Today is Shivarathri...men and women fast during the day and stay awake during the night - all for thanking lord Shiva for saving the world. There are numerous myths regarding the origin of Shivaratri. All these myths happened during night and hence reason enough for celebrating Shivaratri during night.
I googled and found a few 'shivarathi' myths - about Vishnu and brahma searching for the origin of Linga following a fight, the Story of Shivaratri based on 'Samudra Manthan' where Shiva drank the poison that was churned out of the ocean and had to stay awake the whole night to keep himself alive.
There is also another story of Shivratri based on a hunter who escaped wild animals by climbing a tree and kept him awake by plucking Bilva leaves. In the morning, he discovered that he had been dropping the leaves on a Shivling. And the word spread that he was saved by Lord Shiva.
Apart from these myths, it is said that the reunion of Lord Shiva and Parvati happened on the Shivratri day. Another legend states that Lord Shiva performed the Taandava on this day - the origin of indian classical dance.
Shivarathri (night of Shiva) has eventually entered the Indian vocabulary (be it hindu or christian, marathi or tamilian) as a term for sleepless night. Every night India (or where ever Indians are living) murmurs 'Looks like tonight is going to be shivarathri' - it may be a newly wed groom whispering lustly in the dark, a tired mother trying to put her child to sleep, a student on his exam night....they all experience the essence of 'shivarathri'.
Friday, 12 February 2010
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Just a heads up about your hypermarket counter assistant
Its thursday evening and our office elevators (8 of them) frantically stuttered at each floor and offloaded scores of our colleagues on to the ground floor. They were all in a hurry to queue up the narrow spiral exit of the parking block adjacent to the office building.
By the time i left office the elevaors were taking an evening nap. I met William in the elevator. He works as an office boy (yeah they remain 'boys' forever) on the 18th floor. He is not hurrying to go home to rest and then to go out later in the evening to enjoy the weekened.
William like many other low paid expatriates work as counter assistants at a leading hypermarket. No...they are not employed as part time assistants. They 'pay' this retailer to be employed. They pay KD 1 (US$ 3.6) per day to the retailer to help pack the trolley of goods purchased by their customers. William and his colleagues hope to get tips from these customers tired of shopping while attempting to load these huge trolleys (assumably designed by a finance guy to accomodate a lot more than one would have intended to shop).
Next time you see a hypermarket counter assistant skilfully opening the thin plastic bags to load your grocery, think about tipping him. He has paid from his pocket to serve you in the hope of making a little extra on a busy weekend.
Salute to the Hypermarket giant for a win-win strategy - the employee pays for packing goods that are paid for by its customers. In a recession hit market, organisations are looking for new revenue streams - but this seems to be a stretch of imagination rooted in sheer expliotation of a meek marginal population.
By the time i left office the elevaors were taking an evening nap. I met William in the elevator. He works as an office boy (yeah they remain 'boys' forever) on the 18th floor. He is not hurrying to go home to rest and then to go out later in the evening to enjoy the weekened.
William like many other low paid expatriates work as counter assistants at a leading hypermarket. No...they are not employed as part time assistants. They 'pay' this retailer to be employed. They pay KD 1 (US$ 3.6) per day to the retailer to help pack the trolley of goods purchased by their customers. William and his colleagues hope to get tips from these customers tired of shopping while attempting to load these huge trolleys (assumably designed by a finance guy to accomodate a lot more than one would have intended to shop).
Next time you see a hypermarket counter assistant skilfully opening the thin plastic bags to load your grocery, think about tipping him. He has paid from his pocket to serve you in the hope of making a little extra on a busy weekend.
Salute to the Hypermarket giant for a win-win strategy - the employee pays for packing goods that are paid for by its customers. In a recession hit market, organisations are looking for new revenue streams - but this seems to be a stretch of imagination rooted in sheer expliotation of a meek marginal population.
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Recall Mails
People have a fascination to open a recalled mail even when they know that the sender has expressed the desire otherwise. 99% of the times I get my ‘recall’ request popping up as failed. It’s the human urge to know or experience the forbidden in action.
The underlying thought process is that there has to be some goof up that the sender is trying to hide and I need to know it. But still the ‘Recall’ option is a good feature (if successful) allowing to avoid an embarrassment or a regret. Wish we could apply the ‘Recall’ option to some of our sound bites that create havoc (mostly) in our personal lives.
The husbands of the world would vouch for that. To gain an upper hand in an argument, men do say silly things – mostly about in-laws or compare spouse to another woman (sister or sister-in-law) and then they repent for a life time.
Same goes to a wrongly send SMS. I remember the rumor about a cricketer sending an SMS to his wife that was intended for his mistress. The grape wine is that the sms was intentionally send to break the news to his wife. Men are so vulnerable. They even have to fake confessions!
The underlying thought process is that there has to be some goof up that the sender is trying to hide and I need to know it. But still the ‘Recall’ option is a good feature (if successful) allowing to avoid an embarrassment or a regret. Wish we could apply the ‘Recall’ option to some of our sound bites that create havoc (mostly) in our personal lives.
The husbands of the world would vouch for that. To gain an upper hand in an argument, men do say silly things – mostly about in-laws or compare spouse to another woman (sister or sister-in-law) and then they repent for a life time.
Same goes to a wrongly send SMS. I remember the rumor about a cricketer sending an SMS to his wife that was intended for his mistress. The grape wine is that the sms was intentionally send to break the news to his wife. Men are so vulnerable. They even have to fake confessions!
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Public transport in Kuwait
If there is any place on earth where public transport is not used by its citizens it would be Kuwait. Huge expensive cars are the norm and every person with a drivable age has one. Kuwait has well planned roads and hence so far has no major traffic issues unlike Dubai.
Public transport which means buses comes in 3 models and colour combinations - run by 3 different companies (govt. owned). They run uniterupted carrying maids, labourers, lowly paid white collar workers and me.
