Durga Puja and Home

When you have a mobile lifestyle, adaptability is what keeps you going. But then there are ‘sounds, sights, and smells’ that you distinctly associate with certain places. When you come back to these places, your senses start noticing these ‘sounds, sights, and smells’.

I am currently back at my hometown Asansol.

While driving down from Kolkata Airport to Asansol, we were on NH2 (or what was previously called G.T. Road – supposedly more than 500 years old).  

Slowly I started getting re-adjusted to seeing swarm of trucks/lorries on the road. NH2 always has been a trade/industrial route. It runs from Kolkata and provides connectivity upto Delhi.  You see more trucks than cars or bikes on this road. There are stretches in between where you will see scores of trucks lining the road on either side – taking a mid-journey break.  Sometimes you see these clearly overloaded trucks and you wonder how long they will manage to chug along before breaking down. Thanks to NH2 being a long distance transport heavy route, there are a string of roadside dhabas – you can’t give a miss to ‘bharer chai’ (tea in earthen cup) chai and roti –rajma at these dhabas.

Back at home, I started noticing familiar sounds and feelings. 

Right outside window of my room there stands a huge tree. In afternoons, you can hear birds chirping while sun streams in through the window. It’s difficult to do anything then but lie down and gaze outside the window during afternoons.

Concept of late afternoon and evening undergoes a bit of shift too. During summers, sun sets around 6:15/6:20 p.m. During winters it sets around 5:10/5:15 p.m. These times are very different from corresponding times in western part of country – a little post 7/6 p.m. in summers/winters. This time around I realized why I am more of an early morning person. During my growing up years I have been used to waking up and sleeping early. Those days, my day ended by 5/6 p.m. – and that’s what I am carrying forward even now.

In Bengal, ending of day is officially ‘sounded’ by sound of Sankha (which usually women of house sounds at dusk). This time around when I heard sounds of Shankha, I started thinking -  ‘what is equivalent of Sankha in our city lives – something which tells us every day that day has ended?’. I find none. Maybe that’s why we find it so difficult to switch off.

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Yesterday I saw these old music records lying at home. In midst of technological advances (cassettes, CDs, and now I pods) we hardly use music record players anymore. But are these record players really outdated? I hear in parts of Europe music record players are back in vogue – it seems music connoisseurs find music quality much better in these record players compared to new age technology music players.

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No trip back home is complete without talk about food back home J.

From kitchen, smells of fish on frying pan waft all over house. Sometimes you heard sounds of ‘jeera’ crackling on hot oil.  While Bengal might be known for fish, it also has a plethora of green vegetables available. During normal days, a 3 course lunch awaits me. It starts with shaag (saag in Hindi)/posto bata (paste of poppy seeds), etc. It then moves on to dal and at least 2-3 vegetable preparations. It usually ends with a fish/chicken dish. And yes – rice accompanies each course.

Given that I am very particular about fitness, my friends/colleagues sometimes are surprised when they see amount of rice I eat. My usual retort is ‘If I don’t eat rice/rice based preparation every day, I don’t feel psychologically that my day has ended’.

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Asansol and Durgapur are 2 adjacent cities – hardly 50 kilometers away. But when you visit them you might feel that you have visited two cities poles apart.

Asansol feels like a commercial and industrial city. It’s a bit cramped for space and is buzzing with activity.

While Durgapur is also a city with industrial roots, it feels more planned and open.

The only difference I can fathom is that while Asansol started in 1800s (when coal was first found in this belt), Durgapur was converted into a planned industrial city in mid 1900s – by the then Bengal Chief Minister Bidhan Chandra Ray.

I find Surat and Baroda (in western state of Gujarat) similar to Asansol and Durgapur. Surat and Baroda are  hardly 100 kilometers away but they give you a completely different feeling. Surat (textile industry, diamond industry) feels akin to Asansol. Baroda (wide roads, well planned, gardens, etc) feels more akin to Durgapur.

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But be it Asansol, Durgapur, or Kolkata – the sights, sounds, and smells of a Durga Pujo pandal usually stay away with me long after festivities have ended.

