Culturama Novermber 2012

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India's Only Cultural Magazine for Global Citizens

VOLUME 3, iSSUE 9 november 2012

Brought to you by Global Adjustments

Automatic MAGIC Rediscovering the charm of childhood

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D e a r

R e a d e r s

SOMEBODY once said, “The soul is healed by being with children.” And I couldn’t agree with that more. Their smile that always reaches their untouched eyes is like a beacon of light in this quagmire of everyday routine, effortlessly bringing us back to the present. I have always believed that independent India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru (read about him in our Past Tens column), probably appreciated it the most, a much-needed respite from his difficult political path, which is why children held a special place in his life. It is this sentiment that India celebrates as ‘Children’s Day’ on November 14, Nehru’s birth anniversry.

As we sat down to plan this issue of Culturama, I asked myself, “When does childhood end and adulthood begin?”

I am writing this note from my girl’s high school reunion in Mumbai. We met last as a group of giggling 16-year-olds, ready to enter the wide world as young adults. Thirty-four years went by and we rediscovered the “gang” via the power of Facebook. When we met up, we were "wise" women in our 50s; so much had changed and yet so much was the same.

We had to reintroduce ourselves to people we sat in the same bench with for 13 years in classroom after classroom.

Our features were vaguely familiar but age had withered or weathered us a bit… squeals of delight were heard as the guessing game with quizzical expressions led us to discover who each one was. Going back to school and then spending a weekend in the hills nearby, we exchanged our life stories; life had happened without us even knowing it – there had been cancer, loss of a child, loss of parents, brain and lung surgeries, wedding bells and divorce…but through it all there had been grit and determination as so many women had scaled great corporate ladders, set up businesses and run spectacular homes and offices. We cried, laughed, sang, danced and came back relieved we still cared.

And I came back with the feeling that the soul is also healed by being with childhood friends. So this issue, rediscover the child in you through our Feature story that traces India’s folk storytelling traditions; our A to Z that lists India’s popular children’s literature, television series and movies trand our popular Child Friendly column by our youngest writer.

Finally, do reach out to a childhood friend this month and celebrate India’s Children’s Day in your own way.

Happy Diwali to all our readers!

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

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contents 8 Present tens

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A Genius Comes Calling

12 Past Tens

THE simple joys of childhood are experiences that last a lifetime. This little girl enjoying her auto ride is the perfect picture of uninhibited delight that Nehru, independent India's first Prime Minister, visualised for the little citizens of the world. Culturama captures that vision of innocence and laughter as a tribute to Children's Day, celebrated on Nehru's birth anniversary, November 14, through stories that take you back to that beautiful place of magic.

Photo Diana Grieger, Germany

Editor-in-Chief Ranjini Manian

Consultant Editor praveena shivram

creative head J K Behera Editorial Coordinator Shefali Ganesh

Associate Designer Prem Kumar

Advertising

Chennai trishla jain

Bengaluru mukundan T

Jawaharlal Nehru 14 Short message service

Snippets of Indian Culture

18 A-Z of INdia

Young World

20 in your kitchen

A Platter of Pride

24 Feature

Once Upon A Time 32 Look who's in town

Bengaluru, Delhi and Chennai

38 Calendars

Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai

50 seeing India

In-House Splendour

52 at global adjustments

54 GLOBAL CITIZEN

56 FESTIVAL OF THE MONTH

62 Holistic living

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Mumbai & Pune Farah bakshay

Advisory Committee N Ram, Camilla Skaremyr Krook, G Venket Ram, Marina Marangos, Suzanne Mcneill

Up in Smoke

Swept Away

E-Culturama Shezina Kallarakkal, Samyuktha Sunil

Diwali & Lights On India

60 currently occupied

48 picture story

Delhi-NCR preeti bindra, ruchika srivastava

For the Asking

44 thought leaders

The Gold Rush

News & Happenings

United Colours of Being

64 MYTH AND MYTHOLOGY

Flat in the Fire

66 CHILD FRIENDLY

Chennai (Headquarters) 5, 3rd Main Road, R. A. Puram, Chennai 600028, India Telefax. +91-44-24617902 E-mail: culturama@globaladjustments.com

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Book, Movie and Music Review

71 POSTCARD FROM INDIA

Gazing Through

72 Tell us your story

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70 space and the city

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Editor: Ranjini Manian

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Property Listings

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Letters to the Editor

undertook a round-the-world trip on foot, without a rupee in my pocket. I travelled for three years from Delhi to Moscow to Paris to London to Washington and finally Hiroshima! And I became a World Citizen.” 65), an expat event organised in Delhi.”

— Prof. E.P.Menon, India Development Foundation, Bengaluru.

Dear Editor, “This is just to express my great appreciation for your excellent piece in the October issue of Culturama. Your visit to Gandhi Smriti and the feelings you have conveyed to readers have a unique quality and sincerity of purpose. The whole thing touched my heart and head in many ways. Yes, the whole country now needs to do some soul-searching and ask a simple question: Have we forgotten Gandhi, while the world is trying to understand and follow his wise messages? Today’s India seems to be getting too violent for a majority of people. Truth seems to be disappearing from our national life and culture. Where are we heading? For me, at the age of 16, Gandhiji was a fountain of inspiration. It happened all of a sudden. I just sat for an hour in that hut in which he had lived in Sevagram and asked a simple question to myself: How could this man, living in this mud-hut without any phone or electricity or other paraphernalia, take on the mightiest empire on earth and cause its destruction? In the process of finding the answers, I undertook a round-the-world trip on foot, without a rupee in my pocket. I travelled for three years from Delhi to Moscow to Paris to London to Washington and finally Hiroshima! And I became a World Citizen.” – Prof. E.P.Menon, India Development Foundation, Bangalore: How could this man, living in this mudhut without any phone or electricity or other paraphernalia, take on the mightiest empire on earth and cause its destruction?

In the process of finding the answers, I

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Dear Editor, “The magazine is always a great read and the Culturama team should be really proud to be producing such a well-received contribution to the expat community in India. Culturama has grown even better this past few months, I might add. Many thanks and best wishes always for a bright future.”

— Anita Wedick, Canada Dear Editor, “Congratulations for the content of this enlightened October issue. It starts with an image of a pilgrimage and then continues with these words inside: Simplicity, Love, Spirit, End of Sorrow, Silence of the Wind, India in You, Rising Realities, Mahatma… It feels like you are following a path of enlightenment when you read it. You are like a fish in the ocean, there are no distinctions. But here, people are on safe boats, if they are lucky. And you just ask people to jump in and swim with the beauty around.

Om Om Om.” — Philippe Brot, France Dear Editor, “I am a fan of your magazine for a long time now. I enjoy the articles on our culture, which are an eye-opener for us Indians too! The magazine is informative, nicely packaged and gives us an idea on the expats’ viewpoints, which is very helpful in cross-cultural communication.”

— Manish Chadha, India Dear Editor, “I was interested to see the ‘A to Z of India’ on wildlife in the August issue of the magazine and wanted to share a picture of the Red Squirrel in Europe that is similar to the Indian squirrel. There is so much to appreciate in this world!”

— Hanna Polova, Poland

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Present Tens p R A V E E N A S H IV R A M

a genius comes calling

An exclusive interview with 14-year-old IndianAmerican Deepika Kurup, winner of the Discovery Education 3M Youngest Scientist Challenge 2012, for her invention that not only impressed the judges but President Barack Obama as well!

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THE fact that I had to watch Deepika Kurup’s winning presentation at the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge 2012 five times (incidentally, the same number of times she practised for the presentation), goes to show that it takes a genius to understand a genius. The rest of us can only look up to Deepika, all of 14 years old and the brain behind the “innovative, cost-effective and sustainable water purification system”. A ninth grade student at Nashua High School, New Hampshire, USA, this little IndianAmerican genius’s invention wowed not just the eminent scientists who comprised the judging panel but also President Barack Obama, who made time for an exclusive meeting with Deepika and her family. Her invention effectively uses solar energy to purify water with far reaching impacts, the perfect pitch for this year’s competition that “asked students to create a 1–2 minute video describing a new innovation or solution that could solve or impact an everyday problem related to the way we move, keep ourselves healthy or make a difference”.

“I was always aware of water-borne illnesses from my visits to India every year. My parents always made sure that we drank boiled or bottled water. I used to always wonder about the kids on the road drinking dirty water. When the “Young Scientist Challenge” asked us to make a video to find a solution to a problem that affects the world, my choice was to tackle the global water crisis,” she says. Designed to encourage the exploration of science and innovation among America’s youth, in grades 5 through 8, the Young Scientist Challenge was first launched in 1999 by Discovery Communications. In 2008, 3M joined forces with Discovery Education. Over the past 11 years, more than 600,000 middle school students have been nominated to participate in the competition, and winners have gone on to speak in front of members of Congress, work with the nation’s top scientists and pursue academic careers in the sciences.

And Deepika joins this prestigious rank this year.

In an exclusive interview to Culturama, she tells us about the competition, about the impact of science in her life and why she would like to meet Albert Einstein.

First of all, congratulations on this huge achievement! What was your first reaction when they announced your name as the winner?

I was amazed, mainly because the competition was fierce and anyone could have won the first place. The other nine finalists were equally good,

so in the end it was anybody’s game. It felt awesome that “Discovery Education and 3M” selected me as America’s Top Young Scientist.

What do you think is more important for an invention – the idea or the infrastructure?

I think the idea is more important for an invention.

Especially, when you think you really have a great idea and pursue research, only to find out later that someone had already done that. It is hard to come up with a novel idea and conduct experiments to prove that it works.

Why did you decide to compete this year, considering the competition was launched in 1999?

I did participate in 2011 when I first learnt about this competition. I stood first in the state of New Hampshire (I was a state merit winner; one of 40 from around the nation). I tried again this year since I really wanted to become one of the top finalists so that I would get an opportunity to work with a 3M scientist/mentor in summer.

Editor’s note: 3M is an innovation company that works with new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs 84,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. Part of the competition allowed finalists the exclusive opportunity to interact directly with a 3M scientist over a summer mentorship programme, to bring their inventions to life.

How supportive was your school during the duration of this competition?

This year I am taking chemistry and my teacher, Mrs. Polewarczyk, was very enthusiastic. She encouraged me a lot and even gave me a class party before the competition. My Principal, Mr. Richard, and all my other teachers were very supportive and agreed to give me time to catch up with my homework and make up exams that I missed during the three-day competition in 3M Headquarters at St. Paul, Minnesota Who was your mentor during this competition and what are the three things you learnt from him/her that you will remember for the rest of your life?

My mentor was Dr. James Jonza from 3M Company. He is an inventor and has over 45 patents. What I learnt from him was to: 1. broaden my views and think of uncommon connections; 2. learn from my failures; 3. never give up, persevere.

What about science appeals to you the most?

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Deepika's family with President Barack Obama

Science is really exciting. There is so much science can tell us, yet there is so much more to be discovered. I would like to pursue a career in the medical field, specifically neurology. I am really fascinated by the human brain and its functions.

You also have a black belt in the martial art form of Shaolin Kempo, you play the alto saxophone and clarinet, and you are the president of your school’s Tri-M Music Honors Society. And now, the title of America’s 2012 Top Young Scientist. How do manage to multi-task and retain your passion for such varied interests?

Time management is the key. I really don’t have much time to waste. If you are really motivated you will make time to do the things you enjoy.

What was it like meeting President Barack Obama?

What did he say to you?

President Obama came to know about my science project from an article that was published in The Union Leader. On August 18, my family and I had an exclusive meeting with the President. I was humbled by the fact that the President of the United States took time to speak with an ordinary girl like me.

He said that he had read about my science project and found it really interesting. To my amazement, he knew the scientific details of my project and wanted to know what I had been working on over the summer. I could tell that President Obama was genuinely interested in improving education in our country.

He was very enthusiastic about girls like me showing interest in the fields of math and science. Meeting President Obama was a great honour and I will always remember his words – “Dream Big Dreams”.

As an Indian-American, what do you think India can learn from America and what can America learn from India?

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Winning shot of Deepika with the judges

America should learn the value of education from India. In America, smart kids are not that popular; it is always the athletes who get all the attention. On the other hand, Americans are very innovative. In India, students are used to rote learning. In the US, questions are more open-ended, and we are supposed to think and come up with a solution for real-world problems.

Finally, if you could build a time machine (and we certainly think you can), where would you go and who would you meet?

I would like to go back in time and meet Albert Einstein and ask him if he ever found the universal equation that can explain everything. And if he did, I would ask him to reveal it to me.

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Past Tens S u sa n P h i l i p

Photos Courtesy www.oldindianphotos.in

Jawaharlal Nehru with his grandsons Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi - 1950

Jawaharlal Nehru

Family Tree: On November 14, 1889, Motilal and Swarup Rani Nehru were blessed with a son. They named him Jawahar. Motilal, a Kashmiri Brahmin, was a leading barrister in Allahabad, and Jawaharlal and his sisters led a sophisticated, Westernised life. In 1916, he married Kamala.

The couple had one daughter – Indira Priyadarshini. Indira married Feroze Gandhi, and had two sons, Rajiv and Sanjay.

Both Indira and Rajiv followed Jawaharlal’s footsteps and became Prime Ministers of India.

School Days: The young Jawahar was initially homeschooled, then sent to Harrow, England. From there, he moved to Trinity College, Cambridge, after which he registered at the Inns of Court, London. He was called to the bar and subsequently returned to India.

From Suits to Homespun: He became Gandhiji’s disciple in the Freedom Movement and was groomed for leadership. Self-denial, arrest and imprisonment were all par for the course. He was elected President of the Indian National Congress’s Lahore Session, where the call for complete independence was first voiced. From there, it was a natural progression to the Prime Minister’s chair.

