The Phuket Diaries - Day 2

Day 2 was an intense day. Rajesh booked a travel company for some package where we visit a few islands on a speed boat and generally get a hang of Thailand and its many islands. I am generally wary of water but then this seems to be my year of water. 

Off to the speed boat

Breakfast at the Coffee Club was brilliant - English Breakfast. Surprisingly they had a door that had sensors but it would open only if you pressed a part of it or waved a hand at it - not automatic like it claimed. I could as well turn a knob. So I stood before it for a while expecting it to open but it didn't and someone came and did that thing with their hand and all was well.

Limestone

Our ride came, that same huge 12 seater which was very comfortable, a very courteous driver who drove us for an hour across the island.  He drove very gently, taking utmost care to go slowly over the speed breakers, staying to a side when making a turn. nothing like our traffic here which is all about showing everyone who is strongest. Culture does show in traffic.

Canoes

We reached the jetty from where our speed boat was to take off and we were ushered politely into a small cafe by a very polite young man who smiled continuously (he smiled in a day more than i would in two months I reckon) , surrounded by greenery. We tried some country liquor, very strong, bought some flippers, caps (I got one with roses) and were all set to go. Our guide was Patrick which is the Irish name he says - looks like a film star and was a lot of energy and fun. He led us to the speedboat, told us not to litter stuff, gave us soft drinks and water, some do's and don'ts, the general itinerary and we were off zipping cross the Andaman sea to what I feel must have been the farthest point.

Green lagoons

After half an hour or so we stopped near a cove or a lagoon overhung by limestone karst formations - quite beautiful - some 60 kms away from Phuket. Then we went ahead to what was possibly Panak Island. I guess we were traversing the Phang Nga Bay from whatever literature I could read. The Phang Nga Bay has about 42 islet in a 400 sq km area, with Krabi being on the other side of the bay. 10000 years ago they say one could walk from Phuket to Krabi, now there's a sea.

Floating village

Next we went to a place which I think was Hong island (Hong apparently means room) and saw many speedboats stopping there. Soon as we stopped some canoes drew up along side and we stepped in, two per canoe, and the canoe chaps paddled us away into beautiful lagoons inside the island, sometimes we had to fully lean back horizontally because it was quite low. its called an emerald lagoon and was quite stunning.

Ice Cream - James Bond Island

The canoe guys were quite tuned in to Indians and started singing some Hindi songs and doing Shahrukh Khan gestures and even presented the women in the canoe with a ring made of some root. After about half an hour of this beautiful canoeing we headed back to the speed boat and hopped on.

Crazy rock formation

Onwards to the next island which if I remember right was the Koh Panyee village, which stands on stilts entirely. It was built in 1880 apparently by sea faring Muslim fishermen from Indonesia. About 360 families live on the village which has about 1600 people. There's a school  a mosque, even a floating soccer field (which I did not see). The main attraction for us was the restaurant where we were to have lunch and we had a nice lunch and checked out some shops and hopped back on the boat.

The clouds were getting a little darker on one side and we next headed to the James Bond island or Khao Phing Kan island where the Bond film 'The Man with the Golden Gun' was shot. it is quite spectacular with an ice cream cone shaped rock in the middle of the bay. On the island there is a great rock which I cannot describe, maybe you can see the picture and get an idea. 

While there on the island the weather suddenly changed in minutes and a crazy wind blew hard and we all ran for protection in the rocks else we would have been blown back to Phuket. It looked like it would blow everything away for a while and after about 30 minutes subsided. We got on to our speed boat and off we were.

Eerie cave

Patrick had us stop at an island which had some stalactites and stalagmites - but to see the more interesting ones we had to almost bend double and go into a big room full of bats. Apparently this was the cremation place for some really old visitors to the island and he showed some markings which indicated that. It was fun. Half of us went and the other half stayed back.

Not what you think

Limestone formations

From there we went to another island, popular for swimming, water sports, beer and some stuff like that. While some water-loving members of the party flung themselves into the sea I stayed back and enjoyed a cold beer. After about an hour we headed back.

