In the cool of the hills!

Once upon a time there was a piece of land up on the hills of the eastern Himalayas known as independent Sikkim. This was before the British arrived in India. One part of this hill-state was believed to have "holy and energetic powers" by a certain lama from Pemayangste Monastery of the region. The lama was called Dorje Rinzing. During one of his visits to this particular hill spot he decided to lay down his shrine right at the top. The local people named this area after the holy man and called it Dorje Ling - the "abode of Dorje (the lama)" or the "abode of the Dorje the thunderbolt".

Soon after the British established their headquarters or seat of government in Calcutta, they began to scout around for an elevated location with a cool climate to nurse their sick and wounded. They persuaded the Chogyal (King) of Sikkim to gift them this parcel of land on which lama Dorje Rinzing had built his shrine. They merged this bit of land with the province of Bengal. The shrine was subsequently shifted down to Ging Monastery in Bhutia Basti where it stands till today, but the place continued to carry the name bestowed upon it by the locals. It was the British who anglicised it to Darjeeling and called the hilltop Observatory Hill.

This then is the origin of Darjeeling - many things to many people, from a holy land to a beautiful hill station, to a place which pays humble obeisance to the mighty Goddess - the Kanchenjunga - through the prayers and worship of the local populace!

My undying love affair with Darjeeling started long ago when I spent my childhood in its bosom. The time spent living in Darjeeling was a happy one for this youngster who did not have a care in the world in those halcyon years. Everything that Darjeeling could give was cherished and nurtured with childish zeal. Those were formative and impressionable years for me and, not surprisingly, the lure of the little hill station got absorbed into my blood stream for good. The love only got reinforced every time I went back, which was quite regularly for years to come.

Having settled down in the concrete jungle of the National Capital Region on my own volition and with eyes wide open, there is scant excuse to regret the decision. But being a Delhi-ite has in no way dimmed the memory of that wonderful place in the distant hills of W.Bengal. Living far away has its limitations and to me nothing could be more limiting than being unable to go back to Darjeeling regularly, like it was possible in my years in Kolkata. A family trip for a week in 1982 was the last that we managed and it seemed destined to remain so. Or so I thought!

After a gap of a full 29 years, Kumi and I went back to beloved Darjeeling in end-April this year. People who heard of our plans questioned our wisdom in deciding to do so. Amazingly, folks living in Siliguri, a stepping stone from the hill station (3 hours drive), were the most shocked at our alleged foolishness. They said nothing works there any more. It is dirty & filthy, full of concrete structures, full of shacks, hotels have been shut down, there is water shortage, electricity outages, the local people are hostile and rude etc etc etc. They said that Darjeeling has changed. It is not the same any more. So much so that, having committed ourselves we were in a real dilemma on the eve of our scheduled arrival in Darjeeling. To cancel and lose a lot of money or go? In the end we decided to press on and leave everything to our luck.

Thank God that we did, for we had a wonderful four days at the top! Kumi and I were not on a journey of discovery of Darjeeling. We have been to that hill station many times. We wanted simply to relive the experience of 1982. We were looking forward primarily to spending quality time in the same hotel, located in such sylvan surroundings, where we had such a memorable holiday long ago. We did not need to venture beyond the Observatory Hill, the Chowrasta, the Mall Road, Birch Hill Road, Keventer's and Glenary's. The lovely lawns and terraces of the hotel itself were attractions enough for lazing and whiling away the time!

The hospitality of the hotel itself is a high! The fabulous meals (included in the tariff) are simply a gourmet’s delight. The service is so polished that it makes one feel like a celebrity all the time. Even the cup of tea and the sandwiches & cakes served at 4.00pm every day in the parlour, seemed to assume special taste and flavours in the homely ambience of a warm décor, a roaring fire and congenial company! And what to say of the candlelight dinners every evening? Just a dream!

Kumi and I spent a lot of time in strolling along the serene and beautiful Mall Road around the Observatory Hill. After the walk in snowfall in Canada, it was a different kind of ethereal feeling to walk about in a pure, cool mountain mist! The interplay of mist and sunshine on the hills was magical. We would often stop by the railing just to watch the fog rolling in from the valley. It was something special to be able to gaze at the mountains and know that we were looking at Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal and even Tibet in the far distance.

The one regret was that we were unable to see the snow range from town. The sky did not clear enough to reveal the majesty of the Kanchenjunga even once. We did venture to Tiger Hill, where after a disappointing hour, the mountain goddess condescended to show herself, very briefly, at sunrise! And what a sight that was! A once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Of course Darjeeling has changed! The area just below the Planters' Club has become the taxi stand. The Capital Cinema, which was a landmark for our home is no more, although the clock tower remains. The Rink Cinema is now a shopping mall. A lot of open spaces have been filled up - like the Victoria Park which used to be my playground and which was there even in 1982. A flea market has sprung up on Nehru Road. There are a lot more buildings on the hillsides than what I remembered from the past.

But this was only to be expected! Darjeeling has not deteriorated any more than any of the hill stations in the North. We were given horror pictures of the place. We know very well that the long-drawn Gorkhaland agitation has had its toll on the hill station. But what Kumi and I saw and felt was an experience of a different kind altogether.

With whomsoever we came into contact – and I am talking about the local hill people - was helpful, polite (not at all sullen) and willing to go the extra mile for our benefit or comfort. For instance, the three drivers that ferried us from place to place were sheer assets to have alongside.
The street cleaners were on the job morning and afternoon. In fact Kumi remarked that if only the Delhi roads were cleaned as thoroughly and regularly, the city would improve vastly in everybody’s view! The old favourites like Keventer’s and Glenary’s are still going strong and serve yummy ham sandwiches, shakes and other delights. The Planter’s Club looked good – at least from the outside. Chowrasta was clean and always full of people including a fare share of foreigners! We should know because we spent a lot of time there – just sitting and watching the small world of the hills go by. The hotels were almost filled to capacity, which was surprising! After all it was very much the off-season in Darjeeling!

In the end, I would say that our visit to what the Brits had dubbed the ”Queen of the Hills” was well worth the time and money spent. I think it is futile to compare the place with what it was 50 years ago. It is no worse than any other hill station and it has an unparalled scenic beauty which only the eastern Himalayas can provide. It is therefore well worth the while to back one’s desire to visit Darjeeling and not to pay too much attention to what people say about the place. There is no dearth of prophets of doom!

I cannot help but end my little narrative with what was perhaps the high point of the holiday for me personally. On arrival at the hotel, I made my way to the reception to check in. As I was talking to the manager, a foreigner lady ( to me British from the way she spoke) came and welcomed me. I was a bit taken aback because I could not figure out who she was! Later on I discovered that she was the Executive Director of the hotel – and indeed a British lady by the name of Elizabeth Clarke! Anyway, what puzzled me then and amused me later were her actual words of welcome. Even as I was talking to the manager she came, shook my hand and said “welcome to India”! See what I mean?

It only remains for me to add that, before landing up at Darjeeling, we had spent 2 days in my niece’s place in Siliguri. Siliguri is a big city now, the second biggest in W.Bengal. Needless to say it was beyond recognition. This is not really surprising because I was visiting the place after 29 years! Siliguri is now like any other B class city in India with its share of hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, multi-plexes, fast-food chains, ice-cream parlours, beauty parlours, et al!

However, the drive around the Terai on our second day of stay was truly memorable and highly nostalgic. We drove through the beloved Simulbari Tea Estate where, over the years, I had spent months together in fun-filled holidays, either with the extended family or with my own friends or both!