The buses are not as clean as in the UAE so i do sanitise my hands once i reach office or home. btw i used to do this even before the H1N1 compliance came into effect this year. Colleagues in the bank had a strange expression when they came to know that i used the buse to commute to office. probably i am the only one in our department who commutes by public transport.
the buses are driven mostly by egyptian or indian drivers and my co-passengers are indians, philipinos and arabs. the fee is anominal 200 fils (slightly over AED 2 or Rs 32). but for students its free of charge..something similar to the dscounted rates in India.
Students and anybody who can get away as a student travel for free. Drivers hate to stop at bus stops that has only students waiting to board the bus. As a rule they dont stop...and lately these student victims have started hurling stones. Its become a bit dangerous these days ..with a few such incidents leading to broken glass windows.
If the policy is to allow students for free, then it should be followed. there is no justification for going against this as most of the time the buses run with barely a few passengers and at peak hours the bus will be fully seated and a few passengers would be standing. Scenes like in India where passengers hang around bus doors like a beehive does not happen here.
lately am happy....a new set of buses have been introduced on my route...so i get to travel in cleaner buses. Someone at the bus company has not yet inspected the buses i guess....they still have welcome to 'some chineese company name' posters stuck behind every seat....of course the buses were ordered from China.
Public transport which means buses comes in 3 models and colour combinations - run by 3 different companies (govt. owned). They run uniterupted carrying maids, labourers, lowly paid white collar workers and me.
The buses are not as clean as in the UAE so i do sanitise my hands once i reach office or home. btw i used to do this even before the H1N1 compliance came into effect this year. Colleagues in the bank had a strange expression when they came to know that i used the buse to commute to office. probably i am the only one in our department who commutes by public transport.
the buses are driven mostly by egyptian or indian drivers and my co-passengers are indians, philipinos and arabs. the fee is anominal 200 fils (slightly over AED 2 or Rs 32). but for students its free of charge..something similar to the dscounted rates in India.
Students and anybody who can get away as a student travel for free. Drivers hate to stop at bus stops that has only students waiting to board the bus. As a rule they dont stop...and lately these student victims have started hurling stones. Its become a bit dangerous these days ..with a few such incidents leading to broken glass windows.
If the policy is to allow students for free, then it should be followed. there is no justification for going against this as most of the time the buses run with barely a few passengers and at peak hours the bus will be fully seated and a few passengers would be standing. Scenes like in India where passengers hang around bus doors like a beehive does not happen here.
lately am happy....a new set of buses have been introduced on my route...so i get to travel in cleaner buses. Someone at the bus company has not yet inspected the buses i guess....they still have welcome to 'some chineese company name' posters stuck behind every seat....of course the buses were ordered from China.
Saturday, 15 November 2008
Koko – the best guide in Bangkok
Day 5: 3rd Oct, 2008
My last day in Bangkok. I had booked a tour for Grand Palace and The Royal Monastery of Emerald Buddha (Temple of the Emerald Buddha).
I met the most interesting and entertaining women in Thailand - Koko, our tour guide. She was packed with so much life and energy that it effused into the tour and transformed day 5 as the best day in Thailand.
The group was really international in mix – an Indian from Muscat, a Korean couple from KL, 2 girls and 2 guys from the Australian police, an African American from Boston and a Lebanese (honeymoon) couple from Dubai. Koko addressed each of us by our city names except the American guy – she called him chocolate.
En route to the Grand palace, she went on non-stop giving titbits on Thailand, thai culture etc…(10 million population in Bangkok, 5 million cars, 2 million cycles and 50,000 cycles. 95% Buddhist, 3% muslims and 1% greek Christians – no England Church. 44 alphabets in the Thai language, monks eat 2 meals a day and do not eat after 12 pm)
Our first stop was at the Reclining Buddha. A huge gold plated statue. Around the statue there were numerous offering cups and for 10 batts a bundle of coins are available to offer in each of the offering cups. I took a bndle of coins and prayed for a wish and offered the coins in each of the cups – close to a hundered cups.
The Australian lady police clicked a snap for me with the majestic ‘Reclining Buddha’ in the backdrop. She lived up to the reputation of police in GK by asking Koko, of the two statues which one was Marco and Polo (it was two separate statues of Marcopolo).
Koko never entertained questions as she was sure of her script and she knew the answers to those untimely questions would be addressed at a later stage.
I befriended the Indian guy and we both helped each other in clicking our respective snaps. He worked for Gulfar in Musact.
At the Grand Palace (built in 1782) we saw the Coronation Hall, the Royal residence, the Chedi where the remains of Buddha are kept and the temple of Emerald Buddha – carved from a blockof green jade and was first discovered in 1434in a stupa in Chiang Rai. At that time the image was covered with plaster and later a part of the plaster on the nose flaked off revealing the green stone underneath. Initially it was thought the stone was emerald and thus the legend of Emerald Buddha began.
I clicked a photo with Koko and promised to sent it to her hotmail.
On our way back there was stop at a Gem factory and outlet. Koko said ‘ you can buy ruby for your friends or secretaries from here….very cheap’ – taking a dig at the elder executives visiting Bangkok with their girl friends or secretaries.
My flight was at 6.30 pm so I left for the airport at 4 pm and for the first time in 4 days I got to know the traffic jams in Bangkok. The 10 minute drive to the highway took 45 minutes. Sensing the situation, my taxi driver re-negotiated the taxi rate and hiked it by another 100 batt – he lived up to the Bangkok taxi reputation: they are out to fleece the tourists at any given opportunity.
I reached Suvarnabhumi airport content of having a great trip and was already looking forward to my next. Not sure of the destination, I was thinking about the possible destinations. One thing was sure. It had to be Europe. After Turkey, Singapore, Srilanka and Thailand it was time for Europe. I walked into a book store at the Duty Free and found a book and my next destination too – Night Train to Lisbon.
My last day in Bangkok. I had booked a tour for Grand Palace and The Royal Monastery of Emerald Buddha (Temple of the Emerald Buddha).
I met the most interesting and entertaining women in Thailand - Koko, our tour guide. She was packed with so much life and energy that it effused into the tour and transformed day 5 as the best day in Thailand.
The group was really international in mix – an Indian from Muscat, a Korean couple from KL, 2 girls and 2 guys from the Australian police, an African American from Boston and a Lebanese (honeymoon) couple from Dubai. Koko addressed each of us by our city names except the American guy – she called him chocolate.
