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EDITOR's LETTER
I
t is rather difficult to encapsulate a country as diverse as
India in one issue; in fact we could easily have produced a year’s worth of magazines focusing on this magnificent country. It’s a place that has enchanted visitors from around the world for centuries. Part of this is down to the sheer scope of the country; its myriad temples, fortresses, deities and shrines are all somehow unknowable (to the western eye at least), which rewards those that make the effort even more. Of course modern India is much more than a tourist itinerary – its economy is growing as fast as its rising middle class. The technology industry is booming, and the country is often seen – along with China – as a coming hub of the global economy. Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen. We have ignored economics in this issue however, and focus instead on the people and places that make the place so appealling. From the sparse, spectacular beauty of Ladakh, to the chaotic magic of Mumbai, we showcase this most remarkable country. Enjoy the issue.
conor@openskiesmagazine.com
Emirates takes care to ensure that all facts published herein are correct. In the event of any inaccuracy please contact The Editor. any opinion expressed is the honest belief of the author based on all available facts. Comments and facts should not be relied upon by the reader in taking commercial, legal, financial or other decisions. articles are by their nature general and specialist advice should always be consulted before any actions are taken. PO Box 2331, dubai, UaE Telephone: (+971 4) 282 4060 Fax:(+971 4) 282 4436 Email: emirates@motivate.ae
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Editor-in-ChiEf Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Group Editor & ManaGinG partnEr Ian Fairservice Group SEnior Editor Gina Johnson • gina@motivate.ae SEnior Editor Mark Evans • marke@motivate.ae Editor Conor Purcell • conor@motivate.ae dEputy Editor Gareth Rees • gareth@motivate.ae dESiGnEr Roui Francisco • rom@motivate.ae Staff writEr Matthew Priest • matthew@motivate.ae Editorial aSSiStant Londresa Flores SEnior produCtion ManaGEr S Sunil Kumar produCtion ManaGEr C Sudhakar GEnEral ManaGEr, Group SalES Anthony Milne • anthony@motivate.ae diGital dEvElopMEnt ManaGEr Helen Cotton • helenc@motivate.ae Group SalES ManaGEr Jaya Balakrishnan • jaya@motivate.ae SEnior SalES ManaGEr Shruti Srivastava Editorial ConSultantS for EMiratES: Editor: Jonathan Hill Arabic Editor: Hatem Omar Deputy Editor: Andy Grant wEbSitE • emirates.com. ContributorS: Noah Davis, Mihir Bose, Aarti Betigeri, Hg2, Gemma Correll, Andrew Mackay, Karishma Sheth, Kelly Cheng, Shelley Seale, James Brennan, Anthony Zinonos, Helen Pidd, Sam Falconer, Sukhdev Sandhu, Sattu Susanna Rommi, Mark Hanauer, Edward McGowan CovEr illuStration by Ale Giorgini InTErnaTIOnaL MEdIa rEPrEsEnTaTIvEs: aUsTraLIa/nEW ZEaLand Okeeffe Media, Kevin O’ Keeffe; Tel + 61 89 447 2734, okeeffekev@bigpond.com.au, BEnELUXM.P.s. Benelux; Francesco sutton; Tel +322 720 9799, Fax +322 725 1522, francesco.sutton@mps-adv.com ChIna Publicitas advertising; Tel +86 10 5879 5885 FranCE Intermedia Europe Ltd; Fiona Lockie, Katie allen, Laura renault; Tel +33 15 534 9550, Fax +33 15 534 9549, administration@intermedia.europe.com gErMany IMv International Media service gmbh, Wolfgang Jäger; Tel +49 89 54 590 738, Fax +49 89 54 590 769, wolfgang.jager@iqm.de hOng KOng/MaLaysIa/ ThaILand sonney Media networks, hemant sonney; Tel +852 27 230 373, Fax +852 27 391 815, hemant@sonneymedia.com IndIa Media star, ravi Lalwani; Tel +91 22 4220 2103, Fax +91 22 2283 9619, ravi@mediastar.co.in ITaLy IMM Italia Lucia Colucci; Tel +39 023 653 4433, Fax +39 029 998 1376, lucia.colucci@fastwebnet.it JaPan Tandem Inc.; Tel + 81 3 3541 4166, Fax +81 3 3541 4748, all@tandem-inc.com nEThErLands gIO Media, giovanni angiolini; Tel +31 6 2223 8420, giovanni@ gio-media.nl sOUTh aFrICa ndure dale Isaac; Tel +27 84 701 2479, dale@ndure.co.za sPaIn IMM International, nicolas devos; Tel +331 40 1300 30, n.devos@imminternational.com TUrKEy Media Ltd.; Tel: +90 212 275 51 52, mediamarketingtr@medialtd.com.tr UK spafax Inflight Media, nick hopkins, arnold green; Tel +44 207 906 2001, Fax +44 207 906 2022, nhopkins@spafax.com Usa Totem Brand stories, Brigitte Baron, Marina Chetner; Tel +212 896 3846, Fax +212 896 3848, brigitte. baron@rtotembrandstories.com
39
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contents // the IndIa Issue
a classic piece of neW delhi architecture gets the place treatment (p68)
We discover hoW the french influence is increasing in delhi (p48)
from gandhi to mother theresa, a brief history of indian icons (p62)
THE INDIA ISSUE
41
contents // the IndIa Issue
kashmir has emerged from the shadoWs and is attracting tourists again (p106)
suketu metha, the author of maximum city, on the future of mumbai (p86)
42 THE INDIA ISSUE
an illustrated tour of some of india’s most interesting cities (p128]
can bollyWood escape the cliches and be embraced by Western directors? (p116)
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contributors
AlE GiorGini:
Ale is an Illustrator, cartoonist and graphic designer based in Vicenza, Italy. He has exhibited his work in Rome, Milance, Florence and Sydney. He also creates a monthly cartoon strip for the national magazine, La Repubblica XL.
Mihir BosE: Mihir Bose is an award-winning journalist and author. He writes and broadcasts for a range of outlets including the London Evening Standard, the BBC, the Financial Times, Sunday Times and the Independent. JAMEs BrEnnAn: James Brennan writes about travel, food and lots of other subjects for publications and guide books around the world. He also writes a food blog and is Zagat Dubai’s restaurant editor.
KArishMA shETh
: Karishma Sheth is a New York-based graphic designer and art director who is of Indian origin, but was born in London and grew up in Texas and Dubai.
MArK hAnAuEr: Mark is based in Santa Monica, California, and his work has been used by Rolling Stone, GQ, Time, Esquire, Nike and Microsoft. He has photographed the likes of Stevie Wonder, Ronald Reagan, Andy Warhol and Brian Wilson.
44
INTRO P. 48 • DELHI’S FRENCH CONNECTION P. 61 • THE TENDULKAR LEGEND
P. 68 • LOTUS TEMPLE
P. 70 • LEOPOLD CAFE
47
illustration: elise wilks
here is an urban revolution under way in New Delhi – and fittingly, it’s becoming apparent that the French have a hand in it. The Indian capital has long been synonymous with layers of history, centuries-old Mughal monuments and conservative sophistication, and is generally considered the snootier, less socially progressive cousin of vibrant Mumbai. But in the past year or two, there has been a blossoming of the kinds of things that make a city appealing: stylish new bars, cafes, shops and hotels. And many of these are now French-owned. The most strikingly successful of these is L’Opera, a chain of boulangerie patisseries. Its first outlet opened its
T
doors in 2010 in the upscale inner city Khan Market. In under 18 months the family-run company managed to recoup its initial investment and expanded rapidly: now, there are seven L’Opera outlets all across New Delhi and its satellite city Gurgaon. L’Opera has very quickly found an appreciative market in sweettoothed Indians who don’t baulk at paying 110 rupees ($2) for a baguette – three times
our man in
delhi
IncreasIng numbers of french expats are makIng theIr home In delhI, and brIngIng some of theIr country s flaIr wIth them
Aarti Betigeri is Monocle Magazine’s correspondent in Delhi 48
the price of an ordinary loaf of bread. Delhi’s French community is small but visible, and increasing numbers are making the journey eastwards; particularly now, given the current economic climate in Europe, which has almost completely stifled the notion of starting new businesses in France. For people with entrepreneurship in their blood this means they need to look elsewhere for the opportunity
to make their fortune. While most travel to London – considered one of the world’s most French cities – increasingly, they are heading to China and India and their seemingly vast, under-tapped markets. India in particular has struck a chord with outward-looking French, and in many ways it is a symbiotic relationship: the colour and vibrancy of India married with the high quality and processes of France has vast potential. One place where this is on display is Les Parisiennes, a beautifully designed, year-old concept store situated in a renovated old mansion, selling vintage clothing, homewares and has a cafe. Located in the grotty yet ascendant urban village of Shahpur Jat, many credit the store with leading the creeping gentrification of the area, which is now littered with independent boutiques and studios.
india has struck a chord with the outward— looking french, and the relationship is increasingly symbiotic “The opportunities here are so much,” says Les Parisiennes’ co-owner Catherine Barbier. “It’s not easy with all the bureaucracy, but if you want something, you can make it happen here. Whereas in France there are so many obstacles, so many charges that starting a business is almost impossible.” Elsewhere, The Rose hotel opened its doors just a few months ago in the hip neighbourhood of Hauz Khas Village. With its clean, streamlined interiors and whitewashed walls studded with monochromatic artworks, The Rose is the kind of place that makes one feel immediately relaxed, trans-
ported and thoroughly international. “The symbol of French culture is very strong,” says proprietor Francois Servant. “It’s a sign of quality, of luxury, of a certain vision.” Servant is currently working towards putting together a guide to French enterprises across India. “What I want to do is bring more than an aesthetic, but also good management practises, a professional ethic. “This is important to diffuse here, especially from a country that through its revolution has contributed to human rights.” Other French businesses bringing European flair and creativity to Delhi include children’s clothing store Lola’s World, French bistro Rara Avis, jewellery designer Olivia Dar and accessories label Purple Jungle. There is also the design studio Ultraconfidentiel, which moved from Paris to New Delhi six years ago. Ultraconfidentiel designed interiors for the Indian offices of Hermès, and Delhi’s new Mini car showroom. “It’s not been easy but it’s been an amazing experience,” says owner Stéphanie Bonduelle. Her husband, Amaury Watine, runs three hotels: two in Delhi, one in Goa. Still, the difficulties of doing business in India are widely known. In a recent World Bank survey, India ranked 132 out of 183 countries when it came to the ease of doing business, mainly because of excessive red tape. But French entrepreneurs say that those who understand the market and have a network of local support can flourish, particularly as Indians place such a high value on personal relationships. “I’ve been here for 12 years, and there’s a level of trust here that makes things possible,” says Catherine Barbier. “I have everybody backing me, all my suppliers, they make things possible for me. I was amazed by the level of trust they have in me. That makes doing things like this easier.”
piTch Wellness retreats are big business in india. Here are a feW WortH noting Soukya a holistic health centre in Bangalore that integrates conventional medicine with ayurveda, naturopathy, homeopathy, yoga and massage. @soukyaMe Kalari Kovilakom no meat, caffeine, leather or alcohol is allowed at this ayurvedic yoga centre. expect light food, massages, herbal treatments and purifying baths. @kalarikovilakom ananda set up in a one-time maharaja’s northern retreat, this 24,000 sq ft spa offers a mix of ayurvedic and western therapies designed to relax the mind and body. @anandaspa Shreyas Both Hatha and ashtanga yoga are taught at this lush 25-acre luxury wellness resort on the outskirts of Bangalore. @shreyasretreat Samyak samyak Yoga is a reputed yoga teacher training school in india. affiliated to Yoga alliance usa, samyak yoga is considered one of the best destinations for yoga. @samyakYoga
49
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MAXIMUM CITY SUKETU MEHTA As honest a portrayal of a modern city as has been written, Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City is a blistering account of Mumbai in the 21st century. Mehta was born in the city, but moved away as a child and returned as an adult, and it his returning émigré’s eye that gives this book its power. The multiple narratives he weaves are astonishing, and unlike the legion of non-fiction books that fawn over modern India, this is as honest as it is enthralling. Split into three sections: Power, Pleasure and Passages, the book often reads like an intelligence briefing, and the detail he elicits from his sources is remarkable. Equally impressive is the book’s scope – even beginning to tackle a city as huge as Mumbai is a feat, so Mehta’s ability to understand and explain everything from Hindu-Muslim tensions to the economics of the red light district is astonishing. Mehta’s Mumbai is complicated, and so he doesn’t leave the reader with any form of closure. What he does do is illustrate the complexity, beauty and madness of modern Mumbai, and for that, this book is a must read. Random House, 2004
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Nov 30 to JaN 12
Paris’ Loft Sévigné gallery presents a selection of twenty artworks from five Asian and Middle Eastern artists addressing the theme of spirituality. leloftsevigne.com
With the fourth edition including local filmmaking, the Doha Tribeca Film Festival is fast becoming the regions most important film festival. dohafilminstitute.com
Dubai hosts the international Rugby Sevens tour. The annual competition is one of the biggest sporting events in the country. dubairugby7s.com
Italian photographer Olivo Barbieri exhibits his take on the summer in London – when the world’s attention was focused on the city. ronchinigallery.com
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London Photography
SkYPod comPoSeR aNdRew mackay, oNe haLF oF bombay dub oRcheSTRa, ShaReS hIS eIGhT FavouRITe TRackS
MOHAMMED ZAHUR KHAYYAM – DIL CHEEZ KYA HAI A beautiful song from a powerful film, 1981’s Umrao Jaan. There’s an amazing performance on the sarangi by Sultan Khan, whose nephew, Dilshad Khan, has appeared on our albums.
RD BURMAN – DUM MARO DUM From the 1971 film hare Ram hare Krishna. This is classic Bollywood, where east really meets west. we’ve since remixed it – it always gets the party going.
ZIA MOHIUDDIN DAGAR – RAGA YAMAN Very transcendental, very meditative. it’s played on the rudra vina, a sort of cross between a tampura and a guitar.
BOMBAY DUB ORCHESTRA – JUNOON Our first vocal song, featuring the voice of meneka Das. it harks back to old-style indian film music. The title means ‘crazy love’, it’s about longing and wanting. 53
LED ZEPPELIN – KASHMIR we worked on an orchestrated version of this in 1998, which became the seeds of Bombay Dub Orchestra. it’s going to be used in a film, Out Of england, next year.
THE BEATLES – NORWEGIAN WOOD George harrison’s friendship with Ravi Shankar led to this, the first time a British pop track featured a sitar.
AR RAHMAN – PYRAMID SONG The composer who dragged Bollywood out of the 1980s. he is western-influenced, but retains a folk element. he won an Oscar for his score to Slumdog millionaire.
HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA AND ZAKIR HUSSAIN – RAGA MALKAUNS A raga by the foremost players of the bansuri and tabla. it’s an insight into the insane virtuosity and simple beauty of indian classical music. 54
Gareth rees oPen Skies deputy editor savours the contrasts on a visit to india
I
was born in Wales. Cardiff, to be precise. It is the capital of my homeland, and, despite the fact that I left more than a decade ago and haven’t lived there since, there’s no denying the city has its plus points – The Millennium Stadium, some handsome parks and, more recently, the redeveloped Cardiff Bay area. Plus my Nan lives there. But pre-Millennium, which is when Cardiff really started to transform into a modern European city, it was a rather quiet place – a lovely city to grow up in, but not one to stay in (apologies to friends, and my Nan, who did). So, reading up to five books a week, I dreamed of visiting the great cities of the world. To narrow it down, I wanted to live in Paris. In fact, for a brief period around the age of 18, when I was busy devouring the works of FrenchAlgerian author Albert Camus and biographies of Napoleon Bonaparte, I probably wanted to be French. Not something a Brit should ever admit. I still quite fancy a stint in Paris in fact. But what does any of this have to do with India? Not very much. But, bear with me. After I had visited Paris, and most of the other countries in Western Europe, I needed a new place to dream about. This time my imagination roamed further afield – in fact, it packed its bags and hopped on a flight to, yes, you guessed it, India. That was more than a decade ago, and for the past five years, I have lived in Dubai – less than four hours away from India on a reasonably cheap flight. When did I first visit the country I simply had to visit? August. Did I finally decide I couldn’t take
it any more and jump on a plane? No, my visa, flights and hotel were organised for me and I was sent to India in the name of this mighty India issue that you are eagerly grasping in your paws right now. Was I off to spend a week lounging on the beaches of Goa enjoying fresh fish curries and a cold one or two? To cruise through beautiful Kerala on a houseboat? To ogle at Agra’s Taj Mahal? No, of course not. This was business. And business is done in Mumbai and New Delhi. Not really cities most people would visit for their holidays. But they should. Both of them, in sequence. Because the contrast is shocking. I spent an afternoon being whisked around Mumbai by a colleague from our Indian sales office, braving a rickshaw and enjoying the excellent Indian train service. My notebook reads: “Walking around the streets of Mumbai you are sent half mad by the constant honking of horns, blinded by colours and constant movement, slapped about the face by the stench of, alternately, excrement, sweat and car exhausts, with the occasional curry burp, while cars, scooters, bikes, carts and people try to run you down.” I loved every sweaty, filthy minute of it. New Delhi, on the other hand – the country’s capital and India’s largest metropolitan area – was founded in 1911, designed by British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker. As you might expect from a city built by the British, it is clean, green and distinctly European. The roads, outside of rush hour, induce a sense of calm achievable in Mumbai only by booking a suite at The Taj Mahal Palace. Would my Nan like it? Well, she’s a well-travelled lady, but at 82, probably not. Would Albert Camus enjoy an afternoon on a rickshaw? Not with his rotten luck with automobiles, no. Do I still want to live in Paris? Oui. But did India live up to my expectations. Yes, yes it did.
mapped delhi
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Relentless, mesmerising and chaotic, Delhi is a city where commerce and culture come together in a heady mix of cosmopolitan and ancient. Having survived a long cycle of imperial overhauls, Delhi burst chaotically into the 21st century with its burgeoning tech and fashion industries, while still clinging to the quiet reverence of its historic forts and palaces. Though you might have to vie for space in this notso-tiny metropolis of 14 million, Delhi is a place teeming with diversity and where almost anyone can find what they’re looking for. WWW.HG2.COM
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hOTelS 1. Aman 2. Park Hotel 3. ITC Maurya 4. The Imperial Hotel ReSTAURANTS 5. Indian Accent 6. Chutney Bar and Tandoor 7. Orient Express 8.Rajdhani Restaurants
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BARS / ClUBS 9. Aqua 10. The Living Room CafĂŠ 11. Keya 12. Smokehouse Grill
delhi delhi
GAlleRieS 13. Nature Morte 14. Exhibit 320 15. Photo Ink Gallery 16. Delhi Art Gallery
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mapped delhi
hotels 1 aman
A combination of the traditional and the highly personalised adds up to a magical stay. The gorgeous spa and wellstocked library enhance the relaxing ambience. Probably the best hotel in the city.
2 park hotel
3
Business meets pleasure at this boutique design hotel. The colourful décor comes courtesy of Terence Conran and the rooms are spacious, modern, bright and comfortable, with broadband and LCD TVs.
ItC maurya Old world elegance can be found at this large luxury hotel. ‘PURE’ rooms, which are allergy friendly, are no less indulgent than the luxury rooms and suites. Six different restaurants are also on site.
4 the ImperIal hotel
orIent express One of Delhi’s top restaurants, designed to replicate the lavish experience of dining aboard the Orient Express. High-class French cuisine is served in the sumptuous surroundings of the Taj Mahal Hotel.
8
Everyone who’s anyone in India has stayed in the ‘museum hotel,’ which offers an insight into Indo-British luxury. All the rooms are splendidly decorated, with details like posturepedic mattresses and marble bathrooms.
restaurants 5 IndIan aCCent
This is one of the most lauded neighbourhood restaurants in Delhi and where foodies should head for memorable Indian dining. Given the quality of the ingredients and excellent service, it also offers very good value.
6 Chutney Bar
and tandoor A contemporary take on classic Indian food, highlighting delicious chutneys that add zing to sub-continent cuisine. A modern dining room in the Metropolitan Hotel enhances the experience.
7
rajdhanI restaurants For an Indian feast, Thali platters are just the thing. This small, popular chain of vegetarian restaurants lets diners go back to their favourite small plates or try yet another local speciality.
Bars/CluBs 9 aqua
Set inside the Park Hotel, this glamorous poolside bar consistently attracts Delhi’s bright and beautiful for al fresco nightlife. A huge drinks menu fuels the dancing taking place under a giant revolving disco ball.
10 the lIvIng room Café
With its relaxed couches, beanbags and warm colours, as well as a chilledout rooftop, this super-cool Brooklyn-style bar is the place to indulge your inner hipster. You will also find live music, a good vibe and a sprinkling of expats.
11 keya
Not attached to a hotel and without ear-drumsplitting music, this is one of the few bars in Delhi that caters for after-dinner socialising. Elaborate cocktails lubricate the chilled-out surroundings.
12 smokehouse grIll
You can get into the eponymous theme of this restaurant and bar by ordering a smoked melon mojito and hanging out with the crowd late into the night. DJs play an eclectic mix of music throughout the week.
gallerIes 13 nature morte
Since 1997, many art aficionados have lauded Nature Morte as Delhi’s most cutting-edge gallery. This is a must-visit for anyone wishing to experience experimental forms of art, from minimal photography to installation work. 58
14 exhIBIt 320
Located in the centre of Delhi’s newest art district, Lado Sarai, Exhibit 320 is hard to beat when it comes to viewing India’s best artistic talent. Sculpture, installations and paintings adorn the minimalist space.
15 photo Ink gallery
For photography lovers, a visit to this cool 3,500-square-foot gallery is one of the best things to do in Delhi. Incredible photographic exhibitions from many of the country’s most respected photographers are regularly displayed.
16 delhI art gallery
Fresh, forward-looking art combines with retrospectives of important artists and historical overviews of the art that has shaped the Indian creative scene. Experts are available to offer a helping hand with your own art collection.
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these sporting lives MIHIR BOS E ON T HE R ISE OF THE CR ICKETING S UP ERSTAR IN INDIA ricket, wrote JM Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan, is a gift of the gods. Modern India has taken this so much to heart that cricketers have become gods. These cricketing deities provide what is called tamasha, a rich Indian word meaning fiesta, spectacle and fun, and nothing illustrates the Indian cricketing tamasha better than the Indian Premier League. In this domestic twenty over tournament, where Bollywood stars and businessmen own cricket franchises, Indians have converted a cricket match into a Bollywood movie. A typical IPL match is played in the evening, lasts three hours – about the length of a Bollywood movie – and comes complete with blonde pom-pom girls gyrating every time a boundary is hit.
C
The greatest Indian cricketing god is undoubtedly Sachin Tendulkar. Indians not only believe he is the greatest batsman the game has ever seen but that he embodies all that is good and decent about India as a country. In a country where public figures are held in low regard and almost always considered venal and corrupt, to question Tendulkar’s integrity is to insult the Indian nation. Indeed, such is Tendulkar’s status in India that, on the two occasions that his probity has been questioned, India has been ready to forfeit a Test series. The first was on the 2001 tour of South Africa when he was punished for cleaning the ball without an 61
umpire’s supervision. India exploded with such wrath that it became the subject of debate in the Indian Parliament, the burden of the MPs argument being if a man as spotless as Tendulkar could be doubted, then India’s honour had been tainted. For a time it seemed that India would not only abandon the tour but also sever its ties with world cricket. Then, early in 2008, on a cricket tour of Australia, the Indian off spinner Harbhajan Singh was accused of calling the Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds a “monkey”. Tendulkar, who was batting with Harbhajan at the time, testified that he had not heard Harbhajan utter the words. For Indians that was the end of the argument. Tendulkar had spoken,
Harbhajan must be innocent. They were so indignant that the Australians would not take Tendulkar’s word that, after Harbhajan was punished, the Indians threatened to pull the plug on the tour. Tendulkar timed his emergence on the cricketing scene perfectly. He made his debut in 1989, just two years before India was forced under IMF pressure to open up its economy. Since then, the economic transformation has been so great that a nation seemingly stumbling nowhere is now talked about as a future economic giant. During Tendulkar’s career, Indian cricket has been transformed. For much of the post war world, England, the home
a brief history of indian heroes mahatma gandhi
1
Having played a pivotal role in ending the British occupation of India, the non-violent freedom fighter is the most celebrated Indian in history. In fact he is so revered that he has not one but two national holidays in his name: one celebrating his birth, the other commemorating his death. A legend in the truest sense of the word.
2 62
After a lifetime dedicated to helping the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying
mother teresa
shah rukh khan
there are few people that can hold a candle to this Nobel Peace Prize winner. Christopher Hitchens may not have agreed, but most consider her a saint.
3
Starring in at least half of the million films that Bollywood churns out every week, SRK is practically Indian royalty. An eight-time winner of the Filmfare Best Actor award and co-owner of the IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders, ‘King Khan’ is
aishwarya rai
the embodiment of a young, confident (and rich) India.
4
Award-winning Bollywood actress, United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and at one time officially the most beautiful woman in the world, Aishwarya is super famous – we’re talking Madame Tussauds wax model type famous. Her recent weight gain has seen her draw some unpleasant jibes, but she still has the ‘wow’ factor.
of cricket, shunned India, sending second-string sides to play there. But in the 1990s, as India grew economically, Indian cricket tapped into the hunger for televised cricket among the 400 million or so well-off Indians. This has since resulted in huge numbers being attracted to the game — audiences of more than 200 million for a televised game are not unknown — and has led to the creation of an economic force of the kind world cricket has never before seen. It is this that has made India a powerhouse of cricket, providing 80 per cent of world cricket’s income. In the process Tendulkar has become one of the highestpaid sportsmen in the world. A Tendulkar endorsement of a
kapil dev
5
VS Naipaul
To understand the adulation of Kapil Dev it is best to recall a quote from Scotsman Bill Shankly who famously quipped, “football isn’t a matter of life and death – it is much more important than that.” Except in India, substitute football with cricket, and then note that out of all the world-class cricketers the country has produced, this all-rounder was voted India’s Cricketer of the Century by the cricketing bible, Wisden.
product is almost certain to make it a success, and nobody who visits India can miss the huge billboards displaying his image. The billboards also display other cricketers who, while they rank below Tendulkar in the deity stakes, are some of the highest earning sportsmen in the world. They provide some solace to the population of a sports mad country that remains a perennial underachiever. India was once a great hockey nation but those glory days are long gone. While the country has had the odd sports star, only one Indian has ever won an individual Olympic gold, an astonishing statistic for a country that has been competing in the Games since the 1920s and is the second most populous in the world.
6
Born in Trinidad to Indian parents, author Naipaul focused his creative energy on highlighting the legacy of British colonialism, which saw him lauded throughout his career including winning the Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature.
7
rickshaw
maharishi mahesh yogi
Not the most conventional of groupies, this most celebrated Yogi was a ‘spiritual advisor’ to The Beatles and many other celebrities in
the late 1960s. His Transcendental Meditation movement helped globalise the practice of yoga.
8
We’ll let you in on a not-so-secret secret; the best way to negotiate Mumbai’s abysmal daily gridlock is by weaving through it, presumably, on a three-wheeled rickshaw. Although, with approximately seven million of them currently in use, it’s probably not too secret anymore. 63
D. L R O W THE E L U R . ES O H S E H WEAR T
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My Travelled life Lennon, hippy, 48
ON iNdia
ON Music
i like to say that india isn’t a state, it’s a state
with their beach clubs and top hats and town
Three words: Creedence Clearwater Revival.
of mind. i guess you may wonder where i
cars and bad vibes. not cool. not cool at all.
They were the men! Spooky rhythms and good
get such pearls of wisdom from. i am not
Me? i am the same dreamer i always was. All
‘ol swamp rock. you used to hear their dulcet
really sure. Maybe it’s the past 30 years of
i need to be happy is a small piece of God’s
tones floating over the Anjuna beach back in
meditation, bliss and self-awareness. india
earth, a chillum, and some chai.
the day. Then the eighties turned up with a
brings that out in people. When i say india,
drum machine and a bad attitude. never got
of course i mean Goa. i haven’t really been
into Goa Trance, or trance of any kind. These
anywhere else in india, except for Mumbai,
ON the future
days i have my own personal soundtrack in my
and that was just the airport. Don’t like
The way Goa is headed, i wouldn’t be surprised
head, no ipod required.
crowds man, bad vibes, very bad vibes.
to see a row of malls and amusement parks lining the beach. Money talks man, money talks. My future is less complicated – gonna do
ON chaNge
ON yOuth
what i always have done: chill, wander around,
Change man, it’s the only constant. This place
There are a lot of young kids turning up
experience the occasional flashback. oh, and
has changed beyond recognition, but i’m still
here every year – they think a nose ring
bowl. Although it’s not such a big sport here. in
here, fighting the fight. The mind is strong,
and some dreads makes them something.
fact, i lost my bowling ball back in ‘74.
even though the body is withered and frail.
it sure doesn’t. The whole ‘trustafarian set’ need to dump the credit cards and really live, ya know? What did Thoreau say? Simplify, simplify. Get rid of all extraneous possessions. Leave your headspace. i try to tell them, “you can’t find inner peace when you are worrying about your Tumblr account.” Do they listen? no man, they don’t. .