We drove over the Rakti river which used to be a must-visit for most of us, especially in the hours between breakfast and lunch in the good old Simulbari days. This was where one could get into the water and brave the challenges of the thigh-deep but extremely fast-flowing river!

We discovered a new road to Kurseong which has been driven through the Rhohini Tea Estate which is just adjacent to Simulbari! We also drove through old familiar areas of Marionbari, Panighata, Tirrihana, etc, all replete with fond memories. We crossed the Balason river several times bringing back memories of picnics with mangoes and beer chilled in the river bed!

The Terai remains a beautiful segment of North Bengal in spite of the ravages of the Gorkhaland activism. The tea plantations, the gurgling rivers and the backdrop of the blue hills of the lesser Himalayas, together make a very attractive picture which needs to be savoured.

Canadian Delights!

In all probability it is a sheer coincidence that the federal government of Canada fell the day we left that country! It is true that we, i.e. Kumi and I, did contribute a bit towards Canada's progress by spending a few Canadian dollars here and there! But, contrary to popular belief, I do not think that our departure was the reason for the government to come crashing down!

We began our sojourn in Canada from the Pearson International Airport at Toronto at10.30 local time on the 4th of March this year. We had started off from IGIA Terminal 3 at around 3.05 am of the 4th by the Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, where, after a pleasant stop-over of 3 hours, we took the Air Canada flight to Toronto. The stop-over was spent fruitfully at the Duty Free and at a deli, eating - what else? - Frankfurters, of course!

The Pearson International Airport, though not a patch on our own IGIA T3, did have two very pleasant surprises waiting for us. Firstly, our bags appeared on the carousel in no time, despite all my trepidations! Secondly, I caught a welcome sight of a porter, ready to yank baggage off the carousel in exchange for a modest fee! This exercise had been a point of concern for me and my dodgy back. But now - all was well!

Arvind was there at the airport, armed with (I thought) arctic clothing for the two of us! And a good thing too! Otherwise, on emerging from the terminal, Kumi and I would have been frozen for posterity as some dusky frescos in the icy Toronto air! IT WAS COLD! We drove out in what turned out to be Rupa's Kia Rondo and made good time through a city coloured in various shades of white, grey and brown - Toronto recovering from recent snowfall!

The Soods (Rupa, Arvind and the 2 boys for the uninitiated) live in the suburban hamlet called Scarborough. Their house is an attractive stand-alone house built like a two-storeyed cottage with sloping roofs and a back garden bounded by a picket fence! The whole locality comprised of similar houses inter-laced with neat roads and tidy sidewalks.

We spent three weeks in Canada at Rupa's place, at the end of which we were in no mood to leave! However, due to the usual constraints of everyday life, we did leave eventually, but not before having a wonderful time with the children and grand-children. Arvind and Rupa went out of their way to make us welcome, comfortable, entertained and well fed! It is surely a special gift from God to have such wonderful children.




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Canada was a revelation, to be brief. If people were to ask me about what struck me most about this country, I would be hard-pressed to name it. It was not just one thing but a conglomerate of numerous features that impressed my mind, which is, understandably, tuned to the Indian way of living and functioning. To enumerate all these features would not be easy, but let me try!

The thing that I liked straight away was the obvious harmony amongst its people. We did a lot of walking around in Toronto, Ottawa and Niagara. Nowhere did I see any sign of strain or animosity as people walked together, dined together, enjoyed together. On the contrary, lots of smiling faces and spontaneous greetings were evident wherever we went. In fact, a gentleman in Ottawa actually stopped on his own and asked if we were lost.....which we were!!!
It is, of course, needless to add that he gave us absolutely spot-on directions, unlike the ones we are used to receiving on the streets of Delhi!

Everywhere that we went a particular happy sight met my eyes, irrespective of city or borough. There appeared to be a high percentage of inter-racial social intercourse, for all to see. Whites, blacks, hispanics, Asians et al were visible in large numbers, mostly as couples but also in groups. Try as I did I failed to detect any kind of bias in my general observations or in my interactions with all and sundry, unlike what we sensed in our brief stop-overs in Frankfurt and London. Canadians seemed to be happy and comfortable with their multi-ethnic national identity. I loved the atmosphere of friendliness that greeted us wherever we went, including Rupa-Arvind's multi-ethnic neighbours.


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The other memorable experience was, of course, that of snow.....snow on the houses, snow on the ground, snow on the trees and bushes, snow in the air, snow around the shoes, snow over the shoes, snow everywhere! These whiteouts were not only awesome and magnificent but also hugely exciting, as novel experiences often are. We were lucky to be present during three bouts of heavy snow during our three weeks' stay.

Our first walk in the snow was a thrilling affair. It had snowed overnight so that the morning of the 7th of March revealed a world gone completely white. From the comfort of the indoors (a warm 22 degrees C) it was impossible to gauge the extent of cold that was prevailing outside. Early morning found me lounging in my pajamas and admiring the scenery through the windows – a beautiful landscape in white! Rupa insisted that both of us join her outdoors to savour the "charms" of a Canadian winter morning. She had actually stepped out for a smoke! This was long before we had bathed, dressed or had breakfast! I argued (rather weakly) that it would be improper to step out in the grosssly under-dressed state, but Rupa assured me that none would be the wiser as no one would be visible at that hour, in any case! Moreover we would be all covered up! So, the "arctic" coats were duly donned over the night clothes as were the fur-lined boots, warm hats and warm gloves. Having converted ourselves into virtual ice-men, we opened the front door!

I do not know if you have ever been unexpectedly struck on the face by an ice-berg. If you have, then you will be able to appreciate the feeling we had on opening the door. The difference of temperatures either side of the doorstep was staggering to say the least! Kumi and I gingerly ventured forth into our first encounter with extreme cold, looking like eskimos for all we cared. Our faces were frozen in a second! We shuffled around for a few minutes on the snow-covered driveway trying to get used to this new phenomenon.

After a while, little by little, very slowly, our senses seemed to adapt to the new thermal conditions in our lives. Slowly we began to get a grip on the situation! But just as I was feeling smug at having conquered the cold ,in a rash act of bravado, I took off my gloves! The idea was to reach for the camera. Deservingly, in just moments the hands were frozen and paining from the numbing cold. Needless to say, the gloves were back on in a flash!

Gradually, after the initial shock had passed, we got used to the unimaginable cold, thanks to the alpine attire. So much so that , after breakfast and after the three Sood men had left for their day's calling, Rupa took us on a walking trip to a neighbourhood shopping mart. It was a thrilling trudge through snow. Everything and every place around us was covered in white. We walked past the school grounds - a veritable sea of snow. Our clothes protected us from the weather alright, but the faces were soon dead with the biting cold! Walking around was a novel experience what with having to step carefully over the icy parts even while squelching our way with less difficulty through the layers of powdery snow.

It was only a couple of hours later, after we had regained the warmth of Rupa's kitchen, did she spring upon us the news that we had been wandering around in a temperature of -18 C with a real feel of -25 C!!!

Well, the snow kept us company almost throughout our stay. Thank God it did, because it was certainly the high point of our Canada visit. After our initiation, the two of us would frequently wander off in the snow in delightful escapades, so to say! I shall never forget the ethereal feeling of walking in snowfall that we experienced on one of those days! It was an absolute first for both of us. I must add here that both Kumi and I thoroughly enjoyed the novel experience of a North American winter, despite the doubts expressed by all and sundry back home when they heard of our impending trip to Canada in the month of March!