The chilling island

The last stop for the day was Koh Phae island which Patrick says is the sunset island and calls it the Patrick island. On this island the water recedes in the evening and a 300 mete sand bar appears which leads to an uninhabited island. There were many water jet riders doing stunts near the island. We hung around and looked for the sunset which looked normal. It's the island that is the highlight here and not the sunset.

Koh Phae Island

Headed back to the jetty and then back to the resort. Tiring day. Cannabis is legal here so M bought a few sticks - beginners stuff they said he said. We chilled in the evening and settled down for a more relaxed day the next day.

          

The Phuket Diaries - Day 1

A sudden trip with friends, a decision to step out of comfort zone, and lo behold we were in Phuket. There's a direct flight from Bangalore that lands directly in Phuket after three and a half hours. Thanks to taking the flight from Bangalore I got a chance to check out the new terminal in Bangalore which has a less intimidating presence than most airports. Anyway, unlike most trips where I do some amount of research I fully went by what friend Rajesh decided. An easy holiday, one day out boating to some islands, a chilled day and back. Sounded nice enough. 

Day 1 mostly went into flying to Phuket and arriving to find a nice, clean, less crowded place. There were hardly any VISA formalities - just some document to be filled in electronically - TDAC or something. The cars or vans are normally 10-12 seaters and quite spacious. They are very courteous the Thais, bowing deep for their namaskars, wishing you in a melodious sing song voice that somehow makes it very friendly and welcoming. I can greet in a curt manner but not when I do it in a sing song manner which makes you automatically smile. 

The resort was nice but away from the town. The beach was hardly a few minutes away and we headed out there. Not a soul here because the beaches are mostly annexed to these hotel properties. To the delight of some of the party it was discovered than weed was legal in Thailand.

The property was nice. Apparently the sea here is called the Andaman Sea (India shares maritime border with Thailand). Thailand itself I discovered later, was known as Siam in the olden days before the Europeans landed - Portuguese first. So there's a lot of Sino Portuguese architecture in the old town area of Phuket. 

       

Thought for the Day - Hope Life's Keeping you On Your Toes

I always wondered what a good wish for people could be. 'Have a good life' is too dull and says nothing, 'Stay blessed' seems very religious, 'wishing piece and happiness' also too general. 

I decided on 'hope life's keeping you on your toes'. It has action, drama, purpose, life, a sense of adventure and struggle. It can definitely make one feel like their struggles are being seen. And surely, everyone is struggling aren't they?

 Perhaps it is an even better answer to the question 'How are you doing?'

I can say 'hey, life's keeping me on my toes man.' 

I feel it will make people jealous to know i have a life that's keeping me on my toes. Not that i want to make people jealous. Simply get that feeling.

The Paradoxes of Our Lives - We Don't Act Because We Fear Consequences (Results)

The paradox is that we do not act because we fear the consequences of our action - we feel our act may not get good results so we freeze. 

The paradox however is that if we do not act we will get no result. Which is worse than some result. Which goes to say that we must act irrespective of the result. We must act with the thought that it will never something that we cannot foresee as of now. 

Action can bring in new vistas, open new doors. 

The Land that Still Speaks - Dr AM Sreedharan and Dr Sruthy Chandrasekhar

It's a collection of Tulu modern poems, translated by Dr AM Sreedharan, Director of the Centre of Excellence in Indian Knowledge Systems, Alliance University, Bangalore and Dr Sruthy Chandrasekhar, Founder and Head of the School of Performing, Visual and Creative Arts. Both are highly qualified and accomplished in their fields - Dr Sreedharan has translated novels, folk songs, short stories, poetry from Tulu, Kannada and has received several awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for translation and Dr Sruthy is a performing artist, playback singer, researcher with a Doctorate in Carnatic Music, and is an exponent of Mohinyattam, Kathakali, Sopana Sangeetham, Abhinaya Sangeetham. 

The Land that Still Speaks is about how certain landscapes continue to articulate histories, identities in an age of tech change. It recounts Paddanas, the oral epics that narrate the origins of spirits, communities and moral worlds. Bhoota Kola and other such traditional forms of the old and the tension that exists between the old and the new. The book is dedicated to Sri Venkata Raja Puncchittaya (1936-2012), noted poet, playwright, actor and researcher. The first three poems are by him while the other 100 poems are written by 42 poets.