ON the past you should have been here 30 years ago. it was so much better back then. it was freedom, it was pure, it was hedonism. it was magic before all the fat cat corporate suits invaded the place 65
graph information elegance
Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Haryana Arunachal Pradesh Mizoram Tripura Uttaranchal Uttar Pradesh Assam Manipur Nagaland West Bengal Punjabi Sikkim Jharkhand Madhya Pradesh Orissa Bihar Chhattisgarh Rajasthan Andhra Pradesh Maharashtra Gujarat Tamil Nadu Kerala Karnataka Goa
66
The Regions of India & Their Primary Languages jammu and kashmir Dogri, Kashmiri
punjab Punjabi
himachal pradesh Marwari, Hindi, Garhwali
meghalaya
haryana Hindi, Haryanvi
Garo
uttaranchal
arunachal pradesh
Hindi
rajasthan
Hindi
uttar pradesh
Marwari
Hindi
gujarat
bihar
Gujarati
Hindi
assam Assamese
sikkim Nepali
nagaland English
manipur Manipuri
Mizo
tripura
madhya pradesh
west bengal
Hindi
Tamil
Bengali
maharashtra
jharkhand
Marathi
Hindi
orissa
goa
Oriya
Konkani, Marathi
chhattisgarh Hindi, Chhattisgarhi
andhra pradesh Telegu
karnataka
MAP APPROXIMATE
Kannada
tamil nadu kerala Malayalam
Tamil
region Language spoken
illustration: karishma sheth, naam: a concise and incomplete guide to indian names
mizoram
67
place LOTUS TEMPLE •
NEW DELHI
•
YEAR BUILT: 1986
PHOTO: KELLY CHENG
A RC H I T E C T U R E M APPED
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store U R BA N C ARTO G RA P H Y
• LEOPOLD CAFE
•
MUMBAI
•
FOOD
M
umbai, the fourth most-populous city in the world is home to Bollywood stars and a thumping nightlife. On the far southern tip of the sprawling city, jutting out into the Arabian Sea, lies the trendy Colaba neighbourhood, boasting boutiques, art galleries, coffee houses and the famed Leopold Cafe. Leopold is a Mumbai institution. Founded in 1871 by an Iranian family, in the 140-plus years since, it has been a wholesale oil store, a pharmacy and then a restaurant. The pub opened in 1991, was only the second to open in Mumbai. The cafe is popular with tourists, business people, locals and the literati of the city, who simply call it Leo’s. “The name Leopold came after the king of Belgium,” says Farhang Jehani, who owns the cafe with his brother Farzad. It is one of the city’s oldest Iranian-run restaurants and the brothers describe it as a place “where East meets West.” “We notice that there’s one customer sitting at one table, and somebody else joins them, and they become friends for the period of time they’re sitting in the restaurant,” Jehani says. While it has always been a favourite hangout, the hotspot has now achieved cult status, largely due to two major events in the past decade. Leo’s achieved immortality through its recurring role in the epic novel Shantaram , Gregory David Roberts’ 2003 tale of adventures and colourful characters that was loosely based on his own life as an Australian prison escapee making a new life working for the Mumbai mafia while living in one of the city’s many slums. “Leopold’s was a place for people to see, to be seen and to see themselves in the act of being seen,” Roberts wrote. “It was constantly crowded with visitors 70
TexT: Shelley Seale // Image: lonely PlaneT
from a hundred countries and many locals, both foreign and Indian, who come there from every part of the city to conduct their business.” The second wave of renown sprang from tragedy. Leopold was one of the first targets hit during the terrorist attacks on Mumbai in November 2008. A grenade was thrown in through the open café doors, then terrorists began shooting randomly into the establishment, killing two waiters and 10 customers. In spite of worldwide shock at the attack, Leopold’s owners did the nearly impossible: they reopened four days later, becoming a symbol of freedom and resistance for Mumbai. “We will never let the terrorists win,” was Farzad Jehani’s simple statement at the time. Bullet holes still line the walls of the cafe, even today, providing what is almost a shrine of remembrance. The Jehanis have no plans to repair the damage done by the attack. “This will never let us forget what happened,” says Farzad Jehani. Customers have shown their solidarity by continuing to flock to Leo’s, which is even more popular today. A full menu is served from eight in the morning to midnight, along with beer and wine. The three-foot tall beer cylinders introduced a few years ago have been a hit; for nondrinkers, an array of fresh fruit juices and lassis are on offer. But perhaps what draws most people to Leo’s, beyond its history, mystique and authenticity, is that it remains one of the best places in Mumbai for traditional café people-watching. A great place to grab a chair and sit and watch the world go by. Leopold Cafe, near Electric House, Colaba Causeway, Mumbai; www.leopoldcafe.com 71
main P. 74 • THE WELLNESS CRAZE P. 86• MAXIMUM CITY
P. 106 • Kashmir revival
P. 116 • Bollywood dreams
73
the india issue / wellness
the rIse of
Wellbeing
James Brennan travels to IndIa to fIgure out the trIllIon dollar wellness Industry, and dIscovers a tale of travellIng yogIs and Bollywood superstars, computer gurus and the world’s greatest pop Band IllustratIons By anthony zInonos
wellness / the india issue
T THE GLOBAL WELLNESS MARKET IS NOW WORTH MORE THAN TWO TRILLION DOLLARS 76 THE INDIA ISSUE / WELLNESS
he dawn has barely broken over the Goan treetops, and I’m standing on a covered terrace with a small group of European women, all of us bent double, with our chins as close to our knees as they will possibly go. We are not purging ourselves after a night of excess at a full moon party. We’re doing yoga. As crows caw and monkeys scurry and cackle in the trees, we complete the surya namaskara or sun salutation, a sequence of twelve poses that limbers us up for a further hour of intense twisting and stretching. When we’re done, we’ll pad through landscaped gardens at the edge of the forest and breakfast on juices and supplements: potions, pills, psyllium husks, flax seed oil, anti-parasite formulas and some indeterminate variety of bitter brown sludge. It’s good for us, we’re told. Hunger pangs sated, I’ll go back to my chalet and unfurl a brown padded mat on the bathroom floor. There, I’ll lie down, cock up a leg and perform a DIY enema with a liquid herbal solution not unlike watery Scotch broth, via a
network of plastic pipes, tubes and nozzles that resembles the paraphernalia of a home brewing enthusiast. In a few days, I’ll do it again with oil. Voluntarily. And they call this a holiday. We’re undergoing a week-long holistic detox programme at the Dudhsagar Spa Resort in Goa, India. Set deep in the lush forests of Mollem, near the border with Karnataka state, it’s a world away from the hippies and hedonism of Anjuna or Calangute. This is a spa and wellness retreat based on the principles of ayurveda – combining yoga, meditation, spa treatments, massage, hypnosis and a vegetarian diet. The guests here are seeking refuge from increasingly stressful day-today lives. But they’re not the only ones. Each year, more and more tourists are heading to India for its spa and wellness offering. According to an August 2012 report compiled by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the Indian wellness market as a whole was worth $11 billion in 2011 (globally it’s worth more than US$2
trillion). It had grown by 20 per cent on the previous year, and at the same rate of growth it is expected to reach an overall value of $17 billion by 2014. The “rejuvenation” market, which includes day spas, hotel spas and destination spas, was worth an estimated $100 million in 2011. A Euromonitor report says the number of hotel/resort spas in India has more than tripled, from 150 properties in 2006, to 411 in 2011. Health and wellness tourism is increasing by 22 per cent each year. Such is India’s importance in the industry that the annual Global Spa and Wellness Summit will be held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, in 2013. There can be no doubt about it, India has firmly established itself on the global spa and wellness map. The story of its meteoric rise is scented with sandalwood and smeared in coconut oil. It’s a tale of travelling yogis and Bollywood superstars, computer gurus and the world’s greatest pop band; of a global exchange of cultures, a shift in world economic prosperity, and the emergence of a bold and upwardly mobile social class with money to spend.
But how did it all happen? And why did it happen in India? To answer these questions, we must first go back in time to long before the advent of soft terry towelling slippers and elasticated paper underpants. A few thousand years should do it. India’s tradition of wellbeing through physical exercise, natural medicine, meditation and diet could date from before the third millennium BC. At more than 4,000 years old, the shiva pashupati seal, discovered in the Indus Valley, shows a man sitting cross-legged with his hands resting on his knees like a yogi. But while there’s much debate among historians as to how old yoga might be, there’s no question that it flourished alongside the rise of Hinduism and ayurveda. Ayurveda is one of the world’s oldest systems of holistic medicine. There are references to ayurvedic practices in Hindu scriptures called the Vedas, which date from between 1500 BC and 1,000 BC. In sanskrit, the word ‘ayurveda’ means ‘knowledge of life’. At its core is the objective of achieving balance between body, mind, the senses and the soul.
INDIA HAS A TRADITION OF WELLBEING THAT STRETCHES BACK 4,000 YEARS WELLNESS / THE INDIA ISSUE 77
THE BEATLES TOOK THE CONCEPT OF EASTERN SPIRITUALITY GLOBAL According to ayurveda, the universe is made up of five distinct elements: fire, water, air, space and earth. These elements manifest themselves in our bodies through three biological energies called doshas – vata (space and air), pitta (fire and water) and kapha (water and earth). We all have a dominant dosha, but when the doshas become imbalanced, so can
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our health. And that’s where ayurveda comes in - seeking equilibrium through a holistic programme of prevention, healing and preservation. That might be just the tip of the ayurvedic iceberg, but it’s been the cornerstone of Indian wellness for millennia. Some basic ay ur vedic practices are incorporated into people’s everyday lives. But for the truly hardcore, there are ashrams. Spiritual retreats, often cut off from the outside world, offering solace and serenity for those wishing to achieve mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing. An ashram’s daily routine invariably involves yoga, a controlled diet and plenty of peace and quiet. An ascetic blueprint, perhaps, for many of today’s destination spas? What the Indians have been doing for donkey’s years, the rest of the world is quickly catching up with. But it wasn’t until relatively recently that the exotic practices of Indian wellness were exposed to a wide audience beyond the subcontinent. “Yoga first came to the West during the early 19th century, as part of the academic study of Eastern philosophy,” says Susie Ellis, chairman and CEO of the Global Spa & Wellness Summit, and president of the media and marketing company Spafinder Wellness. “It picked up steam in the 1930s as part of a niche movement for health and vegetarianism, and really took off in the 1960s when many Indian teachers came to
the West to teach – like Maharishi Mahesh, the yogi who popularised transcendental meditation and yoga guru Swami Sivananda, who opened schools in America and Europe.” When the Maharishi became guru to The Beatles, he won fame and notoriety with a whole new audience. In 1968, John, Paul, George and Ringo visited his ashram at Rishikesh, in the foothills of the Himalayas. The weeks they spent there yielded more than 30 songs, some of which ended up on the
White Album and Abbey Road LPs. But perhaps more far-reaching was the fact that the world’s biggest pop band had embraced transcendental meditation, and brought the concept of Eastern spirituality to a vast Western audience – even if Ringo Starr likened the ashram to “a kind of spiritual Butlins.” The 1960s was when the hippy trail – a much-fabled path of enlightenment, from Europe to the Indian subcontinent – became well-trodden by young people seeking alternative lifestyles. Many discovered yoga in hippy hangouts such as Goa, which in turn encouraged more yogis – and a fair number of fakes and chancers – to establish yoga schools in the area. Others went in pursuit of spiritual knowledge, or simply to ‘find themselves’. It was perhaps this that inspired a young Steve Jobs to go roaming through India after dropping out of college in the early 1970s. The soonto-be Apple boss and geek-guru extraordinaire would later embrace Buddhism. But while Jobs’ trip may not have fostered any great love of Indian culture, biographer Walter Isaacson believes it had a profound effect on his philosophy of life. “He [Isaacson] details how important Jobs’ time in India was in shaping how successful and innovative he became,” says Ellis. “Steve learned two things in
India – intuition and simplicity – critical guiding principles for his life and products.” Ellis also cites Jackie Kennedy’s visit to India in 1962, and more recently the bestselling book Eat, Pray, Love and the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as further examples of Indian enlightenment gaining exposure through Western popular culture. “The image of India as a spirituality ‘ground zero’ has resonated for decades,” Ellis says. “But for a now-ageing Baby Boomer population facing big questions about mortality, spiritual explorations and pilgrimages may now be becoming more important. And for these ‘seekers’ India is a natural fit.” Ajit Patel owns the Dudhsagar Spa Resort, where I learned to grapple with a DIY enema kit in the name of ayurvedic science. For him, global awareness of Indian wellness goes beyond the 1960s. “I don’t think it’s come from the hippy era,” says Patel. “I think it’s come from the Germans and Europeans who have been fascinated by the science of ayurveda for a few years, and by what I call the ‘eastern promise’. This eastern promise that will solve all our problems.” The mystique surrounding Indian wellness may well be a large part of the attraction. But there’s another factor, which Patel believes is vital in persuading people to travel halfway around the world for ayurvedic spa treatments: they work. A pharmacist by trade, Patel was hospitalised three times with colitis before seeking alternative treatment. “I began to realise that looking after your wellbeing takes a lot more than just a pill. It’s a much more in-depth look at your lifestyle and how to care for your body,” he says. His return to health through ayurvedic treatments inspired him in 2007 to set up Sanda Wellness, including resorts at Dudhsagar and The Beach House, an upscale boutique wellness 80 THE INDIA ISSUE / WELLNESS
retreat overlooking Goa’s Sernabatim Beach. “The first three years were spent in developing the programmes and the philosophy – and ensuring the philosophy actually works,” says Patel. “It’s one thing having the personal experiences, but it’s another seeing them actually work on other people.” Destination spa retreats like Patel’s are driving the Indian wellness juggernaut. But his were by no means the first. Some 32 years after The Beatles landed in Rishikesh, a five-star spa resort opened in the city. Sandhya Chipalkatti, editor and publisher of Indian wellness magazine Spa Man-
tra , explains. “The first destination spa, Ananda in the Himalayas, was launched 12 years ago in 2000, and there were some hotel spas around then, but they were quite basic at that time. Consumer awareness was negligible. The industry has started growing only in the last three to four years.” The luxurious Ananda in the Himalayas has attracted a host of famous guests, including Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Kate Winslet and Uma Thurman. But day spas at hotels are also proving to be a huge draw for those looking for a bit of high-end pampering. “All five-star hotels have to have a spa as a mandatory facility – something like how a swimming pool was some years ago,” says Chipalkatti. According to Susie Ellis, the Indianbased Taj and Oberoi hotel groups have played a big part in the Indian wellness
ALL FIVE-STAR HOTELS HAVE TO HAVE A SPA NOW, THE EQUIVALENT OF A POOL YEARS AGO phenomenon. “These iconic hospitality brands have a great reputation – and that reputation is enmeshed with their strong ties to spas. [They] have won so many Travel & Leisure and Condé Nast ‘world’s best’ awards, it has had a halo effect on India in general.” Pull on a velvety white robe in The Oberoi Mumbai’s day spa, and you can
THE GROWING INDIAN MIDDLE CLASS IS DRIVING THE HUGE DEMAND FOR WELLNESS
experience a gamut of ayurvedic treatments, from shiroabhyanga head massages, to padabhyanga foot rubs. As the only 24-hour spa in the city, it’s geared to today’s fast-paced lifestyles – people want post-airport pampering, and they want it at 3.30 am. But although the treatments are Indian, the set-up feels rather Western. You could be in a fivestar hotel in Berlin, say, or New York. So, has India shaped hotel spas around the world, or have western companies merely repackaged Indian wellness and sold it back to India? “In some cases, the concepts [of Indian wellness] have been refined, tweaked 82 THE INDIA ISSUE / WELLNESS
and repackaged to appeal to a Western audience,” says Jesper Hougaard, Danish founder and managing director of Serena Spa, and a committee member of India’s National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Health Providers (NABH). “But I’m not sure whether there are any examples of reverse engineering, in which these have been exported back to India. However, it is clear that the Indian wellness industry has taken clues from the West in terms of quality control, hygiene and service levels.” Susie Ellis accepts that wellness concepts are not immune from the Möbius Strip-like flow of cultures
around the world. “Globalisation is so many cultural and economic forces cross-pollinating and interweaving and then pollinating elsewhere again. There’s Hollywood… and Bollywood. Indian consumers have every bit as strong a fascination with celebrities and want to live and look like their favourite stars. And because there is now a media buzz around Indian celebrities’ wellness habits, it’s a significant force driving the domestic adoption of wellness.” The Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has her own chain of spas, and a spa launch in Mumbai or Bangalore can attract as many stars as a film premiere. Which demonstrates perhaps India’s greatest strength when it comes to its spa and wellness industry: the domestic market. While India has a growing number of in-bound travellers looking for what Ellis calls “hyper-local, authentic, indigenous experiences,” they are presently outnumbered by domestic travellers. “One massive force is the rising standard of living for millions of people in India, with a young population increasingly embracing spas, fitness and beauty experiences and products,” says Ellis. It is India’s economic resurgence in recent years, and the emergence of a large, affluent middle class, that has re-
ally boosted the wellness industry from within. Ellis points to the adoption of “killer western lifestyles” – built on fast food, smoking, sedentary desk jobs and stress – as a major driving factor behind Indians rediscovering wellness. But with phenomenal growth comes inevitable problems. The Lonely Planet guides warn backpackers of charlatan ayurvedic quacks and fake yogis in popular tourist haunts such as Goa, especially at the budget end of the market. But by law, practitioners need to be registered, and in July 2012, the Indian Ministry of Tourism awarded India’s first NABH accreditation certificate to a hotel spa. “Guidelines have been framed and regulations are coming into being from the last three to four years, with 84 THE INDIA ISSUE / WELLNESS
bodies such as NABH and the Department of AYUSH insisting on certification for spa and wellness centres,” says Spa Mantra’s Sandhya Chipalkatti. “The process has only begun now. However, several resorts and chains of hotels that have spas self-regulate and benchmark against global spas. So any five-star hotel will offer world-class facilities and treatments.” While the government seems keen to encourage the growth of wellness tourism, its immigration policies may yet prove a fly in the ayurvedic ointment for independent operators. “We were bringing a lot of therapists from outside of India, but that has changed because the government does not allow foreign workers earning below $25,000 to have working visas,” says
Ajit Patel. “That’s going to slow down the development of the industry. And the reason for this is that Indians traditionally don’t like giving massages – it’s seen as being beneath them.” Sandhya Chipalkatti agrees there may be a shortfall in therapists, but is confident that attitudes will change. “It is a new industry and this problem is foreseeable. Acceptability will come and being a therapist will be seen to be a respectable profession.” In the 5,000-year story of Indian wellness, it may well be just a blip. But whatever the prognosis, this multimillion dollar industry has never been in better health. James Brennan is a freelance writer based in the UK
CITY noah davIs Talks To MuMbaI’s MasTer ChronICler, sukeTu MehTa, abouT The pasT, presenT and fuTure of The CITY he loves
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Open SkieS: One of the great successes of Maximum City it is that it painted an amazing portrait of a city that is so hard to define. How accurate do you think that portrait still is? Mehta: A city like Bombay keeps shifting constantly. Rahul Mehrotra, an architect friend of mine who teaches at Harvard and is the most accurate observer of urban Bombay, says that when he goes to Cambridge after six months, basically nothing has changed. If he returns to Bombay in 30 days, the sidewalk outside his office has been torn up and there is a new building in front. The physical structure changes dramatically and that has been accelerating in the last few years, but I think that the essential contours of the urban forces – especially the political energies, the dynamism of the city, and the different metropolitan stories – are still the same. Open SkieS: Is the book popular in Mumbai? Mehta: It’s being pirated widely all across the streets. I take that as a compliment. If these guys – who are extremely selective about what books to publish – will rip me off, then I know I’ve made it in Bombay. Once I was in a taxi on my way to the airport and it stopped at a red light. These kids came over with a stack of pirated books and mine was on top. I asked what the book was about. They said, “Oh, all of Bombay is in this book.” I asked how much and then they said, “400 rupees,” I said, “400? You know I’m the author of this book.” “Fine, if you are the author you can have it for 200.” I love the entrepreneurship of these kids, and that still stays the same in the city.
