this insightful story of Surya, the Sun God

Photo emma horne, uk

SURYA, the Sun God, was horrified when he noticed that the woman in his house was not his wife, Saranya, but her shadow, Chaya. He stormed to the house of his father-in-law for an explanation, only to learn that Saranya had run away because she could not bear his celestial radiance. Surya realised that, while in his story he was the victim, in his wife’s story he was the villain. That she slipped away in secret and kept a duplicate in her place was an indicator of the extent of her fear. Had he seen the world from her point of view, it would have given him the opportunity to change himself and save their marriage. Surya then sought out his wife and discovered she had taken the form of a mare. Instead of asking her to change back to her human form, he turned into a horse and follows her to the pasture.

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illustration Devdutt Pattanaik

Yes, he could expect his wife to accept him as he was, or compel her to change for him, but that would mean he is incapable of growth. Reflecting on the other’s viewpoint prompts Surya to discover his ability to adapt, accommodate and grow. From god he becomes animal and leads a happy life in the pasture until Saranya is able once more to return to the sky by his side as his goddess.

This story of Surya and Saranya reveals how the behaviour of people around us is a reaction to how they perceive us. If they fear us, they behave a certain way. If they trust us, they behave in a different way. All behaviours depend on how the other perceives us.

That perception may be wrong, different from how we perceive ourselves, but it remains true to the perceiver. We can demand that others change their perceptions of us or we can decide to change ourselves, work on making ourselves more trustworthy rather than expecting people to trust us. In the latter choice lies growth.

For two years, Sandesh had headed the operations department and put in place a whole set of systems and processes. With great difficulty he had managed to get his team to align. The results had been spectacular. Then Sandesh decided to spend more time on strategic long-term thinking and appointed Ketan to handle the operations role. But no sooner did Sandesh hand over the reins of the company, everything went awry. No one followed processes, no one followed systems, and all reports were late. Sandesh was angry with Ketan and his team for failing to do their jobs. But then he realised the event revealed something about him.

He had instituted the new processes by the force of his personality. Alignment happened because people followed him, not the process. No matter how much he blamed Ketan and his team, he was the source of the problem. Now, he had to go back to focussing on operations. But this time, like Surya, he had to change himself. Coach people to do the tasks not because he had told them to do it, but he encouraged them to take ownership of it. He also had to work with Ketan so that he could take on the huge responsibility without feeling abandoned and alone.

By this one shift in thinking, Sandesh had created a growth opportunity for himself.

The writer is the Chief Belief Officer of the Future Group, and a writer and illustrator of several books on Indian mythology.

culturama | october 2012

63

Child Friendly Yasmeena Khan

Smart Attack DO YOU sometimes arrive a minute or two late to the dinner table because you were checking Facebook, Twitter, or your e-mail? Do you feel like you are sometimes multi-tasking when you are trying to text and hold a conversation up at the same time? Does someone have to wait a few seconds before you click the ‘sleep’ button and turn to talk to him or her? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you have a severe case of electronitis.

Electronitis is a common disease. While organisations work to prevent kids from becoming TV obsessed, they may forget to look at the larger problem – the adults.

In a family where both parents rely on e-mail or another electronic form of communication to do their work, electronitis is common. A smartphone is a lot handier than a laptop, that is, it is easier to smuggle in to dinner. A device like the iPhone® is a simple, efficient way to check what your boss wants now.

So, how do you draw that line between obsessed and justdoing-my-work? Never fear, parents! Electronitis-Exterminator is here! And it actually saves you money! For one day of the weekend, turn off your phone entirely; the temptation may be too much otherwise. You’ll be surprised at the freedom you feel.

A lot of new research has shown that it is smarter to stay in the real world, or get off media and expose yourself to nature.

Electronitis has the downsides of turning you into a vampire, afraid of the clean light of day. Plus, it’s so hypocritical to tell your kid, “Get off the screen and go play,” while you are on your smartphone. Take your own advice! Bring your kid to a park, jog a couple of laps around the park, smell the flowers and most of all, GET OFF YOUR SMARTPHONE. Just remember one thing: A smartphone may be a good tool for working, but when it becomes an obsession, get it out of there.