Peace you find during pushpanjali (prayers to goddess Durga), sounds of Dhak, adrenaline pumping ‘Dhunuchi Naach’, the junk food you can feast on, and the artistic creativity you come across - are experiences/feelings not to be missed!

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Sourav

 

 

Power, Immensity, and Intrigue

I anticipated with baited breath what lay around the next turn!  Steely blue waters and lush green hills interspersed with stretches of brown earth brought home the immensity of what surrounded me! Eerie and beautiful calm all around threatened to break through any moment!

I was getting a taste of ‘Flores’, an Indonesian island unique in many senses.

Stunningly beautiful Indian ocean, rare ‘carnivorous’ Komodo dragons, corals of different colours, and snippets of local and unique history will make your travel here worthwhile and will make you want to come back again.

Labuanbajo, a small coastal fishing village is a good hosting point to go around Flores.  The first thing that strikes as you land at Komodo airport (even the airport is named after Komodo dragon J) in Labuanbajo, is its proximity to the sea. You feel as if you are landing on sea – the way you feel when you are landing Ngurah Rai airport in Bali.  The smallness of the airport is the second thing that strikes you. It literally is a few rooms big and stays locked up (literally with locks) when flights are not taking off or landing.

As you start spending sometime in Labuanbajo you start getting more of a sense of what all makes this island unique.

I came across tree shapes, tree types, and flower types I had never seen before. Maybe it is because of Flores being below ‘Wallace line’ J (do some reading on Alfred Russel Wallace and his work in Malaysian Archipelago). I noticed that the features of the people around were less Indonesian like and more Australasian like – broad foreheads, high cheek bones, darker, etc. Indian Ocean drew me in – dark, ‘mirror’ like, and opaque blue. I was initially apprehensive of but finally enjoyed eating ‘king sized’ Bintang/Flores bananas.

A bit of trivia about ‘Flores’. Flores was discovered by Portuguese sailors.  They named island ‘Flores’ (flower in Portugues) as the surrounding Indian Ocean is full of corals that impart to the ocean colours of different hues. I noticed different shades of blue, green, pink, yellow, and violet in various parts of Ocean. So Flores was for a long time a Portuguese island. But then it changed hands to Dutch. As per local history, Flores was supposedly sold by Portuguese to Dutch (and that too by local Portuguese administration without permission of Portuguese government).

The Indian Ocean around Flores is intriguing. At most places it looks like an unbroken glass of deep blue water.  Water shines due to sunlight but it is mostly stunningly opaque. It changes in colour where the corals are present.  But wait till time you get further into Ocean and you will be up for surprises. You will see form and shape of waterscape changing. I saw series of whirlpools. I saw many different streams of water, possibly signaling to presence of strong and different currents here. I saw places where water was bubbling up J. All this while my boat traversed in between low lying hills on either side chugging slowly towards Rinca and Komodo islands.

I could see Rinca island from distance. Soon our boat was flanking island. I peered at it waiting with bated breath to sight the Komodo dragon whenever I could see a glimpse of patch of brown earth in between the dense vegetation.

A bit of trivia about Komodo dragons. The movie ‘King Kong and Godzilla’ is inspired by Komodo dragons. These dragons are giant carnivorous lizards (and hence have lizard like tongues) – and have a history of attacking and eating men too.  Rinca and Komdo islands are only places in world where these dragons (numbering around 5000) still exist. They supposedly are only remaining linkages with old world dinosaurs.  The forest rangers in these islands are hired by Indonesian government and they live with their families in the villages there. They are not allowed to kill dragon and can only beat it back with sticks if attacked. Amazing dedication to saving an almost extinct species.

Soon we had docked at Rinca islands!  While walking the forest trail with the rangers we came across full body skeletons of different animals – attacked and eaten by the dragons. Supposedly only body part dragons don’t eat is the hair. So if you are unlucky enough to be attacked, you might disappear unnoticed. I was not sure whether to feel comforted by the presence of the ranger – what exactly could he do if we were attacked. I was scared and excited at the same time. Suddenly I saw a number of dragons right infront of me. I froze still and breathed in easy to calm down.