First among Equals: As the first Prime Minister, he is credited with being the architect of modern India. He set up the Planning Commission, oversaw the evolution of an independent judiciary and free press, and crafted the industrial and economic policies.

Man of the World: Nehru was a world leader too.

Along with Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia, Gen. Nasser of Egypt and others, he masterminded the Non-Aligned Movement, a powerful voice in global affairs. He outlined 12

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Architect of modern India and independent India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was an iconic leader, politician, writer and thinker

the Panchsheel, a five-point policy of peaceful co-existence with neighbours.

Man of Letters: He was a prolific writer and utilised his prison days to take long-distance part in shaping his daughter – he wrote to her about history and philosophy, morals and manners. ‘Glimpses of World History’, ‘Letters from a Father to a Daughter’ and ‘Discovery of India’ educated not only Indira,but generations after her.

Spoken Word: Jawaharlal’s speeches made a powerful impact on his listeners. His ‘Tryst with Destiny' speech to Parliament on the eve of Independence and his Radio broadcast to the nation breaking the news of the Mahatma’s assassination bring out the gooseflesh even today.

Signature Style: Nehru popularised the close-neck, hip-length coat, now called Nehru Jacket, favoured as formal wear by Indian politicians. After Kamala’s death, Nehru always wore a fresh rose in his buttonhole in remembrance of her.

Favourite Uncle: He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, but what would have pleased him more is the celebration of his birth anniversary as Children’s Day each year. He adored children and worked for their betterment. Indian children are taught to refer to him as ‘Chacha’ or Uncle Nehru.

Miles to Go: Nehru succumbed to a heart attack on May 27, 1964, his 17th year as Prime Minister. On his bedside table was an anthology of poems, with these lines

by Robert Frost underlined: “I have promises to keep / And miles to go before I sleep, / And miles to go before I sleep.”

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Short Message Service S ar i tha R ao

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

Kannauj Perfume

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

PUNJABI is the official language of Punjab, and according to the 2001 Indian census, there are 29,102,477 speakers of the language in the country. It is also widely spoken in Pakistan, as, before the Partition, Punjab extended from north western India to eastern Pakistan. The language is usually written in the Gurmukhi script (literally meaning ‘from the mouth of the Guru’) created by the Sikh Guru, Angad. The Sikh community reveres a holy scripture called the ‘Guru Granth Sahib’, which is a compilation of Punjabi spiritual poetry of Guru Nanak, other Sikh Gurus, as well as poets from other religions and communities. In India, Punjabi is also written in the Devanagri script, which is the same as the Hindi script and in Pakistan, it is written in the Shahmukhi script, which resembles Urdu and Arabic. If you ever find yourself in Punjab, then do say “Tuaanu milke bahut khushi hoyi”, which means, “Pleased to meet you!”

Kandanghi Photo Julie Grant Weiss, USA

SAUNTER through any traditional bazaar in India and you are bound to find at least one shop hawking small vials of attar (ath-thar) – perfumed oil extracted from its natural source. Long before Grasse in France came to be known as the Perfume Capital of the World, and long after it had given up its traditional techniques of distilling perfume, Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh continues to extract perfumes from natural sources in the traditional degh bhapka or hydro distillation method. Unlike perfumes, attar is free of alcohol and also has medicinal qualities. For instance, perfumed oils of Khas have a cooling effect and are used in the summer, and those of Hina have a warming effect, ideal for winters. Natural ingredients like flowers, barks and herbs are not always locally grown in Kannauj; they come from across India to be distilled mainly for export to the Middle Eastern countries. The greatest demand is for varieties like rose and sandalwood, but there are exotic ones too, like Mitti Attar that attempts to distill the aroma of earth just before the rains.

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THE Kandanghi (Kan-daan-ghee) is both the name of a handwoven variety of saree in silk or cotton as well as the drape style that is common to the Chettiar community and those living in the Chettinad region in Tamil Nadu. The resilient cotton fabric and the traditional draping style – traditionally worn without a blouse or an inner petticoat, with the pleats tucked at the back – ensured greater comfort and mobility for women working in the fields in the hot climate of Chettinad. The body of the saree was usually solid, checked or striped, in earthy colours like yellow, red, brown, orange and black. The ‘temple’ border of considerable width resembles the gopuram (peaking entrance towers) of South Indian temples.

Lighter versions of the Kandanghi are now available that lend themselves well to the contemporary saree-wearing style. There is even a Kandanghi saree variety with a cotton body and a rich silk border, making it a comfortable alternative to wearing all-silk sarees on festive occasions.

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Short Message Service

Photo Saritha Rao, india

Kolkata Addas 'ADDA' is a Bengali expression for a chat or an informal conversation among a group of people, and is considered typical to the Bengali ethos. Considered an essential part of the daily routine, especially in the evenings, participants could be anybody – literary stalwarts, politicians, retired-fromwork senior citizens, intellectuals, students or the gainfully unemployed. In a typical adda, the topics range from national politics, to Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel Prize medallion, to football, to good old-fashioned gossip. ‘India Coffee House’ on College Street in Kolkata has long been touted as THE place to observe or participate in an adda. The book fair is an intellectually conducive atmosphere to ‘doing adda’, as Kolkata prides itself on its citizens’ artistic, intellectual and literary leanings. More recently, addas have assumed online entities on egroups and networking websites where the homesick, non-resident Kolkatan could indulge in his favourite pastime.

photo courtesy L&T Construction Photo courtesy L&T construction

TRADITIONAL Indian wrestling is known as kushti (kooshthee) or pehelwani (pay-hel-vaani). In days of yore, it enjoyed great patronage among the royals, some of whom even took up the sport, then called mallayudh (mull-a-yudhh). Walk into a traditional wrestling club (called akhada) in an Indian village and you are bound to notice a statue or print of a muscular Hanuman from the Ramayana being venerated by trainees.

Wrestlers practise and fight in a prepared earthen pit, wearing only a loincloth, smearing their bodies with red dust as an offering of respect to the earth as well as for better grip during a fight. Among Indians to enter the international wrestling scene, Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav became the first Indian wrestler to win a medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Sushil Kumar not only won a bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he also became the first Indian to win a medal in two consecutive Olympics, by winning the Silver in this year’s London Olympics.

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Diwali THE Indian festival of lights, Diwali (di-vaa-lee), also called Deepavali (deep-aava-lee) in the South, is a celebration of the triumph of light over dark or symbolically, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance. There are many legends and rituals associated with the festival depending on which part of India you visit, but chief among them is the veneration of the Hindu goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. Businessmen and traders use this auspicious occasion to open fresh account books and begin new ventures as it is believed that the day’s luck will sustain through the coming year. In the week preceding the festival, even the humblest of homes, like the one from Udaipur in the picture, are dusted and cleaned, whitewashed and decorated with wall paints and murals. On the night of Diwali, oil lamps and serial lights illuminate newly painted windows and balconies to usher in Goddess Lakshmi. photo : ENRIC DONATE SANCHEZ, spain

Wrestling

photo emma horne, UK

Photo sYLVIE SALA, FRance

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A to Z of India S u sa n P h i l i p

Young World

Of the children, for the children and by the children – to mark Children’s Day, here’s a fact-sheet on children’s writing, movies and websites in India, plus a glimpse of some unforgettable child artistes Amar Chitra Katha: The brainchild of Ananth Pai, better known as Uncle Pai, these comic books popularise Indian tales, from mythology, history and legend. Many are collectors’ items, not least because of exquisite illustrations. They’re now available in digital format too.

Birbal stories: Tales of the legendary wit of Birbal, one of the nine gems of Emperor Akbar’s court, have long entertained children across the country. Birbal’s counterpart in southern India is Tenali Rama, court poet to the Vijayanagar rulers.

Children’s Book Trust: Pioneer publishers of children’s books in India, the CBT building in New Delhi also houses an international dolls museum, billed as the world’s largest collection of dolls.

Following CBT’s lead, other publishers like Tulika, Tara Books, New Horizon Media, Navneet Publications and Dreamland Publications too focus on children’s literature.

Detective Stories: Indian writers have dreamed up some memorable characters to cater to this taste – for instance Feluda, a creation of the multi-talented Satyajit Ray, Kakababu, hero of over 35 adventure stories and the Foxy Four, a team of teenaged girl detectives. As a comic slant, Inspector Moochwala of the now defunct Target Magazine can’t be bettered.

‘Ente Mamattikutti Amma’ (Malayalam), ‘Vannathupoochi’ (Tamil) and ‘Amra Paanch’ (Bengali) are only three among some wonderful children’s movies. The Children’s Film Society, a nodal government body, has produced around 250 films in various languages, many of which are national and international award winners.

Folklore: The ‘Panchatantra Tales’ and ‘Jataka Tales’ are to Indian children what the stories of Hans Anderson and the Brothers Grimm are to Western children. These appealing stories, often featuring talking animals, teach values and morals in a typically pithy style.

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Gitanjali Ghei: There’s perhaps nothing as poignant as the poetry of this young girl who took up her pen after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. The poems were published posthumously.

Do try and read at least some of them.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories: This was Salman Rushdie’s first book for children. He wrote it especially for his elder son. A sequel, ‘Luka and the Fire of Life’, was written for his second son. Both plunge you into the world of imagination in typical Rushdie style.

I am Kalam: A Cannes entry and multi-award winner, this critically acclaimed film stars a boy from a Delhi slum, who, in the story, is inspired by India’s former President A P J Abdul Kalam to rise from his poverty-stunted background and make something of himself. A must-see!

Jungle Book: Every child needs to meet Mowgli, the little boy brought up by the wolf family, and go on adventures with him and his friends. The eponymous animated film series by Walt Disney brings Rudyard Kipling’s immortal story to life for children and adults alike.

Karadi Tales: This publishing house focuses mainly on audiobooks of Indian stories for children. It utilises the considerable talent of film and theatre artistes like Naseeruddin Shah, Usha Uthup, Girish Karnad and Vidya Balan as ‘voices’. It also brings out picture books, including tactile ones for visually impaired kids.

Life with Grandfather is a good example of children’s stories in English set in an indigenous background. Written and illustrated by well-known political cartoonist, the late K. Shankar Pillai, who, incidentally, was the moving force behind the Children’s Book Trust, it takes the reader into rural Kerala, where Raja, a young orphan, grows up in a traditional home.

Magazines: Indian kids have quite a choice! Chandamama, published in English and vernacular languages too, is perhaps the best-loved of them all. Other popular ones are Tinkle, Magic Pot, Tell Me Why and Children’s World.

Narayan, R. K: This acclaimed writer’s creation, the mischievous, yet engagingly innocent Swami, touches a chord with a generation which grew up in an India in transition. The exploits of ‘Swami and Friends’, set in the fictional town of Malgudi in pre-Independence days, has been turned into a popular TV serial too.

Log on to www.malgudidays.net to watch some of the episodes.

Outstanding child artistes: Indian cinema has its share of child stars.

In the past, Daisy Irani, Baby Shalini and Kamal Hassan were among those who captured the hearts of audiences. Kamal and others like Urmila Mattonkar and Sashi Kapoor came back to make a mark as adult actors too. Kids who’ve delivered stellar performances recently include Darsheel Zafary (Taare Zameen Par), Swetha Prasad (Makdee), Ayesha Kapoor (Black), Partho (Stanley Ka Dabba) and Rubiana and Ismail (Slumdog Millionaire).

Pratham Books is a not-for-profit organisation which publishes children’s literature in English and regional languages. It focuses on bringing out low-cost books to appeal to children from various backgrounds – cultural, social and linguistic. The books are distributed through a network of 4,000 community libraries in urban and rural areas.

Quiz shows are sure-fire hits, the ones exclusively for children especially so. Keenly competed and with a devoted fan following, the Bournvita Quiz Contest was among the most popular. It was initially broadcast on All India Radio, then later telecast. Quiz Time was another hugely successful TV show. Sadly, both are now defunct. Do log on to YouTube if you would like to watch their exciting episodes.

Ruskin Bond, born in India to British parents, is one of the pillars of children’s literature here. His semi-autobiographical novel, ‘The Room on the Roof’, and the subsequent adventures of its hero, Rusty, make great reading. His contribution has been recognised with the Padma Shri award!

Satyajit Ray is renowned for various aspects of filmmaking, but his characterisation of children deserves special mention. Apu in the iconic ‘Pather Panchali’ is perhaps the greatest example of his portrayal of the world through a child’s eyes. Children are charmed by the fairy-tale quality of his ‘Goopy Gyne, Bhaga Byne,’ while adults enjoy the satirical element.

TV shows: Several Indian channels cater to children of various age-groups. Some shows like ‘Indradhanush’ are a mixture of science fiction and fairy tale, some are mythology based.

‘Chota Bheem’ has emerged as an all-time favourite among animated series. ‘Shaktimaan’, now off the air, was India’s answer to Superman! Log on to http://tinyurl.com/3fblx9z to watch this iconic Indian Super Hero in action!

UNICEF’s Meena, a cartoon character conceived to teach children life lessons, has had a significant impact in India. Many schools in rural areas have initiatives called Meena Manch, which have reported success in preventing under-age marriages and school dropouts.

Vernacular magazines for children: There’s a good choice on offer.

Champak (Hindi), Gokulam (Tamil), Kalichepu (Malayalam), Bulbul (Gujarati), Balamitra (Telugu), Sandesh (Bengali) and Sisulekha (Oriya) are some popular examples.

Websites: Following the global trend, web portals have come up in India catering to the technologically geared generation of Little Indians. Most can be described as edutaining, and give an Indian slant to content. Pitara.com is among the most popular.

Some children’s magazines, like Chandamama and Balamitra, have websites too.

Xtraordinary! That’s the only word to describe India’s first 3-D children’s film, ‘My Dear Kutti Chathan’.