En route to the Grand palace, she went on non-stop giving titbits on Thailand, thai culture etc…(10 million population in Bangkok, 5 million cars, 2 million cycles and 50,000 cycles. 95% Buddhist, 3% muslims and 1% greek Christians – no England Church. 44 alphabets in the Thai language, monks eat 2 meals a day and do not eat after 12 pm)
Our first stop was at the Reclining Buddha. A huge gold plated statue. Around the statue there were numerous offering cups and for 10 batts a bundle of coins are available to offer in each of the offering cups. I took a bndle of coins and prayed for a wish and offered the coins in each of the cups – close to a hundered cups.
The Australian lady police clicked a snap for me with the majestic ‘Reclining Buddha’ in the backdrop. She lived up to the reputation of police in GK by asking Koko, of the two statues which one was Marco and Polo (it was two separate statues of Marcopolo).
Koko never entertained questions as she was sure of her script and she knew the answers to those untimely questions would be addressed at a later stage.
I befriended the Indian guy and we both helped each other in clicking our respective snaps. He worked for Gulfar in Musact.
At the Grand Palace (built in 1782) we saw the Coronation Hall, the Royal residence, the Chedi where the remains of Buddha are kept and the temple of Emerald Buddha – carved from a blockof green jade and was first discovered in 1434in a stupa in Chiang Rai. At that time the image was covered with plaster and later a part of the plaster on the nose flaked off revealing the green stone underneath. Initially it was thought the stone was emerald and thus the legend of Emerald Buddha began.
I clicked a photo with Koko and promised to sent it to her hotmail.
On our way back there was stop at a Gem factory and outlet. Koko said ‘ you can buy ruby for your friends or secretaries from here….very cheap’ – taking a dig at the elder executives visiting Bangkok with their girl friends or secretaries.
My flight was at 6.30 pm so I left for the airport at 4 pm and for the first time in 4 days I got to know the traffic jams in Bangkok. The 10 minute drive to the highway took 45 minutes. Sensing the situation, my taxi driver re-negotiated the taxi rate and hiked it by another 100 batt – he lived up to the Bangkok taxi reputation: they are out to fleece the tourists at any given opportunity.
I reached Suvarnabhumi airport content of having a great trip and was already looking forward to my next. Not sure of the destination, I was thinking about the possible destinations. One thing was sure. It had to be Europe. After Turkey, Singapore, Srilanka and Thailand it was time for Europe. I walked into a book store at the Duty Free and found a book and my next destination too – Night Train to Lisbon.
The Vibrant Floating market
It was drizzling when I left the hotel at 6.30 AM for the floating market. The surprising fact was that the roads in Bangkok were well maintained, inspite of the incessant rains. The rainy season is similar to that in Kerala which is attributed to the gutters of Kerala roads. Rains does the same things every where…if allowed they clog, roads lines with trees will have rain water dripping on to the tar roads….but only in kerala it uproots the metal and the tar delicately (miserly) laid by the government contractors.
There were three families in the mini bus; two from Dubai – a Swedish couple in their late 40s and a Lebanese family with a 10 year old girl and another family from Singapore with 2 kids. This group was the most reserved and cold. For me it was a solitary tour as I rarely interacted with them.
After 20 minutes of drive huge salt fields were seen spreading over a 10,000 hectares. The fields become active during Dec to May and when the rain arrives the workers migrate to other villages and cities in search of work. Since the ground is salty, people collect rain water in huge pots for domestic purpose.
Our first stop was at a Coconut factory and Orchid farm. At the factory coconut sugar was being produced. Coconut was dried and cooked in huge bronze vessels and the cooked juice was allowd to cool in small cups. Once cooled they were like jaggery cakes.
The Orchid farm had a wide variety of orchids and they had a nursey selling saplings….but sales were very few obviously due to the in-flight restrictions.
I bought a Buddha portrait from the stall and had a quick tea and set-off to the floating market. We reached the entry point of the canal which leads to the floating market. The group was split into two and along with the Lebanese family I boarded a small boat.
The water was murky black. I am told that the canal earlier was inhabited by crocodiles and poisonous sankes. With the advent of toruirns and plying of engine boats they soon vanished. The canal is also famous for being part of a Bond movie – Roger Moore had a boat chase in this very same canal.
The either sides of the canal offers the backwater life of Thailand. Houses erected on wooden platforms with their very own private jetty with a boat parked; it brought back visuals of Kerala and more so with the sights of mango tress, banana, shoe flower, tamarind, coconut and Bougainville lining either sides of the canal.
The driver slowed down whenever a chedi or a Buddha statues appeared in the vicinity – for us to capture it in our cameras. The 30 minute boat trip was refreshing apart from the sight of the murky waters – the cool breeze, fresh green air and the aroma of coconut oil being processed from a near by coconut factory.
Finally we reached the floating market - a huge shopping complex erected on a wooden platform selling almost everything including ‘batik’ paintings and pearls. The sides of the platform are lined with small boats packed with leather bags, Buddha memorabilia, mat products etc a cooking corner that dishes out freshly made thai food. I bought two banana leave trays of pan cakes for 20batt - they were the size of ‘Usha Utup’s bindhi - 16 0f them. They were oven hot and tasted so good…. full of coconut milk, rice powder and sweetened banana paste.
On our way back we had a stop at th ‘Royal Thai Hnadicraft Centre’. The intricate wooden carvings on huge slabs of wood were amazing. I met Anil Chander and family. What a small world!
i send an SMS to Amin - wishng Eid. Later he told me he had send an SMS which i never got.
I had lunch form the Italian restaurant at the hotel – ‘Da Vinci’. Red Mullet dressed with olives and tomatoe with grated cheese and an Italian herb soup. In the evening I visited the Paragon mall. An amazing mall with all the premium brands in attendance and the food court was swarmed with residents and tourists. I ended buying a few clothes and a leather office bag and later had deep fried pork balls. It was one of the spiciest dish I ever had for as long as I can remember. I swallowed 2 cups of coffee to douse the fire within – the mild throat infection got killed in the process.