I had heard they look lazy but pounce on you without warning. They did look lazy, almost asleep. But a look at their front limbs, claws, and powerful jaws warned me of danger of getting too close. I managed to zoom in enough to get a close shot with my camera. But my heart was thumping and I was sweating. I remembered the instructions given to me by ranged – run zig-zag if chased by dragon and climb a tree. Dragons find it difficult to run zig-zag and can’t climb trees. I had told ranger that I don’t know how to climb trees. He had answered calmly I will learn it immediately if chased by dragon – he had seen such cases before. J

Well I spent about a quarter of an hour with the dragons; all the time alert and observant. That quarter hour is photographed in my mind.

Later in the day at sunset, further away from Rinca island, I saw thousands of bats migrate to Rinca island from Kalong island. The Indian ocean at sunset looks stunning. Strange shaped clouds, surrounding hills, and play of light in the sky and the water makes for an overpowering image – not to be missed. I sat at the bow of the boat looking at the sun set, while we slowly trudged back home.

I have heard somewhere that you should never underestimate Indian Ocean. With about an hour left to hit the coast, I found out why. The winds picked up and water became rougher. I felt we were taking an eternity to reach the harbor while our boat crashed from one wave to the other and swayed around. The sailor’s gentle and confident smile and reassurance that we will make it back to the port calmed me down.

I did made it back, with a bagful of unforgettable memories and experiences.

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Sourav

Photographs

Photographs are souvenirs that help you at a later time to recall/revisualize an image/event/person.

There are times when the experience is so powerful and so encompassing that you choose to 'live' the moment and in doing so, the moment gets imprinted in your memory irreversibly. You can even recall image and reexperience associated feelings at any later time with or without a photograph.

Few of places I travelled to, over last few years, have left such 'imprints' on my mind. Here's first 3.

• Niagara falls- You see it from a distance. It looks beautiful! You come closer. Sight slowly draws you in! Water sprays hurl towards you. Boat's all tipsy turvy and you hold on to railings. There's a deafening sound around. And all the while you approach the waterfall slowly but surely. And then amidst all  chaos, when you are perilously close to actual waterfall, amazingly, deafening calm settles in. Boat steadies!  Chaos prevails but beyond circle of serenity that surrounds you. You look at everything while within the circle. Water looks beautiful green. You can make out different sprays of waterfall; see water mists rising from water.; and hear humming sound of waterfalls. You are drenched to the bone. But really - does it even matter?
• Kecak dance, Bali- do you believe in  spirits and people doing things under a  trance? I, at the best, am doubtful of anything related to supernatural.  Kecak is a traditional dance form of Bali. Late in the evening, against backdrop of a traditional Hindu temple in intriguing Ubud, i observed dancers perform to continuous 'Chak-chak' sound of chorus singers. Sound had kind of a numbing effect on mind. I got drawn in to the performance and drawn out of everything surrounding. I saw dancers dance till they fainted. I observed a man using a horse's costume (presumably to take on animal spirit) dance on dried coconut shelves set on fire. His face seemed emotionless and his body seemed painless. Intriguing! I still have not been able to understand what happened there. Sometime back I had read Carl Jung's works on dream symbolism. It talks about how collective unconscious expresses itself through dreams, and how not everything can be explained by conscious. I am also reminded of Nyepi day- the Balinese new year. This is a day of complete silence and inactivity throughout Bali. No one is allowed on roads, or to speak. The belief is that devils visit island on Nyepi day and not finding anyone/any activity there -leave island in peace for next year. Even airport remains shut on this day and you can't even check in to/check out of a hotel.
• Mount Bromo, Java- Nature in Indonesia seems to be ripe with possibility of transformation/turbulence/change. You might remember that Tsunami a few years back had originated there. It seems there's a strong fault line that cuts across Indonesia that makes it very susceptible to earthquakes. There supposed are two different kinds of vegetation in Indonesia  and you can literally see transformation when you travel from Bali to Lombok. I even found facial and body features of people in Flores (an island in South Indonesia) very different (more Australasian) from those in Bali and Java (more Asian). Additionally every island I went to also seemed to have a dormant/active volcano. It almost seemed like 'we are x/y/z island and here's our volcano'.  Mount Bromo in Java (largest of 1300+ islands in Indonesia) was one of these majestic active volcanos I visited. A trek upto peak of Mount Bromo is worth the effort. You walk up a plain and then a hill of grey and dusty ash against a backdrop of green and colorful plains and valleys. The ash arranges itself into interesting and strange mound and shapes along the way. When you reach top you find smoke coming out in spurts from depth of volcano. Few hours earlier, in midst of pitch dark night, I had travelled through steep and winding roads to a viewing point on an hill opposite to Mount Bromo waiting for sunrise. Dawn started breaking in but clouds threated to be spoiler. Slowly clouds stared settling further down. Peak of Mount Bromo emerged against backdrop of streaming golden rays of rising sun. Spellbinding beauty!