The themes explored in the book are about the land, life in Tulu Nadu, of the rural and urban life, school children, changes in attitudes, the beauty of the language, festivals, rituals such as making new rice, the family and tradition, devotional songs, fragrances of the land, even political subjects such as gender, bias and so on.

I met Dr Sreedharan when I visited the School of Performing, Visual and Creative Arts and he told me he had over 40 published books. He gifted me this book for which I am very grateful.          

N.R. Swami - The Doyen of Odisha Journalism - N. Jagannath Das

This book is a work of love from a loving son to an accomplished father, compiled by the well-known and much-loved sports journalist from Hyderabad, N. Jagannath Das who worked with The Indian Express for most of his career hails from a family of journalists. His father (and the subject of this book) N.R. Swami was a highly respected journalist in Odisha who wrote for PTI, The Statesman and The Hindu mainly, over five decades (he knew or met Presidents, Prime Ministers, Chief Ministers and so on on a personal basis) Das, the youngest of nine, five brothers (N.V.R.Swami, N. Pattabhi, N. Venkat Subbiah, Late N. Ramdas and Das - four of whom became journalists), and four sisters (Kasturi, Sita, Sarada and Ratnamala), has taken it upon himself to put together the story of his accomplished father N.R. Swami and preserve his memory for posterity.

N.R. Swami (1909-1981), was the son of a policeman who migrated from Guntur to Odisha. Thanks to some invaluable audio recordings done by one of his sons-in-law, some precious, early memories of N.R. Swami aka Swami Babu were captured. A peek into those early days of N. R. Swami reveal an energetic, intelligent and mischievous child who quickly learned to swim, ride a bicycle and even ride a horse (policemen used to ride horses then). He was also a stubborn child having run away twice from his house over some scolding. He also tells of how he was planning to buy a train and with half an anna - his strategy was to acquire the half anna, walk into the railway station and ask if he could buy a train! After schooling he was sent to Madras where he learned shorthand and typing and joined work at Rs 18 as a clerk at the Munsif court. He returned from Madras after finding the work rather unchallenging, and hoped to head off to Burma for better prospects. 

However he developed an interest in journalism after being inspired by the Satyagraha movement. He wrote an article and sent it off to PTI - and that  article earned him an entry into journalism. His entry to The Statesman was even more dramatic. He applied for a job at The Statesman in Calcutta, which was mainly run by Britishers, and was called for an interview. He reached Calcutta by train and called them throughout the day but found no answer. At the end of the day he decided to return home to Odisha and made one last call from Howrah station. This time he was called for the interview and given the job. The bosses were, it appears, testing if he had the patience and persistence required of a good journalist. NR Swami displayed both in ample measure. (There's a story of how he went to cover the floods in the dark and was on the railway track with his friend when he fortuitously heard the oncoming train and stepped back just in the nick of the time. All to cover the news and bring it to the public.)

Energetic, diligent, persuasive, N. R. Swami had an eye for a good story, was first on the scene, backed his stories with meticulous research, facts and statistics, and maintained true an uncompromising attitude in his search for the truth. He covered elections, wrote on government policy, covered calamities like drought and floods, cyclones, the lives of adivasis, wildlife, and even sports. President VV Giri was a personal friend and would always meet him when he visited Orissa - once even invited NR Swami and his spouse Sita along with the family to the Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar. (I think I saw Das's picture as a young boy at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.) He met Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, was a good friend of Biju Patnaik and several others. He was once offered the Rajya Sabha seat which he declined saying he was a journalist and not a politician. Guided by his values and ethics, a loving heart and a zest of life, Swami loved his cars (Minx, Morris Minor, Ford Prefect, Standard Herald), his dogs (had a dalmatian), his cigarettes which he rolled himself and of course his work. No wonder he carved a name for himself as a pioneer in journalism in Odisha.