The writer is 12 years old, half-Indian, quarter-Pakistani and quarter-Dutch and lives in the United States.

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culturama | october 2012

Chopping Block

BACK in the 12th century, India was renowned for its printed and dyed cottons. While each region had its own methods of dying and printing cottons, it was the North that came to be associated with the traditional form of hand block printing. Cities like Gujarat and Rajasthan gained prominence, with prints like the Ajarakh print (used mainly in garments for men) being popular even today. Gradually, hand block printing moved South. The essential tool in the process of hand block printing is the wooden block itself, which is called the bunta. Equipped with wooden handles on one side and the etched design on the other, the blocks look dark and probably unimpressive, till they are dipped in colour and take a life of their own. Usually carved from teak or sheesham, the printing block can take five men about three days to complete carving an elaborate and detailed design. From raw cloth to the finished product, a particular piece of garment passes through at least 20 pairs of hands, with three metres of cloth being stamped at least a thousand times in five colours! But despite that, what makes hand block printing so accessible to everyone is its easy to use technique. Smaller blocks can be dipped in paint at home to enhance any piece of clothing or paper bags, cards, etc.

And for some ready-to-use ‘organic blocks’ at home, here’s what you can do: 1. Take a potato, ladies finger, onion, carrot and bitter gourd 2. Cut out a piece in any shape that you’d like 3. Take some paint and spread out the colour of your choice on different plates, adding water to make it slightly thin 4. Now simply dip the cut vegetables in paint and create fascinating designs on your old T-shirts, or make colourful greeting cards for the festival season!

iseries

What is it about? This is a coffee-table book filled with historical maps featuring India, sourced from map archives and private collections from across the world. The study of how India has been mapped over the centuries is inextricably linked to a study of the country’s history, the military and commercial interests in the country, and the very development of cartography itself.

Who is it by? Manosi Lahiri is a geographer and author of several books.

Why should I read it?

This book is a treasure trove of information for anybody interested in history, exploration and cartography. Painstakingly compiled over six years, the book covers subjects ranging from Indian cosmographic traditions, European maps of the 1500s, the days of ‘graphic designer cartographers’ who had never visited the country they depicted and the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India that took 40 years to complete.

i see

Album MTV Sound Trippin’

Book Mapping India

by Manosi Lahiri

What is it about? Sound Trippin’ is an album compiled from the television show of the same name, where a song is put together with sounds inspired by a particular location in India. Each song is a collage of the unique auditory experience of that region – musical traditions, ambient sound and local voices – combined in a contemporary framework, in timeframes as short as four days.

Who is it by? Sneha Khanwalkar is a young composer known for her strong rural Indian flavour.

Why should I listen to it? Khanwalkar makes sense of the sound clutter that besieges our ears when we walk along the streets of the cities and villages of India. For instance, Tung Tung is inspired

by Punjab – the sounds include not just the full-throated vocals of the Nooran Sisters and the beat of the dhol drum, it also includes a factory siren, a tractor motor and the voice of the commentator at the rural Olympics in Qila Raipur! The very phrase, tung-tung, mimicks the sound of the local single-stringed tumbi instrument.

What is it about? After yet another farmer suicide in the village, Alka (Sonali Kulkarni) suspects that her husband, Kisna (Girish Kulkarni), is also contemplating death. But Kisna is confident that although it hadn't rained in two years, with the benevolence of the rain gods and a little financial help, he can sow a crop whose harvest will erase his debts. This time, when the rain arrives, it submerges the seeds. The surviving crop is seized to offset Kisna’s debts. When Kisna takes a loan to install a motor to pump water to his field, Alka’s fears come true in a rather unexpected and ironic manner.

Who is it by? Satish Manwar has written and directed this movie.