 

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Sourav

 

 

Indonesia

Recently, I spent about a fortnight in Indonesia. It was an auvsome experience!

Here are some of my notes /observations from the travel:

Number of Islands- The places you usually recall when you think of Indonesia are Jakarta and Bali. So you will understand my surprise when I realized that Indonesia consists of 1700+ islands. Java is largest and most heavily populated island amongst these. In fact, Java is island with highest population density in the world. I experienced some of results while traveling by road in Java- even inter city roads are choc-a-bloc with traffic. I was also fairly surprised when I realized there are 3 different tome zones within Indonesia.

Population- Indonesia has 240 million people, making it 4th most populous country in the world. Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Confucianism, and Buddhism are amongst its officially recognized religions. Bali (most touristry island of Indonesia) has around 20 million people (97% of then Hindus). Hindus in Bali believe in a supreme diety- Shiva.

Transport within the country - Java seems to be only island with a train network in place. Interestingly even Jakarta didn't have a metro train network. Number of regional aircraft carriers is mind bogglingly high- I counted till some 10-15. Flight prices are fairly cheap. That makes sense - if not for flights citizens will find it fairly difficult to travel across the country quickly.

Tourists – Indonesia is the first country I have come across where maximum number of tourists are from Australia. Bali is 3.5 hours by flight from Australia- that's lesser travel time than to some tourist locations within Australia. At airports in Bali and Java I found full service Virgin Australia flights. Bali supposedly has a number of auvsome surfing spots. Lombok and Nusa Tengarra (islands in South Indonesia) have good diving spots, Australian tourists -with their love for sports supposedly flock to these places.

India and Indonesia - I had read there are historical linkages between India and Indonesia. I didn’t find mentions of something’s I had expected while I found other linkages that surprised me.

I found no mention within Indonesia of Biju Patnaik's dare devilry (on instructions of Nehru) in flying into Indonesia and evacuating a key leader of their pro-independence struggle. I did find a few mentions of the fact that India and Indonesia along with a handful of other countries were creators of Non-aligned movement (NAM).

Everyone seemed to know Shahrukh Khan. Whenever people realized we were Indians, they started singing ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hain’. He seems to enjoy celebrity status there.

At an airport terminal, I found an Indonesian channel running a documentary on Bollywood. It showed a number of images from Mumbai-including a wall painting of Amitabh Bacchan in film Deewar. You can see this wall painting on a wall your left when you are driving down from Mehboob Studio to Bandstand in Bandra.

I met someone else who could not stop talking about Priety Zinta. He also shared how on Indonesian TV they show some bollywood movie everyday.

At Jakarta airport -we heard criminal (Shahrukh Khan number) being played somewhere.

Bollywood certainly seems to be a hit in Indonesia. I hear their local pop music is also influenced by Bollywood numbers.

Language - I have heard that Bahasa is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. I realized a few interesting things.

Bahasa Indonesian is supposedly derived from Bahasa Malaysian. Hence native Malay and native Indonesian speakers can usually understand each other. Bahasa Indonesian is not the only widely spoken language in Indonesia. Actually it is most widely spoken in Java.

Bali has a local Balinese language.  Java has a local Javanese language. There supposedly are more than 700 languages/dialects spoken in the country.

Indonesian Script is Greek (English script) - so it is fairly simple for Indians to read.

Indonesia was first occupied by Portuguese, then by Dutch, and then by Japanese (during WW II). I found a few words in Indonesian language which seem to have been influenced by Portuguese at least e.g - gratis means free both in Indonesian and Portuguese (and even in Spanish J).