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We drove around a lot in those three weeks. On the morning of the 12th we set forth for a four day trip to Ottawa & Montreal. The thought of driving 575 kms in 5 hours (driving time) would never have occurred to me had we not actually done it! Needless to say this was possible because of the wide roads, complete absence of any intersections on the highway and, of course, no errant humans, or cattle, or dogs to contend with!


Ottawa and Montreal turned out to be two beautiful cities, both modern and traditional at the same time. Montreal, falling as it does in the province of Quebec, has a pronounced French flavour to it. We were there for a day only but still managed to see the Old City (truly charming with its horse-drawn buggies) downtown Montreal, the famous McGill University, the Church of St Andre, the St. Lawrence river and even a glimpse of the Olympic Stadium from the West Mountain. I must not forget to mention the delicious "Quebecoise" lunch and dinner that we were treated to at my school friend Supro's beautiful home. We even savoured the quintessential Bengali "shingara" in the heart of French Canada! Supro and his charming wife Lennie spent the whole day in looking after us -- from playing guide to playing delightful hosts!


I loved the capital city of Ottawa. It is full of beautiful buildings and bridges and parks apart from the churches and cathedrals. We wandered around leisurely on a bright, cold and sunny day, across a large part of the city and enjoyed the sight of stately buildings like the Supreme Court, the Parliament House, other ornate government buildings, etc. The Basilica of Notre Dame was simply magnificent with its exquisite stained glass and frescoes. We also spent a fascinating afternoon at the Museum of Civilisation.

Once again, an elderly white couple, who were also sauntering along the snow-covered streets of Ottawa, stopped to chat with us about the history of the Basilica de Notre Dame, which we were passing. Rupa was admiring a mural or fresco on the outside of the church, which, I believe, drew their attention. They are the ones who prevailed upon us to visit inside and take pictures of the magnificent interiors. And we did exactly that! Had not this lovely couple taken so much interest in our exploration of the city, I doubt if we would have experienced the overpowering splendour and beauty of this famous cathedral.

We came back to Toronto on the 15th to find that the snow had completely disappeared from the rooftops, trees, streets, from everywhere, thanks to a couple of days of glorious sunshine. The whole feature of Toronto seemed to have changed. Gone was the white shroud of snow that hid everything about the city from the eyes of the beholder! However, we soon discovered that this was only a short interlude, so to say!


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In two days' time we were off again, this time to see the wonder of wonders, the legendary Niagara Falls. And a wonder it sure is! What a sight! What a truly overpowering, awesome and astounding sight!

I got transported while standing almost over the Falls, as it were, leaning on the railing and looking straight down into the incredible Horseshoe! The sight of millions and millions of gallons of water of the Niagara river incessantly pouring into the gigantic gorge is something which can only be seen to be believed! There is something mesmerizing – something compelling – about it. The other two falls, the Cascades and the Bride's Veil, although very impressive, are not a patch on the one and only Horseshoe Falls. It is huge. It is marvelous. It is unbelievable! So much the pity that, because of the winter season, the mind-blowing boat ride into its spray, called the Maid of the Mist, was closed and we missed it!

Like gazing at the Taj Mahal, one can spend hours together in the Niagara Falls too, just drinking in its tremendous atmosphere and aura. The roar of the waterfall, the mountainous spray and the jaw-hanging incredibility of it all contribute to one's sense of sheer awe. No wonder that the Niagara Falls have been immortalised down the years in film, music and literature. Who can forget Marilyn Monroe and George Ewell portraying the romantic mysticism of the Falls in the iconic movie "Niagara"!

In simple words, the sight of the Niagara Falls was the undoubted piece de resistance of our visit to Canada.


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Back in Toronto, we were to experience another bout of snowfall. It is amazing how the all-round scenery changes dramatically with every, snowfall or thaw. We were back inside the enormous white shroud of snow in no time! Not that Kumi or I was complaining! On the contrary! In fact, Kumi did a fair share of snow shovelling which is so much a part of life in Canada. I was spared the dubious distinction because of my back problem!

Driving or walking around Toronto was great fun. Unfortunately, 59 Wynford Drive in Don Mills is no more. The magnificent building housing Bata International Centre has been replaced by another more utilitarian structure after BSO moved its global headquarters out of Canada and into Switzerland. The memory of the iconic building, which formed a part of every Bataman’s life, will remain just that, a memory!

We did spend an appreciable amount of time on a windy and rainy day in the Bata Shoe Museum in downtown Toronto. It was mesmerizing! I wouldn’t call it a shoe museum at all. Rather, it is a museum of history, down the ages, across all continents, depicted through the evolution of footwear. It is simply fascinating! And it is large! It occupies full four floors! It is such a pity that the curators do not allow photography through flash at all. In the subdued lighting, my camera could not cope without flash.

The Canada National Tower was another memorable experience. The famous symbol of Toronto, indeed Canada, is the third tallest tower in the world, and believe me it is tall! The view from near the top (you actually do not get to the real top) is breathtaking! It is Toronto in miniature. An aircraft taking off from the Toronto City Airport looked like a grasshopper moving along a white carpet!

The glass-bottom floor (by the way, it is only part of the floor, not the whole thing as one may be led to believe!) is truly amazing. I was sure that I would be seized with a bout of vertigo the moment I ventured on to it. But surprise of surprises! Nothing of that sort happened! In fact I managed to take a couple of pictures of the city way down below, through the glass. Toronto in miniature, indeed! In fact, Kumi and Kabir stayed away scrupulously, clutching at each other! No such problems for Mr. Raghav (all of seven!) who sought a birds-eye-view of the city by lying on his stomach and peering down!

On our way back from the CN Tower we had to get into a cab as it was a long way off to where the car was parked. This turned out to be another special experience as I, who sat in the front, was heartily greeted by a Sat Siri Akal! Our cabbie turned out to be a Mr.Avtar Singh from Jalandhar! I immediately pounced on the opportunity to practice some of my rustic Punjabi on him! However, I cannot really claim that Mr.Singh was highly amused!

Toronto is a beautiful city with wide, sweeping roads and lovely buildings of all kinds all over the place. The pace of life appears to be delightfully gentle. People seem to be relaxed and at peace. No signs of frenetic rush for anything and everything. The public transportation system revolves round the underground railway which is networked by an efficient bus and cab system. Downtown Toronto even has charming streetcars (trams?) running through the main routes.

There are a large number of art & culture centres which can keep a person occupied for days on end. They have beggars too, though no stray dogs or cattle perambulating on the city roads! But that is a minor blemish.

All in all, my kind of city!


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The telltale nature of any city or country is much revealed by the eating choices of the people! From what little we could see, Canada eats big; it eats everything; it eats everywhere: and it eats out regularly! As a true reflection of the population, the local cuisine on offer is also multi-racial and multi-national. There are eateries in plenty - starting from the finest of fine dining options down to the food-courts presenting a huge choice of fares from all over the world.

It is perhaps needless to say that with foodies like Arvind and Rupa around, our dining out experiences were both copious and adventurous! Why let grass (or snow!) grow under your feet? We started in right earnest from the second day of our visit itself by paying obeisance to the Red Lobster on a rainy afternoon! Sea food at its best! Crab, lobster, shrimps, fish, what have you! Red Lobster is a popular chain of sea-food restaurants in Canada. The food was delicious, the portions were humongous and the accent of the waitresses, totally unfathomable! It merits a mention that I finished my sojourn in Canada having had salads everywhere but ended up with only Thousand Island dressing each time, because it was the only one I could understand! .The rest of the choices were invariably lost in the accents of the serving ladies!