There were three families in the mini bus; two from Dubai – a Swedish couple in their late 40s and a Lebanese family with a 10 year old girl and another family from Singapore with 2 kids. This group was the most reserved and cold. For me it was a solitary tour as I rarely interacted with them.
After 20 minutes of drive huge salt fields were seen spreading over a 10,000 hectares. The fields become active during Dec to May and when the rain arrives the workers migrate to other villages and cities in search of work. Since the ground is salty, people collect rain water in huge pots for domestic purpose.
Our first stop was at a Coconut factory and Orchid farm. At the factory coconut sugar was being produced. Coconut was dried and cooked in huge bronze vessels and the cooked juice was allowd to cool in small cups. Once cooled they were like jaggery cakes.
The Orchid farm had a wide variety of orchids and they had a nursey selling saplings….but sales were very few obviously due to the in-flight restrictions.
I bought a Buddha portrait from the stall and had a quick tea and set-off to the floating market. We reached the entry point of the canal which leads to the floating market. The group was split into two and along with the Lebanese family I boarded a small boat.
The water was murky black. I am told that the canal earlier was inhabited by crocodiles and poisonous sankes. With the advent of toruirns and plying of engine boats they soon vanished. The canal is also famous for being part of a Bond movie – Roger Moore had a boat chase in this very same canal.
The either sides of the canal offers the backwater life of Thailand. Houses erected on wooden platforms with their very own private jetty with a boat parked; it brought back visuals of Kerala and more so with the sights of mango tress, banana, shoe flower, tamarind, coconut and Bougainville lining either sides of the canal.
The driver slowed down whenever a chedi or a Buddha statues appeared in the vicinity – for us to capture it in our cameras. The 30 minute boat trip was refreshing apart from the sight of the murky waters – the cool breeze, fresh green air and the aroma of coconut oil being processed from a near by coconut factory.
Finally we reached the floating market - a huge shopping complex erected on a wooden platform selling almost everything including ‘batik’ paintings and pearls. The sides of the platform are lined with small boats packed with leather bags, Buddha memorabilia, mat products etc a cooking corner that dishes out freshly made thai food. I bought two banana leave trays of pan cakes for 20batt - they were the size of ‘Usha Utup’s bindhi - 16 0f them. They were oven hot and tasted so good…. full of coconut milk, rice powder and sweetened banana paste.
On our way back we had a stop at th ‘Royal Thai Hnadicraft Centre’. The intricate wooden carvings on huge slabs of wood were amazing. I met Anil Chander and family. What a small world!
i send an SMS to Amin - wishng Eid. Later he told me he had send an SMS which i never got.
I had lunch form the Italian restaurant at the hotel – ‘Da Vinci’. Red Mullet dressed with olives and tomatoe with grated cheese and an Italian herb soup. In the evening I visited the Paragon mall. An amazing mall with all the premium brands in attendance and the food court was swarmed with residents and tourists. I ended buying a few clothes and a leather office bag and later had deep fried pork balls. It was one of the spiciest dish I ever had for as long as I can remember. I swallowed 2 cups of coffee to douse the fire within – the mild throat infection got killed in the process.
Saturday, 18 October 2008
Ayuthaya – land of temples and a reminder of the Burmese aggression
Day 3: 1st Oct, 08
The mini tour bus picked me up at 6.30 am sharp; by then I had a quick breakfast from ‘The Café’ on the 1st floor.
There was a family from Chicago (Indian guy married to a Thai with a Indo-Thai 5 year old girl and on the way an American couple (didn’t look like they were married) also joined. 15 minutes later we were transferred to a bigger bus already filled with another 20 people. It had a different mix of nationalities. Our guide for the day with a long Thai name had also christened himself as ‘peter’ for the convenience of his tourists.
The bus finally set off for ‘Authaya’ (80 km from Bangkok) the ancient capital of Thailand. Initially it didn’t occur to me that the name must have come from ‘Ayodhya’ since Hinduism (they call it ‘Brahmanism’) has and continues to dominate Thai spirituality. The earlier name ' Siam' and even the name 'Thai' have all origins from Sanskrit.
As Peter started to give an introduction to the Thai Culutre and the iteninary for the day, it was raining outside the bus.
On the way we passed by several temples with multi layered roofs and intricate wood carvings embellished with glass work and gold plated finishes. Every few kilometres these decorated temple roofs were visible; even if you miss one there are plenty on the way as there are over 30,000 temples in Thailand.
In addition to the temples, numerous Stupas were seen in the temple compounds and stand alone ones too. They are called ‘Chedi’ (Spirit House) and is an integral part of Thai culture. The ashes of the dead are parted into 3 (homage to the ‘Thrimurhti’)– one part is stored in an earthern pot in the house , another part is immersed in the sea or river and the third part is kept in a ‘chedi’ – another reminder of the influence of Hinduism. The huge ‘Chedis’ are built for the royal family and the commoners get to buy ready made ones (which are very small in size – around 6 feet tall).
Incidentally the Kings’ sister had died in early January and she is yet to be cremated as her Chedi is being constructed and will be completed only in November. The cremation is set for Nov 14 th to 16th...there will not be any entertainment and thais will be wearing black during those days.
The traffic was less as all schools and universities were closed for semester break. Peter was giving some intresting info about the Bangkok and its past. Around 8000 years ago Bangkok was under the sea and it emerged over the years. As of now 1 km of Bankgkok has gone back under the sea. It’s a precarious situation for a low lying land (just 1m above sea level). Bangkok with a population of 8 million (95% of them Buddhist, 3% Muslims and the rest Hindus and Greek Orthodox Christians) stretching over 15 sq km depends heavily on Tourism and Rice farming (worlds biggest rice exporter). Both were affected with the 1995 floods.
The water never receded completely. On the way most of the land was still holding a lot of water raising its level with the tidal waves. New houses were built on wooden platforms and Peter was narrating how he was out of work during those flood days as Tourism just came to a stand still. The floods affected the Thai economy as the paddy fields were completely destroyed. Also boat trips are often interrupted as the water rises and closes the gap between the water surface and bridge making it impossible for the boats to pass under the bridge.