Originally in Malayalam, it was later dubbed in Hindi. Animation is a growing passion here, with myth and legend providing a fertile source of material. ‘Hanuman’ was a trailblazer, and others like ‘My Friend Ganesh’ and ‘Ghatotkach’ followed.

Youngindiabooks.com is your one-stop site for Indian writing for children (www.youngindiabooks.com). Founded by children’s author, Shamim Padamsee, its mission is to “enable children from around the world to appreciate and understand the unique cultural, geographical, cultural and historical diversity of India, through books specially selected for review.”

Zokkomon: A film for tweens, this Walt Disney co-production takes the triumph of good over evil theme to the children’s level and creates an Indian Superhero. The special effects and some excellent character acting capture the imagination of viewers.

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In your Kitchen H ar i n i S a n kara n araya n

A Platter of Pride For this small and close-knit community, their deep history and tradition manifest in their cuisine that remains untouched by time THE hot Deccan plateau of Andhra Pradesh might have been the original home of the Padmanayaka Velama community, but now you can find them as far down south as Madurai in Tamil Nadu. The valiant warrior clan have a long, brave history dating right back to the times of King Rudra in the mid 1100 AD. King Rudra belonged to the Kakatiya Dynasty, a Telugu dynasty that ruled most of present-day Andhra Pradesh. He entrusted the defence of Warangal,then the capital city, to 77 clans, each in charge of different provinces. They then ruled on behalf of the king. They were considered the protectors and warriors who travelled the land protecting the kingdom and its people. One can detect a hint of pride as Sriram Rao V. and his cousin Padmasini Rayaningar talk about their ancestors and the brave battles that they may have fought. They are today a very small and close-knit community with their past history and traditions uniting them.

“Since our forefathers travelled so much in their lives, their food and diet reflect this lifestyle,” confides Padmasini. “Their diet was predominantly non-vegetarian,” adds Sriram. Rich food flavoured with onions, garlic and tamarind with the everpresent fiery chilli was a staple diet. The pungent curry was an accompaniment for rice. “One of the specialities, which we serve to this day, is shredded meat sun-dried with spices, deep fried and served as a crunchy side dish for the rice,” says Padmasini “This was perfect because the men could carry this with them in their travels and still experience a flavour of their home.”

Very often, the men who were on the move hunted down deer, rabbit, wild boar and game birds. Venison and rabbit curry were a part of their regular meal.

Today, they make do with mutton, chicken or pork, with hunting restrictions altering their preference. If it was fish, it had to be fresh water fish from the local

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streams and rivers. As for the vegetables, it really depended on what was locally grown. Eggplant, a wide variety of squashes, yam, and spinach all formed an integral part of any meal.

The day usually began with idli, a steamed rice cake, or dosa, a rice pancake, served with minced meat. Sometimes, a thick slow-cooked pancake made of pigeon peas and rice called Dibba Roti is served with fish gravy. Lunch consists of rice with a thin soup, Rasam or a thicker lentil gravy, Pappu or Pulusu with a vegetable and almost always a meat dish to complete a meal. Dinner would see fish and eggs on the table along with rice. During the hot summer months, when mango makes its appearance, the Padmanayaka Velamas always found a way to include it in their food, either as a fruit on its own or incorporated into various dishes. The mangoes bring with it a characteristic sweetness reminiscent of the golden sunshine. In its raw form, it is used as a souring agent and the dried sweet fruit makes a delicious dessert. “We love our mangoes,” declares Padmasini. “After all, we used to own a lot of mango orchards.”

Just to make sure that nobody goes hungry, sweet and savoury snacks like morsels of deep fried murukku and halwa made of wheat or coconut stuffed poli are always found in the house. Festivals see an abundance of meat dishes, especially during Diwali and Ayudha Puja (the ninth day of the Navratri festival) when meat is almost compulsorily a part of the menu.

The pork with raw mango is a traditional dish, a favourite in the early summer months when the raw fruit is available in abundance. Don’t let the lack of the fruit stop you from trying out this dish. Simply substitute with tomatoes and enjoy it with a bowl of hot steamed rice.

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Pork Curry Ingredients

Did you know?

The city of Chennai is believed to have been named after Darmala Chennappa Nayakudu, a Padmanayaka Velama.

The Chief Minister of the Madras Presidency, Sir Panaganti Ramarayaningar, also known as the Raja of Panagal, has a famous park named after him in Chennai. In fact, the whole area is now a busy shopping district called Panagal Park.

1 kg pork, chopped into 2” pieces 1 medium size raw mango, cut into 1” pieces 3 big onions 4 tsp chilli powder 4 tsp coriander powder 1/4 tsp turmeric powder Salt to taste Vegetable oil as required

Method • Grind the onions and mix with the spices and salt.

• Mix the paste with the pork pieces and marinate for half an hour.

• Cook the marinated pork along with one glass of water in a pressure cooker for three whistles.

• Heat a deep pan and fry the pork and mango pieces till it forms a thick gravy.

In case the fat from the pork is not enough, add a little oil while frying.

• Serve hot with steamed rice.

• If you are not able to find any raw mangoes, substitute with tomatoes, preferably not too ripe, to add to the tartness.

Many thanks to Padmini Jayraj for providing the recipe and preparing the dish specially for Culturama.

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Feature C athy S pag n o l i

Once Upon a Time

From the North to the South, a rich repertoire of stories, with a tradition to make it come alive

“THE Indian storytelling forms were made to help people remember the true, spiritual purpose of life,” master storyteller Sri T. S. Balakrishna Sastrigal told me years ago. “Yet much has changed. In the old days, we had all-night performances of storytelling. Now we have all-night election coverage.” Storytelling styles, changed or not, still appeal to a range of listeners, with a range of tastes. Indian storytelling is indeed one of the richest storytelling traditions in the world today.

Even in an age of computers and cinema, the Indian storyteller reaches thousands of listeners, sharing the past to prepare for the future.

There is indeed so much to explore – stories of the freedom struggle, great epics, modern stories, tales of heroes, saints, tricksters, and fools – all these and more are still shared through the power and skill of the Indian storyteller today.

Ottan Thullal, Kerala Photo: Cathy Spagnoli

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Photo Courtesy: Sangeet Natak Akademi

Chakyur Kuttu Kerala Photo Cathy Spagnoli

Padam

| Andhra Pradesh

Those who love visuals might be drawn to a rich visual style from Andhra Pradesh (AP), where tellers use a long, wide vertical scroll, the padam. The scroll, painted often on a background of rich red, shares various Hindu myths. It is suspended behind the teller who, with the help of several musicians, tells the tale in a dramatic style. The stories often come from oral versions of the epics Ramayana or Mahabharata.

Burra Katha

| Andhra Pradesh

Most Indian styles, however, appeal more to the ear: music is a vital part of almost every form. Also in AP are the burra katha tellers who use music to spread stories and news. One troupe, the Nittala Brothers, was formed in 1947 when Mahatma Gandhi was shot, to share the tragic news. Most burra katha troupes have three members: a main teller, an assistant who adds questions and asides to move the story along, and a drummer who plays the burra drum. At the beginning of the 20th century, the style seemed to fade away. Then the Communist party realised that they could add political content to the art form and thus reach the rural masses. Today, information about family planning, farming methods, or an election is often woven into a frame story from history or of the gods and heroes.

Harikatha

| Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, known for its grand temples, one can hear the sophisticated Harikatha style. Found in sabhas (auditoriums), temples, and marriage halls today, Harikatha appeals especially to older listeners. Harikatha bhagavatars (experts), most of whom are men, have a natural talent enhanced by years of practice and enriched by devotion. The training required is rigorous: tellers should speak several Indian languages, quote thousands of religious verses, know the major epics and devotional stories, sing in classical music traditions as well as in folk styles. Beyond that, they should have the dramatic ability to relate to the audience, and find comments and anecdotes to sprinkle into the telling – to instruct and entertain. Listen to one by Visakha Hari, a Harikatha exponent, who tells a song story on music composer, Saint Thyagaraja here: http:// tinyurl.com/95qu3tf.

A bhopa performance in Rajasthan

Villupattu

| Tamil Nadu

The ballads of the villupattu tellers in the southern tip of India communicate legends of regional heroes and spirits, deities and the epics. Although the villupattu tellers, like the popular Subbu Arumugam, tell largely for temple festivals, some also use their talent to spread messages about AIDS, literacy, current events, rural sanitation, nutrition and more. Several players make up the storytelling troupe – most play percussion instruments as they sing, question, and make comments to accompany the lead storyteller. He, or she, plays an unusual instrument, the villu, which gives the form its name. It is a large bow strung with bells, on a mud pot turned face down; the bow string is hit rhythmically as the teller narrates. Hear a Villupaatu

by Subbu Arumugam on Tamil poetess Avvaiyar at http:// tinyurl.com/8amoaud.

Chakyur Kuthu and Ottan Thullal | Kerala

In the lush southern state of Kerala, stories are shared through several forms, including Chakyar kuthu and ottan thullal. Chakyar kuthu, performed only in temples, demands trained, expressive facial and hand gestures, a sophisticated delivery, and a pace that allows for slow, intricate embroidery of a story’s verses. And, in this style, a teller is also allowed to insult his listeners, of any rank, during the performance.

Many years ago, they say, a teller wished to warn the raja about his foolish ministers. Thus, when the monkey Hanuman jumped from rock to rock in the story, the teller pointed to each of the ministers’ heads as he said, “And Hanuman jumped from empty spot to empty spot to empty spot.”

Another time, over two hundred years ago, a Chakyar teller insulted his drummer, Kunchan Nambiar. After the scolding, the drummer went home mad enough to write all night, thus creating a new storytelling form, ottan thullal.

Photo: basia kruzewska, usa

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Photo Courtesy The Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi

Villupattu, Tamil Nadu

a number of door panels painted in vivid colours that unfold to share stories of the gods. Modern adaptations of the kavad have been made by the Ministry of Culture and in the Delhi Bal Bhavan (children’s cultural centre), for rural education and to address other modern concerns.

Pata

| West Bengal

In West Bengal is yet another interesting visual, the pata.

These vivid painted scrolls, usually from 12- to 16-feet long and 1 to 2 feet in width, feature story scenes aligned as vertical panels. The teller sings with a forceful voice as he unwinds the scroll slowly to tell the tale in the streets or at various functions.

Stories told are often from the lives of Rama or Krishna, or the great Goddess Durga and the Snake Goddess Manasa, or of the God of Death, Yama. But the tradition is a flexible one, and newer stories relate tales of social issues (dowry burning), accidents and disasters (the recent tsunami, the sinking of a steamer), and history (Indira Gandhi’s life, the bombing of Hiroshima). The art is a demanding one, for often the painter is also the storyteller, so the pata storytellers now struggle to keep this art form alive, trying to attract young men who prefer factory jobs today.

Alha

The next evening, opposite the Chakyar kuthu, this vibrant new style appeared. It was an immediate hit – the teller was more active, the music livelier, the language easier to understand, and the stories full of satire and social comment. Stories of the gods were found, but they were the gods of folk tales – earthy gods who came to Kerala and often had human characteristics.

The audience abandoned the sophisticated Chakyar and thus the drummer had his revenge. Today, although both are still performed, ottan thullal remains more popular.

Bhopa

| Rajasthan

There, the intricate and brightly painted par scroll is set up by the Bhopa teller, who then weaves nightlong tales in front of it. Wearing his red turban and stamping his feet ringed with bells, the Bhopa sings, speaks and bows his fiddle. As he tells, his wife illuminates the various story scenes with an oil lamp.

A younger son often attends, too – actively learning a style that he’ll carry on in this state known for its arts. The epic of the legendary regional hero Pabuji is most popular: including the story of his birth, the journeys on his magical horse, his battles and his untimely death. Also well known is the epic of Devanarayan, an incarnation of Vishnu who avenges the deaths of his 24 uncles. This powerful story continues for about 15,000 verses with 335 songs! Here’s a sample of Bhopa: http:// tinyurl.com/9w6es4o.

Kavad

| Rajasthan

Another painted marvel is the ingenious storytelling box, the kavad. This intriguing “box”, which comes in various sizes, has

| Across North India

As in the South, the epic forms conveyed with musical recitation, without visuals, are plentiful. Itinerant bards and those who perform seasonally can be found, using a variety of string or percussive instruments. Of course, versions of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are widely found. But beyond these two very familiar stories, one can find a range of other epics. Most of these share tales of a god or goddess popular in an area, or of local kings and other heroes; some share a romantic saga that has many twists and turns. One very popular example is Alha, enjoyed across the Hindi-speaking North.

Alha is shared in several forms, but in its storytelling form, told to male audiences, it is performed by one man, in a semichanted style, accompanied by a drum. The story, sometimes compared to the Mahabharata in plot, relates the fate of the Chandel Kingdom of Mahoba, and the heroes are Rajputs who act with honour.

Kirtan

| Maharashtra

A very devotional form of telling, related to the Harikatha of the South, is the popular kirtan, which has long been popular in Maharashtra. This stirring, devotional mixture of song and dramatic narrative attracts hundreds in the region, who eagerly join in on religious chants as they listen to stories of gods from the Purana religious scriptures, saints like Tukaram, and inspired devotees. One form of the art, known as Rashtriya Kirtan (national kirtan) is more recent, focusing on newer Indian heroes like Sivaji, Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, and others.

The kirtankars (tellers) use large gestures, elegant hands, voices full of feeling and power to inspire their audiences, whether the story is devotional or patriotic. Drums and harmonium keyboards are the most common instruments, and a range of song forms provides interest and challenge.

Cathy is an American storyteller/writer, who has told and collected stories widely in India and across Asia, with 16 books to her credit.