We ate in a couple of Irish pubs in both Toronto and Ottawa, interestingly named The Royal Beagle and the Heart & Crown, St Patrick’s Day was on us which meant special festivities and special food, together with the inevitable – the inn-keeper’s best pint of mild!


We had yummy, juicy steaks in a restaurant in Niagara, strangely called “The Outback”! We had lovely fish dishes in the outrageously named “Fish Market” in the trendy Ward Market of Ottawa. We savoured superb Canadian fare in eateries variously known as “Four Brothers” and “Family Restaurant” in Niagara. There was a delicious celebratory oriental sea-food dinner on Kumi’s birthday at a place called “Rsstorant Malaysia” in Toronto. On Kabir’s request we even had an Indian meal in a Bangladeshi restaurant in Ottawa called, believe you me, “Indian Restaurant”!


We had Japanese food in a place called “Chako” in Toronto. Now, this was an extraordinary experience for us because, here, everyone has to cook his own dinner right there on the dining table which is equipped with several burners! Having never cooked anything more than an occasional boiled egg, I was naturally quite nervous about the prospect. I need not have worried. Raghav showed me the way. In fact he did most of my cooking!


Even the wayside eating places on the expressways are plenty in number and range from quite fancy to the mundane. A& W, attached to a petrol pump (called Service Centres) in Kingston en route to Ottawa, was clean, neat and efficient in doling out sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, etc. On our way back we stopped for lunch at “Denny’s” in the town of Napanee. This was a much more classy place serving gourmet short-orders and regular meals for motorists who keep passing by all day. I shall remember “Denny’s” in particular, because this is one place where I could find manageable portions to eat from a selection of dishes for senior citizens!!


Finally, we did have our trysts with the ubiquitous “Tim Horton’s”, the place in Canada for coffee and doughnuts! Let me tell you they are not over-rated in the least! We also had our share of food-courts and McDonald’s and a tiny place called “Soups & Sandwiches” in the charming village of Unionville in Toronto!


If we add to this list the dishes churned out daily by Rupa and the dinner given in our honour by their friends Noel and Susie (mind-blowing mussels, pork dishes, et al!) it adds up to a lot of wonderful food! So gastronomically, the Canada trip was a real gourmet’s delight which almost turned us into veritable gourmands!


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We discovered a lot of the Canadian way of life by spending time at home with Rupa, Arvind and the children. Since they were not in a condo, their life, to a large extent, comprises out of doors activities. Shovelling and blowing snow, defrosting cars, raking dry leaves during fall, mowing the lawn in good weather, tending to the garden, mending the fences, disposing trash the specified way and on specified days – all these keeps the hands full for the average person. And do not forget the indoor activities like cooking, cleaning, dish-washing, clothes washing, floor-polishing, house-keeping, etc – all aided by fancy apparatus but performed by the self. The system makes the people very hard-working and not so much subject to hard work, if you know what I mean! And it is not a bad thing at all!

One interesting feature of life in a Canada home is the very Indian habit of being barefoot once indoors. Every home has a closet, either walk-in or otherwise, located in between the double doors at the entrance. This is where visitors leave their footwear behind and householders store them. The various jackets, hats, gloves etc. are also kept here. Shades of South India and Bengal?

We were fascinated by the way the GTA authorities (Greater Toronto Area) go about their duties. Since we visited during winter we were witness to how promptly and efficiently they descend with mechanized snow-ploughs of various sizes to clear the roads soon after a bout of snowfall. Even the tree-care people regularly arrive with their massive trucks. The team of two (including the driver) treat the trees with various injections, chop off overhanging or dying branches and instantly convert them into wood dust by passing them through a hopper on the truck which is connected to a grinder powered by the vehicle’s engine! Reminded me very strongly of our crumb plants in the rubber factories which converted scrap Hawai sheets into reusable crumb!

Self-help is the style of living on a daily basis. Whether one is shopping, filling petrol in the car (ooops sorry! it is gas, not petrol!), automatic washing of the car, - one has to do it by oneself. One even has to personally key in the amount of tips into a hand-held computer brought forth at the time of payment at a restaurant! Of course this is not unique to Canada alone.. Nevertheless, I shudder to think what I would have done if I had to contend with so much technology at every step in life! Give up? Become a hermit? Commit suicide? Well, I think not. I would have adapted. After all, it is a good life out there!

Canadians are heavily dependent on the weather for planning their day. The days of uninterrupted sunshine are not so many as we are used to having in India. They have to contend with rain, snow, gales, storms, etc on a fairly substantial basis. Proximity to the cold land mass to the north, the presence of oceans on two sides and the proliferation of very large lakes, exert their varied influences on the Canadian climate. So, people are naturally reliant on weather forecasts given out regularly over the radio, TV or news papers. I must say that the accuracy of the forecasts are amazingly spot-on! Amazing because in India we are simply not accustomed to such precise guidelines. If the forecast says that snowfall is expected from 3am and will last till 10pm, you can be sure that this is exactly what is going to happen. If there is forecast of rain or sunshine, then again one knows exactly what to expect! Makes life easier, doesn’t it? It was a pleasure to read the weather forecasts every morning and track the pattern through the day!

The Toronto Star is a nice newspaper to read. From it I gathered that the Canadian economy had not really fully recovered from the recent downswing judging by the stories that popped up from time to time regarding some discontent arising out of austerity drives/pink slips apparently initiated by some corporates. There appeared a few allegations of corruption in high places, which really surprised me. Canada, after all, is rated one of the least corrupt of nations and it also appears to be so everywhere!

Apart from the weather and politics the Toronto Star interested me with their coverage on contemporary music which sounded familiar from time to time – what with Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, etc making news quite often. But what captivated me the most was that the Star kept us in the loop with the Cricket World Cup on a regular basis!




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We were very pleased to see the happy life that Arvind, Rupa, Kabir and Raghav have got into. There is no struggle, no panic and not much problems living in a highly tolerant and enlightened society. They have brought about a happy work-life balance which is such a rarity in contemporary corporate India. They have found some wonderful friends which is a boon in a foreign country.


The boys have adapted well to the school system which provides a far more conducive learning environment than we have in India. No pressure. No inhuman work loads. They have been duly initiated into the nuances of sports like ice-hockey, American football, baseball, etc but still have major interest in soccer and cricket. In fact I was often hard pressed to cope with Raghav’s knowledge of world soccer and its stars! They have enough playtime, including time for weekly lessons in unarmed combat like karate. Obviously, they are enjoying themselves and have taken to their new life like ducks to water, This is never more evident than in hearing Raghav’s marked North American twang in his speech!!


We left Canada on the 25th of March with heavy hearts from parting with our children. But we were also much consoled by the fact that they have struck out on their own to seek their fortunes in a distant land; with the prospect of building a dream future; and provide a secure, fulfilling and meaningful life to the boys.


A bit of drama was still left to unfold. On our way back the Air Canada flight to Frankfurt got delayed. In fact we had not only boarded but also had a sip of the welcome glass of champagne, when we are asked to disembark. The later flight made us miss our connection at Frankfurt. So, instead of flying east to New Delhi we were pushed west to London! Anyway, after a wait of 5 hours at Heathrow (where we had to suffer the most horrendous of soggy sandwiches!) we finally flew out to touch New Delhi at 10.00am of the 27th of March!