We reached our first stop – The Bang Pia Palace. It has a summer palace and a winter palace, the latter was built in chineese architecture by the Chineese as a gift to the royals. There’s a small lake that flows around the palace that looked very green and calm with a few venetian bridges criss-crossing them.
It was still drizzling and I loved every moment of that beautiful cool wet morning celebrating thai architecture. There was a look-out tower (called the sages look-out tower) in the middle of the compound that gave us a panoramic view of the Palace and the compound. The green lake snaked the palace surroundings and the green landscape with shrubs trimmed as lions, tigers, elephants and dears.
The next stop was at a temple that was partly destroyed by the Burmese. In the whole of the Thai history looks like the Burmese were the villains. They plundered Thailand several times. On the Burmese invasions, there’s an interesting episode were queen Suriotia (not sure of the spelling) disguised as a man went to war. She was killed by the Burmese king and years later her grandson killed the Burmese king and ousted the Burmese. This has been captured on celluloid and it runs for good 5 hours.
The temple compound had hundreds of Buddha statues and only a handful were not mutilated – complete with limbs and head. The rest were all vandalised arguably by the west (Portuguese, Dutch, and even the Japanese). An Indian toruist from Banglore told me that the Buddha sites in India (Gaya) are well kept and this vandalism for sure has to do with the Europeans. Incidentally Thailand is the only country in South East Asia that was not colonised by the West – mostly since Thailand had able rulers during the 1800s and they also exploited the rivalry between the British and French.
Back to the Buddha statues; the first Buddha statues were Burmese style – well decorated and colourful. Buddha statues over a period metamorphosed from Indian to Thai in physical traits. But still curly hair and big ears are considered lucky in Thailand (of course very rare for a Thai gene to process it).
The temple compound had a few ‘Chedi’s that belonged to the earlier kings and his brothers and their wives. The height of the pillars that ring the ‘chedi’s’ at the top end indicates the positon of the deceased in the royal hierarchy.
We moved on to another temple built in the 14th century and the Golden Buddha statue there is 400 years old. The temple compound also had a few ‘Chedi’s and I climbed the narrow steps to all the way up. At the top there was a small Buddha statue and a few dry flowers and burnt out incense sticks were seen lying there. Coming down was a bit scary. The steps were too small and too steep. May be the steps were accurately measured for a petite Thai feet.
Before getting back to the bus one of the numerous vendors selling Buddha statues and other thai artefacts pulled out a small china saucer with images of Thailand printed at the edges and a photograph of mine sticked in the middle. It was really a surpise and I thought I need to buy it even though she charged me 100 bhats for it – it was a pleasant memorabilia.
Our return from Authaya to Bangkok was via a cruise on the 365 km long Chao Praya river – the longest river in Thailand. It was a 3 hour cruise. There were 2 levels and lunch was served in the first level. The upper level was open and lot of westerners gathered there to bask in the mild sunlight.
The waters were clam. Indonesian hyacinth floated on the waters. It was interesting to know that Thai’s dried these unwanted plants, that block the water and clogging the waste, to make baskets and furniture and then export them to Indonesia – what a profitable revenge. They are also used to make fertilizer and to make flower pots and to grow mushrooms. A good learning for the Allepy Town to clean its backwaters, invent new employment opportunities and cut down on mosquito larva. The Choa Praya river banks constantly erode and get wider due to the incessant sand mining – reminded me of the dying rivers in Kerala for the same reason.
It was a good 3 hour of relaxing after witnessing the remains of the Burmese brutality, vandalised Buddha statues, exquisite temples and Chedi’s, water logged paddy fields and land and the uncompromising Thai spirit of welcoming tourists.
The mini tour bus picked me up at 6.30 am sharp; by then I had a quick breakfast from ‘The Café’ on the 1st floor.
There was a family from Chicago (Indian guy married to a Thai with a Indo-Thai 5 year old girl and on the way an American couple (didn’t look like they were married) also joined. 15 minutes later we were transferred to a bigger bus already filled with another 20 people. It had a different mix of nationalities. Our guide for the day with a long Thai name had also christened himself as ‘peter’ for the convenience of his tourists.
The bus finally set off for ‘Authaya’ (80 km from Bangkok) the ancient capital of Thailand. Initially it didn’t occur to me that the name must have come from ‘Ayodhya’ since Hinduism (they call it ‘Brahmanism’) has and continues to dominate Thai spirituality. The earlier name ' Siam' and even the name 'Thai' have all origins from Sanskrit.
As Peter started to give an introduction to the Thai Culutre and the iteninary for the day, it was raining outside the bus.
On the way we passed by several temples with multi layered roofs and intricate wood carvings embellished with glass work and gold plated finishes. Every few kilometres these decorated temple roofs were visible; even if you miss one there are plenty on the way as there are over 30,000 temples in Thailand.
In addition to the temples, numerous Stupas were seen in the temple compounds and stand alone ones too. They are called ‘Chedi’ (Spirit House) and is an integral part of Thai culture. The ashes of the dead are parted into 3 (homage to the ‘Thrimurhti’)– one part is stored in an earthern pot in the house , another part is immersed in the sea or river and the third part is kept in a ‘chedi’ – another reminder of the influence of Hinduism. The huge ‘Chedis’ are built for the royal family and the commoners get to buy ready made ones (which are very small in size – around 6 feet tall).
Incidentally the Kings’ sister had died in early January and she is yet to be cremated as her Chedi is being constructed and will be completed only in November. The cremation is set for Nov 14 th to 16th...there will not be any entertainment and thais will be wearing black during those days.
The traffic was less as all schools and universities were closed for semester break. Peter was giving some intresting info about the Bangkok and its past. Around 8000 years ago Bangkok was under the sea and it emerged over the years. As of now 1 km of Bankgkok has gone back under the sea. It’s a precarious situation for a low lying land (just 1m above sea level). Bangkok with a population of 8 million (95% of them Buddhist, 3% Muslims and the rest Hindus and Greek Orthodox Christians) stretching over 15 sq km depends heavily on Tourism and Rice farming (worlds biggest rice exporter). Both were affected with the 1995 floods.