I told my publisher to fire their sales force and just hire these kids because they bring the bookshop to the customer. [Laughs]
Open SkieS: How possible is upward mobility? What happens to the kid who is selling your book to you for 200 rupees?
Open SkieS: You talk a lot about the romanticism in the city. The hopers. The dreamers. Is it still a romantic place for you?
Mehta: I’ve traced a number of people in my book who make it out of the slums and into the tenements. That’s the dream: to go from a shack to a structure made of brick. Sometimes they move back to the shack. When they go into the flats, they often find it really anonymous. The slums act like villages in the city. It baffles because people are still coming. They might not be living on the island city but they might be living in Thane, in New Bombay, in Vashi, in all these new areas that were farmlands 10 years ago. With the building of the new international airport, I think there is going to be an urban cluster around there. People are still dreaming, and they have more time to dream because the commutes become much longer. When you spend two hours getting to work on the train, there is plenty of time to dream.
Mehta: It is, but you know, every time I go there people predict the death of Bombay. That never changes. I’m going there this winter and I’m sure the city is at imminent risk of death. [Laughs] Now, of course, there are horrible things about the city. It’s very wrong in so many ways. One of the worst is the overdevelopment of the central city. What’s been changing now is its growth into the hinterland. I think areas like New Bombay and beyond will go on and be sprawling like Los Angeles. But there are still shady nooks and alleyways in the city. Whenever I go back I know where to go, like the area around the Gujarati Ghetto in central Bombay, and even many of the lanes of Bandra, which are tree shaded. I look for the relics of that ghost town. Every year when I go back it’s a different city from the one it was the previous year. The change is the only constant. Thirty per cent of the city now is North India, so there is a tremendous pushback against them on the part of Shiv Sena. People used to be against Gujaratis, the communists, the South Indians. Now, it’s the North Indians. They have a new bogeyman. But all these peasants who come in from the north have exactly the same impossible dream that the previous generations did. As long as that’s the constant, as long as people still want to come to the cit y, it will remain vibrant and striving.
Open SkieS: It sounds like there’s plenty of ambition in Mumbai. Mehta: Bombay has some of the most innovative capitalists I’ve ever met. It is fundamentally an entrepreneurial city. What matters to the hawker, who is selling his bhelpuri on the street, is his little part of the sidewalk. He will fight to the death to protect that little piece of the sidewalk. People respect that. It’s the same thing with the multinational executives that come there. It is a commercial city par excellence, and no other city in India has replaced it. Bangalore hasn’t but it’s trying. Delhi hasn’t. Bombay remains SUkEtU MEHtA / tHE indiA iSSUE 89
the most open city in India because it has taken in my ancestors, it’s taken in the British, it has taken in the Portuguese. Now it’s taking in Beharis and people from UP. These are extremely poor people who are not very well educated, but it still remains open to them. These new people are as entrepreneurial as the people who came before. That’s another thing that distinguishes Bombay and gives it its manic energy.
the constant new arrivals give the city its manic energy
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The dream is really to make enough money first to send back to the village and second to get a slightly bigger and better house than the one you have right now. That dream continues all the way to the top. The Ambanis have this mansion, this epic folly that cost a billion dollars. I was in a taxi driven by a man from Bihar and he was driving past this building. I asked him what he thought of it, whether he begrudged the Ambanis for flaunting their wealth. He said, “No, no, it’s the law of Bombay. He came here and he built his building, so that’s all fine.” But the driver did say he didn’t like the colour of the house. That was classic. [Laughs] People in Bombay won’t mind being ripped off by the politicians or the businessmen because they don’t expect anything different but they really have a problem with your colour scheme. Open SkieS: Are there economic opportunities for Westerners? Mehta: Yes. Almost all the Westerners I know prefer Bombay to every other Indian city. It is the most western city in the country and from its beginning it has been an international
city. Westerners in Bangalore can live like they do in an American suburb, but they haven’t come to India to live in Minneapolis. It’s much more ex pensive than Delhi, Bangalore, or any other city, and they know this. But they still keep coming because it has a very vibrant expat scene, and you can walk around, especially compared to Delhi. Western women particularly find Bombay much safer than any other Indian city. They can eat alone in a restaurant without being harassed. Open SkieS: This may be an impossible question to answer but is there anything that has surprised you – politically, economically or culturally – that occurred in the city over the past decade? Mehta: I had thought that there would be some kind of urban explosion, riot, disaster or ethnic conflict in the city by now because the last major riots were in 1992 and 1993. The 2008 bombings on the Taj Mahal were expressly calculated to set off a HinduMuslim riot, and it did not happen. That pleasantly surprised me. The
city’s local Muslim leaders refused to bury the bodies of terrorists. They said, “These people are not Muslims.” The bombings had precisely the opposite effect on the city, actually, as the Hindu leaders and Muslims came together and said, “We are all Bombayites.” It’s gratifying to see that the city has matured. There are tensions, but no political party or outside force has been able to exploit them to set ordinary people upon each other. I think it’s because of the power of the dream. People want to move there and make enough money to send a little back to the village while keeping body and soul together in the big city. People don’t want to sacrifice that dream by assaulting their neighbour. This is not to say that something won’t happen next week or next year because the last riot also really surprised people but, so far, the peace has held. We’ll see what happens when India’s growth rate goes from nine per cent to six per cent, but I think that the city has learned lessons from the last urban explosion. Open SkieS: Were you surprised by the success that Maximum City found outside India?
Mehta: Yes, it was very, very surprising to me. I think it happened for a couple of reasons. One is that there was a great deal of interest in India, and in cities in general, around the turn of the century. Bombay is emblematic of a group of cities in the developing world like São Paulo, like Lagos, like Jakarta. Most people don’t have a clue about the lives of people in these cities but they want to. There is an epic migration from city to city all around the world. People in New York need to understand the life of someone living in a slum in Bombay, if for no other reason than that the next generation of New Yorkers is being born in a slum in Bombay right now. There are also people who read my book for an explanation of all of India, not just Bombay. Open SkieS: I travelled to India last year, and I tried to describe the country when I got back to the United States. I started telling people that any adjective they could think of applies. It is beautiful and corrupt and depressing and amazing and bright and dark and everything all at once.
Mehta: That’s a very accurate description of the country and of Bombay. I tried to do that in my book. The city operates at a heightened volume; it’s a shouted city. My book has ever ything. People who can stick out for the torture and riot chapter then get the pleasure sections, ones about Bollywood, and ones about love in the city. Anything you can say about Bombay is true and false simultaneously. It’s a great city. It’s a beautiful city by the sea. And yes, it’s an ugly city with hellish conditions for people living in there. It has rich and poor. The shock of Bombay is the shock of this juxtaposition. It’s all crammed together in such a small space. Unlike other cities everything in Bombay is public. People are acting out these dramas in public. That’s why I call it t he Ma x imum Cit y, because it’s the maximum of the urban experience. It is a full taste of what’s to come in the world’s great cities. One of the things that I am happiest about is that the city seems to have adopted the Maximum City moniker for itself. I had no idea what to call the book until the end and it just sort of
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came to me. It’s become an unofficial nickname for the city, like the Big Apple, that will outlast me and the book. Open SkieS: Do you think Mumbai will continue to mature? Mehta: There is a huge plot of land on the Easter n Dock lands, which could really be instrumental in saving t he cit y or mak ing it a much nicer place to live if it’s put to good public use. If it’s turned into condo-
‘maximum city’ has become a nickname for mumbai miniums and luxury hotels, then the city is doomed. The city desperately needs open spaces, public parks, and schools. It doesn’t need any more gated communities or big buildings. The problem with these buildings is that the city lacks the infrastructure, the roads, the subways, the mass transit, and even the electrical and water connections, to serve them. But it’s a function of global capital. People who are flying in want to live in such buildings. It’s bringing Miami to Bombay, which I hope can be controlled. I also hope that the city can force the state legislature to make the mayor of Bombay much stronger. The essen92 the india issue / suketu Mehta
mumbai is not going to slow down and it’s not going to die tial political problem with Bombay is that it doesn’t have a strong mayor. Its fate is determined in the Maharashtra State legislature. It’s as if Albany [the capital of New York state] were to have complete authority over New York City. The people in the state legislature, by and large, come from the villages. They don’t have a metropolitan sensibility, and they have no allegiance to the city of Bombay even though they live there. What Bombay needs is a stronger municipality and a stronger mayor. The mayor is just a figurehead. He needs someone who can utilise the tax revenues that the city makes. It’s still the economic engine of India. Open SkieS: What are some other issues the city faces in the future? Mehta: The tragedy and the glory of New York and Bombay is that they are both robustly democratic cities where multiple legal petitions will slow down anything you do. But the big problem is misplacement of priorities. Bombay is proudest now of having this giant bridge – the Bandra-Worli Sea Link
– and it does cut down on the traffic through Mahim Bay. But my judgment of projects like this is that these bridges get you to your traffic jam faster. Once you get off the bridge, you basically stop in that same giant traffic jam. Cities all over the world have realised this: the more roads you build, the more cars will fill them up. Soon, traffic will get even more choked than it was before. Bombay does not need more roads. It needs more mass transit. But roads and bridges are where the money is, and they are a symbol of international development. International consultants can get fat, rich and happy building these giant projects. Meanwhile, basic infrastructure like the fuel system and water gets really sadly neglected because these are not sexy projects. Schools are not sexy. A bridge is sexy. You can show it off. It can be your symbol of the city. We don’t have to repeat the mistakes that other cities have made. By now there’s enough of a body of urban planning that we can take lessons from other cities, but unless there is political will, it’s not going to happen. And it doesn’t seem like that will is there right now. Open SkieS: A re you optim istic about the future of Mumbai? Mehta: Well, whether I am optimistic or pessimistic has no bearing on the future of the city. It will just keep going. One thing I can predict is that it’s not going to slow down and it’s not going to die. It might be a much worse city to live in. The traffic jams will probably get worse, at least in the short term. It will remain as corrupt as ever and the government will be dysfunctional as ever, but people will still keep coming. There is something about Bombay that is bigger than the shocking state of its physical infrastructure. It’s the dream that Bollywood perfectly pre-
sents. If you look at the Bollywood idea of Bombay, it has absolutely no relation to the actual physical Bombay. It’s two different cities. In my book, I write, “Just as cinema is a mass dream of the audience, Bombay is a mass dream of the people from India.” People are more comfortable coming to Bombay because they’ve already lived in it in the dreams they have in tiny villages across the country. They come there and they think that they might be able to bump into a movie star. A taxi driver in Bombay was telling me about his shack. He had no water or electricity, and he was reminiscing about his village where his whole family would eat delicious foods and work in the green fields. I said, “That sounds like paradise. What keeps you in Bombay? Is it the money?” He said, “No, no, we have farm land there. We can live well there.” “Why do you live in Bombay?” He turned around and said, “You know, last month Lata Mangeshkar was sitting here right where you are sitting.” When he went back to his village and told them that Lata Mangeshkar was in his taxi, they wouldn’t believe him. It is as if the one of the goddesses had come down from heaven and was praising this taxi guy. This is an intangible thing: the idea of metropolitan glamour. There is no way for economists to factor it into their equation. What is the monetary value of a dream or of glamour? It is potent enough that the power of it is drawing people all across the country. I would be really worried if the Bollywood film industry were to move somewhere else. But as long as they stay put in Bombay, the city will be just fine. Noah Davis is a freelance writer based in New York who writes about culture and technology SUkEtU MEHtA / tHE indiA iSSUE 95
the great railway bazaar, Paul theroux’s account of his 1975 asian train journey, is a classic of the genre. in this excerPt, he travels across india on its huge train system
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r Radia (his name was on a label beside t he door, w ith mine) was sitting on his berth, intoning a Hindi song through his nose. He saw me and sang louder. I took out my electric shaver and began to run it over my face; he drowned out the whine of the motor with his lugubrious song. When he sang, his expression was rapturous; in repose his face was sour. He looked at my gin bottle with distaste and told me that spirits were not allowed on Indian Railways, and to my owlish reply (‘But I thought Indians believed in spirits’) he only grunted. Moments later he pleaded with me to put my pipe out. He said he once vomited in a compartment where an Englishman was smoking. “I’m not English,’ I said. He grunted. I saw he was tr ying to read the cover of the book I had opened. It was The Autobigraphy of
a Yogi , by Paramahansa Yogananda, a parting gift from Mr Gupta of the Simla ashram. ‘Are you interested in yoga?’ asked Mr Radia. ‘No,’ I said, studying the book closely. I wet my finger and turned a page. ‘I am,’ said Mr Radia. ‘Not the physical side, but the mental side. The benefit is there.’ ‘The physical side is the best part.’