What's a good word?

I honestly believe that there has to be some kind of universal language - Esperanto, for example? - that aspiring politicians must master before they make a foray into public life. Otherwise, much time will be wasted in trying to figure out what one is saying to the other. Additionally, more time-consuming and difficult will be the task of calming ruffled feathers at the drop of a Gandhi Topi!

Every time a public servant utters words which are new to the intended audience, sinister meanings are ascribed to them. Eyebrows are raised in anger. Accusations of slander are flung around. Motives of political vendetta are suspected. Soon it becomes grist to the mill for interpersonal, inter-party or inter-departmental face-offs.

Take the expression "spoilt brat". You and I are certainly no strangers to this description of a fellow human being. Perhaps, we have to deal with more than our share of them in our everyday lives! We do not panic at calling or being called spoilt brats. We do not take offence at this. After all it is a matter of perceptions, in the end. But does Mr.Gadkari think so? No. He thinks Manish Tiwari indulged in bad-mouthing him in the vilest possible words! Well, one can only hope that Gadkari saab brushes up a little on colloquial English before he pronounces judgements on the alleged mal-content of a word simply because he fails to appreciate its nuances!

This is reminiscent of the controversy that descended on Sashi Tharoor for having referred to economy class travel on international flights as "cattle class" travel. I had written about it on April 5 2010 in the post "It pays to increase your word power!" What a colossal drama was enacted by the law-makers and the media alike! All because of the lack of understanding of the connotations of certain words and expressions!

The "Headless Chicken" episode was no less an exercise in stupidity than the "cattle class" and "spoilt brat" cases!

It is not just a lack of mastery of the English language which leads to the wastage of time, money and commitment of the public servants. Molehills can be easily turned into monstrous mountains by the lack of appreciation of the vernacular, as well! Just recall the hilarious case of Nilotpal Basu. He was once stopped at the gate of Parliament House by the security guard who had failed to recognize him. Mr. Basu did not mind this at all. But when the guard called a superior and said that there was a "banda" at the gate calling himself Nilotpal Basu and was it alright to let him in, Basu babu flew into a terrible rage. He took extreme umbrage at being called a "banda" which, seemed to him, to be a bad word of the most heinous type! Well, it was a while, after much effort by a lot of people, that Mr. Basu was finally assuaged!

Therefoe, in the interest of the nation's progress and image, I contend that some kind of an universal languge be made compulsory for our public servants. No doubt, we, the general public, will lose out on a good laugh or two but the world will be spared the agony of the nonsesical dramas enacted from time to time due to language barriers.

The murky side of the Games!

Thank God the Prime Minister wasted no time in ordering a thorough probe into the shenanigans of the Commonwealth Games. Despite the doubts generated in peoples' minds by the hysterical media as to whether the games would be held at all, the latter went off with a bang! Indeed the Games brought immense and much-deserved laurels to our silent, unseen and highly-ignored sportspersons from all over India. The athletes excelled and out-did themselves in the various disciplines, so much so that they reeled in a record haul of medals!

All these super achievements were almost rendered non-starters by the, I would say, Indian way of doing things i.e. with little imagination, no competence, zero professionalism, a high degree of ego-clashes and, of course, the pan-Indian and innate epidemic of corruption. Please pardon me if my views offend you in any way. I am not at all a cynic by nature. But decades of life in the corporate world and co-habitation with our other fellow-citizens through everyday or business experiences, have convinced me that corruption is more widespresd than we perhaps believe. This makes bungling shamateurs of a whole lot of us. And that is why I am happy that a detailed probe has ben instituted. My only prayer to God is that let the investigators not be corrupt too!

I had mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I am eagerly waiting to see who will be the popular scapegoat for the whole exercise - for, a scapegoat will be there for sure! Mr. Kalmadi has emerged as the favourite! Let me clarify before my good friends pounce on me! Suresh Kalmadi cannot be a scapegoat in the real sense because he himself is steeped in this controversy. However, in so far that he is being pushed forward to take the rap on behalf of all others does make him a scapegoat of sorts...or the American "fall-guy" if you so prefer.

This is my point. Let not the probe forget to examine the roles of the earstwhile Union Sports Minister, the current Union Sports Minister, the Union Urban Development Minister ( who was entrusted the responsibility to co-ordinate and oversee the preparations for the Games), the Cabinet Secretary, the bureaucracy of the concerned ministries, the numerous government departments responsible for the infrastructure, the civic agencies, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and ,of course, the State government itself!

Let not only the Organizing Committee be left to bear the blame for the rampant inefficiency and corruption attributed to the XIX Commonwealth Games because all of them were equally involved in the task. So, the truth - and nothing but the truth - must be unearthed.

May we, the nation, live in hope for retribution and just desserts for ALL the culprits, whoever they may turn out to be?

From Al's Diary....What was that again?

I was associated with Toshali Resorts International for a little over 3 years. During this time I was privy to some hilarious experiences which have left me with a rich repertoire of anecdotes. These anecdotes have the makings of entertaining drawing room natter with friends, on a leisurely evening or two.Let me recount a few of them for my readers.

The people in TRI, from the Directors to the junior executives, formed a milieu of cross-cultural personalities. The diverse ways of talking, the choice of words, the accents, the pronunciations - all carried a distinct Pan-Indian flavour! This made for a heady cocktail of unbelieavable hilarity.

Take the case of one of the General Managers. I shall never forget the earnestness with which he breezed into my office one morning to propose that " aal journal managers must be alotted steam cars or state cars". At least, phonetically, this is what I heard. I was foxed, to say the least. However, soon enough, I reasoned that our GM(of good North Indian stock) was, perhaps, being funny. It was obviously his humorous way of suggesting some innovations in cost-saving by converting the company's vehicles into steam-driven ones! But,when he started talking about prestige of the senior management, I realised that I was on the wrong track. By some nimble mental footwork, based on years of exposure to the vast possibilities of North Indian pronunciations, I finally realised that he was actually advocating that all General Managers be provided with big cars by the company, like the Esteem(Maruti) or the Estate(Tata). So much for innovations and cost-reductions!

On another occasion, the same worthy gentlemen was coaxing me into coming to his house for a stag lunch on a Sunday. Quite honestly,for various reasons, I did not find the idea welcome. So I demurred saying he lived vary far away and I did not know that part of the city at all. At this, he gave me a massive thump on the back and assured me that "it is no praablem yaar! I live in Palam Gaon. You know Palam Vihar sir ji? My rasidence is a mere crow's throw from there!" Crow's throw? That was a new one alright! I thought to myself that only an uber-confident North Indian could so unabashedly synthesize "as the crow flies" and " a stone's throw" to come out with a completely original howler such as this!! I could not wait to go home and tell Kumi and the kids about this. Obviously, I also shared this with many of my friends. Boy was it a hit! So much so that I heard one friend narrating the experience some time later as one of his own and, that too, in my presence!!! Talk about stolen thunder!

The eastern states of India do not lag far behind either in producing innovative and unique conversational masterpieces. TRI is an Orissa based company and, naturally, the owners and Directors mostly hail from that state. The MD, a tubby man of pleasant disposition, had foxed me early on in my stint with the company with some classic Oriya-accented pieces like - launch,doll,lob,ROM. Only later did I come to realise that he actually meant lunch,dull,love,rum, etc. How was I to know that the alphabet u is given a wide berth by a majority of Oriyas?