Bibliography: Gurumurthy, Preemila. Kathakalaksepa. Madras: International Society for the Investigation of Ancient Civilisations, 1994; Spagnoli, Cathy and Paramasivam Samanna. Jasmine and Coconuts: South Indian Tales. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1999.

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

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Feature C athy S pag n o l i

The Telling Counts STORYTELLING is definitely a fascinating art form, one that begins very early in our life.

Grandparents, parents, teachers, siblings and friends are constantly telling us stories, even as we make them up in our imagination. Cathy Spagnoli’s book, “The World of Indian Stories”, published by Tulika, does just that – gives us folktales from different parts of the country, with tips on keeping the tradition of storytelling alive.

Excerpts from the book Rani Shuka Dei (a story from the North Eastern state of Orissa) Dhanurjaya, the raja of Banki, was a brave fighter, with a sword as swift as lightning. His queen, Rani Shuka Dei, was a warrior too, known for her skill on horseback. And although both could fight well, they preferred peace.

One day, the raja of Khurda sent men to occupy some of Banki’s villages. Enraged, Dhanurjaya led his troops against the Khurda army. War flags swayed like demons and red soon stained the grounds. But Khurda was a bigger kingdom, with a bigger, more powerful army. By the end of the battle, Dhanurjaya lay lifeless on the ground, his kingdom lost to Khurda.

News reached Rani Shuka Dei and in great sorrow, she called for her ministers. They advised her to surrender at once. But the queen was a brave woman and a proud one.“You may be cowards,” she cried, “but I am a warrior, and I will fight. I will fight alone if I must.”

Many soldiers were stirred by her words and soon she led a large army to fight against Khurda’s forces. Again, too much blood was shed, but this time, Banki triumphed and the raja of Khurda was captured. When he bowed before her, she ordered her guards to remove his chains. “You are free now to return to your kingdom,” she said gently. “No one will harm you.”

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“I don’t understand,” he said in confusion. “Why such mercy?”

“You are indeed my prisoner,” Rani Shuka Dei replied. “And I could have your head. But how would that help? I know the great pain of losing my husband. How could I ever give that pain to those who love you? I wanted only to keep what was fairly ours, to preserve the honour of our land and of my husband.” And so it was the two kingdoms lived in peace from then on.

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Tales of India prema sastr i

Feeling Blue Rajamma longed to own a picture of Krishna, but did not know where to find one.

ILLUSTRATION M R RAJAN

RAJAMMA was a poor, childless widow, who lived alone in a village near Tiruchirapalli (now known as Trichi in Tamil Nadu). Whenever she went to the river Kaveri,she would see children frolicking on its banks and would feel extremely sorrowful at having none of her own.

There was a small temple, near the river, the walls of which had pictures of the child Krishna. As she looked at Krishna’s antics while pleading with his mother, Yashoda, not to punish him, Rajamma thought to herself how lucky Yashoda must have been to have such an enchanting son. Rajamma now

started to spend more time at the temple, feasting her eyes on the young Krishna.

There was one particular picture that caught her eye – Krishna standing on a rock with a flute in his hand. The blue tint of his skin matched the sky. She felt that she could hear the flute playing her favourite raga (tune).

Rajamma longed to own that picture of Krishna, but did not know where to find the same.

Soon, one evening, Rajamma heard a commotion on the street. The villagers were chasing a group of children with sticks. Rajamma called them in, and hid the children in the house. While she stood guard at the gate, the villagers accosted her. “Did you see any children go past?” Directing them towards a mango grove some distance away, she asked what had happened.

“They have been stealing fruit and vegetables from the vendor’s carts,” they replied angrily, and ran in the direction of the mango grove.

Rajamma went inside and confronted the children.

“What you did was wrong,” she scolded them. “We were hungry,” they replied. True enough, they looked tired and hungry. Rajamma served them buttermilk and the bananas she had bought for herself. “Now go before the villagers return.

Don’t do this again! I often go hungry but I don’t take other people’s food,” Rajamma advised the children. One of them with a mischievous smile, who seemed to have been the ringleader, lingered behind. Rajamma noticed that the fading light of the evening gave his skin a blue tint. His eyes gleamed and he whistled her favourite raga as he held out a piece of paper to her.

“This is for you,” he said and ran off, dropping the scroll in her hand. She watched him till he disappeared down the road. When she unrolled the paper, Rajamma found that it was a picture of Krishna exactly like the one she had longed for. Only, in this one, there was a group of laughing children around the rock on which Krishna was standing.

Editor’s Note: Blue is the colour of eternity as we see in the sky and sea, hence Indian mythology uses the colour blue for its Gods who symbolise infinity too.

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Look who's in Town che n n a i

Talking Shop Sanne taking a break from shopping to strike a pose at Express Avenue

Danish social worker Sanne Albertsen gives us some valuable shopping tips this festive season FOR Sanne Albertsen, shopping in Chennai means always expecting the unexpected, much like the city itself. From a small city in Southern Denmark, with an approximate population of 30,000, Chennai’s big city chaos, with “rickshaws, bikes, cars, cows, goats and other animals” on the streets, life as she knew it has certainly changed in the last ten months. And that includes shopping as well. “One of the first times we went shopping in Chennai, we went to Spencer Plaza. But when we walked in, the whole mall went black! We were new in town and looked shocked at one another. Nobody else seemed to even notice the power cut. Even though there was sunlight streaming in through the windows, when we walked into shops, the salesmen would use their flashlights to find the items we were looking for. We found this way of shopping very amusing and, might I add, we found our way out of the mall again in the dark,” she says with a smile. From that experience to many, many more, Albertson tells us where to go and what to expect in Chennai.

Home Style In Denmark, we have streets earmarked for shopping, where no cars or bikes are allowed. Especially in Copenhagen, you will find a large area in the centre of the city where you can walk and enjoy a variety of shops, restaurants and cultural places.

In Chennai, that’s definitely changed! Here, you drive from one shop to another. The traffic, distance and heat prevent you from being able to walk around, something I miss about Denmark.

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Shopper’s Choice You have to visit Express Avenue in Royapettah. It is a huge mall with mainly international brands. There are even Danish stores! Also, a drive down TTK Road and Khader Nawaz Khan (KNK) Road is worth it, as you will find stores for sports and inexpensive foreign brands in the former, and slightly more expensive international brands in the latter. On KNK road, you can actually walk from store to store. For Indian clothes, I would recommend Spencer Plaza, a mall with mostly Indian stores.

Tips to Store Remember it is also possible to have your clothes tailormade, at very affordable prices, especially if you are looking for something specific. If you find something you like, don’t wait to buy it. Shopping in Chennai will take a full day, depending on traffic, and therefore, do plan ahead. Also, there is very often a sale in Chennai, especially around festival time, with 50% discounts in stores. This might be worth waiting for.

Danish Stock You don’t bargain in Denmark, and prices will be higher than in India. Denmark is actually very expensive, and even when I find the same brands here in India, the price will often be twice or three times as high in Denmark. Do visit “Strøget”, at the centre of Copenhagen, with small streets around with all sorts of wonderful shops! Also, try the big, new mall “Fields” in Copenhagen, and “Magasin”, a mall situated in all big cities of Denmark.

Advertiser's Feature

Fashion Forward Check out ‘Crush’, Chennai’s newest one-stop store for highfashion, affordable clothing

WHEN Veena Balasubramaniam thought of launching ‘Crush’ in the city, she had a very simple mantra in mind. “To treat every customer like a star!” she says with a smile. One look at ‘Crush’ and you know Veena means every word. A warm little store with a hospitable staff offering the latest in style and trends, ‘Crush’ whets the fashion appetite of the young, hip and happening at extremely affordable prices.

Trendy cotton tops for women, casual T-shirts and shorts for men, banana fibre handbags, chic bracelets, a wide range of accessories and footwear, children’s clothing, all these and more catch your eye at ‘Crush’.

“Each individual’s style needs are unique and you have as many fashion requirements as individual styles. The challenge is to stock up not just the latest in the market, but also clothes and accessories that make timeless aesthetic sense so that one can walk out stylish, satisfied and happy,” explains Veena. From denims, dresses, beach wear to club wear, jewellery and shoes, all priced between Rs 150 to Rs 2000, ‘Crush’ is certainly about getting that brand new wardrobe without emptying your wallets!

No. 14, Maharaja Surya Road, Alwarpet, Chennai – 600018 Ph: 044-24350084 | No. 1/29, East Coast Road, Kottivakkam, Chennai – 600041 Ph: 044-24510084 | Timings: 1030h to 2030h Open all days of the week | Email: thecrushshop@gmail.com.

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Look who's in Town de l h i

Flavour Full

Sunel enjoys an evening meal with her husband at Fez, Malcha Marg, Chanakyapuri

South African Sunel Botes shares her colourful food experiences in the capital city THERE’S so much one can do in Delhi, that we are hardly surprised that Sunel Botes, wife of Stefanus Botes, Minister Counsellor – Economic, South African High Commission, is spoilt for choice. “The many shopping malls are fantastic, the markets fascinating, the monuments, gardens and parks breathtaking,” gushes Sunel. And if the city’s personality is naturally inclusive, then the people cannot be far behind. “The overall friendliness and hospitality of the local people are wonderful. We are still smiling about the invitation to drinks we have received from our neighbours shortly after we moved.

Fortunately, we went hungry, as we assumed the drinks would be over in about 30 minutes, with plenty of time to go to dinner later. The visit lasted three-and-a-half hours, during which more and more of the most delicious food was served – much to the delight of our 20-year-old son who was visiting us at the time!” says Sunel, before taking us through her eating out experience in Delhi and South Africa.

Familiar Bites We were still raising our children until the end of last year and school activities and extracurricular activities, even over weekends, limited our opportunities to eat out very often. India is just the opposite for us. Our children stayed behind in South Africa and with our extended hotel stay after our arrival in New Delhi (22 weeks for my husband and 18 weeks for myself), we had ample opportunity to eat out. Being in the diplomatic service also provides us with many occasions to eat away from home. As our time in India is limited to four years and

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considered an adventure, we obviously try to fit in as many visits to as many eateries as possible.

Must Eat At My three favourite restaurants at this point are ‘The Monk’ in DLF Place in Saket, ‘The Golden Dragon Restaurant’ in C-Block Market, Vasant Vihar, and 'Empress of China' inside the Eros Hotel in Nehru Place. In addition to those, we’ve also had fantastic meals at the ‘Delhi Gymkhana Club’, ‘Basil and Thyme’ at Santushti Shopping Arcade, ‘Park Baluchi’ in Hauz Khas and ‘The Grand Hotel’ in Vasant Kunj.

Tip Top Look at listings of restaurants in tour guides or consult local newspapers or magazines.

Ask local people to refer you to good restaurants. Get the opinions of other expats who have had more experience than you in the city.

An Indian Platter The first Indians arrived in South Africa 151 years ago, so Indian food is nothing new there. The most popular fast food dish is Bunny Chow, which consists of a hollowed out loaf of white bread filled with curry (vegetables and/or meat). It originated in the 1940s in the Indian community in Durban at ‘Patel’s Vegetarian Refreshment Room’, Grey Street. Some other Indian restaurants to visit are ‘Taste of India’ in Rivonia, Johannesburg, ‘Pride of India Restaurant’ in Groenkloof, Pretoria, ‘The Raj Restaurant’ in Kyalami, Midrand and ‘Thava Indian Restaurant’ in Norwood, Johannesburg.

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Look who's in Town be n ga l u r u

Say Cheese!

Kevin's "cool" moment while shopping for cheese in Bengaluru

Frenchman Kevin Pavoux shows us how local flavours more than compensate for tastes from back home GREEN and clean was definitely not what Kevin Pavoux expected Bengaluru to look like. “My impressions of India were that of a bustling country. So I was pleasantly surprised by Bengaluru, which was completely contrary to what I had been warned about! It was peaceful, calm and so green!” he says.

After a year in the city, Kevin and his wife, Dulce, feel right at home. “And the perfect weather helps too. Not too warm, not too wet, just like the South of France, from where we are,” he adds. Within that year, Kevin and Dulce discovered many facets of India’s Garden City, the most important being food. “Grocery shopping was one of our first concerns and we took our time finding our favourite places,” he says, before sharing a few tips with our readers.

Who Moved My Cheese?

What we miss the most is the range that the supermarkets of France offered. With what we buy in one supermarket in France, we could make French, Italian or any food we fancy.

Though Bengaluru has a lot of big stores, all we want cannot be found in one place. So we have now found stores with the cheese we prefer and accordingly shop. At times, we tend to compromise when we don’t always get what we want. We feel most of what we buy here may be imported, we tend to pay much more for cheese, wine and select grocery items.

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Shop Spots We have found that Food Hall in M. G Road has a fair selection of groceries. We almost always find all that we want there. The Spar Supermarket is also a good option in the city; they have a good range of cheese. We often try out the local markets that have farmers selling vegetables and at times pick up what’s not available in the supermarkets.

Smart Shopping The first thing you need to remember is to always try the seasonal local produce. They are fresher and tastier too. The other is that when we don’t find the perfect cheese for our home recipes, we substitute it with the local brands. And they work fine most times! The spices in Bengaluru are amazingly fresh and aromatic; these are a must try. At times, asking the shopkeeper for a specific product might not help. Look around yourself and it might be right there before your eyes!

When in France Three things anyone visiting France should check out are wine, cheese and olive oil. These are available in the finest selections and most economical prices. The best place for grocery shopping in France would be the Carrefour Hypermarkets. There are also the outdoor markets held in the months of July, August and September where fresh produce is sold. What one needs to watch out for is low quality produce hidden under good packaging.