They say - 'if you have not made enemies, you have not stood up for anything. N.R. Swami's upright stance and reporting things without bias, as he saw them, cost him. The Congress Government in Orissa then headed by Dr Mahatab were unhappy with his reports and in what we now see as not an unusual plot, wrote to PTI, The Statesman and The Hindu, that Swami seemed to be on the payroll of a foreign embassy to oust the Congress  and should be removed from his job. PTI transferred him while the other two did not heed the letter. The Hindu on the other hand, sent Swami a copy of the letter they received from the government. Armed with the letter, Swami filed a defamation case against the government - a case which he won and was awarded Rs. 28000 for loss of reputation! It was a landmark case as the courts then had the guts to stand up to the ruling government and noted that the CM's evidence was not credible. However the court proceedings took a long time (finally cleared in 1970). In the meanwhile he left PTI, shifted to a small two room house with his large family, a house so small that most of the belongings were left out in the garden and he would sleep in his car. Things improved and he shifted into a bigger house later.

His meetings with Mahatma Gandhi did not go well but mostly because of Gandhi's likes and dislikes - once because of the smell of tobacco (Swami was a smoker) and once because he was wearing western clothes (he was a natty dresser).The ones with Nehru seemed to have gone better after a stuttering start - once when Nehru and Lady Mountbatten came to Orissa and went missing he followed them down to the guest house under the pretext of delivering a newspaper and managed to meet him and in another by getting into the same compartment as the train was moving and staying on for an interview.  There are articles about the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi being hit by a stone in 1967 when she came for a rally (a student threw it), about Hirakud dam where he covered the aspects of development and tribal displacement and Nehru's vision of 'temples of tomorrow', of the National Games of 1958 which was dominated by Milkha Singh and Gulzara Singh, about a judge being unhappy with a poorly drafted document, about the Nandankanan zoo and its white tigress Khairi (which actually was tame and was brought to their house by the Conservator). He received a citation from the Indian Institute for National integration in 1976 in recognition of his lifelong work. 

The book is a fascinating peek into his life and like I said, a work of love, which will serve the family, young writers and journalists, and students of life well. There is much to learn from his work ethic and values and discipline. The gentleness that is ascribed to him shows in the words he uses - for example he would not write that a record was 'broken' but used 'lowered' which is a gentler perspective. Another interesting story on how his reports have been archived systematically is that an American couple who lived next door to them in Bhubaneswar, Richard Tubb and his wife, took it upon themselves to organise the thousands of newspaper cuttings in a folder which became the source material for this book. 

The 112 page book has a nice size, wonderful pictures of family, writing tools such as the typewriters, camera, scanned copies of some reports and essays written by his sons, daughter. daughter in law, one granddaughter. The foreword is written by PV Rajagopal, IPS (Retd) and a preface by Brojendra Patnaik (former Principal of BJB College). It is a well captured snapshot of a life well-lived and an effort I feel that should be emulated by every family to record the stories of their elders which can be lost to their children, grandchildren and so on. Future generations will know them as real people with real stories and not just as an ancestor, a few pictures and a fading memory. For this I commend Das in taking up this initiative and bringing the story of his father to a wider audience. 

I really enjoyed reading it. It's a nice easy read, with fascinating details and information. It is well-produced and has just the right balance - not too much, and not too little. Good job Das and here's wishing the book all success. And looking forward to more of your books. Like your father would say 'Keep Writing'!            

Hyderabad by Walk - Yusuf Tekri Food Walk

Deccan Archives has a very busy couple of weeks with a bunch of programs. I liked the food walks part - one at Yusuf Tekri which I have never been to, and another at Mallepally, which I have been to last year. (I would have gone again if it wasn't the next day.)

Yusuf Tekri

I called Vasu, my partner in these walks, , and he was game. He also got his childhood friend Anand who was at All Saints High School with us and then went to Little Flower Junior College and further on to CBIT with Vasu. Though we were in adjacent classrooms in All Saints and had many common friends, Anand and I didn't recognise one another one bit. We probably operated in different orbits. But that didn't matter as caught up now and tried to get a few common points like friends, teachers etc.

Here's the Shehr walks schedule. 