One day, in the weekly morning conference of the top management, we discovered that all were present except the big boss himself. Naturally,we waited and sure enough, after 10 minutes or so he appeared and started to apologise forthwith. " Sorry for the late" he began. "Actually what happened was that I was arrested!" We were all taken aback and were anxious to know what transpired. It seems his driver jumped a red light and was pulled up and challaned by the cops. That is how he was " arrested!" He added for our benefit that "The problem was that I had no monny. Fortunately Mr. Bhora (read Vohra) was also passing that way and he stopped to escape me from the police and absconded me in his car!" He further lamented that "too many traffic signals are being installed. Yesterday while going home I discovered that our locality has become a totally red-light area!!"

During one morning conference the big boss had all of us stumped by his indictment of all "overnight fly-byers". He exhorted us to be extra vigilant in protecting the goodwill and good reputation of our product, our organisation and the credibility of the industry as a whole. Although we recognized the importance of the goodwill and credibility part, the rest of us were much exercised about the mystery of the "overnight fly-byer" phenomenon. Our attempts to tactfully elicit the meaning of this expression produced no satisfactory result, especially since the MD was not very fond of being questioned about his pronouncements. Only when he made a couple of references to some new, wet-behind-the-ears Time Share operators who had turned out to be the "here today, gone tomorrow" type, did it dawn on us that he was actually talking about the fly-by-night operators who had suddenly mushroomed in the industry!!! It is needless to point out that the lunch hour in the office was a specially boisterous one that day!

One day our assistant manager in the Customer Relations department, burst into my room, somehow uttered a "good morning sir" and flung herself into a chair, before I could even say Jack Robinson! On top of that she broke out into a paroxysm of uncontrollable laughter!

Considering the fact that it was well short of 9.30am and she was a habitual late comer, I was completely baffled at the turn of events. Why the laughter (in particular), I was asking myself? Well, eventually the young lady gathered herself and explained that she had purposely come in early to appraise me of what she had experienced the previous evening in a meeting with the MD.

On the previous day, the head of the Customer Relations department had been on leave. As a result of this, the big boss had asked my early visitor to see him at 5.00pm to discuss various issues related to that section. As the discussion progressed the boss lost track of the time. Many of the client-related points were complicated and my visitor, being a junior, was struggling at times to fill in. Suddenly the big boss asked her "you are missing your boss, no?" Our young friend very candidly said "yes sir, she has vast exoerience in this field and she really helps me out whenever I have any problem, especially in important discussions like this". The big boss looked dismayed and hastily clarified "No no no! I am talking about your "chotor bos" - you have missed it, no! It is already 7.00pm!" The Assistant Manager (CR) claimed, that as soon as she realised that the boss was in fact referrring to the Chartered Bus that she availed of every day, she excused herself for the night and ran away lest she burst out laughing on his face!

One of the officials, who was a popular man, was in charge of Toshali Sands, the company's resort on the Konarak-Puri Marine Drive in Orissa. Although he operated out of Sands, there came a time when he was given the additional responsibility of Toshali Royal View, Kufri in Himachal Pradesh. Obviously, this meant a lot of travel to and fro for him. One day, when he was visiting the Corporate Office in Delhi en route Kufri, I asked him if he even knew where he would spend the next week in, at any given point of time. He was very frank and forthright about his plight. He said " it is bheri difficolt. You see I have both my legs on one side!" I am still trying to figure out that one!!

The eastern states of India also contain West Bengal. Needless to say we had a fair number of Bengalis too in the organisation. One such gentleman was in our Admin Dept. This man was excellent in getting a job done - any job. However, while he was very high on delivery, he was a bit rustic in his spoken English. He became a source of a lot of hilarity in office by his doings - whether yelling at the top of his voice on the telephone "I want you. I want you now!" while asking a girl employee to report to office or whether ordering "bhanilla with cadbury" for dessert (meaning vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce!) during an annual departmental lunch in a restaurant.

But the piece de resistance came at one of the official dinners at my residence. These dinners at our home had become a half-yearly feature by popular demand of our Advisor, Mr. Pran K Choudhury. On one occasion such a party was sprung on me at a couple of hours' notice. Therefore I had no alternative but to ask some caterer to put up the dinner. And, since I would be stuck in office till late, I designated Manager Admin to look after everything, food, drinks, service, etc to help out Kumi who was still in office.

The evening went off well. I had whispered into the ears of Mr. Admin to keep a discreet eye on the bar and the bartenders. He must have taken his task a little too seriously for, soon enough, I discovered a merry twinkle in his eyes and a new-found verbosity, both of which were quite uncharacteristic of him.

Just a few days earlier, I had finalised a new house for our MD. It was no mean task because he kept dilly dallying inordinately till the prospective landlord gave us an ultimatum. Only then was the deal clinched. Earlier, I had deputed our man in Admin. to carry out the initial search and short list 2 houses for my final approval before I invited the MD to see it.

At the dinner, after being suitably primed by a few large ones, our man from Admin suddenly dropped his reticence and decided to join in on the conversation. He approached the MD and announced with glassy eyes and a pasted smile "You are bhery lucky sir,you phound new house! You are bhery lucky sir." After this, every now and then he would stagger up to the MD and repeat "You are bhery lucky sir!" I had to quietly lead him awsy from the MD by asking him to check up on the caterer. Even then, off and on he would be back to accost the MD with the familiar refrain of "You are bhery lucky sir!"

Anyway, the evening progressed nicely. Everybody appeared to be in a mellow and jovial mood. The conversation ranged from the latest blockbuster on screen to the Pokhran II blast. In the meantime,the periodic reminder to the MD of "You are bhery lucky sir!" continued with metronomic regularity. So,finally, when the caterer informrd me that dinner was ready to be served, the news came as a great relief to me in my capacity of an embarrassed host! But I had counted my blessing a little too early! Before I could even approach the guests to invite them over to the buffet, our over-zealous man from Admin. had artfully dodged past me, planted himself right in front of the MD and announced "You are bhery lucky sir, dinner is served!"

In the land of the Lion People

The 1st of September this year saw Kumi and I set off to spend a week or so with our cousins in Singapore. And since we were to be in the vicinity, anyway, we thought it worthwhile to spend a few days in Malaysia as well, on our way back, as neither of us had been to that country! This, however, was not our first visit to Singapore. To say the least, this trip was as memorable as our previous one in 2003.

Singha pura - is the land of the lion people, as the derivation of the name goes, based on local folklore. This whole myth is captured dramatically by the imposing image of the "Merlion", half lion half mermaid, that guards the Marina Bay, at the centre of commercial and, at one time, maritime activities of the island.

Singapore is a city after my own heart. To my mind,the place is a visitor's delight. It is clean, pretty, orderly, disciplined, highly civil, totally safe and very very easy to move around in. Above all, it is still quite inexpensive. It is a foodie's paradise. It has wonderful sights to see. It has high-end entertainment in the form of night-clubs, theme parks and casinos. It offers you a drink any time, any place without feeling apologetic or moralistic about it!!!. And it is the epitome of secularism - nobody cares a hoot about your faith, the colour of your skin or the country of your origin.

Singapore is completely and truly cosmopolitan. That is what appeals to me most.

One remarkable thing is that all waitresses,waiters, cabbies,bus-drivers, MRT operators, bell-hops, airport officials - in fact practically everybody - is friendly and helpful and English speaking. Nobody will ever ask for or suggest by body language a tip, although tips are always appreciated.

It is difficult to think of an unknown place of visit which is so completely tension-free and tourist-friendly.