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events CALENDAR MUMBAI

Camp for Children November 15 to 17

Kolad Village, Maharashtra For children aged seven to eleven years, this camp will take participants to the village of Kolad. The village is home to the fast flowing Kundalika River, with a terrain that is conducive for adventure sports like rappelling, rock climbing, zorbing and more.

Visit www.kshitijworld.com for registrations and more details.

Swedish House Mafia Concert

November 17 | 2000h Mahalakshmi Race Course, Lower Parel, Mumbai The Swedish ‘electronic-dancemusic trio’ will perform in India for the first time. The group, formed in 2008, consists of disc jockeys and producers, Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso.

Titled ‘Onelasttour’, this will be their last album and tour before they take a hiatus. For tickets, visit http://www.onelasttour.com.

Sufi Music Festival

November 21 to 23 | 1800h NCPA Marg, Nariman Point, Mumbai ‘Sama’a: the Mystic Ecstasy’, a festival of Sufi music will be held at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA). The three-day festival will include illustrated lectures on Sufi paintings by Dr. B N Goswamy, a dance presentation by Malavika Sarukkai, poetry reading by Farooque Shaikh, premier of a film on Amir Khusrau by Yusouf Saeed, and Sufiana music by Sanam Marvi and group from Pakistan. Book your tickets at www.bookmyshow. com or call 022-39895050.

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

Feel Japan – Exhibition and Sale Till November 19

Food Hall, The Palladium, High Street Phoenix, Mumbai Go Japanese with the ‘Feel Japan’ exhibition and sale of unique Japanese products. The exhibition will bring out a selection of innovative homeware and kitchenware that are typical to Japanese kitchens.

The products on display include Japanese bowls, chopsticks, hand fans, ikebana accessories, and more.

Art Show

Till November 17 | 1100h to 1800h Galerie Isa, #132, Great Western Building, S. Bhagat Singh Road, Fort, Mumbai British artist, Anj Smith, will showcase her eclectic painting collection titled ‘Monkeying Around’.

The artworks are in the form of psychological portraits. The artist focuses on detailing and works in the area of fashion and popular culture.

For details, contact 022-66373432.

Brahmaputra Rafting Expedition

November 25 to December 8 Arunachal Pradesh, North East India Experience rafting on one of the biggest rivers of the world, the Brahmaputra! The expedition will be for 13 nights and 14 days and will include 180 kms of rafting through the rapids. One of the remote parts of India with breathtaking views and unique tribal culture, the trip is being organised by Wild Escapes, Mumbai.

Contact 022-66635228/24122030 for more details.

events CALENDAR DELHI

Deep Utsav

November 8 to 13|1030h to 2200h Dilli Haat, INA Market, Near AIIMS, Delhi and Dilli Haat, Near TV tower, Pitampura, Delhi Shop at the Diwali mela (Sanskrit for gathering or fair) at Dilli Haat for festive gifts.

The ‘Deep Utsav’ or the ‘Mela of Lamps’ will have a variety of earthen lamps, candles and other gift articles. Stop by at the food booths and enjoy some local cuisines as well. Contact 011-26119055 for more details.

Swedish House Mafia November 18 | 2000h

Sunburn Arena, Unitech Golf Club, Noida, Delhi The Swedish ‘electronicdance-music trio’ will perform in India for the first time. The group, formed in 2008, consists of disc jockeys and producers, Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso. Titled ‘Onelasttour’, this will be their last album and tour before they take a hiatus. For tickets, visit http://www.onelasttour.com.

Short Ten-minute Plays

November 23, 24 & 25| 2000h Epicentre, Apparel House, Sector 44, Gurgaon on November 23, 24, and Siri Fort Auditorium, Asiad Village, August Kranti Marg, Delhi on November 25 Ballantine’s presents ’Salt N Pepper’, a theatre tour of 10 short conversational plays in English and Hindi telling stories of 10 different lives. 10 stories of 10 minutes each revolving around 10 lives will be played by four versatile theatre personalities - Mandira Bedi, Kuku Grewal, Darshan Jariwala and Vikram Kochhar. Book your tickets on www.bookmyshow.com.

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

Kite Festival

November 17 to 19 India Gate, New Delhi The three-day Kite Festival, organised by Delhi Tourism, will have kitemakers from across India displaying their flying art. There will also be kitemakers teaching visitors to make their own kites. Visitors can fly their kites and also engage in a kite flying competition. Also, sample Delhi’s street food at the festival. Visit the Delhi Tourism website http:// delhitourism.nic.in for more information.

Solo Ceramics Show

Till November 20 | 1100h to 1900h Threshold Art Gallery, F-213/A, Lado Sarai, Delhi Artist Vinod Daroz presents a solo show of ceramics. Some of the references the artist has used include the Gopuram (temple dome), Lingam (Lord Shiva’s form) and more from temples of India. All of his works have been fired in layers to create textural surfaces. Contact 011-41829181 for more details.

Painting Exhibition Till November 30

Russian Centre of Science & Culture, # 24, Ferozeshah Road, Delhi To mark the 65th anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Russia and India, the State Russian Museum, St.Petersburg, and Embassy of the Russian Federation in India will host an exhibition of paintings by Prince Alexei Saltykov (1806–1859). Contact 011-23329102 for more details.

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events

CALENDAR BENGALURU

Art Exhibition

November 8 to 24| 1100h to 1900h Galleryske, # 2, Berlie Street, Langford, Bengaluru Italian artist, Luigi Anastasio, and Indian artist, Prabhavathi Meppayil, together explore the concept of ‘Everything and Nothing’.

Anastasio draws from the idea of the mind as a mirror, reflecting with openness. Meppayil explores the idea of liberation using the gesso technique, where a primer is spread to get a textured canvas.

Photography Workshop

November 17 and 18 Aspasia Boutique Hotel, Koramangala, 6th Block, Bengaluru This one-and-a-half-day photography workshop teaches the basics of photography. Learn how the digital camera works, understand your lenses, light and more. There will be both theory and practical sessions and a review of images taken. Contact Photo Journalist, Hema Narayanan at +91-9845289719 for more details or visit http:// www.hemanarayanan.com.

Art Workshops

Till November 28 Art House, # 416, 1st Cross, ISEC Main Road, Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru A series of art workshops that will include techniques like sketching and drawing will be conducted at the venue. Workshops last for 10 weeks and a new batch begins every week. Discover Bengaluru through these art classes that will be held in places like the city museum, Lalbagh, Cubbon Park, city markets and so on.

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

Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival

Till November 11 Ranga Shankara, # 36/2, 8th Cross II Phase, J P Nagar, Bengaluru The Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival is celebrating William Shakespeare and his works. This year’s festival has productions from across the world. Atul Kumar’s ‘Twelfth Night’ and Shanbag’s ‘All’s Well that Ends Well’ will be representing Indian theatre. Contact 080-26493982 for more details. Tickets can be booked at www.indianstage. in or www.bookmyshow.com

Harley Rock Riders Music Fest

November 24|1200h Clarks Exotica, Swiss Town, Sadahalli, Devanahalli Road, Bengaluru – 562110 The Harley Rock Riders, the annual music festival of Harley Davidson India, is here again.

This year the Swedish Metal band, ‘WOLF’, will play along with Indian rock bands like ‘Albatross’, ‘Kryptos’, ‘The Lightyears Explode’ and more. This is a chance also for Harley Davidson motorbike owners and fans to celebrate.

Go gaga over the tattoo booths and exclusive merchandise store.

Call +91-9740097104 or +919740097108 for more details.

Short Ten-minute Plays

November 30| 2000h Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Gayathri Devi Park Extension, 16th Cross, Malleswaram, Bengaluru.

Ballantine’s presents ‘Salt N Pepper’, a theatre tour of 10 short conversational plays in English and Hindi telling stories of 10 different lives. Ten stories of 10 minutes each revolving around 10 lives will be played by four versatile theatre personalities – Mandira Bedi, Kuku Grewal, Darshan Jariwala and Vikram Kochhar. Book your tickets on www.bookmyshow.com.

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events CALENDAR CHENNAI

The Sound of Salzburg Show November 3 & 4 | 1700 h, 1900 h The Music Academy, Cathedral Road, Chennai

Directed by Franz Langer, the ‘Sound of Salzburg’ is a music performance that is based on the popular movie, ‘Sound of Music’.

The show will include old classical folk songs of Austria from the Von Trapp family. The show comes to Chennai for the first time and is part of the Rotary Club of Madras East’s social service project.

Buy tickets on www.indianstage. in or call +91-09243777970.

15th Annual ‘Beautiful India’ Expatriate Photo Competition

November 18 The Hyatt Regency, Mount Road, Teynampet, Chennai – 600018

Cartooning Workshop

November 7 to 14| 1000h to 1900h Vanilla Children’s Place, # 89, Bishop Garden, Greenways Road, R.A Puram, Chennai Get your children to learn the techniques of cartooning animals, people or objects. The workshop is open for children between three to eight years and teaches them to draw objects in a fun way. Call 044-42066660 or 044-42104104 for more details.

The Friday Review November Fest

November 16 to 21 The Music Academy, Cathedral Road, Chennai

This annual expatriate photo competition, hosted by Global Adjustments, enters its 15th year this year. Categories for the competition include Into India, Faces, Places, Culture & Festivals and Indian Weddings, which will culminate in a glittering awards ceremony on the 18th. If you haven’t entered already, log on to www.globaladjustments.com/ photocompetition for more details.

By Invitation Only

‘The Friday Review November Fest’, hosted by The Hindu Group, is an annual event that presents global music. This year, the festival includes talents like Hindustani classical maestro Pandit Jasraj to Agam, a fresh young Carnatic rock band. It has Korean contemporary music ensemble ‘Be-Being’ for the first time; a Western-Carnatic fusion night by T.V.Gopalakrishnan; and an Australian jazz group jamming with percussionist Karaikudi Mani, also for the first time. Contact 044-2811 2231 for more details.

Korean Film Screening

Storytelling Workshop

November 23 InKo Centre, # 51, 6th Main Road, R.A. Puram, Chennai – 600028 The InKo Centre will screen the Korean film, ‘Paju’, directed by Park Chan-ok. The film offers a glimpse into Korean society and the struggles faced by some residents of the city of Paju. The film is the first Korean film to open the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2010. Call 044-442436 1224 for more details.

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

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Till December 2 | 1000h to 1200h Oxford Book Store, Apeejay House, # 39/12, Haddows Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai If you wish to learn the art of storytelling, then sign up for this workshop. Designed for parents, teachers, therapists or those interested in storytelling as a profession, this workshop will concentrate on the right steps and skills for telling an entertaining story.

Classes are held every Sunday.

Contact 044-4428227711 or 0444428227712 for more details.

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Thought Leaders team c u lt u rama

The Gold Rush An exclusive interview with Dr Marshall Goldsmith, recently recognised as the number one leadership thinker in the world at the bi-annual Thinkers 50 ceremony sponsored by the Harvard Business Review

HIS energy and zest for life and learning is infectious.

At 63, Dr Marshall Goldsmith’s achievements and awards could fill up a room, but he knows, more than anybody else, that age is of no consequence when it comes to living your dream. “I love what I do. Teaching is what I enjoy the most. Coaching is where I learn the most.

Writing is what enables me to reach millions of people from around the world. I am always working on ‘the next idea’ and ‘the next book’. I have absolutely no plans of ‘cutting back’ or ‘retiring,’” he says with his trademark smile. And the results are for all to see. Recognised by most professional institutions and organisations in management and corporate leadership coaching, including the recent number one leadership thinker in the world honour, best-selling author of over 30 books that have been translated into 28 languages, and a teacher of executive education at Dartmouth’s Tuck School and guest speaker at leading business schools, Goldsmith’s oeuvre is constantly growing, much like what he propagates for leaders. “Leaders need to practice ‘lifelong learning’ and realise that continued development is an important factor in their long-term success. I would

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suggest that leaders ask for confidential feedback from the key stakeholders that impact their lives. I would then suggest that they follow-up on this feedback in a disciplined way,” he says.

For leaders across the world, who have had the privilege of attending one of Goldsmith’s lectures, his mantra is simple. It’s not about leadership as a concept being generalised, as cultural elements are almost always intrinsically bound to the personality of the individual, directly impacting leadership styles. It’s about “practicing the understanding of leadership” that matters. “Some elements of leadership are ‘universal’ while others are ‘situational’. Broad categories like ‘integrity’, ‘vision’ and ‘commitment to the organisation’ (and many more) are universal. Specific leadership style within these broader constructs is situational. “I am no different from all of the people that I teach. I, like all of us, am far better at ‘knowing what to do’ than ‘doing it’! Almost all of the leaders that I meet could give wonderful talks on how to lead. Their challenge, like mine, is not ‘understanding the practice of leadership’. Their challenge is ‘practicing their understanding of leadership’, he explains.

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I could, but eventually I ran out of time! My students were willing to listen as long as I was willing to teach,” he writes.

Goldsmith's enthusiasm for feedback is legendary. Pioneer of the 360-degree feedback format, where one receives feedback not only from one’s managers, but also from one’s peers and direct reports., Goldsmith revolutionised the system of feedback where every point discussed was methodically followed up with executives, eventually evolving into what we know as “executive coaching” today. “Feedback helps us know ‘where we are’. Feedforward helps us ‘get to where we want to go’. Recognition gives us reinforcement to help keep us ‘doing what is working’,” he says.

The idea of helping leaders effect a change in their behaviour is pivotal to Goldsmith’s work. In another article for The Conference Board Review titled ‘The Success Delusion’, he writes, “The same beliefs that lead to our success can make it very difficult for us to change behaviour and, as difficult as it is to change our own behaviour, it is even more difficult to change others’ perception of our behaviour”. “The important question for me is, “Can leaders become more effective?” The answer to this question is a definite yes,” concludes Goldsmith. And are we glad to hear that.