Anyway the three  of us went to Yusuf Tekri, an old imposing mansion at Toli Chowki, apparently owned at one time by a Subedar from Gulbarga who served with the sixth Nizam. Right now it's not inhabited, except for a few youngsters who were busy doing something on the steps. Not long after, we were joined by a young couple, a journalist and a professor of public policy who teaches in Gitam. I remember meeting them on the Rashtrapati Nilayam walk and they recognised me as well. Since we recognised one another we didn't reaquaint ourselves with names. So I ended up not knowing their names but knowing another young man, Bismay, from Bhubaneshwar, who I met for the first time. Such is life. Wahaj came with Dheeraj and we got off to the food walk in the right earnest. This is just a food walk said Wahaj which sounded interesting. 

Toli Chowki as I remember in the 90s was full of farm houses and rather desolate. It was then the beginning of the Old Mumbai Highway once you passed Mehdipatnam and wound it's way along fields I guess until one hit the Central University campus which was equally desolate. Now Toli Chowki a crowded, glitzy place with all kinds of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food, brought home by Hyderabadis who lived abroad and have made their way back home. The farm houses have gone and so have the trees and its just crazy buildings all over. 

4 Seasons - the big daddy

We walked to the famous food court where 4Seasons is located, opposite Shah Ghouse restaurant, and a hundred other food outlets, a few minutes from where we met. Wahaj guided us in his unhurried, courteous and controlled manner. He has this way about him where he makes everyone comfortable, says just enough, is approachable, has a sense of humor, is knowledgeable...all wonderful qualities...most of all he just handles everything so smoothly that you can just relax and have a good time. 

Vasu in a pensive mood after the Ice and Spice experience

We first walked into this place called Ice and Spice which is a few shops away in the same row as 4Seasons. Here he ordered small portions of Qubbus (a fluffy roti) and falafel. We stuffed the Qubbus with falafel (like a vada pav) and added the other ingredients with it. Delicious. There were some dips to go with it. 

Mutabbaq

Post Qubbus and falafel he ordered Mutabbaq which was like a sandwich - chicken with some fine fillings between bread. Again, delicious stuff and I had a quarter, very conscious of the fact that we have other joints to visit. The conversations were fun with Anand sharing a lot of information about his life in Wisconsin, his DJ son who had this fascinating career, Vasu with his jokes, the rest of us doing our bit and Dheeraj and Wahaj chipping in. As we stepped out we picked up a hibiscus drink. Quite nice. 

Raising a toast to Mutabbaq

A few shops down we walked into Siddique Kebab Centre, and went upstairs to sit. It's a bit crowded and a bit messy but quite popular by the crowds. We found places luckily because after we sat a  lot of people came and simply stood waiting for a long time. 

Siddique Kebab Centre - pretty popular

Awaiting the kebabs

Wahaj ordered a fish kebab (a whole fish) followed by chicken kebab. Quite filling and I was suggesting we walk around a bit before our next stop. We circled the food court and moved on.

We crossed the busy road and walked over to Hassan Dairy where Wahaj ordered some nice khova malai bin and gulam jamun bun. Though it looked rather heavy it was not - was not very sweet, not very heavy. I ate a quarter and loved it.

Hassan Dairy 

Checking out the stuff

Onwards to Nice Juice Centre which was spread all over but which had this nice upstairs bit, where we had a choice of fruit salad or fresh fruit juice. Since chai was on offer next I decided to go with fruit salad and it was pretty good. I shared it with Anand, it was pretty huge. 

Nice Juice Centre

Anand, me and Wahaj toasting with Fruit Salad

And then we trudged along to the Kabul restaurant nearby which had a zafrani chai counter outside and i shared one with Vasu.

 And then pudina paan at the paan shop, small a very handleable. 

Pudina paan

I was feeling quite full by then which is one of the objectives of a food walk I guess. We bid good bye to the rest and headed off. Anand said we could do a walk around the complex he lives in and so we did walk for 10 minutes before we headed back. Fully worth the 1500 bucks. Thanks Deccan Archives, Safwan who pointed me in the direction, Wahaj for leading the walk and Dheeraj for helping.