Most of the times when I tried to say a few words in Indonesian, I was greeted with friendly smiles. Terima Kasih (thank you) and Sama Sama (welcome) are 2 handy terms for any tourist.

Sotos, Goreng, Teh, and Kopi- Nasi Goreng (Fried rice) seems to be a popular dish in Indonesia. Nasi Goreng actually is quite fried- a little bit too much for my appetite. You can have different kinds of goreng (fry) in Indonesia. Some of other more popular ones are ayam goreng (fried chicken) and ikan goreng (fried fish).

I must make a mention of Soto Ayam -Chicken Soup with noodles and egg. It's perfect for lunch/dinner especially if you are feeling drained out by the heat. You can find different kind of Sotos (Soups) in Indonesia.

At many places, you will come across Masakan Padang – these are eating joints which run on a Indian Thali kind of system. The term Masakan Padang itself comes from Sulawesi.

 

I liked coffee plantations in Bali. They grow 5-6 different flavors of coffee- I especially liked coconut flavored coffee.  You can also try Luwak coffee (supposedly costliest coffee in the world) though it was a bit too strong for my liking. You must read up on how it is produced – pretty different is all I can say ( J).

I had heard a lot about Java coffee-it lived up to its tag. Really tasty though I am not sure whether you could have more than 2 cups a day of ‘strong’ Java coffee. By the way, Indonesians call coffee as kopi and tea as teh.

Volcanoes and craft villages - All 3 islands I visited (Bali, Flores, and Java), seemed to have dormant/active volcano and villages organized around trades/crafts. In Bali i found entire villages of wood workers (Mas Village), silver workers, painters, etc. Interestingly, wood work is done on 3/ 4 different kinds of woods- sandal wood, crocodile wood (whatever that means), mahogany, etc.

Flores and Australasians - i must mention about island of Flores and surrounding Indian Ocean. Some of views are stunning and will stay etched in my mind.

Indian Ocean looks wild and beautiful. Komodo dragons in Rinca island are awe inspiring. Different colored corals around Rinca island are eye catching.

Interestingly people in Flores seem to have more Australasian than Oriental features. It seems there is some natural line that runs somewhere between Bali and Lombok beneath the ocean - and that causes stark differences in vegetation across two sides of the line.

I saw some strange and unique trees and flowers in Labuanbajo (a fishing village in Flores island). It seems a scientist of Darwin's stature had during Darwin's era investigated in Indonesia and independently found out about principal of survival of the fittest.

You must also try out the Flores Bananas (they have a special name that means Maharaj of Bananas) – they are really big and are very tasty.

This island was supposedly named Flores by Portuguese who had discovered this island, and had named it ‘Flower’ (in Portuguese) due to the varied colored corals surrounding this island.

Literature- Indonesia seems to have a rich tradition of short stories and local fables. If you see a Periplus bookshop somewhere, do go and check out Indonesian books section. I especially found some of the books based on Bali's past very interesting.

Tradition – Yogyakarta (city of Ayodha) is a cultural hub in Indonesia. Try out the Wayang Kulit (shadow performance) shows in Yogyakarta.  When in Bali, visit Ubud (a cultural hub again) and try out the traditional dance performances every night (don’t miss Kecak performance for sure).

Misses – I could not visit some of the places. I just didn’t have enough time. These included Tanjung Puting National Park in Kalimantan (for jungle safari to see oranggutans) and Papua (to visit various tribes there). There also are islands of Sulawesi and Maluku.

 

Well! That’s some of the experiences and memories that I have brought back from Indonesia.

 

 

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Sourav

 

Wayang Kulit, Calling Forth the Earth, and Yogi posture

I travelled through Indonesia recently. I came across a few things that possibly have answered some dilemmas I face.

 

Indonesia has this concept of specialized/trade villages. You see this markedly in Bali – where there are specialized villages for painters, wood workers, and silver smiths (not sure if I got the term right).

I visited Mas (a village of wood workers in Ubud). I came across a wood work depicting Yogi. Yogi is a posture where a human is shown folded into himself. It feels like the entire person is merged into one. Muscles of the person seem taught and strong. Person seems calm and connected.