Awards and Recognition Institute for Management Studies – Lifetime Achievement Award (one of only two ever awarded), American Management Association – 50 great thinkers and leaders who have influenced the field of management over the past 80 years BusinessWeek – 50 great leaders in America Wall Street Journal – top ten executive educators Forbes – five most-respected executive coaches Leadership Excellence – top ten thinkers on leadership National Academy of Human Resources – Fellow of the Academy (America’s top HR award) Tata Award (India) for Global HR Excellence, 2011

So what happens to “situational elements” in India, where leadership is inscrutable in its definition and often authoritarian in its approach? “I think Indian leaders should be cautious when they assume that recent success make them somehow ‘special’ and immune from the need for future growth. But they should continue their historic respect for learning and growth. I must add here that my favourite place to teach in the world is India.

I am a teacher. I find a very unique respect for teachers and learning in India,” says Goldsmith.

A sentiment he acknowledges in one of his articles for Bloomberg Businessweek, ‘Reflections from India’, after his lectures at the Indian Business School, Hyderabad. “There is nothing that a teacher loves more than dedicated students who want to learn. The first day of my program lasted from 7 in the morning until 10 at night. I tried to answer as many questions as

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Word Perfect Mojo: How to Get it, How to Keep it, How to Get it Back if You Lose it What Got You Here Won’t Get You There Succession: Are You Ready?

The Leader of the Future The AMA Handbook of Leadership The Organization of the Future 2 The Leadership Investment Over three hundred of his articles, interviews, columns and videos are available online atwww.

MarshallGoldsmith.com for viewing and sharing.

Visitors to this site have come from 197 countries and have viewed, read, listened to, downloaded or shared resources over 8 million times.

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Picture Story

P ra v ee n a S h i 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

ept SwAway

EVERY morning, before the sun shrugged off its early morning stupour, Kantabai would sit by the roadside and sip a cup of tea, her broom leaning against her shoulder like an old friend. For the last thirty years, Kantabai had allowed herself this five-minute luxury, before the swirl of dust and the susurrant sound of her broom took over. It was when she turned from participant to spectator, watching the world from under the panoply of her sari, tossed over her head like an afterthought, her hawk-like eyes capturing details – the paper-wallah’s broken chappals, the milkman’s limp, the driver’s furtive gaze as he washed the car, the auto-wallah waking up, the mother tripping over her shoelace while hurrying back home after her daily walk, the odd car or bus corrupting the sweet morning air, the vegetable vendor’s loud wake up call, a young girl throwing a love note from her balcony to the boy on the bike below – Kantabai watched it all, like a suspicious interrogator. Surely, this everydayness hid something behind it. Surely, if she looked hard enough, she would find it.

Surely, there was a part she had to play in this orchestra of life and if she picked the right note she would soar like the wave of a crescendo.

Even when Kantabai got the job as a sweeper, a government job releasing her family from a life of uncertainty, Kantabai knew she was meant for bigger things. Call it instinct or fate or plain superstition, but Kantabai never missed a day of work, no matter how sick she was. She even worked the day her husband finally breathed his last, coughing raucously at the face of death. She was acutely conscious of the fact that there would come a day when the charade of life would pause and she, and only she, would have the rare opportunity of continuing to breathe, in and out, while the whole world had turned to a pillar of salt. This thought had consumed her so completely that Kantabai felt sedate, like a dormant volcano biding its time.

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Photo Sylvie Poultney, France

Photo Elaine Wood, Australia

As the last drop of tea warmed her throat, Kantabai saw Neelima, youth plastered on her face like cheap makeup, walk towards her. Kantabai felt that familiar heaviness settling in her stomach. She could suddenly feel her muscles ache and groan, the burden of her sixty years weighing her down. She braced herself for the onslaught of words that alwaysphoto beganlee with, “Didi!usa Tell what happened?”, the rest webb, following Neelima around like a faithful puppy, incessantly wagging its tail. One day it would be how her four-yearold son toppled the mud pot at home trying to catch a cockroach and how they didn’t have water to drink the rest of the day (Kantabai couldn’t fathom how Neelima could find this incident amusing. But there it was. The wagging tail); another day it is how her sister’s brother-in-law’s cousin’s daughter was getting married to someone working in an MNC as the errands boy – “Her life tho is made, Didi”; and another when her husband, working at the construction site of the next mall in town found a copper coin – “They say it’s phoren, Didi, worth a lot!”; and so on, till they finished duty at five in the evening, and then continuing the next day where she left off. Kantabai felt like she was listening to a neverending prime time television serial – once you begin, you are hooked for life. Unlike everything else though, Kantabai

was unable to push Neelima and her effervescence into the realm of indifference. Somehow, Neelima had broken through that veneer of tranquillity, and Kantabai felt the same heaviness in her stomach when Neelima waved to her from the bus at the end of the day, this time with fear that only a lifetime of loneliness could understand.

And the next day, that fear came true. Neelima didn’t show up for work and though Kantabai knew that that wasn’t uncommon – Neelima had taken off before for weddings and funerals and birthdays and anniversaries – something in the sharp ordinariness of the day told Kantabai to check. She left her broom by the tea stall and made her way to the bus stop. On the way, she saw the local tabloid hung on strings, headlines screaming for attention. A family was killed. A copper coin stolen. A knife with blood stains found.

Kantabai read no more. She didn’t need to. She retraced her steps and picked up her broom. She knew now there would be no five-minute tea-time reveries, no watching for something extraordinary, no waiting for ‘bigger things’… photo ingrid ritter, UK the trigger for an unexpected avalanche of destiny that would sweep her off her feet, like dust motes dancing in the sunlight, did not exist.

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Seeing India K ate C athey

In-House Splendour A visit to the South Indian town of Karaikudi, famous for the Chettiar hospitality and rich heritage, brings to life stories of times gone by

TWO minutes into my drive, I knew I was headed in the right direction. On my right, black water buffalo grazed happily in the lush green grass. On my left, a man tended a vast plot of land slowly readying the red earth for the next planting. Coconut palms dotted the horizon. I had a good feeling as I headed towards Karaikudi, 98 km (1 hour 45 minutes by car) northeast from Madurai in search of famous Chettiar hospitality and rich heritage. I had read that the Chettiars lived ‘the good life’. To me, the good life didn’t sound half bad, so I set off to get a taste.

Many mysteries surround the history of the Chettiars,

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or as they call themselves, the Nagarathar. In the late 1800s they settled in 95 towns in this idyllic countryside in Tamil Nadu, of which 75 remain. The Nagarathar were traders with sophisticated tastes. No one really knows what brought them here, but they acted as if they planned to stay, building elaborate mansions in the surrounding towns. And in these houses they threw the best parties. “When you get an invitation to a wedding,” my host told me, “you, of course, attend because you have some affiliation to the family.” “But,” with a smile he said, “you really go to see the house.”

When I arrived at ‘The Bangala’, an intimate heritage

How to get there SpiceJet flies direct from Chennai to Madurai.

Flights from Rs. 5600 per person.

The Bangala can arrange a car and driver to pick you up in Madurai and for touring homes during your stay.

Where to stay in Karaikudi The Bangala. Rooms from Rs. 4800 - 5800.

Chettinad Heritage Hotels Pvt. Ltd. Reservations Telephone Nos: +91-*044 –2493 4851 or 4206 6790. Hotel Telephone Nos: +91 *4565 – 220221 or 250221. www.thebangala.com

hotel in Karaikudi, I was greeted like an old friend. After lingering over a decadently long lunch, I set out on foot to see the town.

Life on the street moved fast but it felt like time had stopped.

In the centre of town, women scrubbed clothes in the water of the temple tank while others collected water in brightly coloured jugs. I meandered down quiet dirt roads, sharing my path with goats and cows, a familiar sight in rural South India.

But something unusual caught my eye. I saw the most striking homes lining the road. When I peaked inside an open door I was waved in. “A 100 years old, vaanga vaanga, welcome,” I was told.

The houses displayed a dizzying array of architectural details – Hindu gods, British soldiers, Classical columns and American Neoclassical reinterpretations of them, Gothic arches, Islamic flourishes, Renaissance symmetry and Art Deco geometry.

These houses visually tell the story of the Chettiars and I wanted to see more.

Thanks to the kind hospitality and good connections of Meenakshi Meyyappan, the owner of ‘The Bangala’, I visited eight Chettiar homes in four towns – Karaikudi, Kottaiyur, Aathangudi and Kanadukathan. The floor plans are similar in all the houses – elegant formal areas that open into colonnaded patios, with domestic areas relegated to the back. These houses

were built for formal entertaining on a grand scale. I imagined the marble-clad reception room overflowing with guests, dressed in their best silks to fit the elegant surroundings. The play of light and shadow, ceiling height, and changing materials creates a dazzling effect as you pass through the spaces. At the very back of the house sits a modest kitchen where Chettinad pepper chicken has been prepared over the same woodburning stove for over a hundred years.

The Chettiars chose the most coveted materials to dress the interiors of their homes. At the Museum House in Kottaiyur, built in the 1880s, chocolate brown Italian marble columns and a Burmese teak carved ceiling welcome you in the entry patio. Floors and columns are smoothed with the local, famed egg plaster finish. The reception room of the MSMM House in Karaikudi sparkles in Art Deco style with its black and white marble floors and black marble columns. Stately doors are carved in solid rosewood, French polished to a rich warm glow. Light dances among the pillars of the fancifully painted entry patio of Aathangudi’s Museum House from the 1930s.

Rotund teak columns with turquoise carved bases at Kottaiyur’s Museum house entice you to the first interior patio. In all the houses, the delightfully extravagant exteriors and the luxurious well-designed interiors create the perfect setting for a party.

The Chettiar families left as mysteriously as they came. The streets of Chettiar’s ‘heritage town’ Kottaiyur are lined with masterpieces from the Chettiar golden age but the houses sit empty and are only visited for the most important family events. Their original design makes them hard to live in today as kitchens are way in the back of the house, and most of the areas are formal rooms, not living spaces. For some, owning these houses is a financial burden so they are dismantling them and selling the interior fittings for big profits, then tearing down the homes and rebuilding functional family homes on the land. “It’s a bit of a sad story really, of past glory,” my host says softly. On my visit to Kanadukathan, the oldest Chettiar house (1830s) was bustling in preparation for a family wedding, giving it new life. To hear that house’s story, you’ll just have to get invited to the party.

Kate Cathey is an American food and travel writer currently living in Chennai. She is the author of Culture Smart! Colombia: The Essential Guide to Customs and Culture, where she lived before moving to India.

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India Immersion Centre

Fun Times

Celebrating the nine-day festival of Navratri with dolls, dance, music and more!

WALK into any Indian home during the festive season and you are guaranteed to find three things – a burst of colour, a delectable variety of sweets and snacks, and a deep sense of tradition brimming with bonhomie. The India Immersion Centre on October 19 was no exception to this rule, as it celebrated Navratri, the nine-day festival that honours the 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.

With a spectacular display of dolls, some dated to over a century ago, adding colour, to the traditional Sundal, a lentil-based snack, Badam (almond) Milk and Boost Barfi, a chocolate-based sweet, to the overriding presence of the festival’s significance in the stories shared through handouts distributed, it was an evening befitting India’s festive fervour.

Across the country, Navratri is celebrated in different ways – with dolls in the South, with dance and music in the North. At IIC, it was a culmination of both.

But there was one more element adding to this joyful synergy – an enthusiastic expat community partaking in the camaraderie! Irish, British, French, German, Korean, Japanese, Danish, Dutch, American, Spanish, Mexican, Australian and Indian celebrated together with an infectious ease, bringing IIC’s motto alive to “link, learn and leave a legacy”.

The evening played host to an interactive music session with renowned singer, Sumathi Krishnan and her group. Using various Indian instruments and beautifully explaining the meaning of each song as she sang them, Sumathi had the crowd on their feet. This was followed

by Garba, Gujarat’s Navratri dance, usually performed in rings around a lamp or an image of Durga to symbolise the cycle of time. Except, at the IIC, it was around little children, symbolising the evergreen spirit of childhood. It is the month of November, after all, when Children’s Day is celebrated in India on the 14th. The forty-odd guests also participated in Kummi, a folk dance common in Tamil Nadu, also performed in a circle.

As remarks of “Lovely evening” and “Awesome” rent the air, the evening’s message was loud and clear: participate in India; it will touch your soul forever.

If you would like to participate in IIC’s events, then the Photo Competition to be hosted this month would be a good place to start. See the advertisement on the next page for more details. For other events, write to iic@globaladjustments.com 52

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culturama | november 2012

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Global Citizen Ne i l M i l l er

For the Asking When living and working in or travelling to a new country, what are the right cultural questions to ask beyond the obvious?

Our columnist gives us some useful pointers

PHOTO JUKKA LEHTELA, FINLAND

IN TODAY’S global world, the situation is typical.

You are travelling to a new place you have never been to before and have a fear of making a fool of yourself. Then suddenly you remember that you have a friend who is from that country or lived there for a long time. Instant success, right? All you have to do is call up the friend and you will get to know everything there is to know about your destination.

However, the discussion inevitably ends up somewhat like this: You: "So, tell me about (country)" Friend: "Yeah, it's really great. You have to try the food."

You: "Yes, I'll definitely do that. Is there anything else I should know?"

Friend: "Well, the people are really nice..."

In reality, it is difficult for people to talk about their own culture. Even for those who are living outside of it, there is a great struggle to put into words exactly what makes your corner of the world unique and what to tell someone who is going there. Some of it is the fish not being able to see the water he’s swimming in, and some of it is that it is hard to describe something so general in very specific terms.

Therefore, it can be very helpful for you, as the traveller, to have a few questions up your sleeve which can help your friend open up and give you something more than the local cuisine and how well-intentioned the people are.