Why should I watch it? Gabhricha Paus contextualises farmer suicides in Maharashtra even as it remains true to the black comedy genre. The vagaries of nature are portrayed to be only one among many reasons leading to failed crops and farmer deaths.

i hear

i read

S aritha R a o

Film Gabhricha Paus (The Damned Rain; Marathi)

Visit www.flipkart.com to buy the book, movie or CD featured in this column. culturama | october 2012

65

Festival of the Month

OCTOBER

NAVRATRI

Photo Elaine Wood, Australia

NAVRATRI, the festival of the nine sacred nights, is celebrated around India. The festival honours three manifestations of the Mother Goddess: Durga, the warrior, who destroys negative tendencies, Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, who brings good fortune, and Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and music, who instils wisdom. On the ninth day of Navratri is Ayudha Puja, when all implements of learning and tools of trade (including computers and cars) are venerated with special pujas.

Travel south to Tamil Nadu for the unique celebration of the golu or doll display, which is central to the social celebrations. In Gujarat, the nine nights are given over to a traditional dance form called Garba, performed in rings around a lamp or an image of Durga.

For the Hindu Bengalis of West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Tripura the final five days of Navratri are celebrated as Durga Puja. In northern India, particularly in Delhi, the festival culminates on the tenth day with Dussehra, which commemorates the victory of Rama, the courageous hero of the epic Ramayana, over Ravana, king of Lanka. Re-enactments of the story through plays, called Ramlila, culminate in the burning of effigies of Ravana and his accomplices, rejoicing in the victory of good over evil.

What to do Chennai: See a golu display at the India Immersion Centre, #5, Third Main Road, starting October 13 to 22. Do wear fully-covered clothing, no bare arms and knees for women. Remove shoes when you come to see the display as a sign of respect.

No other taboos, photography welcome!

Mumbai: Visit the National Sports Club of India in Worli to watch the

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culturama | october 2012

Photo Irene Salas Gastalver, spain

RajastHan palaces. forts. relive the past.

burning of demon king Ravana’s effigy. Or head to Shivaji Park in Dadar to celebrate Durga Puja with the Bengalis.

Delhi: The Durga procession can be seen at the Bengali Senior School Lawns, Alipur Road, Delhi. http://ddpskgate.com/. You can see the enactment of the Ramayana at the Ramlila Ground, located near the New Delhi railway station.

Bengaluru: Dussehra is celebrated widely in Mysore, with the nine-day festival at the Chamundershwari Temple, about three hours’ drive from Bengaluru. You can also catch the grandeur of Dussehra at the Mysore Palace.

What to Eat Chennai: The traditional sweet, Mysore Pak, along with protein-rich, Sundal, a snack made with lentils. Available at Grand Sweets and Snacks and Suriya Sweets and Snacks.

Mumbai: Try the Kulfi (Indian ice cream) at India Kulfi House, Marine Drive, Chowpatty. For Bengali sweets, try Sweet Bengal and Brijwasi, all over Mumbai.

Delhi: Kaju Katli, Badaam Kheer and Khaman Dhokla are the few delicacies that are eaten during the Dussehra festival. You can buy them in any Haldiram or Bikanerwala restaurant located all over the city.

Bengaluru: Try the Bengali sweets at KC Das, while other festival delicacies are available at Arya Bhavan Sweets, Anand Sweets, Krishna Sweets and Kanthi Sweets.

What to Buy Chennai: Buy a clay doll from the streets of Mylapore to take back home – a modern cricketer doll or an ancient sage from the mythical days. Especially buy the head-wobbling doll!

Mumbai: To take part in the traditional dance of garba, buy Dandiya sticks outside Premson’s Bazaar in Breach Candy, on Linking Road in Bandra and DMart in Powai.

Delhi: You will see idols being sold on the road all over the city during Durga Pooja and Dussehra. For fancier idols you could go to Cottage Emporio or Kriti.

Bengaluru: Dolls are sold on all most streets, especially in Gandhi Bazaar in Basavangudi and in Malleshwaram Market. Head to the Palace Grounds for a taste of garba.

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67

Postcards from India

Daylight Calls This picture is taken at Upper Deck, Fisherman’s Cove, on a Sunday afternoon after a nice champagne brunch, when they started to take down the tent roof above the tables. The light was very beautiful at that time of day and their odd method of bringing down the roof interested me. I´m not much into taking pictures of sunsets and waterfalls, but more into documentary and contemporary art photography. Whatever I decide to take a picture of, I look for strong shapes and nice light. This was one.