Also,Singapore being a relatively small city, no place is too far! The public transport system is so good and efficient that moving around the city at any time of the day or night , is easy, comfortable (air-conditioned whether you are in a cab, bus or MRT),relaxing and safe. I certainly cannot dream of such conditions in any city in India. It is a revelation,as indeed is the traffic discipline. For a Delhiwalla, it is impossible to imagine that not a single motorist breaks any traffic rule despite the absence of any cops on the streets!!! On our first visit to Singapore, Kumi and I happily went our own ways without any fear of the unknown or the untried.

The buses are beautiful. The only challenge, for a short-term visitor, is to know the intricacies of the routes. The cabbies issue receipts and carry substantial change so that one is never in a bind to pay the fare without hassles.

Achintan & Sraboney Dey, our cousins, and their lovely little daughter Rani live in a wonderfully peaceful residential area on Meyer Road, near the East Coast Parkway, quite close to the ocean.

Well, we arrived at Changi Airport at around 8.30 in the morning of the 2nd of Sept having changed flights at Kuala Lumpur ( a three-hour hiatus, just enough to disembark, do immigration, breakfast, do immigration again, do customs and embark!)The Deys were there to receive us (imagine!) That day was spent on generally relaxing and catching up with some sleep. The next seven days were action packed, to say the least!

We were lucky to have visited Singapore and KL during Id, since both places were celebrating the festival with long week-ends. The festival is known as Hari Raya Aidulfitr and is celebrated with much gusto. I sent a "Salamat Hari Raya Aidulfitr" greetings to my friend Mowla in Kolkata. He must have been totally stumped by the message as he failed to acknowledge it, despite the fact that I had thought it prudent to add a cautious "Id Mubarak" at the end!

In the next week, we drove around quite a bit (mercifully it is a small city!),visited the Jurong Bird Park, took a ride on the Singapore Flyer, cruised on a bumboat down Singapore river, loafed on the famous Orchard Road, wandered around the fascinating China Town, shopped at Mustafa's in Little India, walked along the ocean-front on the East Coast and, of course, gorged on the food that Singapore has to offer in great abundance and variety.

What we did not do was to visit Sentosa Island and the Zoological Park, since we had done that in our previous trip. We were determined to be as little touristy as possible and concentrate on visiting only the favourite places - just to lounge, laze, eat and drink. But we did recall the splendour of Sentosa often enough in our discussions. It is difficult to forget the dazzling laser show with the "Dancing Fountains", the performing dolphins or for that matter the Underwater World where fish, big and small, went about their business above us as we walked under the sea!

As I said, China Town is simply fascinating! It is quaint; it is bustling; and it has an extra-ordinary array of typically and rare Chinese things on offer.It really pays, both in terms of education and bargains, to venture into the deep interiors of shops lining the numerous lanes and interact with the elderly shop-owners who are full of tales of old Chinese practices and customs. Very rewarding. Lovely place to shop for things with local flavour. We picked up a gorgeous looking dice-shaker complete with dice (genuine used stuff of yersteryear, not a replica or toy) which was used in Chinese gambling dens. The proprietess, much taken in by our keen interest in matters Chinese, even dug out two good-luck coins to prepare us for the casinos!!! Little did she know that, unlike most Indian tourists of today, we were not in the least interested in visiting them. We also managed to pick up a famous narrow-necked glass bottle with intricate artwork on the inside, a typical masterpiece of miniature work for which the Chinese are renowned. We immediately decided to present it to our sweet daughter-in-law. These rare items in China Town come a little pricey, but they are worth it, aren't they?. However, most of the things on sale are very reasonable, quite inexpensive. I even picked up a genuine Chinese silk shirt. Very cheap. The question is, when do I wear it? The dice-shaker is now holding center stage in our modest drawing room in C498.

The Singapore Flyer is also very interesting. The view from the top is fabulous, especially of the bay. In fact, thanks to it, we noticed for the first time that there is a full-sized football field on the water complete with a grandstand on the shore-side. The whole field is enclosed by netting on the sides. I wonder if they award a goal for every lost ball during matches!! We also had a view of the Formula 1racing track! Having taken a ride on the Flyer we were rewarded with a panaromic bird's eye view of what Singapore is. It made us think that the London Eye must be equally fascinating. Now,it remains for us to quickly get to ride the newly opened Delhi Eye!

The Jurong Bird Park was also a treat despite my trepidations about close proximity to creatures of the feathered variety! Apart from the beauty of the park itself - which is green and beautifully ladscaped - they hold a special Bird Show every day that has to be seen to be believed! Huge big birds like vultures and pelicans and horn-bills are made to fly and do tricks in interaction with the spectators! Although I had my heart in my mouth most of the time, I must confess that it was a mind-blowing show of unique performances by different birds.

We spent a lot of time in and around the Singapore river. The river was the lifeline of Singapore for many many years as cargo from all over the world would be fetched by boats from the big ships anchored in the harbour and deposited on the many quays lined along the two banks. Today Singapore is an ultra-modern port with fully automated cargo handling facilities. There is no more need for these boats to run up and down the river to fetch and carry. These "bumboats", as they are known, have been converted into tourist boats, immaculately maintained, to give the tourists a history of the river, the origin of Singapore and information on all the modern wonders of the city that have come up around it. There is a very nice commentory that is presented on board - very lucid and very informative.

For most Indians a glimpse of Little India is a must. And why not? After all Mustafa Centre, the shoppers' dream, is located here! We too made a couple of sorties to Mustafa's. Little India is where most of the locals of Indian origin live. No wonder that this place is a little less tidy and a little less disciplined than the rest of Singapore!

Finally, it is a sacrilege not to spend quality time on Orchard Road. We did it too, mainly because of the lively, energetic aura of the place. Orchard Road is known for its posh malls. This aspect, I suspect, has become a bit passe with the advent of the malls all over India. It is no longer a novelty. However it is still a great experience to idle along all day long with occasional window-shopping, store-gazing and eating thrown in, in good measure! If nothing else, it offers a wide cross-section of people, from all over the world, to watch and observe. This itself is a compelling pastime!

Wherever we went or whatever we did, Kumi and I would invariably fall back on one or two of these delightful places to spend time every day. Since we had "seen" Singapore in our earlier visit, we could take it really easy and savour the places of our choice repeatedly. And we did it with a passion!

The story of Singapore can never be complete without a mention of the food on offer -its sheer variety, the easy availability, the extreme affordability and the seductive ambience of the numerous eating places. Singapore has many top class hotels starting from the grand colonial Fullerton and Raffles to the modern ones from all the leading chains in the world. But,it is not in the precincts of these 5-star giants that one always finds the gastronomic delights that I am talking about. I would rather seek these in the restaurants that line the river on both sides; or in Chinatown; or in that intriquing place called the "Chijmes" (pronounced "chimes"); or in various cosy cafes or restaurants that abound in profusion all over the city; or even in Little India. Let me explain what I mean.

There are two kinds of Indian tourists. One group prefers and sticks to Indian food. There are plenty of Indian restaurants in Little India, for instance. One can have a pick from North Indian to Chettinad food, vegetarian or otherwise. In fact, one evening we had some Chicken Chettinad packed and brought home for dinner.