The water never receded completely. On the way most of the land was still holding a lot of water raising its level with the tidal waves. New houses were built on wooden platforms and Peter was narrating how he was out of work during those flood days as Tourism just came to a stand still. The floods affected the Thai economy as the paddy fields were completely destroyed. Also boat trips are often interrupted as the water rises and closes the gap between the water surface and bridge making it impossible for the boats to pass under the bridge.
We reached our first stop – The Bang Pia Palace. It has a summer palace and a winter palace, the latter was built in chineese architecture by the Chineese as a gift to the royals. There’s a small lake that flows around the palace that looked very green and calm with a few venetian bridges criss-crossing them.
It was still drizzling and I loved every moment of that beautiful cool wet morning celebrating thai architecture. There was a look-out tower (called the sages look-out tower) in the middle of the compound that gave us a panoramic view of the Palace and the compound. The green lake snaked the palace surroundings and the green landscape with shrubs trimmed as lions, tigers, elephants and dears.
The next stop was at a temple that was partly destroyed by the Burmese. In the whole of the Thai history looks like the Burmese were the villains. They plundered Thailand several times. On the Burmese invasions, there’s an interesting episode were queen Suriotia (not sure of the spelling) disguised as a man went to war. She was killed by the Burmese king and years later her grandson killed the Burmese king and ousted the Burmese. This has been captured on celluloid and it runs for good 5 hours.
The temple compound had hundreds of Buddha statues and only a handful were not mutilated – complete with limbs and head. The rest were all vandalised arguably by the west (Portuguese, Dutch, and even the Japanese). An Indian toruist from Banglore told me that the Buddha sites in India (Gaya) are well kept and this vandalism for sure has to do with the Europeans. Incidentally Thailand is the only country in South East Asia that was not colonised by the West – mostly since Thailand had able rulers during the 1800s and they also exploited the rivalry between the British and French.
Back to the Buddha statues; the first Buddha statues were Burmese style – well decorated and colourful. Buddha statues over a period metamorphosed from Indian to Thai in physical traits. But still curly hair and big ears are considered lucky in Thailand (of course very rare for a Thai gene to process it).
The temple compound had a few ‘Chedi’s that belonged to the earlier kings and his brothers and their wives. The height of the pillars that ring the ‘chedi’s’ at the top end indicates the positon of the deceased in the royal hierarchy.
We moved on to another temple built in the 14th century and the Golden Buddha statue there is 400 years old. The temple compound also had a few ‘Chedi’s and I climbed the narrow steps to all the way up. At the top there was a small Buddha statue and a few dry flowers and burnt out incense sticks were seen lying there. Coming down was a bit scary. The steps were too small and too steep. May be the steps were accurately measured for a petite Thai feet.
Before getting back to the bus one of the numerous vendors selling Buddha statues and other thai artefacts pulled out a small china saucer with images of Thailand printed at the edges and a photograph of mine sticked in the middle. It was really a surpise and I thought I need to buy it even though she charged me 100 bhats for it – it was a pleasant memorabilia.
Our return from Authaya to Bangkok was via a cruise on the 365 km long Chao Praya river – the longest river in Thailand. It was a 3 hour cruise. There were 2 levels and lunch was served in the first level. The upper level was open and lot of westerners gathered there to bask in the mild sunlight.
The waters were clam. Indonesian hyacinth floated on the waters. It was interesting to know that Thai’s dried these unwanted plants, that block the water and clogging the waste, to make baskets and furniture and then export them to Indonesia – what a profitable revenge. They are also used to make fertilizer and to make flower pots and to grow mushrooms. A good learning for the Allepy Town to clean its backwaters, invent new employment opportunities and cut down on mosquito larva. The Choa Praya river banks constantly erode and get wider due to the incessant sand mining – reminded me of the dying rivers in Kerala for the same reason.
It was a good 3 hour of relaxing after witnessing the remains of the Burmese brutality, vandalised Buddha statues, exquisite temples and Chedi’s, water logged paddy fields and land and the uncompromising Thai spirit of welcoming tourists.
Later in the night I tried fried fish in thai sauce. I cant complain the food is not spicy but some how I guess I don’t really enjoy thai food.
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Sawat-dii ka
Day 2 : Sep 30, 08
The flight touched the runway of the ‘Suvarnabhumi’ airport at 8.20 am local time. My adjacent seat was occupied by a Canadian guy who had finished his college and was on a 6 month vacation to Thailand. We didn’t talk much as he was watching movies back to back. I watched ‘Sex and the City’ and then took a short nap so that I could utilise my first day in Bangkok without having to rest in the hotel room.
The visa process was simple. it is one of the few places on earth where we Indians get a visa on arrival. It hardly took 10 minutes and in the next 20 minutes I was out of the airport. I was warned by Deepnaker not to take fall for the taxi services that will pounce on you but to go directly to the ‘Taxi Meter’ office and book a taxi to the hotel. I did the same.
After a 25 minute drive I reached hotel Rembrandt. The hotel glass door opened and I walked in with my luggage. "Sawat-dii ka" greeted a beautiful Thai face…she smiled at me and then bowed with the face touching the folded hands. I finished the hotel formalities and took the elevator to my room on the 10th floor. The huge windows opened down to the swimming pool on the 4th floor and to the Bangkok skyline beyond.
Since it was mid noon I decided to go out later in the evening and to utilize the time at hand for a traditional Thai massage. The Thai masseusse rang the bell 25 minutes later. The next 2 hours was a rejuvenating experience. I wore a Thai suit (a soft cotton loose pyjama and top - similar to that jet lee wears in movies wherein he thrashes 20 others who also wear similar suits). I thought this was one of the best night dress man could ever lay his hands on. Anyways the massage progressed and at several points I felt aroused, slipped into quick naps (I even softly snored….and woke up hearing my own snoring) and endured slight pain at times. My body was bend and twisted around her body and swirled in all possible postures that I never ever imagined my body could handle. She was a professional .... dexterously managing the authentic spirit of Thai massage.