Elin

photo Debora Zerneri, usa

The Silence Of The Winds photo Elin Wedin, Sweden

EVERYONE told us that we must see Pangong Lake.

Would it be worth a drive of six hours there and six more back just for a glimpse? Absolutely! Never have I seen a more stark beauty, like an architectural drawing or a geometry diagram, the lines of the naked ground and hills all converge into the lake. The sky and water of an unbelievable blue stretched out into the horizon into what we knew leads into China. The silence was impressive, a rarity in bustling India. The prayer flags fluttered in the emptiness, a tribute to man’s confidence that here, close to the sky, the wind would take his prayers to the Gods.

Debora 68

culturama | october 2012

Advertiser's Feature

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culturama | october 2012

69

Tell us your Story

The ouse Whisperer What is the average security deposit that we may have to pay in Mumbai?

– American tenant in Mumbai The prevalent practice of security deposits is anywhere between three to six months’ rental value, extending to even eleven months sometimes.

In case of a high-end property, it is becoming more common to give a high security deposit for an extended period in lieu of reduced monthly rentals.

This is common with properties that have a rental value of more than 400,000 in local currency.

Anita Krishnaswamy, President of Global Adjustments and relocation expert, will answer all those niggling questions you might have on housing and realty in India. Anita comes with many years of experience of working with expat clients across the major metros in India to help them find their perfect home. She can be reached at anita@ globaladjustments.com

After signing the lease, is it common to have an entry and exit survey with the landlord to assess the move-in and exit condition of the property? Do you or the housing agent have a checklist on file or do we have to prepare it our own?

– Swedish client relocating to Hyderabad We have repeatedly been talking in this column that the person/broker/ agency that helps you find you a home has to be trustworthy. In India, real estate agents do not come under any regulation. Their quality of service is not measured or supervised. If you engage a professional agency to find you a home, the entry and exit survey (pre-handover inspection and vacate inspection, as we call it) is undertaken by the agency. The terms of engagement signed in the lease between you and the house owner or landlord is normally co-ordinated by the agency. They will also undertake the responsibility of checking through the agreed terms till you occupy the house/apartment. The agency will also ensure the compliance of the lease terms agreed upon. Unfortunately, in the case of individual brokers/ agents, this level of engagement may not be possible. In such cases, it may be difficult or not practical to disengage from a particular lease that you have signed. This is because you may have to handle the whole process personally.

I heard yesterday that our landlord is going to sell the apartment we are living in. Does the lease agreement continue with the original contract? Do we need to be worried that we might need to start finding a new place to live in?

– Finnish tenant in Chennai The current landlord normally honours all that has been agreed upon in the lease. The notice period may be given by you or the landlord as per the agreed terms. From the time you have been notified that your land owner is selling the house, you have the following option: You may continue with the new landlord on the same terms or new terms that the new landlord may want to engage in. This normally is sorted in a three-way meeting with you, the new landlord and the current landlord. Finally, know that most transfers of ownership are for investment purposes. Having an expat tenant is an added advantage, so you are helping out really!

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If you have any comments, suggestions or queries for this column, write to anita@globaladjustments.com 70

culturama | october 2012

Space & The City

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culturama | october 2012

71

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Excellent Investment Opportunity @ ECR 3 last villas for SALE

Two Brand New Apartments Kottivakam • Open style kitchen • Smart bathrooms • Quiet street • Can be combined as one living unit

• 5,400 sq. ft. each with an individual swimming pool • LED lighting, fully fitted out to Western standards • Modern lift from ground to first floor • Music room and Sun Deck • Will easily rent to expatriate families from single MNC • Ideally located for children going to the American International School, Chennai

For more such properties, call Global Adjustments at 91 44 24617902/9551695968 (Chennai), or e-mail: realty@globaladjustments.com Please note that any changes to the information above are done at the property owner’s sole discretion. Global Adjustments assumes no responsibility for such changes.

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culturama | october 2012

culturama | october 2012

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culturama | october 2012

culturama | october 2012

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RNI NO.TNENG/2010/32752

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culturama | october 2012

REGISTERED No. TN/CC(S) Dn./396/10-12