Paper Banana Leaves in Restaurants; Progress Gone Wrong

A local (Malaysian) Indian restaurant has decided to serve food on PAPER banana leaves! Today's THE STAR, page 3!

Why do I feel people are moving backwards in Malaysia? I don't peg myself for a tree hugger, but this is just too embarrassing to ignore.

The point of banana leaves is that they are biodegradable. Our forefathers in India knew that. Hence its widespread priority as a use-and-throw "plate". The leaf also accentuates aromas and taste. Nasi lemak packagers all over Malaysia know that. If the leaves are scarce, grow more banana trees, with your fellow restaurantiers! The last time I checked, Malaysia was near the equator.

If it is too expensive to clean leaves individually, clean them the way they do in India; Each customer is given a cup of water and it's sprinkled on the leaf. This is then shrugged off the leaf or wiped off it, by the customer.

Indians and their culture have always been seen to promote green living - and not by way of building multi-million dollar structures that harness solar power via large panels, or hybrid cars that cost the user an arm and a leg. Like other old cultures around the world, India boasts self cooling mud huts that keep inhabitants cool in hot climates, green bean body scrubs that don't cause chemical soap suds to flow into sewers and voila, the humble banana leaf to eat on!

The spokesperson of the restaurant claims that the paper leaves are biodegradable. True, if the leaves are NOT placed in a landfill for 2.5 months, which is the time the "paper" leaf needs to decompose. By using the term "biodegradable" very loosely, it is sometimes a little easy to avoid scrutiny. A real definition of biodegradable is available at http://www.ecolife.com/define/biodegradable.html

How profit driven my Malaysian brothers have become, scares me! Sadly, I feel that if this restaurant has its way, soon others in Malaysia will follow, citing the first restaurant as a precedent. Progress, this isn't!

The article on the use of paper leaves in The Star, pg. 3
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/1/28/nation/10557826&sec=nation#13277585889211&if_height=467

Jakarta Calling

If you had told me ten years ago that I'd holiday in Jakarta, I'd have responded with the question, "Why?".

But here I am ten years into the future telling you about my break in Jakarta, a city that surprised me, inspired me and most of all welcomed me, answering "Why not?". Granted this isn't my first trip to Jakarta to be awed by its novelties, nor is it my first blog on it. But it is indeed 2011, two years since my last visit. Some opinions of the city got reaffirmed. Others, newly formed. In any case, it felt "new" again.

The first thing that struck me about the city (just like in 2009!), is how I felt about it. Being a very "touchy feely" sort of person, I often intuit my surroundings quickly, before I adjust behaviour or acclamatise to a new environemnt. My first feel of Jakarta was that it reminded me of Kuala Lumpur in the 1980s, when people were simpler, warmer and had more time. Amidst the high rise wonders and sleek, stylish malls, the people remained starkly simple. The economist would immediately attribute this to poverty and population; The entire Malaysian population fits in Jakarta alone. The artiste and the vagabond will immediately tell you however, that the people there wear their hearts on their sleeves and are not afraid to be who they really are. It is perhaps that energy that led me to soon feel as though I was accepted as an Indonesian, just as I had spoken one meagre sentence of the language. I felt little need thus, to adjust my behaviour to fit in, was minimal. Another deja-vu created, was by the greenery that co-exists inspite of skeel malls and high rise buildings.

Unlike other Malaysians, I seek to make a quick comparison to the other city that is close to my heart besides KL; Chennai, the home of my music education. The one thing that stood out as a great advantage to the traveller in Jakarta was that running AC taxis are available.

Yes, the traffic is horrendous as it can be in most third world cities. But the luxury of running taxis and that too, in tiers according to afordability, quickly creates options for travellers.

In case that wasn't enough in terms of being sensitive to the public's needs, there is also the "ojek", or motorcycle taxi! This is the answer to beating the traffic at all costs! :-D Though not a viable option for all ocassions, still, it gives me the impression that the country is opening up to the advent of market forces. In comparison, in Chennai, if you wanted a running cab, you'd be left to a running auto-rickshaw, which means no AC and far less safety. My elderly mother naturally made a remark about how much easier it was to holiday with my Jakarta-resident brother than to do so with me in Chennai. Of course, it did leave me a little defensive about 'my' Chennai. I quickly retorted saying that the Nano could soon phase-out the entire auto-rickshaw presence and was happy to have had the last word. In my mind of course, the question remained whether Jakarta, though not my choice for a holiday if I wanted to attend the Margazhi Music Season, was indeed the answer to many families' budget trips that wanted all-year-round easy travel and a dab of culture entwined in a single trip.

Speaking of culture, another fact that made me feel entirely at home in Jakarta was their acceptance of ALL cultural and religious influences on their nation to date. They displayed Sanskrit inscripted stones and script even older than that, from the Hindu Tarumanagara Civilization. While their artifact preservation techniques in say the Fattahilah Museum (Kota)are questionable in my view, the acceptance of their history is show of true character and interest in knowing themselves.

Character is not only endowed by their heritage but also their deep rooted lives in visually inspiring, hand crafted art. Steeped in a culture of using their hands, this is no wonder! You can see statues in metal, erected throughout the city, depicting Hindu Mythology, recent ploitical leaders, and simply pieces that present the underlying psych of the people. What's more the use of the people's hands is also evident in the treatment of ailments and in pleasuring the senses - which brings me to the spa / Jamu / Urut culture of the land. It is no surprise thus, that almost every spa treatment outlet I went to, was booked to the brim by locals and foreign visitors alike.