‘Not for me. For me it is all mental. I like to exercise my mind with debates and discussions of all kinds.’ I snapped the book shut and left the compartment. It was late afternoon, but already the orange sun was submerged in the dust haze at the far end of a perfectly flat landscape. Delhi is a city of three million, but half an hour out of the city and you are in a countryside devoid of people, a green plain as flat as those areas of Turkey and Iran, which were so sunlit and empty they made my eyes ache. I made my way through the classes to the dining car: first class air-conditioned had carpets and cold door handles and fogged windows, and there was a shower in the Indian-style toilet but none in the awful booth designated (and this was an intemperate libel) ‘Western-style’; the first-class sleeper had bare cells and plastic-covered berths, the chair car had seats arranged like those on a plane, and people had already tucked in for the night, with blankets over their heads to shut out the air conditioning and the bright overhead lights; there were card games in the wooden second-class compartments, and in the third-class sleeper the bookshelf berths were fixed to the wall in tiers like those on trains in old Russian movies. People reclined on the boards with their bony knees sticking
delhi is a city of three million, but half an hour out of the city and you are in a countryside devoid of people, a green plain as flat as those areas of turkey and iran which were so sunlit and empty, they made my eyes hurt 98 the india issue / the great railway bazaar
out, and others queued in puddles at the toilet doors. The dining car, at the bottom rung of this Indian social ladder, was a narrow room of broken chairs and sloppedover tables. Meal coupons were being sold. At this point in my trip I had turned vegetarian. The meat I saw in India was foul in any case, so I never had the cravings sometimes referred to as ‘meat-fits’. And though I had no side effects, I sometimes had second thoughts when I saw, as I did that evening, a fat sweating Indian cook in filthy pyjamas preparing vegetables for the pot by gathering them with his forearms and then slapping and squeezing them into a pulpous mess. After dark we made a stop at Mathura Junction. I got out, and in the glare of the station platform was now the familiar (but no less horrifying) sight of the railway villagers. They were not locals: they were very black, thin, with small sharp teeth and narrow noses and thick glossy hair; they wore sarongs and camped on the platform with an air of proprietary completeness and suggested permanence. There were rows of charpoys, and at the unsheltered end of the platform greasy tarpaulins had been pitched like tents. I had passed these encampments too many times without looking closely at them. I found a man on the train and asked if he would translate my questions. He agreed, and we found a willing interviewee: a fox-faced man with glittering white eyes and buck teeth, wearing a white sarong. He stood with his arms folded and stroked his biceps with slender fingers. ‘He says they come from Kerala.’ ‘But why have they come so far? Are they looking for work?’ ‘Not looking for work. This is a yatra.’ So it was another pilgrimage.
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india has around 8,000 train stations
the india issue / the great railway bazaar 100 starchitects
‘Where are they headed?’ ‘Here, Mathura,’ the translator said, pronouncing it Muttra. The fox-faced man spoke again. The translator continued, ‘He is asking that do you know this is a holy place?’ ‘The railway station?’ ‘The town. Lord Krishna was born here.’ And not only that, I read later. It was in Mathura that the Divine Cowherd was exchanged with the infant daughter of Jasoda in order to save him from being murdered by the giant Kans, a parallel of the Herod story. The town is also the scene of Krishna’s youth, where he sported with the milkmaids and played his flute. The legends were pretty; the place itself seemed a grim contradiction. ‘For how long will the yatris stay?’ ‘For some days.’ ‘Why are they at the station instead of in town?’ ‘There is water and light here, and it is safe. There are robbers in town and some people get chased by rogues. ‘ ‘What do they do for food?’ He says they have brought some, and some they get in town. The people on the train also give some.’ The translator added, ‘He is asking where are you from?’ I told him. In a corner of the platform, I saw the silhouette of a pot-bellied child with spindly legs, naked and clinging to a waterspout. It was alone, holding on, waiting for nothing; the sight of this futile patience cracked my heart. ‘He is asking for money.’ ‘I will give him one rupee if he says a prayer for me at the Mathura temple.’ This was translated. The man from Kerala laughed and said something. ‘He would have said a prayer for you even if you had given him nothing.’ The whistle blew and I boarded. Mr Radia had stopped singing. He was sit-
ting in the compartment reading Blitz.
Blitz is a noisy, irresponsible weekly paper in English that retells scandals in a semiliterate but bouncy style of which the following, from the film page, is a fair example: Star-producer-director of JUHU, one of four bhais, hotted up his birthday like nobody’s business. The guest cont rol order was out of bou nd s there! There were booze and broads and brawls by the host himself! He was high and headstrong, lording it over all. Hurled abuse at some then fisted a guest. That’s the time a few walked out. Some hospitality that! What does he think himself to be? GODFATHER…. Mr Radia continued to read, scowling with appreciation. Then our dinner trays were brought, and I noticed his was non-vegetarian. His hamburger came apart under his knife and he poked at it disgustingly. But he ate it. ‘The first time I took meat I was
The English were domineering and exclusive, he said, but he was quick to add, ‘Mind you, we Indians can be the same. But the English had their chance. If only,’ he said, and prodded his hamburger, ‘if only the English had become Indians.’ Was that ever on the cards? ‘Yes, they could have done it. No trouble at all. I went to a T-group session in Darjeeling. Debates and discussions. Very interesting. The wife of the director had just arrived from the States, and the second day, she was there that lady wearing a sari.’ I was sceptical about this proving anything and asked him how long the lady would stay in her sari. ‘That’s a point,’ said Mr Radia. Now he was the Deputy General Manager for a joint Japanese-Indian effort, making dry-cell batteries in Gujarat. He had had several run-ins with the Japanese – ‘Head-on collisions – I had no choice!’ I asked him how he
the conductor brought us tea at half-past six and said we were in gujarat. cows cropped grass at the edge of the line, and at one station a goat skittered on the platform violently sick,’ he said. ‘But it happens when you do anything for the first time, isn’t it?’ With this bew ildering epigraph he told me about his work. He had worked for Shell for twenty years, but discovered he loathed the English so much that he finally quit. His sense of grievance was strong and his memory for the humiliations he had been subjected to amounted to total recall.
found the Japanese. He said, ‘Loyal, yes! Clean and hard-working, yes! But intelligent, not at all!’ It turned out that they were getting under his skin, though he preferred them to the English. The company was run on Japanese lines: uniforms, no sweepers or bearers, morning assembly, a joint staffworker canteen, and common toilets (‘That was a shock’). What nettled Mr
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the first railway was built in 1853
indian railways employs 1.4 million people
it was at a railway station in bombay that vs naipaul panicked and fled, fearing that he might sink without trace into the crowd Radia was that the Japanese insisted on dating the factory girls. Mr Radia grew increasingly peevish about the Japanese. I complained of a headache and went to bed. The conductor brought tea at halfpast six and said we were in Gujarat. Bullocks and cows cropped grass at the edge of the line, and at one station a goat skittered on the platform. Gujarat, Gandhi’s birthplace is a hot, flat, but apparently very fertile state. There were guava orchards and fields of lentils, cotton, papaya, and tobacco stretching to the tilted palm trees at the horizon, and the irrigation ditches were cut like chevrons in these sleeves of landscape. Occasionally, a marquee of trees indentified a village and dusty people could be seen washing in brown streams where the mud banks were covered with footprints like the tracks of stray birds. ‘And here we are at Baroda,’ said Mr Radia, turning to the window. In the foreground, a migration of ragged people carried bundles on their heads, following a bullock cart mounded with bruised furniture. The white hairless patches on the children’s heads spoke of overcrowding, malnutrition, and disease, and they were all grinning in the glare of the sun. ‘That, I believe, is the new petrochemical plant. It’s already in operation,’ said Mr Radia. We were passing a shant y tow n made entirely of flattened cardboard boxes and bits of ham mered tin. Women squatted, slapping cow turds
into pies, and inside the terrifying huts I could see people lying with their arms crossed over their faces. A man screamed at a running child; another howled at the train. ‘Everything’s coming up. Patel’s factory. It’s completely industrial here. Jyoti Industries. Worth crores, I tell you. Crores!’ At Broach, fifty miles south of Baroda, we crossed the wide Narmada River. I was standing by the door. A man tapped me on the shoulder. ‘Excuse me.’ He was a dark bespectacled Indian in a flowered shirt, holding two coconuts and a garland of flowers. He moved to the door and, bracing himself on the handrail, pitched the garland, then the coconuts, into the river. ‘Offerings,’ he explained. ‘I live in Singapore. I am so happy to be home.’ Late in the afternoon we were in the lowland of Maharashtra, gleaming swamps, the green inlets of the Gulf of Cambray, and just at the Horizon, the Arabian Sea. It had been cool in the morning, and pleasant at Baroda, but the afternoon ride to Bombay from Broach was stifling: the air was dense with humidity, and the feathery fronds on the tall palms drooped in the heat. At every siding I saw the feet of napping Indians sticking out from under packing cases and makeshift shelters. And then Bombay began. We were still quite far from the city centre – twenty miles or more – but the sight of a single sway-backed hut swelled to a hamlet of shacks, and then to an unbroken parade of low dwellings, their
roofs littered with plastic sheets, bits of wood and paper, a rubber tyre, shingles held down with stones, and thatch tied with vines, as if this accumulated rubbish would help keep the shacks from blowing away. On the outskir ts of the cit y the Rajdhani Express came to several alarming stops – so sudden, one of them toppled my water pitcher on to the f loor and the next smashed a glass. We did not appear to be at stations for these stops, although there were people leaving the train. I saw them throw ing their suitcases on to the tracks and leaping out themselves with the speed of deserters, picking up their baggage and racing across the line. I discovered they had pulled the emergency alarm cord (PENALTY FOR IMPROPER USE RUPEES 250) because they were passing their homes. This was an express train, but by pulling the alarm the Indian could turn it into a local. It was at a railway station in Bombay that VS Naipaul panicked and fled, fearing that he ‘might sink without a trace into that Indian crowd.’ The story is told in An Area of Darkness. But I did not find Bombay Central especially scarifying; a close acquaintance with it made me think of it as a place of refugees and fortune hunters, smelling of dirt and money, in a neighbourhood that had the look of the neglected half of Chicago. The hu r r y i n g day t i me c r owd s might have frightened me more if they had been idly prowling, but in their mass there was no sense of
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aimlessness. The direction of those speeding white shirts gave to these thousands of marchers the aspect of a dignified parade of clerks and their wives and cattle, preparing to riot according to some long-held custom, among the most distinguished architecture the British Empire had ever produced (cover your eyes, squint at Victoria Station in Bombay, and you see the grey majesty of St Paul’s Cathedral). Bombay fulfills the big city requirements of age, depth and frenzy, inspiring a chauvinism in its inhabitants, a threadbare metropolitan hauteur rivaled only by Calcutta. My one disappointment came at the Towers of Silence, where the Parsis place their dead to be eaten by vultures. This may strike a casual visitor as solemn barbarity, but it is based on an ecologically sound proposition. The Zoroastrian at the gate would not let me in to verify it. I had been brought there by Mushtaq, my driver, and leaving, I said perhaps the stories were not true – I could not see any vultures. Mushtaq said they were all down at the towers feeding on a corpse. He looked at his watch: ‘Lunchtime.’ He meant mine.
the delhi mail from jaipur ‘What’s this?’ I asked Mr Gopal, the embassy liaison man, pointing to a kind of fortress. ‘That’s a kind of fortress.’
the baboons hopped and chattered and showed their teeth, clustering on the road with a curiosity bordering on menace He had ridiculed the handbook I had been carrying around: ‘You have this big book, but I tell you to close it and leave it at the hotel because Jaipur is like an open book to me.’ Unwisely, I had taken his advice. We were now six miles outside Jaipur, wading ankle-deep through sand drifts towards the wrecked settlement of Galta. Earlier we had passed through a jamboree of some two hundred baboons: ‘Act normal,’ said Mr Gopal, as they hopped and chattered and showed their teeth, clustering on the road with a curiosity that bordered on menace. The landscape was rocky and very dry, and each rugged hill was capped with a cracked fortress. ‘Whose is it?’ ‘The Maharajah’s.’ ‘No, who built it?’ ‘You would not know his name.’ ‘Do you?’ Mr Gopal walked on. It was dusk, and the buildings crammed into the Galta gorge were darkening. A monkey chattered and leaped to a branch in a banyan tree above Mr Gopal’s head, yanking the branch down and making a
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punkah’s whoosh. We entered the gate and crossed the courtyard to some ruined buildings, with coloured frescoes of trees and people on their facades. Some had been raked with indecipherable graffiti and painted over; whole panels had been chiseled away. ‘What’s this?’ I asked. I hated him for making me leave my handbook behind. ‘Ah,’ said Mr Gopal. It was a temple enclosure. Some men dozed in the archways, others squatted on their haunches, and just outside the enclosure were some tea and vegetable stalls whose owners leaned against more frescoes, rubbing them away with their backs. I was struck by the solitude of the place – a few people at sundown, no one speaking, and it was so quiet I could hear the hooves of the goats clattering on the cobblestones, the murmuring of the distant monkeys. ‘A temple?’ Mr Gopal thought for a moment. ‘Yes,’ he said finally, ‘a kind of temple.’ Paul Theroux is an award-winning travel writer and novelist
the great railway express
kashmir dreams after years of insurgent violence, Jammu and kashmir are slowly rebuilding, and attempting to win back tourists. as helen pidd reports, despite the region’s stunning scenery, there is a lot of work left to do
the india issue / kashmir dreams
kashmir dreams / the india issue
T
wo years ago, the old city in Srinagar was the sort of place police would only venture i nto wea r i n g body armour. A stronghold for violent separatists agitating for an independent Kashmir, it was at the centre of uprisings that left more than 100 people dead, buried along with dreams of peace in the mountainous north-Indian region. How quickly things change. This week, carefree tourists lined up in the same streets for barbecued mutton tikka and steaming plates of rogan josh. The Nowhatta mosque, where in the summer of 2010 youths would gather after Friday prayers to lob stones at the security forces (an episode commemorated in graffiti on a nearby wall declaring the area Srinagar’s Gaza Strip), is to become a stopoff on an official walking tour focused on heritage, crafts and markets. Down by Dal lake, houseboats like the one in which George Harrison once stayed have been booked out months in advance. In the stunning mughal gardens lining the lake’s green slopes, visitors can have their picture taken against one of Asia’s prettiest backdrops. Until the snow melted, the ski resorts in nearby Gulmarg were packed with rich Russians, too. In 2002, just over 27,000 tourists dared to visit the Kashmir Valley, frightened off by the anti-Indian insurgency, which has claimed up to 70,000 lives since erupting in 1989. So far this year, according to official figures, the area has received almost one million holidaymakers – more than 23,000 of them from outside India. But fewer than 150 Britons were among them – largely because the UK’s Foreign Office refuses to amend its somewhat hair-raising advice, 108 the india issue / Kashmir dreams
which deters most travellers by providing a list of recent security incidents in the region, including two grenade attacks in August. “Be aware that the level of consular assistance that we can provide in Jammu and Kashmir is extremely limited,” reads the warning. Omar Abdullah, the state’s Essexborn chief minister, has lobbied the British high commission in Delhi to relax the guidelines, but to no avail. “It’s a source of frustration,” admitted the 42-year-old, who has been in charge of India’s most sensitive state since the start of 2009. “Today, unfortunately, as a result of that travel advisory, people’s insurance is null and void when they visit here. The moment that happens, then obviously nobody’s going to visit.” “When did you last hear of a foreign tourist being targeted here?” he asked. The last publicised case of foreign tourists being murdered in J&K was in 1995, when six westerners including two Britons were kidnapped by Al-Faran, a Kashmiri militant Islamist group. Only one escaped with his life. “You’ve had British citizens killed more recently in countries that you still haven’t stopped people from visiting. I mean, how many British citizens did you lose in 9/11? Did you stop people from visiting New York? You’ve lost them in Spain, in Bali, tell me where you haven’t lost them,” said Abdullah. “ We’ve lost Indians in L ondon. There is still a possibility that al-Qaida could do something stupid like they have done in the past, but we haven’t stopped Indians from travelling to London. There is no reason to single out Jammu and Kashmir, or even Srinagar, as an unsafe destination.” Germany relaxed its guidelines for those thinking of travelling to the region last year. “Foreigners are general-
kashmir is attracting tourists again, one million in 2012 alone ly not direct targets of clashes,” counselled Germany’s amended advice. At the time, it was viewed by many outsiders as a bold move, coming less than a year after the 2010 disturbances finally died down. A n at ionw ide b a n k hol id ay i n August marked 65 years of Indian independence – in the past, a day fraught with peril in a state where many do not feel part of the world’s biggest democracy. Two years ago, Srinagar celebrated Independence Day under militar y rule, after Abdullah called in the army to quell protests for the first time in two decades. A strict curfew had been in place for several months and on the day itself a policeman hurled a shoe at Abdullah as he was taking the salute at the official function at the city’s Bakshi stadium. At India’s independence celebrations on Wednesday, the mood in the stadium was quite different. The empty seating suggested locals are some way off celebrating their state’s
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role as part of modern India, but there was no trouble, either. Wearing a lambskin karakul cap and crisp white tunic, Abdullah stressed his commitment to tackling pockets of militancy, and saluted as bagpipe-playing troops marched by to a jaunty Urdu classic. Kashmir is becoming less militarised, he insisted the previous day. Fort y militar y bunkers have been removed from Srinagar, he said, and a number of paramilitary battalions have been sent packing after proving surplus to requirements.