Here are a few things to start out with: Who are the local heroes where you come from?

Learning about heroes is a great way to see what and who a culture values, and how to emphasise that part of your own personality!

How can I make a great first impression? Watch your friend’s eyes light up as she gets excited about giving you the inside information on what really makes them feel great.

What types of things get covered in the local news? This is a good way to learn small talk topics and how to make quick connections.

If my meeting is set for 11 a.m., when would I be early / late? Punctuality varies from culture to culture and it is good to know when you are supposed to show up.

This answer is often different from business and social situations.

What are you most proud of in your culture? It will usually take your friend a little while to ponder over this, but undoubtedly they will find something to smile about and you can use that topic as a compliment when you visit.

How would you define a successful person in (country)?

Success is also a moving target for most people, but when you hear someone describing the ideal lifestyle, you can learn a lot about what everyone is striving for.

There are many more things you can ask to dig deeper, but these should get you off to a great start!

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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Festival of the Month

5 November

8

22

13

Diwali 13 DIWALI, the Festival of Lights, marks the start of winter and is the major pan-Indian celebration of the year. The name of the festival is derived from the word ‘Deepavali’, literally meaning, ‘a row of lamps’ in Sanskrit. Little clay lamps are filled with oil and wick and lit in rows all over the house as a greeting to Goddess Lakshmi to usher in prosperity.

Fireworks and firecrackers are let off in every street and garden, a phenomenal sight (and sound!) in the large metros. People clean and decorate their homes with rangoli patterns on the floor, buy new clothes and jewellery, and exchange gifts and sweets during the five-day festival.

Legend and spirituality are woven into the meaning of the festival. Diwali is celebrated in honour of the return of Rama and his wife Sita to their kingdom of Ayodhya after 14 years in exile. Lakshmi is believed to have come into being on the day of Diwali during the churning of the ocean that conferred immortality on the gods. Both stories celebrate the victory of light over darkness, and to reflect on the atman, the inner light that transcends the physical body. Here’s what you can do to join in the Diwali fervour: Do buy clay lamps called Diyas (in the North) and Ahals (in the South). Light them up with oil and cotton wicks, in a row along your balcony or porch. The easier option is to light up the wax-filled lamps available at most Home Centre stores across the country.

Do send a box of sweets and a warm note to your neighbour, Indian colleague, service provider… whoever you want to show you are grateful to.

Do tip your household staff and driver so they can buy some new clothes and sweets for their

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PHOTO armando bruck, Brazil

family. It is customary to give them one month’s salary if they have worked for a year with you.

If they have been with you fewer months, then as you think fit. A decent amount is Rs. 500 for starters, after all charity begins at home.

Don’t refuse any sweets or small gifts sent to you

by Indian acquaintances, colleagues, neighbours.

If it is way too expensive and a compliance issue, do explain to them warmly and still keep a small portion of edible things.

Do join in a cards party, if you are invited, during Diwali. It’s called ‘Teen Patti’ or three cards, and it is a-luck-of-the-draw sort of game, so quit while you are ahead!

Do watch a movie, a special Diwali release if possible, though you will need to book tickets much in advance for sure.

Do be prepared to have an overload of sound.

It might even feel like you are in a war zone, as noisy fireworks fill the air from 4.30 a.m. going on till the next day. If you have pets, keep them indoors.

Do sample the variety of sweetmeats available in Indian sweet shops, or the homely ones offered by your neighbours, friends or colleagues.

Do take in the fragrance of incense sticks or agarbattis that are lit in most Indian homes to invoke Goddess Lakshmi.

And finally, Diwali is about dressing up in new clothes as well, so do go out and buy some traditional sarees, salwar-kurtas or lehengacholis (for women) and sherwanis, veshtis and kurta-pyjamas (for men).

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Gehna is at # 22, Casa Major Road, Egmore, Chennai – 600008. Ph: 9841039449. www.gehnaindia.com

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Festival of the Month

Lights On India Traditionally believed to be a Hindu festival of light and joy, Diwali is an occasion for Indians that transcends from being a festival to a ‘national sentiment’. It binds all Indians, bringing the spirit of goodwill and brotherhood across all religions in India. Urban India celebrates Diwali with sweets, new clothes and fireworks, whereas rural India has many different rituals woven into the festivity that is unique to that geographical state.

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Himachal Pradesh On the day of Diwali, soaked rice is powdered and floor designs are drawn with it. At night young girls worship this design with grass and camphor.

Punjab In the villages of Punjab, cattle are adorned and worshiped by farmers on Diwali as they form the main source of their income.

Andhra Pradesh In Hyderabad, there is a tradition of giving bath to the buffaloes, on the day of Diwali. There is also a custom of decorating paper figures.

Tamil Nadu The day begins with everyone in the family taking an oil bath before sunrise. It is a popular belief that taking an oil bath is equivalent to taking a bath in the Holy River Ganges.

West Bengal In West Bengal a Kali Puja (prayer) takes place. Kali is the Goddess of strength and she is believed to destroy all evil.

Lamps are lit in her honour, and in return, she promises a renewal of life and justice on earth.

Orissa People in Orissa celebrate Diwali with a rangoli (a design created using rice powder mixed with colours) of a sailboat is made on the ground. The boat has seven chambers, and over the drawing several items like mustard, salt etc are placed in each chamber.

Maharashtra Maharashtrians perform a ‘Lakshmi Puja’ on Diwali, believing that she visits every house in the evening. This is essentially a worship of Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Ganesh, money, jewellery and the broom.

Goa In Goa, huge effigies of Narakasura (Indian mythological demon), are made and burnt at the dawn of Diwali. According to legend, Narakasura was a demon who was killed by Lord Krishna and thus the people were free of his vandalism.

Delhi In Delhi, women offer prayers for the long life of their husbands. In some houses, there is a ritual of immersing a silver coin in a tumbler of milk. The milk is then sprinkled lightly in the rooms of the house.

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Currently Occucpied Ia n W atk i n so n

Up in Smoke With three consecutive days of fireworks taking over the city, our columnist wonders when did the Festival of Lights become the Festival of Noise

IT’S that time of year again – Diwali or Deepavali, the garland of lights, which has a beautiful message for us all whatever our inner beliefs, that underlying the often cruel hardships of daily life there is a pure, hidden inner light burning deep within us all, which if we nurture and allow it to shine, will help to put the difficulties of reality into a different, more understandable perspective. That’s the simple yet profoundly beautiful theory, anyway – a good social wake up call every year, a kick in the pants for us all to reflect. Good idea. Yet, when the fundamental principles and meaning of such a deeply traditional festival become overrun, subsumed and corrupted by money, excess, and greed, the original principles are often sadly lost – literally lost in the smokescreen, in the case of Diwali.

In the last few years, witnessing three consecutive days of fireworks detonated across the city, from dawn till midnight, I sadly came to view it as the ‘Festival of Noise’, rather than the ‘Festival of Lights’. Like many annual festivals throughout the world, it has suffered a paradigm shift from its original meaning into a different, darker dimension – usually one motivated by

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huge sums of money and profit, such as the travesty of modern day Christmas marketed in the West. In the case of Diwali, the huge profits are mostly centred around the usage of thousands of tons of highly dangerous explosives. I struggle to absorb how much money is spent by Indians at the onset of Diwali, money so many can ill-afford to spend on such frivolous and shortlived flashes and bangs, but who are sucked subliminally into the social pressure to be involved.

During last year’s Diwali, the post rain, humid weather in early morning Chennai, condensed the acrid fumes of gunpowder and residue of heavy metals into a dense, choking soup-like fog across the coastal areas of the city, which the sun struggled to cut through on the main festival day. Reminiscent of the fogs of western cities, which I remember well as a boy in the 1950s caused by the burning of coal, choking and swirling in the streets. They were known as ‘pea soup’ fog as they were so dense, and lung respiratory diseases were their legacies.

Much of the original simple ideas of Diwali were adapted and transformed into folk tales, mankind’s traditional way of

Photos ian watkinson

preserving valuable ideas for transmission down the ages, and a way of keeping the core ideas alive in the more superstitious, isolated parts of India, a parallel with other traditions such as those of the Celts and early Christians. It evolved into the idea of shedding ignorance, repelling evil represented by demons, refreshing and cleansing the human body with oil baths, new clothes and so on. And then the gunpowder appeared on the scene – one version commemorates the defeat of the evil demon Narakasura by Krishna, when the common people celebrated Narakasura’s defeat with sparklers and firecrackers. Other folktales speak of keeping away evil demons by the exploding of crackers.

Of course, it is impossible for any kind of crackers to have been used prior the likely introduction of gunpowder into India by the Chinese traders in Kerala after the 10th century. It seems to have taken several centuries for the beauty, tranquility and peace of millions of butter lamps lit in earnest all over India for Diwali to have been overtaken by the antithesis of that peace and tranquility with the use of ever louder and more powerful explosives, where deafening decibels and acrid sulphur take pride of place over inner light.

Recent events in Sivakasi, long the centre of match and firework production in South India, and one of the largest centres of firework production in the nation, are a cruel reminder of the ultimate source of the noise and pollution of Diwali. Every year, there are horrific accidents in and around the factories – in 1991 over 60 people died, in 2001 over 30, in 2009 over 40, and this year, on September 5, another 38 people perished in the Om Sakthi factory blaze. In principle, the factories are regulated, but in reality, they are free agents, and there is little government supervision or scrutiny of their operations or safety procedures.

The Om Shakthi factory’s license had supposedly been revoked prior to the blaze, and the owners have mysteriously vanished into thin air.

Nearly 70 lakh workers, including illegally employed children, depend on the firework factories for their living, working every day in extremely

hazardous environments, handling dangerous, poisonous chemicals and metals without any protective clothing – these chemicals are added to the gunpowder to create coloured flashes and vivid effects, the workers filling the cardboard tubes by hand. All for Rs. 150 a day, in an industry that generates over $350 million in revenue each year. That’s around Rs. 1,700 crores, a staggering amount of revenue, all generated within India – none of these are for export.

So maybe we should rethink Diwali – what it means and what it has become. It isn’t difficult to do when the damp, cloying smog descends on the cities, the children cough up sulphur, the streets are full of millions of empty, burned, coloured tubes, the birds and animals are frightened away, the hospitals are full of burn victims. Not to mention that Rs. 1,700 crores could feed an awful lot of people for a day, and still leave money spare for the peace of the butter lamps.

The writer is British and has been in living in India for the past three years.

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Holistic Living E k n ath E aswara n

Photo: Lucia Nodari, Italy

United colours of Being It is one thing to experience the state of oneness with the Universe and all her beings, and quite another to hold on to that feeling in everyday life. In the second part of Chapter 3, Sri Easwaran tells us how only the supreme art of living can contain the unity of humanity

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IT IS important to remember here that Arjuna asked about being “established in wisdom”: not just having the experience of unity, but living in it at every moment. In Sanskrit this is called sahaja samadhi – samadhi that is with you always. At first you see the Self only in deep meditation; after that experience you return to ordinary awareness. You know beyond doubt that the separateness you see is an illusion, but you still see separateness. The experience of unity must be repeated over and over and over again for the direct awareness of unity to become continuous. Then you live in samadhi even with your eyes open, acting creatively in all the normal challenges of life without any disturbance in the unitive state.

It requires great skill and artistry to learn to do this in the midst of a normal, active life – and not a little motivation too, for the joy of this experience brings with it a great temptation to bask in it rather than return to the trials and sorrows of daily life. But for those with an overriding desire to be of service in the world, it is possible to learn to keep one eye on unity and the other on multiplicity, one eye on the eternal Self and the other on life’s passing show. Without this skill, you cannot relate to people lovingly or work effectively in the service of others – and if I may say so, others cannot relate easily to you as well.

Once established in this state, however, you see the world as Spinoza described it, the finite resting upon the infinite. You see the finite with your physical senses, but you are always aware that what gives support to each apparently separate thing and creature is the Self, from which all creation comes.

This image of Spinoza’s always reminds me of the sea, ceaselessly in motion on the surface with miles of deep water below. When I saw the ocean for the first time, it was essentially just a large body of water; I don’t think it had any other connotation. Later, when I became intoxicated with English poetry, the sea was no longer just a body of water; it acquired associations, history, majesty, sonority. But by the time I began teaching meditation, I was so absorbed in the Gita that I saw the ocean as Sri Krishna describes it, a manifestation of the power of God: All right, Arjuna, I will tell you of my divine powers.

I will mention only the most glorious, for there is no end to them.

I am the true Self in the heart of every creature, Arjuna, and the beginning, middle, and end of their existence. Among the shining gods I am Vishnu; of luminaries I am the sun; among the storm gods I am Marichi, and in the night sky I am the moon.

Among scriptures I am the Sama Veda, and among the lesser gods I am Indra. Among the senses I am the mind, and in living beings I am consciousness. . . .

Among bodies of water I am the ocean . . . and among mountains I am the Himalayas. (10:19–22, 24–25) This is not just poetry. How we see the world determines how we relate to it. When you see God everywhere, you treat everything with respect for the divinity that shines through it.

Oil spills are not just tragic; they are desecration. Dumping trash and sewage and pollutants into the ocean is desecration.

Seeing that God has become the world brings not just respect but reverence for every thing and creature in it.

In this vision you still see the splendor of the universe, but not with your physical eyes. We see not so much with the eyes as with consciousness, so when the illusion of separateness is lifted, “we behold what we are, and we are what we behold”: unbroken awareness of God, whose face is everywhere. Beyond space and time, you are right back with the big bang, right on the front seat. You see how life comes, evolving from unity into multiplicity, all things and creatures as forms of the one supreme reality.