After a lunch at the Indian restaurant (Rang Mahal) on the 26th floor and an hour later I walked towards the Skytrain station armed with a map of the city. I took the skytrain to the Siam city centre station (ticket price Bhat 25) and walked towards the MBK mall. This mall houses brands as well as duplicates of all major brands, lots of Buddhist artifacts, cheap clothes, leather, furniture, accessories, coffeshops and what not.
Reached hotel by 8 pm and had dinner at the Thai restaurant in the hotel. I had a sea food soup, grilled pork topped with raw paste of garlic, chillies, lemon grass and lime. I didn’t quite like it. Since I had a slight throat irritation (thanks to the freezing air circulation in the Qatar airways flight) I stayed away from all cold drinks and even wine. So I finished the dinner with a green tea. At a corner i saw malaylam film director/producer Lal and two others engaged in a discussion. one of them looked like a popular cinematographer...i couldnt remember his name.
After dinner, I went for a short walk on the Sukhumvit road and then took a tuk tuk (our very own auto rickshaw). The driver immediately displayed a brochure. A selection of photographs of naked and scantily clad girls. This was not a one time incident. Even while walking in the street or taking a taxi/tuk tuk tourists are approached with such brochures. Its shocking to see the enormity of the sex trade that has entrenched the society. Every second shop in the Sukhumvit by lane is a massage parlour that offers everything. Girls call out to tourists inviting them into the shop.
I came back to the hotel and booked a tour for next morning to the ancient city of Ayuthaya. The tour agent repeatledy informed me that i will be picked up at 6.30 am in the morning....and i placed a wake up call for 5.45 am with the hotel reception.
The flight touched the runway of the ‘Suvarnabhumi’ airport at 8.20 am local time. My adjacent seat was occupied by a Canadian guy who had finished his college and was on a 6 month vacation to Thailand. We didn’t talk much as he was watching movies back to back. I watched ‘Sex and the City’ and then took a short nap so that I could utilise my first day in Bangkok without having to rest in the hotel room.
The visa process was simple. it is one of the few places on earth where we Indians get a visa on arrival. It hardly took 10 minutes and in the next 20 minutes I was out of the airport. I was warned by Deepnaker not to take fall for the taxi services that will pounce on you but to go directly to the ‘Taxi Meter’ office and book a taxi to the hotel. I did the same.
After a 25 minute drive I reached hotel Rembrandt. The hotel glass door opened and I walked in with my luggage. "Sawat-dii ka" greeted a beautiful Thai face…she smiled at me and then bowed with the face touching the folded hands. I finished the hotel formalities and took the elevator to my room on the 10th floor. The huge windows opened down to the swimming pool on the 4th floor and to the Bangkok skyline beyond.
Since it was mid noon I decided to go out later in the evening and to utilize the time at hand for a traditional Thai massage. The Thai masseusse rang the bell 25 minutes later. The next 2 hours was a rejuvenating experience. I wore a Thai suit (a soft cotton loose pyjama and top - similar to that jet lee wears in movies wherein he thrashes 20 others who also wear similar suits). I thought this was one of the best night dress man could ever lay his hands on. Anyways the massage progressed and at several points I felt aroused, slipped into quick naps (I even softly snored….and woke up hearing my own snoring) and endured slight pain at times. My body was bend and twisted around her body and swirled in all possible postures that I never ever imagined my body could handle. She was a professional .... dexterously managing the authentic spirit of Thai massage.
After a lunch at the Indian restaurant (Rang Mahal) on the 26th floor and an hour later I walked towards the Skytrain station armed with a map of the city. I took the skytrain to the Siam city centre station (ticket price Bhat 25) and walked towards the MBK mall. This mall houses brands as well as duplicates of all major brands, lots of Buddhist artifacts, cheap clothes, leather, furniture, accessories, coffeshops and what not.
Reached hotel by 8 pm and had dinner at the Thai restaurant in the hotel. I had a sea food soup, grilled pork topped with raw paste of garlic, chillies, lemon grass and lime. I didn’t quite like it. Since I had a slight throat irritation (thanks to the freezing air circulation in the Qatar airways flight) I stayed away from all cold drinks and even wine. So I finished the dinner with a green tea. At a corner i saw malaylam film director/producer Lal and two others engaged in a discussion. one of them looked like a popular cinematographer...i couldnt remember his name.
After dinner, I went for a short walk on the Sukhumvit road and then took a tuk tuk (our very own auto rickshaw). The driver immediately displayed a brochure. A selection of photographs of naked and scantily clad girls. This was not a one time incident. Even while walking in the street or taking a taxi/tuk tuk tourists are approached with such brochures. Its shocking to see the enormity of the sex trade that has entrenched the society. Every second shop in the Sukhumvit by lane is a massage parlour that offers everything. Girls call out to tourists inviting them into the shop.
I came back to the hotel and booked a tour for next morning to the ancient city of Ayuthaya. The tour agent repeatledy informed me that i will be picked up at 6.30 am in the morning....and i placed a wake up call for 5.45 am with the hotel reception.
Monday, 29 September 2008
Siam - en route
Day 1 : 29th Sep 08
My first trip to an exotic new and far away land…ALONE. Am a bit nervous and excited on how I could pull of the next 4 days, enjoying every bit of it and returning content having made a good trip. It was a decision taken at the spur of the moment. Initial plans to Dubai tumbled as Sophie was travelling to India and Richu had an option for a trip to Salalah.
I am at the Qatar International Airport waiting for the connecting flight to Bangkok; delayed by an hour and now estimated at 9.45 pm. I had second thoughts about carrying my laptop. But it turned out to be a time saver and a redeemer for my dead blog waiting for the last few months to get some fresh new words. I strayed through the airport terminal …and disappointingly discovered that the airport do not offer ‘Airport Lounge’ access for Diners Club members.
I remembered to call Shanavas and wished him Eid Mubarak.
Finally settled down at Costa café with a large Café Latte and delighted to find that my laptop found a wireless network. Plugged my ears with music from my folders – Atif Aslam soothed them with the ‘Tere Bin’ number.
A group or 5 arab young men at a corner table playing cards, a European couple next to my table wiping away the spilt soda from the table and her clutches, that sprayed on to them while opening it (one of them had shaked it quite a bit), an arab young couple taking their photo on the mobile with his wife resting her chin on his shoulder…
Chairs kept on changing the faces of their occupants…there were tired faces, chirpy kiddie faces and faces dipped in paper back books yellowed at the edges; all waiting to continue the journey.