the locals want more tourists, but there is a lot of work to do He admitted the scale of the securit y presence in the state could be off-putting: gun-toting soldiers guard checkpoints and roadblocks on roads throughout the state, so much of which is still out of bounds behind barbed wire. But he insisted the oftquoted figure of half a million soldiers – one for every 24 citizens – was wide of the mark. Yet Abdullah freely admitted this week that normality was “quite a long way off ”. In April, he talked of with-
drawing the much-hated armed forces special powers act from certain areas. This controversial law gives unbridled powers to the securit y services, allowing them to kill with legal immunity. But after a number of militant incidents – such as on 31 July, when three people were injured, including a policeman, in two grenade attacks on a police station and market in Sopore – this has been put on the backburner . The chief minister insists tourists are safe in the state, “as long as you take the sort of precautions that one normally would”. In other words, do not go trekking near the Line of Control, the sensitive de-facto border that separates the Indian and Pakistani controlled parts of J&K, and avoid flashpoint towns such as Sopore. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, leader of the pro-Kashmiri independence Hurriyat Conference part y, disagrees bit terly w ith much of Abdullah ’s politics. But on the issue of tourism, the two are united. At the start of the summer season, Geelani w rote an open letter to tourists and pilgrims t hat said: “ Whatever you r fait h, whatever language you speak and to whatever region you belong, we are bound by a common bond, the bond of humanity. You are our honoured guest, respect ing a nd protect ing guests is not only our moral obligation but article of faith.” Some visitors may worry about the ethics of having fun in a place with a population suffering from record levels of anxiety and mental health problems – and balk at politicians encouraging tourism when so many painful issues are left unaddressed, such as the discovery last year of thousands of unmarked graves. But Srinagar’s locals are wholeheartedly in favour of tourism. Amjid Gulzar, 26, a geopolitics student whose kashmir dreams / the india issue 111
family has run a tailoring business in the city since 1842, said Abdullah could search for truth and reconciliation as well as encouraging foreign visitors. “He must do both; but without tourism, our economy will be in chaos,” he said, adding that while he welcomed the million tourists who visited this year, Kashmir had to do more to attract big-spending visitors, especially foreigners. “We need better infrastructure, better roads, reliable electricity. We need more for tourists to do in the evening – we don’t even have one cinema in this city and there isn’t enough for tourists to do after dark,” he said. But will tourists feel welcome? A local Islamic group ruffled feathers in June after issuing a ‘dress code’ for foreign tourists. Abdullah sighed at the mention of that furore. “Nobody expects tourists to come here and adopt the burqa or the abaya, or to cover their faces. I think what they were talking about was short shorts and sleeveless vests, which even then would not be something that would attract too much attention … I think the basic point they were making was: be sensitive to our cultural identity and dress appropriately. I think that’s common sense.” Not, he insisted, that he was also urging foreign visitors to cover up. “I believe that people should be free to choose what they like. I believe that neither our culture nor our religion is threatened just because somebody dresses differently. I should have enough strength in my own convictions not to be swayed by somebody just because they are dressed in less than I’m dressed in.” Abdullah said he was on a tourism drive “for no other reason than the fact that I need to stimulate the economy”. J&K’s finances are in a 112 the india issue / kashmir dreams
dire state after more than two decades of turmoil. The state receives just $115m each year in taxes, and yet the salary bill for the 500,000 public employees is $248m, he said. Add a whopping pension liability plus millions on electricity subsidies and it is clear why he needs to find more funds, fast. For now, though, he is just cautiously pleased to see tourists back. “I’m not suggesting that because we’ve had one million tourists here that it’s a sign of normality,” he said. “But it gives
lake dal was made famous by george harrison in the 1960s me some satisfaction that people can come, have a nice time, and go back.” The man tasked with bringing peace to Kashmir was not born in the troubled valley, but in Essex, in Westcliffon-Sea in 1970. This quiet, measured man is the product of a love affair between an Indian doctor and a British nurse, who met working at a hospital in Great Yarmouth. But Omar Abdullah has long shaken off any Essex accent, his family having moved back to India when he was just
five. His father, Farooq Abdullah, left the medical profession to move into politics, eventually serving as chief minister three times between 1982 and 2002. Omar’s grandfather, Sheikh Abdullah, also held down the same job, spending time in jail for advocating Kashmiri independence. All three men have represented the National Conference, the largest political party in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. These days, the party campaigns for more devolved powers from Delhi rather than full-blown independence. When Omar took office in 2009, hopes were high that this political princeling could heal the ravaged state. But he disappointed many by failing to quell violent uprisings in the summers of 2009 and 2010. The jury is out on whether he can take any credit for the relative calm that has reigned in his state for the past two years. A modest pragmatist, he said this week that “organisational fatigue” had as much to do with the quiet than any of his measures. In other words: the militants and stonethrowers got fed up. He is similarly blunt about India’s chances of becoming a superpower. “Sending a mission to Mars is not a symbol of being a superpower, nor is being able to explode a nuclear bomb,” he said, adding: “While one would like to see that sort of ambition realised, there are far more important ambitions – clean drinking water, food, regular supply of electricity. Maybe more medals in the Olympics!” Abdullah said he cheered along Team GB in London, as well as his national side, and says he likes British food (his mum, Mollie, does a “mean Sunday roast”, apparently). He is a regular visitor to the country of his birth, relishing the freedom anonym-
ity brings. In J&K he is always flanked by bodyguards and travels in a convoy of at least nine cars. In Britain, he whizzes down the M25 all alone with no care in the world – probably listening to Abba, his favourite band. So strong is his love for the Swedish quartet that he happily admits to watching Mamma Mia in the West End. Four times. So what is Kashmir like to visit? Stepping out of the terminal at Srinagar airport, it is clear you have not arrived in a typical tourist resort. Surrounded by camouf laged army barracks and guarded by an
there is skiing, trekking and the eerie ladakh desert unusually large number of unsmiling armed soldiers, it feels more like a military installation than a tourist hotspot-in-waiting. The fact that draconian securit y measures will probably prevent your foreign mobile phone from working – or indeed any pay-as-you-go sim bought outside Jammu and Kashmir – adds to the unsettling feeling. Driving through the streets of the
state’s summer capital, police officers and paramilitaries sometimes seem to outnumber civilians; barbed wire still keeps people away from sensitive locations and manned military bunkers are still stationed at certain key junctions. But all this will be forgotten when you make it up to Pari Mahal, the terraced mughal garden on the Zabarwan mountain, and catch your first glimpse of lake Dal. This 7 square miles of freshwater was made famous in the 1960s when George Har rison lear ned to play sitar on one of the hundreds of wooden houseboats bobbing around the shore. Still very popular today, these romantic vessels have names such as Helen of Troy or Mona Lisa and are responsible both for much of the lake’s charm – and also its pollution. Green algae covers large swaths of the water, feeding off the untreated sewage dumped by all too many of the boats. Outside of Srinagar, the state of Jammu and Kashmir has much to offer. There is top-notch skiing at Gulmarg, a ski station reached by one of the world’s highest cable cars. With six mountain ranges in the state, including the Great Himalayas, there is great hiking and trekking, particularly in the high-altitude desert region of Ladakh in the north, which has a lunar quality. Motorcyclists love the road to the city of Leh, as it goes through many high passes including Fotu-La, which is 4,108 metres above sea level. A n ot h e r s u m m e r h i g h l i g ht i s S on a m a r g , s ome 6 0 m i le s f r om Srinagar, a blooming valley full of alpi ne f lowers, backed by snowcapped mountains. Helen Pidd is a Guardian reporter and author of a book on everyday cycling
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the india issue / bollywood west
bollywood west / the india issue
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a k i n g fi l m s i n India is hard not b e c au s e o f t h e heat, or the bureaucracy, or the traffic. Not even, says Liz Mermin, the director of Bollywood underworld exposé Shot in Bombay, because its superstar subject Sanjay Dutt grew nervous about the project. “The hardest thing for a film-maker is that you fly there, look around, take out your camera – and everything is a cliche. Poverty, chaos, cows, flowers: I was going around desperately looking for a shot I hadn’t seen before.” That difficulty – to say nothing of the challenge of depicting India in more than just Western terms – led Louis Malle to name the first section of his six-hour Phantom India (1969), The Impossible Camera. Yet, even though ‘India’ in its teeming multiplicity may be as much a conceit as ‘the West,’ many directors have stepped up to this challenge. Jean Renoir’s The River (1951), Roberto Rossellini’s India: Matri Bhumi (1959), Fritz Lang’s The Tiger of Eschnapur (1959), Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Notes For A Film On India (1967), Werner Herzog’s Jag Mandir (1991), and, yes, Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire (2008) are just a fraction of the films that have sought to make their outsider perspectives a virtue. Now joining that list are John Madden’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Michael Winterbottom’s Trishna. The former, an adaptation of Deborah Moggach’s 2004 novel These Foolish Things, follows a group of English pensioners (Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton) as they travel to a retirement sanctuary in Jaipur that, although more decrepit than either the brochure or its manager (Dev Patel) let on, proves to be a much-
loved base for them as they go about reenvisaging and rebuilding their lives. Trishna , meanwhile, is the latest instalment in Winterbottom’s ongoing dedication to bringing the novels of Thomas Hardy to the big screen. Following Jude (1996) and The Claim (2000), his version of The Mayor of Casterbridge, he has relocated Tess of the D’Urbervilles to modern-day India. In the title role, Freida Pinto plays a smalltown girl who, after her father has an accident, goes to work for a rich British businessman (Riz Ahmed) with whom she falls in love. They move, first to a turbulent Mumbai, later to palatial Rajasthan where he runs a hotel, but over time their relationship fractures and darkens. In some ways, these films are poles apart. Madden, best known as the director of Shakespeare In Love , describes The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as “a comedy of dislocation” that “evokes the form of a William Shakespeare comedy whose characters are transplanted to a different environment”. Ol Parker’s screenplay is informed by politics – its starting point is the outsourcing of old age, a phenomenon promoted by Indian finance minister Jaswant Singh in 2003 when he pushed for the nation to become a “global health destination” – but certainly not defined by it. By contrast, Trishna is a tragedy marked by improvised acting, cityscapes full of MTV-style billboards, yuppie bars and dance studios, and, in no small part due to Marcel Zyskind’s atmospheric, hand-held photography, a persistent mood of ellipsis and in-betweenness. Winterbottom is more attuned to the social and economic niceties of his characters: “In the novel, Tess’s family is one of the poorest in the village,” he says. “In Trishna they’re the equivalent of a
lower middle-class family. They aspire to benefit from the changes but find themselves in a situation that’s difficult with the growing economy, urbanisation and changing values.” Yet it’s precisely this fascination with India as a place in flux that the two films have in common. Historically, outsider artists have tended to portray the nation as old, spiritual, rural, in thrall to tradition. For some, this was its appeal, for others, a curse. In Dick Fontaine’s Temporary Person Passing
Through (1965), a melancholic James Cameron (the veteran journalist, not the director) laments: “There’s too much of everything, too many people, too many cows, too many problems. Too much India, really.” Now, in 2012, when Indian politicians are increasingly embracing neoliberalism and boasting of the country’s Bric status, it’s more likely to be depicted as a modern, urban, entrepreneur-friendly tiger economy. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel relocates Moggach’s novel from IT hub Bangalore to more picturesque Jaipur, but still shows an India that’s the dynamic antithesis to – even the cure for – a Britain defined by failed internet ventures, hip-operation waiting lists and cramped bungalow homes. “Transformation is at its heart,” argues Parker. For Winterbottom, whose In This World and Code 46 showcased his appreciation of the cultural dynamics and faultlines that animate contemporary globalisation, the transformations in India serve to cast a cruel spotlight on Britain. “Hardy’s novels are often about modernity and speed and energy. But it’s hard to get that sense of a dynamically changing world if you set one in this country. Here the problems are more to do with a lack of mobility rather than an excess of it.” bollywood west / the india issue 119
Is there a danger that this fascination with the turbo-economics of the East becomes a new kind of orientalism, one in its own way as romanticising as Eat Pray Love’s ascription of superior wisdom to India? Ashim Ahluwalia, Mumbai-based director of John and Jane (2005), a brilliantly disturbing drama-documentary mashup about urban identity in modern India, believes it is: “In order to understand with any depth what it means to be Indian today, we should stop endorsing the collective fantasy of ‘India Shining’ – this laughable state of mind in which many modern Indians imagine a new incredible India that looks and feels like a first-world nation.”