The observer too is absorbed in this vision. Just as the waters of a river cease to belong to that river when joining the sea, you lose the illusion of separate identity when you merge in the sea of this unitive reality. The individual human being is not lost but multiplied infinitely; you see your connections with every creature.

This is not just the beauty that the poet or the artist or the scientist sees. It is a total identification with the whole of the universe in which sea and sky, mountains and rivers, all come together as one – an inner radiance that speaks to you directly as the reflection of the glory of God. It is not a reaction to the sheer intoxicating appeal of the senses, however beautiful that may be; it is not a reaction at all but a union. I think this sense of being united with the mountains and forests and the ocean and the starry night is behind the rapture that poets sometimes glimpse in moments of mystical insight. Yet as much as I admire literature and the works of art and science, the realisation of the unity of life cannot be conveyed through any other art than the supreme art of living – by returning good will for ill will, friendship for enmity, compassion for anger, love for hatred.

— 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 | november 2012

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Myth and Mythology D e v d u tt P atta n a i k

Photo alejandra montanaro, spain

Flat in the Fire

The world is flat, said Thomas Friedman, but what about an organisation?

We asked Devdutt and this is what he had to say IS IT advisable to have a totally flat organisation where there is no differential treatment or extra perks or privileges given on the basis of seniority (except perhaps in salary)?

The idea of a flat organization, where everyone is equal, is a romantic idea, with its roots in the French Revolution, which demanded equality for all citizens.

The idea of equality is strong in Abrahamic religions. Hence, the greeting ‘Shalom’ in Judaism (from where comes the word ‘salaam’ we use in India) which means, ‘peace be with you’ and not ‘salute’ as is popularly believed, for everyone is equal before God and man should bow to none other than God. Equality is the reason why Muslims are encouraged to eat from the same plate, sitting together in a circle.

But, in nature, all things exist in hierarchy. The strongest, or the smartest, eats first and most. Since it is all about survival of the fittest, everyone is competing to be stronger or smarter.

The biggest tree will take the most sunlight. A lion will not share its food with a hungry lioness. So hierarchy is the natural, the default state of beings. Equality is a human design, a dream, an aspiration.

In Hindu mythology, Shiva does not care for organisational structure and hierarchy, while Daksha Prajapati is obsessed with structure and hierarchy. The two are in conflict. But to be Shiva, one has to outgrow the desire for all things material. He is comfortable allowing serpents to slither on top of his body; he does not mind drinking poison; he is happy wrapping his body

with animal hide, not bedecking it with silks and gold. How many people in our company will be happy allowing people to walk all over them? How many people in our company are comfortable sharing resources and being treated equally?

Politically, the right thing to say is that we must have equal perks in the office. So, let’s take a case in point: Should everyone have cabins or should we have an open office?

An open office demands discipline in people. It demands having conference rooms for group discussions, telephone conversations, meetings and private negotiations, which means, these need to be provided in adequate numbers. But they will always be in short supply, so there will be need for planning, hence someone to monitor and control its usage.

Then there will always be emergencies when someone will be forced to forfeit their bookings. When resources are abundant, hierarchy does not matter. But when resources are in short supply, hierarchies come into the picture. And, in business, resources are always in short supply as everyone is pushing the envelope.

As corporate animals, we aspire to be ‘bigger, faster, stronger’. The best gets gold. We want gold. We want the better office in the corner, the bigger car, the great address. We can, of course, outgrow this desire. It is the noble thing to do. When we are all noble, the flat organisation will surely come into being. Until then, it will remain a desirable delusion of authority that those below are compelled to grin and bear.

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

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Child Friendly Yasmeena Khan

GOATS & TIGERS PHOTO yNGVE ANDERSSON, SWEDEN

Good God

HUMANS have believed in supernatural forces since the dawn of time, even before rational thought and logic came into existence. This force of nature, all-powerful and all knowing still, has remained a constant guiding hand even throughout the years when science explained the events that were once thought to be godly. So why does this “God” still prove to be a major part of people’s lives?

It may have to do with the unexplainable events and forces that humans experience everyday, such as luck, karma and others. In a game of dice, as soon as those dice leave your fingers, math promises that if you throw those dice 36 times, one of the rolls will be two sixes. But who controls those rolls?

Who decides if your first, second, or third throw will contain a six? Is it luck? But then again, what really is luck?

These are the questions that mathematicians and scientists have pondered over for centuries, but with no luck to finding an answer. So people still believe in God, and believe that He (or She, depending on the religion) controls these unexplainable forces.

God also links the rich of the world to the poor of the world. While you are in a temple, nobody notices if you are wearing rags or a designer suit. Everyone is there, together and united.

In some religions, that belief is even preached – for example, in Christianity, the Bible says that Jesus Christ preached that one should give up one’s possessions and live simply.

In India, I have found this belief to be true. Though there is a large distinction between the rich and poor, there is no such thing as a separated temple, or one you must pay to enter. All in all, “God” is still a mysterious force who is all mighty for many people, even in today’s modern world.

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

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‘AADU Puli Aattam’ or the Game (Attam) of Goats (Aadu) and Tigers (Puli) is a game that will test your strategic thinking and focus. Believed to have originated in Tamil Nadu, this ancient game is also played as Huli Gatta in Karnataka and Puli Meka in Andhra Pradesh. The two-person game involves 3 tigers and 15 goats. The best part of this game is that it can be played anywhere by drawing the board lines on the floor or paper. Here’s how you play the game: Draw the shown pattern on a large board or chart paper.

Mark out the joints where the lines meet inside the diagram; there will be 23 such points.

One player takes charge of the Tigers and the other takes charge of the Goats.

Have different coloured coins each for 3 tigers and 15 goats; say yellow for tigers and green for goats.

The coins can move only along the 23 points on the board.

The tigers are placed at the apex of the triangle, on the three points closest to the top.

The game starts with one goat entering the board at any point near the base of the board. The goats can’t move until all 15 enter the board.

Next, one of the tigers makes a move, and thereafter, moves are alternated between the players.

The objective of the game is for the goats to try and encircle the tigers so they are blocked and cannot move, while the tiger tries to kill the goats by jumping over them.

Goats cannot jump over tigers or other goats. Tigers cannot jump over other tigers.

A tiger can catch only one goat at a time. Goats once captured must be taken off the board.

The tigers win if all the goats are off the board and the goats win if all the tigers are blocked.

iseries

What is it about?

John Macmillan is a scholar of Sufi poetry in search of an original manuscript that nobody else has translated. Camilla Jensen is a whimsical woman, perpetually lost and in disarray, who longs for the stability that John seems to represent. ‘Abandon’ is about the intertwining of the quests of these two seekers.

Who is it by?

Pico Iyer is an essayist and a well-known travel writer of several books like ‘Video Night in Kathmandu’, ‘The Lady and the Monk’ and ‘Falling off the Map’. ‘Abandon’ is his first novel.

Why should I read it?

‘Abandon’ is a cryptically layered story about quests. On the surface, it is about the protagonists’ individual struggles to attain what seem to be elusive goals. At a deeper level, the book mirrors the Sufi concept of the search for the beloved and about the duality of the word ‘abandon’ itself.

i see

Album Coke Studio @ MTV Season 1

Book Abandon

by Pico Iyer

What is it about?

It is the music album from the first season of the Indian edition of ‘Coke Studio’, a television programme where multilingual artistes and musicians of different genres come together to create unique sounds.

Who is it by?

The album is the coming together of some of the most popular and offbeat musicians from Indian classical, folk, film and non-film genres, like Bombay Jayashree, Rashid Khan, KK, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shankar Mahadevan, Lesle Lewis, Sabri Brothers, Harshdeep Kaur, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Raghu Dixit, Kailasa, Richa Sharma,Wadali Brothers, Khagen and Mousam Gogoi.

Why should I listen to it?

Much like a minute-long trailer giving a snapshot of what a movie is about, this album, made for easy listening, gives a fair idea of Indian music through its melding of bits and pieces of various genres, so one can then go on and delve deeper into the genres that one enjoys.

What is it about? Set in 1979 Pakistan, ‘Khamosh Pani’ tells the story of a Muslim widow, Ayesha, being deeply troubled about her son’s transformation from a mild, affectionate teenager to a violent activist for an Islamic group that is instigating the youth of the village to join the jihad or holy war. A visiting Indian Sikh pilgrim discovers that Ayesha is his sister, who was separated from their family in the riots during the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. Ayesha’s non-Islamic past becomes inconvenient for her son, but for Ayesha herself, this truth has tragic social consequences.

For her refusal to make a declaration of her true faith, Ayesha is ostracised by the village and country she has learnt to call her own.

Who is it by? Celebrated Pakistani independent filmmaker, Sabiha Sumar, has directed this film. Originally a documentary filmmaker, known for her films on political and social issues, this is Sabiha’s first feature film.

Why should I watch it? The movie has won numerous awards, including seven awards at the 2003 Locarno International Film Festival. It is critically acclaimed for its depiction of a woman’s choicelessness, not only in the politically charged period of the partition of India and Pakistan but also in a later period of radical fundamentalism.

i hear

i read

S ar i tha R ao

Film Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters) Urdu

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

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ADVERTISER’S FEATURE

Festival by the Sea Witness the glorious dances of India in the monthlong Mamallapuram Dance Festival DECEMBER is that time of the year when dance and music rule the entertainment scene in Tamil Nadu. The Mamallapuram Dance Festival, the annual event organised by the Department of Tourism, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, is the most vibrant event of this season. This year it will be held from December 25 to January 25, 2013.

The historical beach-town of Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is dotted with temples built by the Pallava kings, giving this colourful dance festival the ambience it rightly deserves. The festival will highlight the classical and folk dance forms of India, bringing the rich tapestry of these traditions alive. Classical dances like Bharatanatyam (Tamil Nadu), Kuchipudi (Andhra Pradesh), Kathak (Uttar Pradesh), Odissi (Odisha) and Mohiniattam (Kerala) will share space with the different folk dances of Tamil Nadu like Thappattam (lively beats on traditional percussion with movement), Therukoothu (street threatre) and Bommalattam (puppet theatre). Folk performances from other states like the Mizoram Bamboo Dance, Dangi from Gujarat and more, will also be showcased.

Most of India’s classical dance forms have originated as temple dances, such as Bharatnatyam, while others, like Kathak, have originated from storytelling tribes. For a rare glimpse of many of these on stage, the festival brings together nationally and internationally acclaimed artistes from across India.

Visitors to the festival can soak in the rich dance forms in a pleasant seaside ambience. The town of Mamallapuram has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its abundant historic monolithic monuments. One of the most famous is the Shore Temple, which is the lone survivor among seven other rock-cut temples from the 7th Century. The beaches of this resort town attract tourists for their sculptures, caves and temple architecture.

The best part of the Mamallapuram Dance Festival is the natural open air auditorium experience that the Shore Temple complex is famous for. The dance shows are held every day between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Two or three performances will be presented each day from different art styles.

Visit www.tamilnadutourism.org for more details and ticket enquiries.

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culturama | november 2012

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Space & The City

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culturama | november 2012

Postcards from India

kerala

Photo Ingo Hofmaier Austria

GAZING THROUGH THE picture was taken during a visit to B.R. Hills with Dr. Sudarshan. Dr. Sudarshan received the Alternative Nobel Prize (Right Livelihood Award) for showing how tribal culture can contribute to a process that secures the basic rights and fundamental needs of indigenous people and conserves their environment. His organisation, Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra, has been working in the tribal belt of South Karnataka for more than 25 years. I spent two days with him visiting tribal villages, their schools and cultivations. The Solinga girl, in the picture, followed us behind a fence until she found a way to peep out at us. The sun was just coming out after a dash of rain, which gives the picture its soft light.

milesworth holidays india • srilanka • maldives • and beyond

visit: www.milesworth.com Milesworth Travels & Tours Pvt. Ltd., 39 R M Towers, 108 Chamiers Road, Chennai. Tel: +91-44-24320522 / 24359554 Fax: +91-44-24342668 E-mail: holidays@milesworth.com culturama | november 2012

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Tell us your Story

The ouse Whisperer 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

When I rented an apartment, I asked the landlord about water quality and he said it was good. But when I checked the water tank, the water was greenish in colour. Do landlords not know or not care?

– German tenant in Bengaluru In most places in India, there are two types of water available in homes – ground water and processed water. Ground water is not potable and the government supplies processed water to every home through pipelines. Therefore, in most houses, ground water is used for washing (dishes and clothes), gardening and cleaning. The processed water is used for cooking and drinking.

Having said this, here’s what could have happened in your case: • If you had asked the landlord about the water quality in general, you would have meant all water supplied to the house you live in.

• The landlord, however, would have mentioned just the water that is in supply to the kitchen (for cooking and drinking), which may be stored in a different tank. The tank you had inspected may be for external use and not potable water.

• The water tanks in India are cleaned once or twice a month and the landlord may not have specific information as to when it was last cleaned. They usually depend on cleaners (they trust) who would have reported on the cleanliness, which may not match your quality standards.

So my suggestion would be to please specify and understand the quality of water supplied to the house you intend to lease in great detail, asking for information on ground water and processed water. This will help you achieve the required quality by adding filters and other cleaning apparatus if need be. Please discuss these requirements in detail before occupation.

What is the gift giving practice during Diwali for the security man in our home from a security company?

– American tenant in Delhi All Indians celebrate Diwali with verve like the West does Christmas, and it’s certainly the time of giving. So give money in a cover (Rs. 300 to Rs. 500) and a box of sweets, even to those who may not be on your rolls.

You will light up their face during this festival of lights.

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If you have any comments, suggestions or queries for this column, write to anita@globaladjustments.com 72

culturama | november 2012

Global Adjustments Easing your passage to and from India

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RNI NO.TNENG/2010/32752

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