Image stayed with me!

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Over last few months i have looked forward to contemporary class on Saturday evenings. There's something about place or dance which made me feel I was 're-grounding’ or 're-anchoring' and ‘re-leasing’ myself. I often wondered why could I not feel that way, and what could do I to feel that way through the remainder of the week!

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At Buddha temple in Borubudur, you can see Buddha in 6 different poses.

One of the pose was something akin to 'calling forth the earth'. In this pose Buddha seems to be connected to earth.

In another pose, Buddha is seen 'meditating'. His face looks calm and full of energy.

Both the images stayed with me.

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Sometimes I find myself short of energy. I wonder how can I ensure I have energy continuously. Maybe it is about using and regenerating energy at a sustainable pace. But then you could also increase your capacity for being energetic!

 

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In later half of Indonesia trip, I was in Yogakarya (a cultural city). Amongst other things, Jogja (as it is called) is famous for its Wayang Kulit (Shadow puppet) shows. There is a science behind the shape of these puppets. Male puppets have a large bottom, a streamlined and agile center, a large heart/chest, and a large head.

Large head signifies proficiency in thought. Large chest signifies a large hearted person. Streamlined and agile center signifies flow of energy. Large bottom signifies being grounded/connected to earth.

All these 4 elements are inter-connected. A large head and a large chest need continuous and strong flow of energy.  Energy is generated when one is grounded/connected to earth.

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Being grounded/connected to earth – aah! That may be a solution to increasing your capacity for energy (remember taut muscles of Yogi?).

 

Buddha’s meditation posture – that may be one of the ways to staying connected to the earth. But is that the only way to stay connected to the earth? I have a few other ideas.

Let me try some of these out first. Will write more in one of upcoming posts.

 

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Sourav

Childhood and Images

What are your earliest childhood images? How far back can you visualize your childhood?

I can go back as far as when I was 4-5 years old. I see some images – thought sometimes I am not sure whether these are true images or are figments of my imagination.

Which of these images stay with you?

When I close my eyes, I see a red background with some black dots in it. There's one particular dot I feel particularly intrigued about. It sometimes catches my attention and hints to me that there's more to it than meets the eye. But I can't dig beneath. I remember closing my eyes and following that dot even when I was a kid.

There are some people who catch your eye/attention. You seem to feel intrigued when you meet them. I have come across a number of them. I realized the other day when looking at someone who left me intrigued that I actually was smiling at a part of myself- probably lost and obscured in mist of time. An interesting realization J

We must pay heed to images in our mind and to feelings our senses leave us with. Through that we might learn something about ourselves.

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Sourav

 

Weaving my Persian Rug!

Some months back I heard a colleague say 'In log run all………we all will be fossils!'  J

The term stayed with me.  So much for what we attempt to do in the long run!

 

 

What we do today is most probably irrelevant in long run. So what should our response be? Should we give up all pursuits and just exist?

 

 

The other day I read about Persian Rug.

 

Cronshaw had given Persian Rug to Philip (Read 'Of Human Bondage' by W Somerset Maugham) when Philip had asked him about meaning of life. Cronshaw had told Philip that rug contain answer to meaning of life.

 

Philip realized years later that meaning of life was that there is no meaning in it. He realizes -we  are born, we suffer, and we die. The Persian Rug essentially was meaningless and there lay answer to it’s meaning.

 

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I can conceptually appreciate that in the long run whatever we do today might be irrelevant. But I do think that inspite of the fact that our end is inevitable we choose to weave our Persian rug the way we want it.

 

 

So the question is 'Are we weaving our Persian rug or are we allowing it to be weaved?'.

 

 

But maybe that's the wrong question. We may choose that we don't want to play an active role in weaving our Persian rug. I am no one to comment on correctness/incorrectness of such a choice someone else makes.

 

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But here's my choice!

 

Inspite of the inevitability of my end (it’s only a question of when and not whether – though I surely hope that when is decades if not atleast a century away J) I want to live a life full of creating stuff, experiencing what gives me meaning, and living life with family.  These are contours I will build my Persian rug around.

 

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How will you weave your Persian rug?

 

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Sourav