120 the india issue / bollywood west
Anjalika Sagar, one half of the Otolith Group, whose films explore radical and utopian flashpoints since the war, says: “India is proud of its film industry and its tourist industry. Often these are the same thing. The country’s history, nature and air are under threat. Mining companies are setting its agenda. Millions of people are being displaced. How can you make a film about the country without engaging with its socio-political underclass?” Sagar looks back on the 1980s with a touch of nostalgia. Although films and TV series such as Gandhi, The Far
Pavilions and The Jewel In The Crown were sometimes accused of stoking a Raj revival, a foretaste of what writer
Pankaj Mishra has dubbed the “neoimperialist vision” of Niall Ferguson and other evangelists for the empire, she defends them for “at least engaging with questions of power. Independence wasn’t so far in the past back then. Now, with a tiny number of exceptions, there’s no attention to the history of colonialism. There’s an amnesia within India.” If that’s true, it might represent an opportunity for British directors and screenwriters – though they shouldn’t assume that taking it will guarantee them either audiences or appreciation. “In the big cities especially there’s often a real [go away] attitude towards the West,” laughs Mermin. “There’s
not a trace of cultural insecurity that a particular postcolonial sensibility might wish to see.” A hluwalia puts it another way: “We’ve always been eating brains in Indiana Jones films or stammering awkward English sentences in various other Western productions, so I don’t think we have high expectations.” Liverpool may have spawned The Beatles and Birmingham was the boiler-room of the industrial revolution, but Southall, a drab suburb on
the western edge of London, has just as many cultural connotations – if you’re Indian. Having been settled by immigrants from the subcontinent since the 1950s (including my grandfather), this assortment of sari shops, temples and halal butchers is known to Indian communities everywhere – whether in Delhi, Nairobi or New York. Southall, of course, is nuts about Bollywood, the cinematic glue that binds Indians together; it provides the music, stories, fashions and values that enable
a Punjabi cab driver in Chicago to have an rapport with a Gujarati radiologist in Berlin. In Britain, Bollywood movies play at more than 50 cinemas every week, and routinely feature in the top 10. That Bollywood is now more successful in Britain than British films, despite being watched almost exclusively by Asians, proves its importance to Indian immigrants and their sense of themselves. So when Bollywood came to Southall, it was the perfect chance to see
ther in the 1979 Southall riots (though he doesn’t mind selling them fags, Hula Hoops and cartons of milk). As history records, someone was killed for real in those riots – but it was a white man, Blair Peach, an antiracist activist. That’s not explored here – what Indian audiences want is a tale about embattled migrants pulling themselves up by their bootstraps while loyally clinging to their roots. Despite the spicy smells and religious music wafting across its high street, Southall is very British. I spent much of my youth there, and passed my teens smoking, drinking Thunderbird, playing football and tr ying to pull girls – the ones that didn’t wear 3ft plaits and weren’t cooped up indoors by their parents, that is. But the only ones on offer – big-haired, white-stilettoed, denim-skirted divas – only had eyes for mullet-wearing, drain-pipe-trousered gang-members who drove Ford Capris, blaring reggae music. Southall in the 1980s was a bhangra version of Quadrophenia. But
how the industry works. It also gave me a chance to get a foot on the bottom rung of the Bollywood ladder: I had been promised a small speaking role opposite Akshay Kumar, one of India’s biggest stars. Kumar had come to shoot Patiala House, in which he plays a good Sikh lad who works in his dad’s corner shop but wants to play cricket for England. Dad, a brusque, turbaned patriarch, wants nothing to do with the British because of the murder of his own fa-
this very British reality won’t make it into the movie because no one in India would recognise it. So instead, Patiala House is an intergenerational drama about a squeaky-clean Sikh who’s only transgression is to play cricket with the white boys. My first scene was an engagement ceremony at a Sikh temple; I was told to bring a turban. It was tied by a young Sikh assistant, Jassi, whose break in this industry came precisely because he’s the only one on set who knows how to tie one. “Only Sikhs tie it with pride,” he said. I’d never worn one before, and was surprised by its weight. While waiting, I met Gurdial Singh, a 70-year-old actor playing a minor character. Inspired by the dreamy glamour of Bollywood, he ran away from Uganda to Mumbai when he was
20, lost his turban, cut his hair and sought his fortune. I asked him what was so special about acting. “Everyone knows you,” he replied with a typically Indian lack of guile. “Even if you’re not a top star in Hindi movies, you still become very famous. You can become a millionaire doing some other business, but no one will know you.” He then went on to tell me a very long story about sharing a bowl of nuts with Sean Connery on the set of Time Bandits. Mingling with the crew at lunch, I heard rumours Akshay’s fee was $3 million. I also met Bala, a thin, greying man who works in costume. He was raised in a Mumbai slum and got into the movies aged 16, through his brother who was an on-set dogsbody. Bollywood enabled this very ordinary Indian to see the world and live a life his peers couldn’t dream of. I asked him how much he earned. “It is by agreement,” he replied. “It can be 40,000 rupees ($900), it can 100,000 ($2,200). But then I stay until the film is made. It can be three months, it can be a year.” The worst-case scenario would leave him earning as little as $80 a month. Unsurprisingly, Bala didn’t want his children to work in the movies: “I want them to finish their education and work with computers.” Afterwards, I was called to the set. Any romantic illusions I had about being an actor disappeared over the next few hours, as I experienced the tedium of film-making. I sat behind one of Bollywood’s elder statesmen, Rishi Kapoor (playing Akshay’s father), and I could barely stay awake during the repeated takes. Kapoor had been a massive star throughout the 1970s and 80s, when he was a freshfaced pretty boy who played lovestruck innocents. Now he is bloated and gruff. Earlier, I had heard him shouting at his assisbollywood west / the india issue 123
tant for doses of artificial sweetener. Kapoor’s stardom was rooted in a Punjabi dynasty, founded by his grandfather, that has dominated Bollywood for five generations – his father, Raj, and uncles, Shammi and Shashi (who married Felicity Kendal’s sister, Jennifer, in 1958) were all stars, as are his nieces, Kareena and Karisma, and his son, Ranbir. All power in India is dynastic, from the Gandhis to the Tatas. Bollywood is no different. Outside the room, a crowd seethed to get a sight of the action; the security guards were having trouble keeping control. One woman claimed it was her birthday to try to get on to the set, then burst into tears when she was not believed. Her husband, almost as tear124 the india issue / bollywood west
ful, piously implored: “Why would she lie in a house of God?” The extent of the obsession Indians have with movie stars became clear the next day, when shooting moved to a corner shop. An even bigger crowd gathered, filling the pavement outside and across the street, colonising a traffic island. I met Irfan, a 25-year-old student, who’d waited all day for a glimpse of Akshay, who wasn’t even his favourite star. That position belongs to Shahrukh Khan. “I’m crazy about him,” he gushed. “I think about him 24-7. The way he speaks, the way he looks, the way he carries himself. He’s like a god. When I see him I will cry, I won’t be able to hold my emotions. I take it really bad
when people talk crap about him. Last night, my friend abused Shahrukh and I punched the wall.” Pondering his bruised knuckles, I asked if he might fancy Shahrukh – just a bit. “No. I love him because he’s a great guy, not because I am a gay.” I caught the director, Nikhil Advani, and asked him what makes Bollywood different. “When you make a film in the West, you can make a pure comic film or a pure drama, or a period film. In India you have to put everything into the same pot,” he said. “Indians are a very passionate people, they’re extremely expressive, they don’t keep their feelings to themselves. In the typical day of an Indian, they go through various emotions, and that’s what they want to
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see in a movie. They want comedy, music, melodrama.” And what drives him to make films, despite the pressure? “I would love to say the passion for cinema, but at the end of the day, I think, making some money.” When I was finally called into the shop for my one tiny line, I became a bag of nerves. The direction I got didn’t help. Advani gave orders to an assistant, who shouted them to another, who simultaneously told me. This cacophony of overlapping voices inevitably turned into Chinese whispers. Like so much I’ve experienced in India, a perfectly simple task suddenly became frightening and unnecessarily complex. All I needed do was stand still, listen for a cue, then turn and walk out of the shop, passing the woman playing Gattu’s mother – Dimple Kapadia, a major star since the 1970s (and also Akshay’s mother-in-law). But when Nikhil shouted “action”, I got into a muddle and cannoned straight 126 the india issue / bollywood west
into Dimple, grabbing her quickly as she tumbled backwards into the street. No woman likes being barged and manhandled, particularly former movie sirens, and the glare she gave me in that moment made my blood run cold. As Advani took several more takes, my only thought was: “Don’t bump into Dimple.” I wasn’t called back again, and when I asked when I’d be speaking my line, an assistant said it would be tomorrow. Later, I visited Akshay’s trailer and watched him eat a plate of salmon and roasted vegetables with his hands, as if it were dhal and chapatis. He was raised in a modest middle-class household before learning martial arts, which led to the movies. Now 42 and one of India’s most famous faces, friendly and welcoming, he sat me down, offered me food and bantered in Punjabi. I asked him what his secret was. “A Bollywood star must be a very good actor,” he told me. “Above that, he must
be a great human being.” Only in India, the land that irony forgot, do people say something like that. “You have to be good-looking. You have be able to act, dance, do action. It’s so demanding.” Does he miss being able to live a normal life without the pressure of stardom? “I don’t care,” he says. “I go walking. I use the tube. I go to the movies with my wife.” Doesn’t he get mobbed? “I do. I shake hands, then they settle down. I have to go with my bodyguard, but I don’t want to miss out. The audience only want to shake my hand.” And my role? Advani told me to go home and await a phone call; it never came. My chance to make it in Bollywood never materialised, but I did get a peek under the bonnet of an industry that has been a big part of my life, and those of over a billion others. And it remains as mysterious to me as ever.” Sukhdev Sandhu is a film and culture writer who has written extensively for the UK press
KIHAAD MALDIVES
A scenic 35-minute ride on a seaplane past unbelievable atoll formations takes you to a pocket of paradise nestled within the azure blue waters of Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. A pearl of beauty of 118 villas in 6 different categories all tastefully decorated in luxurious comfort in a truly traditional Maldivian setting. All villas offers you utmost privacy and sweeping vistas of clear blue skies and glistening white sandy beaches, just a step away from the inviting pleasures of the aquamarine waters and a vibrant and preserved coral reef, promising you the ultimate in luxurious solitude and tranquility. The resort also boasts of a vast array of recreational facilities, an incredible over water SPA, a fitness centre, Water sports, swimming pool, tennis, beach volley, squash, excursions and an intriguing Diving centre that will give you the chance to experience Hanifaru Bay, one of the most famous marine reserve in the world.
Kihaad Maldives…simply gorgeous!
www.kihaadmaldives.com
urban renewal six indian cities revisited
text: satu susanna rommi //illustrations: sam falconer
Kochi
K
ochi (Cochin) in Kerala has a long history as a centre of spice trade. Cardamom, black pepper and other spices grow in abundance in Kerala’s Western Ghats, and spices have been traded in Kochi for more than 600 years. In the 15th century Kochi attracted Arab, Jewish and Christian settlers from the Middle East, and from the 16th century it lured first the Portuguese and the Dutch and then the British, who all wanted a share in the lucrative spice trade. The city had connections to Chinese merchants and traditional Chinese fishing nets are still seen especially in the Fort Cochin area.
Today Kochi is Kerala’s financial capital and has a busy commercial port. As well as descendants from Arab traders, Jewish settlers and Europeans, the modern cosmopolitan Kochi has communities of Western expats, students from Asian countries and newcomers from other parts of South India. Fort Cochin is a good area to see colonial architecture or to browse local markets. Don’t miss Kathakali, the traditional Kerala dance drama. Kochi is the birthplace of the Onam Festival, a major festival celebrated for ten days around August and September, and it is also a starting point for trips to Kerala’s backwaters.
Mysuru
M
ysore, or Mysuru as it is now called, has just a million residents and is small for an Indian city. Its proximity to IT city Bengaluru means that Mysuru is growing fast: software companies have appeared here too and property prices are rising. New shopping malls, trendy coffee bars and restaurants open frequently, but so far this South Indian city has managed to keep much of its old charm, and its pace of life is still slower than in Bengaluru. Visitors to Mysuru are often positively surprised by its beautiful old buildings, palaces, markets and green spaces.
The Wodeyar dynasty of maharajas once ruled the state of Mysore from the stunning Mysore Palace, now one of the main tourist attractions in the city. On the outskirts of Mysore rises the Chamundi Hill with a temple devoted to the fierce goddess Chamundeswari (Durga), who is celebrated during the 10-day Dasara festival in October. The slightly derelict Devaraja Market in the city centre is a great place to shop for fruit, vegetables, herbs, incense, colorful kumkum powder and perfumes. Mysore is also famous for its silk and its sandalwood, and over the past decade it has become one of the main centres for learning yoga in India. cities / the india issue 131
hyderabad
H
yderabad in South India’s Andhra Pradesh is a growing metropolis and IT hub, but it is also a city rich in culture and history. The twin cities Hyderabad and Secunderabad were once major centres of Islamic culture and Muslim rule in South India. Today Hyderabad is often known by its nickname Cyberabad, a reference to its large information technology sector and software industry that rival those of Bengaluru. Both Google and Microsoft have their India headquarters in Hyderabad. Most historical sites are in Old Hyderabad, a walled
city with mosques, monuments and vibrant bazaars. The Mecca Masjid is one of India’s oldest mosques, and Hyderabad’s beautiful Islamic architecture is often compared to the Mughal architecture in North Indian cities. Secunderabad is the modern, westernised part of the city, where most software companies, businesses and modern shopping malls are located. North and South India meet in Hyderabad. It is a South Indian city but its culture and architecture have major Islamic influences, and its most popular food is the Hyderabad biryani: a mix of local influences and Mughlai cuisine.
chennai
C
hennai (previously called Madras) is the fourth biggest city in India and the capital of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is a major centre of South Indian culture, especially music, classical dance and arts. One of the highlights of Chennai’s busy cultural year is the December Season, when traditional culture is celebrated in concerts, festivals and performances. Hundreds of concerts feature Carnatic music (South Indian classical music) as well as dance including Bharatanatyam – the classic Tamil Nadu dance that is said to be the oldest dance form in India. Chennai is also the home of Tamil cinema, and its movie industry has earned the city its nickname Kollywood.
Chennai’s 12 km long Marina Beach faces the Bay of Bengal and is a popular place to meet people, walk along the beach and eat street food. Mylapore is the old part of Chennai and has many fascinating temples and churches, including the Basilica of San Thome, known as the last resting place of St. Thomas. Chennai has a busy international airport and is an important entry point to Southeast India. It is also a starting point for visiting the fascinating destinations along the East Coast Road: Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) – a small town known for its temples and stone carving – and the old French colonial town Puducherry (Pondicherry). cities / the india issue 133
KolKata
K
olkata (Calcutta), India’s second biggest city and the capital of West Bengal, is often called the intellectual capital of India. Kolkata has been the birthplace or the home city of many poets, writers and other important Indian figures, including Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), the Nobel Prize -winning poet, and Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), the famous 19th century ambassador of Hinduism to the West. One of the most internationally famous residents was Mother Teresa (1910-1997), the Roman Catholic nun who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work in Kolkata.
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Calcutta (as it was called until 2001) was the capital of British India until 1911, when the capital was moved to Delhi. Architectural highlights from the colonial era include the Victoria Memorial and the Fort William. Kolkata also has the biggest museum in India: the Indian Museum has 35 galleries with exhibitions in science and culture. Make sure to take a trip on a tram in Kolkata, the only Indian city with a tram service. Kolkata is an excellent place to sample Bengali food, especially the sweets that Bengali cuisine is famous for. Popular sweets and desserts include Rasgulla (soft balls of cottage cheese soaked in syrup) and Mishti Doi, sweetened yoghurt.
Photograph by Brigitte Lacombe © 2012
DOHAFILMINSTITUTE.COM
bengaluru
B
engaluru is known as India’s ‘Silicon Valley’ thanks to its booming IT industry. The buzzing capital of the South Indian state Karnataka was renamed Bengaluru in 2006, although many still call it Bangalore. With its eight million residents Bengaluru is one of the fastest growing cities in India and home to software companies, telecommunications companies and universities that attract students from around India and from abroad. Bengaluru has a large population of 20 to 30-year-olds with money to spend, and it has places to spend it. With its 136 the india issue / cities
stylish shops, malls, coffee shops and bars especially around MG Road, Bengaluru is one of the most westernised cities in India. Bengaluru is also surprisingly green for a large Indian city and its parks and gardens have earned it another nickname, ‘Garden City.’ In the past Bengaluru was famous for its traffic jams, but the newly opened metro should make moving around the city easier than before. The new Bengaluru International Airport is a busy transport hub and Bengaluru has excellent travel connections to all parts of South India.
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into the deep
Mark Hanauer’s photographs of India capture the beauty, chaos, and vibrancy of the nation. From Mumbai to Jodphur to Varanasi, his work showcases India as it is
Bakery Mahim Slum Mumbai
Fabric Dyers Blue City Jodhpur
Segregated Train Victoria Terminus Mumbai
Taxi driver Mumbai
Blue City Jodphur
briefing p. 153 • french connection
P. 154 • cALoMBAriS on SonG
p. 156 • enVironMent
p. 166 • fLeet
SeVenth
heAVeairnline
es the emiratrugby i a b u d ack! sevens is b
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151
FReNCh CoNNeCTioN As Emirates launches its new passenger service to Lyon, we take a look at what to see in France’s second biggest city
1 Notre Dame de Fourviere Built in 1872, the Notre Dame is a basilica that sits on a hill offering stunning views of the lower parts of the city. Based in the area of Fourvière it was an important strategic point for Roman provincial leaders who oversaw the area nearly 2,000 years ago.
2 Place Bellecour The largest pedestrian square in Europe, the Place Bellecour is a must-see for visitors to Lyon. Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the square contains, among other things, an art gallery, a ferris wheel and a statue of King Louis XIV mounted on a horse. illustration: edward mcgowan
3 St. Jean’s Cathedral Unique for its spectacular astrological clock and two crosses that date back to the 13th century, St. Jean’s Cathedral is a must-visit. Outside, the archaeological gardens house remains that date back to the 4th century BC.