Then there is the other kind of Indian who likes to taste different kinds of food. For him, Singapore is a veritable paradise. The places we mainly luxuriated in are the riverside cafes and restaurants on Clark Quay or Boat Quay with an array of places serving exotic food from all over the world including, as may be expected, mind-blowing sea-food. These fascinating eateries, right on the bank of the river, also serve many kinds of Continental, American, English or Mexican food. We had a memorable meal at a Portuguese restaurant called Cafe Iguana. We also haunted a place called "Hooters" (believe it or not!), which like all the others, offer delicious fare from T-bone or tenderloin steaks to Lamb Chops, Pork Chops,Fish delicacies, you name it. And of course, there are the sea food specialities! The waterside restaurants also offer very interesting and affordable fixed-price menus which are really value for money. I am simply crazy about Clark Quay where one can spend hours in bumboat criuses down the Singapore river, window shopping or simply lounging in one of the water-side restaurants leisurely sipping Tiger beer (it is excellent) and enjoying the food. And don't miss Clark Quay in the evening. Amazing atmosphere!

The other enchanting eating place is the Chijmes (pronounced chimes) next to the legendary Raffles Hotel. Here, the periphery of a big church yard has been converted and is now lined with a series of charming restaurants which offer mouth-watering cuisines from all over the world. We had a memorable lunch in Hog's Breath Saloon where pork is not the only food one gets!!!

We discovered (through the good offices of Achintan) Quentin in the Eurasian Community Centre on Ceylon Road. What we got was a mind-blowing buffet at lunch time which included choices ranging from Shepherd's Pie, through Lamb Chops, through Vindaloos to Saffron Rice!

Talking about food, one must not forget China Town. The best of Chinese food! Really gorgeous! We simply loved a place called Old Cuban where the food is great and the waitresses are better! It is heavenly to try the crab, prawn, chicken or beef dishes and to wash them down with Hoe Garden, a light white Belgian beer. We kept going back to this place, so strangely called Old Cuban because it started off as a cigar store!

And lastly, I just have to write about the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel. It is a tippler's temple steeped in history. This is where the famous Singapore Sling was invented, very appropriately one may add, because the hotel itself is named after the founder of Singapore! The Long Bar is also where the likes of Maugham, Hemingway and some other celebrities whiled away many a creative hour en route to fame and fortune! I missed it on my first visit to Singapore, but not this time! Oh no! The Long Bar is one of the holy shrines of the world, much in the same fashion as Lord's in London! I absolutely exulted in the queer tradition maintained here of chucking peanut shells all over the carpeted floor!

I need to mention the exquisite pleasure of biting into the meat of the giant black crabs of Sri Lanka. You can hardly think of a juicier morsel of sea food. This surprise was brought home one evening by Achintan much to our delight, for we had never tasted this delicacy ever before. To cap it all, another Sala Babu from Delhi, Babua the bearded marine, turned up for dinner. He was on a temporary assignment in Singapore.

Well, like all good things, our sojourn in Singapore also soon came to an end. After enjoying the overwhelming hospitality of the Deys, we bid them adieu and left for Kuala Lumpur in the morning of the 10th of September.

We had missed out on a visit to Malaysia the last time around due to some political disturbance in that country. But all was well this time. Our trip was essentially a package tour of 2 nights/3 days comprising basically of a city tour of Kuala Lumpur and a day in Genting.

Kuala Lumpur is a really pretty city with wide roads, lots of greenery, beautiful buildings and delightfully undulating in its topography. Since time was woefully short, for once we were very happy to be on a conducted tour. We saw the iconic Daulat Tuanku (also known as the Twin Towers or the Petronus Towers)and had ourselves duly photographed! However, we did not at all feel like Catherine Zeta Jones or Sean Connery and in no way did we wish to emulate them in cavorting on the precariously hung connector on the 41st floor between the two towers! After all, that was "Entrapment"!

We were hugely impressed by the National Mosque - so beautifully open, modern and precious. We also saw a lovely Buddhist temple, the Martyrs' Memorial with a cenotaph, the King's Palace, the Parliament House and some wonderful buildings from the British days like the old railway station. Lastly, of all things, we were taken to a chocolate boutique which is supposed to be the only chocolate shop in the world that offers chilly chocolates!!! I did not try any!

We spent a day in Genting at an altitude of over 2000 metres and just about an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur. Our travel agent had visions of us spending the day enjoying the rides in the amusement park and gambling away in the casinos. We had different views. After wandering around the amusement park for a couple of hours, Kumi and I quietly slipped out. We strolled around in the picturesque town (somewhat spoilt, I thought, by the invasion of casinos, hotels, Theme Parks,etc.)and soaked in the cool atmosphere after the depressing and humid weather of Delhi. It was heavenly to walk in and out of a mist which was rising from the valley as the day progressed! In the bargain, we enjoyed a lovely lunch in one of the local restaurants.

Kuala Lumpur means the confluence of muddy rivers. But what we saw was not muddiness but greenness, in gay profusion. A lovely city with lovely people, gentle and friendly.

We flew out of Kuala Lumpur in the afternoon of the 12th of September to be back home by the late evening.

This account will not be complete if I fail to write about Air Asia. We had a wonderful experience of punctuality, courtesy, good food, efficiency and willingness to help at all times from this incredible Low Cost airline. Considering the unbelievable prices, it was a very very rewarding experience to fly with Air Asia!

Please do have a look at over 100 pictures that I have uploaded on Facebook.

Media "bites"!

Now that Perry Crosswhite, the CEO of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association, has urged the Indian media to stop its shrill hysteria (not in so many words) and tirade against New Delhi and the Games, hopefully some sense will prevail! Frankly, I find it amazing that the media-wallahs were allowed free rein for so long to tarnish the image of India. Is there absolutely no check possible on what the press and TV write and say? Democracy does provide one the liberty of free speech. But surely, liberty is not to be confused with licence?

Kumkum and I, with a few friends, often chewed the cud on this. We felt that such extensive splash in the media about the "alleged" irregularities could very likely lead to adverse feelings about both India and the Commonwealth Games 2010. We feared this - and our fears proved well-found. A few days ago, the US,UK,Canada, Australia and New Zealand warned their delegates to be prepared to land in war-like zones of dug-outs,disrepair,rubble general chaos and hardship,once they arrive in New Delhi! I am happy that there are sensible people around like Perry Crosswhite to put things in their proper perspective.

In this context I have a few questions to ask of the media:

1.Does the media really believe that raking up the issues of inefficiency & corruption BEFORE the Games was the best effort put in by them in the larger interest of the nation's image?

2. Does the media believe that the exposes could not have waited for the Games to conclude?

3. Is crruption a new phenomenon in India? Is corruption non-existent in any other sphere in the country - in politics, in government, in business? Is it limited to only the organising of the Commonwealth Games?

4. Does the media sincerely believe that the building of such massive infrastructure as undertaken by Delhi could be completed without any hitch, without any traffic diversions, without any pile-up of excavated earth, without any interruption from the weather and, above all, without any inconvenience whatsoever to the public?

I am second to none in the belief that our municipal authorities, our public works departments and our utility vendors are steeped in corruption and inefficiency. They need to be exposed by every citizen, not just the media. The whistle-blowers need to be protected. I have written about it earlier in this blog. But, surely, there is a need for the media to see the Big Picture and not just run after TRPs and bylines?


Time and time again we have been mute witness to the Indian media falling flat on its face out of over-enthusiastic coverage and over-the-top reporting. Breaking News have been reduced to laughing matters. The responsible news has given way to sensationalism, often without any regard to the nation's security or image.

As though the politicians are not enough, the media has joined hands with them to ensure that the citizens are seldom able to raise their heads in national pride!

When will this end? Or will it ever?