Ashaji entered with the ‘Mera Kuch Saaman’ number and I closed my eyes for a few moments of tranquil ecstasy.
My first trip to an exotic new and far away land…ALONE. Am a bit nervous and excited on how I could pull of the next 4 days, enjoying every bit of it and returning content having made a good trip. It was a decision taken at the spur of the moment. Initial plans to Dubai tumbled as Sophie was travelling to India and Richu had an option for a trip to Salalah.
I am at the Qatar International Airport waiting for the connecting flight to Bangkok; delayed by an hour and now estimated at 9.45 pm. I had second thoughts about carrying my laptop. But it turned out to be a time saver and a redeemer for my dead blog waiting for the last few months to get some fresh new words. I strayed through the airport terminal …and disappointingly discovered that the airport do not offer ‘Airport Lounge’ access for Diners Club members.
I remembered to call Shanavas and wished him Eid Mubarak.
Finally settled down at Costa café with a large Café Latte and delighted to find that my laptop found a wireless network. Plugged my ears with music from my folders – Atif Aslam soothed them with the ‘Tere Bin’ number.
A group or 5 arab young men at a corner table playing cards, a European couple next to my table wiping away the spilt soda from the table and her clutches, that sprayed on to them while opening it (one of them had shaked it quite a bit), an arab young couple taking their photo on the mobile with his wife resting her chin on his shoulder…
Chairs kept on changing the faces of their occupants…there were tired faces, chirpy kiddie faces and faces dipped in paper back books yellowed at the edges; all waiting to continue the journey.
Ashaji entered with the ‘Mera Kuch Saaman’ number and I closed my eyes for a few moments of tranquil ecstasy.
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Corporate Culture … the dilemma of the East!
An Irish executive broke the thin glacial silence in the loo with a puffy fart. There was a sudden moment of stillness among the others busy leaking into wall closets. The Irish guy laughed out and made the inappropriate exhaust looked funny. It worked …others too felt it was an uncontrollable funny moment of air seepage. I too felt the same….but then does an exhaust from an eastern outlet would be treated the same? It would have easily brought in an air of embarrassment and questioned the very basis of personal hygiene and public conduct.
Along with the English language, corporate culture moulded in the cold speckles corners of the western boardrooms over the decades, by spirited men in cotton blended woollen suits, has entrenched the world (at least the common wealth nations and other territories where the west had influenced) in building and fine tuning the governance framework.
Hence the corporate cultural symbols are mostly western and every new entrant, naively gazing at the maze ahead, is expected to pick up the nuances and ever evolving cultural ethics at a pace that demands an instant metamorphosis.
If your pedigree had not peeped out of the fringes of small towns and highland villages then you are in for tough days. You are always on the lookout of being conscious of being relentlessly right in the way you exchange greetings while meeting clients, conducting oneself at meetings, having the fork on left and knife on the right and clearing the cutlery from outside working towards the big white china; and of lately to be seen in corporate power lunches having more of salads, brown and high fibre breads and fruits.
The east had always been tolerant to new cultures, religion and food habits and so for the corporate culture as well. A typical bollywood adaptation of a local would be a bhaiya in white dhoti and baniyan with a one room office adjacent to the go down/whole sale outlet perched on the glazed floor bending forward resting their overgrown belly and elbows on a wooden desk cum drawer that opens up to accommodate bundles of cash and registers that need to be used ad hockly. A few meters away an assistant, one of the few lads who had done well at the village school especially in arithmetic, would be eyeballing a thick register with a convex spine -like a rainbow- changing colours to suit the bhaiya’s temperament.
From a floor level desk-cum-drawer to a boardroom, it’s been a huge leap. It’s a fine balance between the real self that’s evolved over years picking up slices of life from the people and the stories around and the sudden impact of a whole new way of life that eats up half of your adult life.
At a time when the West is incorporating more of the Eastern techniques in exploring the power of the inner self into the corporate culture, may be its time for the East to redraw the blue print for a corporate culture rooted in the ancient secrets of power of the mind together with preserving the creators balance of the life’s forces.
Along with the English language, corporate culture moulded in the cold speckles corners of the western boardrooms over the decades, by spirited men in cotton blended woollen suits, has entrenched the world (at least the common wealth nations and other territories where the west had influenced) in building and fine tuning the governance framework.
Hence the corporate cultural symbols are mostly western and every new entrant, naively gazing at the maze ahead, is expected to pick up the nuances and ever evolving cultural ethics at a pace that demands an instant metamorphosis.
If your pedigree had not peeped out of the fringes of small towns and highland villages then you are in for tough days. You are always on the lookout of being conscious of being relentlessly right in the way you exchange greetings while meeting clients, conducting oneself at meetings, having the fork on left and knife on the right and clearing the cutlery from outside working towards the big white china; and of lately to be seen in corporate power lunches having more of salads, brown and high fibre breads and fruits.
The east had always been tolerant to new cultures, religion and food habits and so for the corporate culture as well. A typical bollywood adaptation of a local would be a bhaiya in white dhoti and baniyan with a one room office adjacent to the go down/whole sale outlet perched on the glazed floor bending forward resting their overgrown belly and elbows on a wooden desk cum drawer that opens up to accommodate bundles of cash and registers that need to be used ad hockly. A few meters away an assistant, one of the few lads who had done well at the village school especially in arithmetic, would be eyeballing a thick register with a convex spine -like a rainbow- changing colours to suit the bhaiya’s temperament.
From a floor level desk-cum-drawer to a boardroom, it’s been a huge leap. It’s a fine balance between the real self that’s evolved over years picking up slices of life from the people and the stories around and the sudden impact of a whole new way of life that eats up half of your adult life.
At a time when the West is incorporating more of the Eastern techniques in exploring the power of the inner self into the corporate culture, may be its time for the East to redraw the blue print for a corporate culture rooted in the ancient secrets of power of the mind together with preserving the creators balance of the life’s forces.
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