4 River cruises The Rhone is one of Europe’s major rivers and Lyon is the largest city that it flows through. Another major French river, the Saone, joins the Rhone in Lyon, and the promenade where the Rhone-Saone meets is a great sightseeing spot for tourists.
5 Traboules Lyon’s famous Traboules are tunnel-like passages that run through buildings leading to courtyards and gardens. Though many of these historic structures are now blocked off several dozen remain open to the public and can be visited for free. They are credited with helping the French Resistance defend the city from Germans during The Second World War.
Perfect timing Don’t miss your next Emirates flight. Be at your departure gate no later than 45 minutes before your flight departs. Passengers reporting late at the departure gate may not be accepted for travel.
news
emirates briefing 153
Q&A: GeoRGe CAlomBARiS
RuGBy FeveR
Open Skies sat down with Australian MasterChef judge George Calombaris ahead of Emirates’ new A380 service between Melbourne and Dubai
Warm up your vocal chords, slap on the face paint and ready yourself for some hard-hitting action as the annual Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens returns at the end of this month. Held between November 29 and December 1, the annual rugby tournament is the second of nine stops on the HSBC Sevens World Series circuit that sees 16 of the world’s best seven-a-side rugby playing nations pitted against each other. Since the event started 43 years ago and the construction of a 50,000 capacity purpose-built stadium, the Sevens has grown to become Dubai’s biggest sporting event attracting close to 100,000 spectators over the weekend.
Do you often fly with Emirates?
ous amounts of money for flights and
I’ve flown on Emirates plenty of times.
they expect top-quality service and
It is the easiest way for me to fly be-
food. There needs to be a certain under-
tween my restaurants in Melbourne and
standing that when you are flying at a
Mykonos in Greece.
certain altitude, things change. We taste things differently. So there needs to be a
What is the thing you look forward to most about flying?
certain understanding.
Good hospitality. I find flying a great way to escape and have time to think –
What is the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?
no phones, no emails, just time to switch
I ate a 1,000-year-old egg once – it
From November 28th to December
off and take stock. Although I was for-
was disgusting.
9th, Dubai will host the world’s biggest
tunate enough to fly First Class on an
PARAChuTiNG WoRlD ChAmPioNShiPS parachuting and skydiving competition, the Mondial 2012.
was completely taken aback when one of
What is special about the Melbourne dining scene?
the cabin crew told me that they’d like to
When I fly to Melbourne I still get butter-
World Championships of six different
book me into the spa.
flies in my stomach. Yes, I am biased, but
parachuting and skydiving disciplines,
you truly have some world-class food
and see 29 world champions crowned.
Emirates A380 once – it was incredible. I
The Mondial will bring together the
How do you see inflight meals have changed over the past 20 years?
there. It is such a melting pot of cultures:
Set against the backdrop of The Palm,
you can walk one way and have some
more than 1,480 participants from 56 na-
I think for some airlines inflight cuisine
brilliant Italian food and two minutes
tions will compete in events including
has seriously picked up its game – but it
in the other direction and have the most
Formation Skydiving, Free Flying and
has had to. These days people pay seri-
amazing Vietnamese pho.
Accuracy Landing.
154 emi rates briefing
news
uae elected to chair arab aviation environmental committee The UAe represenTATive to the Arab Aviation Environmental Committee has been re-elected as its chairperson.
2014 the year by which iAtA aims to remove all paper air way bills as part of their e-freight initiative. (SoUrCe: www.enviro.aero)
Currently the Manager of Environmental Studies at the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Ms Mariam Al Baloushi, was voted in for her second term as chairperson of the committee. “The selection of the UAE to chair this group for the second time reflects GCAA’s leading environmental role and our efforts to set advanced legislation and standards to serve the civil aviation
emirates Wolgan valley honoured as 2012 World saver
sector,” said Director General of the GCAA, HE Saif Al Suwaidi. As well as the appointment of a new chairperson, the meeting focused on important environmental challenges and the need to establish tighter regulations to deal with environmental issues and greenhouse gas emissions. “The UAE was one of the key Arab states supporting the formation of this committee to address environmental issues in civil aviation,” added Al Suwaidi.
For The second consecutive year, the Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa has won the Condé Nast Traveller World Savers Award, recognising its pioneering work and commitment to wildlife conservation. Based three hours from Sydney, the Emirates-owned carbonneutral resort is nestled between two of Australia’s most prominent national parks, and borders the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. The internationally recognised World
long-haul birds leave oz
Saver Awards recognise travel companies and hotels from around the world for their leadership in social responsibility. To date, over 200,000 indigenous trees have been planted
A migrATory bird has been recorded flying a 27,000km
in wildlife corridors and along creek banks at Wolgan Valley.
round-trip from Australia to Siberia – which would have earned
The resort also incorporates many ecologically sustainable
it some impressive Skywards frequent-flyer miles.
design principles and resource-saving technologies, including
The migration of four Ruddy Turnstones was tracked by Australian researchers, tracing the birds’ route from Australia to
rainwater collection, full recycling of all domestic water and heat exchange technology to reduce electricity consumption.
their breeding grounds in Siberia. The birds were found to fly non-stop from Australia to Taiwan in six days, covering a distance of about 7,600km. On the return journey, they flew from Siberia to Australia via the Pacific, rather than between the Americas, as previously thought. One of the birds took a scenic route back to Australia across the central Pacific, clocking up a total of 27,000km for the round trip. Based on this study, it is believed that a Turnstone could typically travel around 500,000km during its lifetime. 156 emi rates briefing
environment
22.5% the margin by which the emirates fleet is more fuel efficient than the global fleet average. (SoUrCe: emirates)
Before Your JourneY Consult your doCtor before travelling if you have any mediCal ConCerns about making a long journey, or if you suffer from a respiratory or
in the air
CardiovasCular Condition. plan for the destination – will you need any vaCCinations or
To help you arrive at your destination feeling relaxed and refreshed, Emirates has developed this collection of helpful travel tips. Regardless of whether you need to
rejuvenate for your holiday or be effective at achieving your goals on a business trip, these simple tips will help you to enjoy your journey and time on board with Emirates today.
speCial mediCations? get a good night’s rest before the flight. eat lightly and sensibly.
at the airport allow yourself plenty of time
smart traveller dRink plenty of wateR
for CheCk-in. avoid Carrying heavy bags
tRavel lightly
through the airport and onto the flight as this Can plaCe the body under Considerable stress. onCe through to departures try and relax as muCh as possible.
RehydRate with wateR oR juices fRequently.
caRRy only the essential items that
dRink tea and coffee in modeRation.
you will need duRing youR flight.
make youRself comfoRtable
During the flight Chewing and swallowing will help equalise your ear pressure during asCent and desCent.
keep moving
babies and young passengers may suffer more aCutely with popping ears, therefore Consider providing a dummy. get as Comfortable as
loosen clothing, Remove jacket and
exeRcise youR loweR legs and calf
avoid anything pRessing against youR body.
muscles. this encouRages blood flow.
possible when resting and turn frequently. avoid sleeping for long periods in
weaR glasses
use skin moistuRiseR
the same position.
When You arrive try some light exerCise or read if you Can’t sleep after arrival.
cabin aiR is dRieR than noRmal theRefoRe
apply a good quality moistuRiseR to
swap youR contact lenses foR glasses.
ensuRe youR skin doesn’t dRy out.
158 emi rates briefing
COMFORT
INDULGE
Avenue at Etihad Towers is dedicated to exclusive luxur y and home to the world’s most desirable brands. Immerse yourself in Abu Dhabi’s most sophisticated boutique retail destination and indulge in the joy of living and shopping. w w w.AvenueAtEtihadTowers.ae
A . L A N G E & S Ö H N E • BA L LY • B o S S H U G o B o S S • B R E G U E T • BV L G A R I • B U R B E R RY • CA N A L I • CA R T I E R • C H L o é • D E G R I S o G o N o E R M E N E G I L D o Z E G N A • FAU C H o N L E CA F é • G I U S E P P E Z A N o T T I • G I V E N C H Y • H E R M È S • H E RV E L E G E R • I W C s C h A f f h AU s E N JA E G E R - L E Co U LT R E • J . M . W E S To N • K I To N • L A N V I N • M A N o L o B L A H N I K • M o N T B L A N C • o F F I C I N E PA N E R A I • P I AG E T • P o R S C H E D E S I G N Ro G E R D U BU I S • Ro L E X • SA LVATo R E F E R R AGA M o • S T E FA N o R I CCI • S T E P H A N E Ro L L A N D • To M F o R D • VA N CL E E F & A R P E L S • VE R SACE • VE R T U
CAbIn l bE CREw wIl lp hE hAppy To D E If yoU nE
e c n a t s i s s a pleting com the forms
to Us cUstoms & immigration forms Whether you’re travelling to, or through, the United States today, this simple guide to completing the US customs and immigration forms will help to ensure that your journey is
as hassle free as possible. The Cabin Crew will offer you two forms when you are nearing your destination. we provide guidelines below, so you can correctly complete the forms.
customs declaration form
immigration form All passengers arriving into the US need to complete a Customs DeClaration Form. If you are travelling as a family this should be completed by one member only. The form must be completed in English, in capital letters, and must be signed where indicated.
The immigration Form I-94 (Arrival / Departure Record) should be completed if you are a non-US citizen in possession of a valid US visa and your final destination is the US or if you are in transit to a country outside the US. A separate form must be completed for each person, including children travelling on their parents’ passport. The form includes a Departure Record which must be kept safe and given to your airline when you leave the US. If you hold a US or Canadian passport, US Alien Resident Visa (Green Card), US Immigrant Visa or a valid ESTA (right), you are not required to complete an immigration form.
160 emi rates briefing
customs & VIsAs
eleCtroniC system For
wIll ExpIRE AlonG wITh
travel authorisation (esta)
yoUR pASSpoRT.
If yoU ARE An InTERnATIonAl
Apply online At www.cbp.gov/estA
TRAVEllER wIShInG To EnTER ThE UnITED STATES UnDER ThE
nationalities eligible
VISA wAIVER pRoGRAmmE,
For the visa Waiver *:
yoU mUST Apply foR
AnDoRRA, AUSTRAlIA,
ElECTRonIC AUThoRISATIon
AUSTRIA, bElGIUm, bRUnEI,
(ESTA) Up To 72 hoURS pRIoR
CzECh REpUblIC, DEnmARk,
To yoUR DEpARTURE.
ESTonIA, fInlAnD, fRAnCE, GERmAny, hUnGARy, ICElAnD,
esta FaCts:
IRElAnD, ITAly, JApAn, lATVIA,
ChIlDREn AnD
lIEChTEnSTEIn, lIThUAnIA,
InfAnTS REqUIRE An
lUxEmbURG, mAlTA, monACo,
InDIVIDUAl ESTA.
ThE nEThERlAnDS, nEw
ThE onlInE ESTA SySTEm
zEAlAnD, noRwAy, poRTUGAl,
wIll InfoRm yoU whEThER
SAn mARIno, SInGApoRE,
yoUR ApplICATIon hAS bEEn
SloVAkIA, SloVEnIA, SoUTh
AUThoRISED, noT AUThoRISED
koREA, SpAIn, SwEDEn,
oR If AUThoRISATIon
SwITzERlAnD AnD ThE
IS pEnDInG.
UnITED kInGDom**.
A SUCCESSfUl ESTA
*
ApplICATIon IS VAlID
** only british citizens quAlify under the visA wAiver progrAmme.
foR Two yEARS, howEVER
AD
80 mm wide x 224 mm high
subject to chAnge
ThIS mAy bE REVokED oR
ThE SIzE In fooTbAll pITChES, of EmIRATES’ SEVEn AIR-ConDITIonED EnGInEERInG hAnGERS:
17 23
ThE nUmbER of VARIATIonS of SpECIAl mEAlS ThAT CAn bE oRDERED onboARD To mEET RElIGIoUS AnD DIETARy nEEDS
customs & VIsAs
emirates briefing 161
162 EMI RATES BRIEFING
ROUTE MAP
ROUTE MAP
EMIRATES BRIEFING 163
164 emi rates briefing
route map
WHERE ARE YOU GOING? TELL US OR UPLOAD A PIC AT
AD
FACEBOOK.COM/OPENSKIESMAGAZINE TWITTER.COM/OPENSKIESMAG
route map
emirates briefing 165
et ins e l f the nta
cO Of leet ade up f r s Ou es. M plane lan r e p s 2 g e 9 n 1 n asse gO pla 184 p r a 8c and
Boeing 777-300ER Number of Aircraft: 81 Capacity: 354-442 Range: 14,594km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 64.8m
Boeing 777-300 Number of Aircraft: 12 Capacity: 364 Range: 11,029km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 60.9m
Boeing 777-200LR Number of Aircraft: 10 Capacity: 266 Range: 17,446km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m
Boeing 777-200 Number of Aircraft: 9 Capacity: 274-346 Range: 9,649km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 60.9m
Boeing 777F Number of Aircraft: 5 Range: 9,260km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m 166 emi rates briefing
fleet guide
For more inFormation: www.emirates.com/ourFleet
Airbus A380-800 Number of Aircraft: 28 Capacity: 489-517 Range: 15,000km Length: 72.7m Wingspan: 79.8m
Airbus A340-500 Number of Aircraft: 10 Capacity: 258 Range: 16,050km Length: 67.9m Wingspan: 63.4m
Airbus A340-300 Number of Aircraft: 8 Capacity: 267 Range: 13,350km Length: 63.6m Wingspan: 60.3m
Airbus A330-200 Number of Aircraft: 26 Capacity: 237-278 Range: 12,200km Length: 58.8m Wingspan: 60.3m
Boeing 747-400F/747-400ERF Number of Aircraft: 1/2 Range: 8,232km/9,204km Length: 70.6m Wingspan: 64.4m ai rcraFt n umbers as oF 3 0 / 1 1/ 2 0 1 2
fleet guide
emirates briefing 167
AD
80 mm wide x 224 mm high ext month we present the very first Open Skies Neighbourhood Guide – the very best places in the world to live, work and play. We have travelled to an array of Emirates’ destinations to find the best districts to call home. From the nooks and crannies of Hong Kong and Rio to the side streets of Amsterdam and Seoul, we highlight the planet’s best neighbourhoods. We also profile one of Europe’s grittiest and most fascinating cities, and pay a visit to a London community that redefined the way people think about city living. See you next month.
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Amazing camera. Authentic sound.
Shot on Nick’s HTC One X while free falling at 126 miles per hour
As recommended by Nick Jojola Freefall fashion photographer
Watch Nick’s personal experience at htc.com
| Capture HD video and photos at the same time | | Includes HTC Sense |
cartier.com
calibre de cartier 1904 MC MANUFACTURE MOVEMENT
AS ITS NAME SUGGESTS, THE CALIBRE 1904 MC IS THE EMBODIMENT OF A CENTURY OF CARTIER’S PASSION FOR TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE. FEATURING A MECHANICAL MOVEMENT CREATED, DEVELOPED AND MANUFACTURED BY CARTIER, THE CALIBRE DE CARTIER WATCH TAKES THE GREATEST WATCHMAKING TRADITIONS TO MORE STYLISH AND SOPHISTICATED HEIGHTS. 18K PINK GOLD 42 MM CASE. MANUFACTURE SELF-WINDING MECHANICAL MOVEMENT, CARTIER CALIBRE 1904 MC (27 JEWELS, 28,800 VIBRATIONS PER HOUR, DOUBLE-BARREL, BIDIRECTIONAL WINDING SYSTEM), SUBSIDIARY SECOND, DATE APERTURE. FACETED SAPPHIRE SET ON A 18K PINK GOLD HEPTAGONAL CROWN. SILVERED OPALINE SNAILED DIAL. SCRATCHPROOF SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL.
FROM UAE: 800 CARTIER (800-227 8437) OUTSIDE UAE: +971 4 236 8345