Overall, I think coutries like Malaysia and India could perhaps start looking to the gem of South East Asia a little harder; Perhaps they can begin to learn little things that they may have missed out on, while caught up on their journey for acknowledgement on the world map.

As for me, in Jakarta, I know that I am one ojek ride away from the next Ramayana based Wayang performance; Pieces of Indian and Malay culture rolled into one? Can't wait!

Logo courtesy:http://yellowcis.blogspot.com/2009/08/logo-ojek.html

Scholarship Promo 3

(Music) Season's Greetings : A Concert Fiesta!

And once again, this Malaysian made her way through the December Music Festival in Chennai, to feed her soul!

Strangely, this year felt different - somehow, lots of new singers were given primtetime slots and seasoned faves seemed to sit this season out a little. Very uncharacteristic of the Madras Music Season. My best friend's take is that seasoned musicians are now flying around the world, performing all year round, hence leaving slots open for newbies in Margazhi! A reliable source also informed me that one or two seasoned performers had intentionally decided to be in the audience, rather than take the stage this year, but did not say why the unexpected move was taken specifically this year. Fortunately however, I got the best of the seasonsed and new performers, with a little advanced planning and loads of luck.

Chennai was wet, wet, wet! And cold! Riding through the streets in my Fast Track taxi from the airport, it was soon discernible that the city was just recovering from the infamous winter floods that never fail to be reported on local and international primtetime news every year. By the time I'd cruised through Chennai's streets and pulled up to my hotel however, I was absolutely excited at the familiar sights, sounds and smells of Chennai!

The next days were nothing short of musically delightful. Starting with friend Kuldeep Pai's concert at BVB's mini hall was a great appetiser to the season. One of his best pieces was Ata Modi ( raga: Charukesi), which to me, was a primer of the bliss to come this season! Humbly accepting a warm invite home for lunch next week from the starlet and his wife, I made my way to the bulettin board of BVB to see what was in store for the next day. A session on 'sanskrit in carnatic music' caught my eye on the board and my plans were magically etched for the next day.


Following days included one particularly long auto ride to Adyar, to catch the expressively rebellious OS Arun. Unfortunately, the concert was predominantly Murugan "songs", rather than krithis, which meant several folk numbers were interspersed into his repertoire. Of course, he never failed to infuse his personal style into these numbers, but an artiste with talent like his always fills out a krithi far better than a small folk number! Nonetheless, I was determined to stay for the full performance and catch the little vocal nuggets he threw into concerts without fail! My conclusion is that this man could sing a nursery rhyme and it would sound out of this world!

The start of the season at Music Academy on 15th Dec was a free TVS concert which was indeed a treat for me, since I'd not experienced his concerts in Chennai, in the past. As I was recovering from a flu, I was bummed that I'd missed Suguna Varadachari and Shankari Krishnan earlier the same day. In fact, missing those ones led me to haul myself for the evening concert at the academy 'against the odds' - i.e. despite having low energy levels and several spoons of drowsiness-causing cough syrup!

The most disappointing part of my trip was making it to Mylapore Fine Arts just in time to be told that Aruna Sayeeram's concert was filled to the brim! The only place I could listen to the concert, was in the drizzle outside the gates, amidst auto horns and speeding motorcycles! I noticed that some ardent fans preferred to wait in the wet weather, hoping for seats to free up in the course of the evening. Knowing it was too much of a long shot and a particularly uncomfortable wait in the winter rain, I quickly hailed an auto and made my way to Music Academy. I was glad to have thus caught the tail end of Kanyakumari and Embar Kannan's violin treat! Next in the same venue, was Manda Sudharani, who took the primetime slot. Curious about this new name in such a coveted slot, I stayed on after the violin concert. I was pleasantly surprised to be engaged from start to finish!

Having 'bathed' in musical notes over the last few days, I realised it was time for some left-brain activity. Attending Sumathi Krishnan's lec-dem was a priority the next day. She covered the varieties in varnams - chowka, pada, daru. And as is usual fashion in academy lec-dems, she was mercilessly bombarded by learned scholars, aspiring theorists and seasoned musicologists on her assertions and research.

I stayed on for Savita Narasimhan, yet another newbie, who amazed me with her melifluous vocals. But I stayed on just until 3.30pm, just in time to make a dash for the NGS main hall concert which I had been waiting for! It was P. Unnikrishan! Having proudly and successfully purchased a good seat in his concert, I was one of the first in the queue to enter the hall - availing me the best choice of seats. I was elated. However, when the concert started, I realised I'd been to better katcheris of Unni's in the past. Unfortunately, the percussion was playing over his singing and his sahitya was indiscernible. I was heartbroken, as in the past, this singing sensation had taken me to a plane of bliss that I felt even 3 days after his concert! As some friends told me, he could have been having a bad day. My disappointment of course, was that it was just unfortunate that I had to go all the way to Chennai to see him perform on one of his "bad days"!

The next concert made the wound all better! Primtetime in the academy, Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna, the (ex)child prodigy who is all grown up now, and still makes waves with every piece he sings! You're awesome, boy! Of course, his pakkavadyam (Mrdangam) Umayalpuram Sivaraman lifted the entire performance another notch! This mrdangist needs neither intro nor praise; Suffice to say "Listen to him once, and you're hooked"!

Probably the highlight of the season for me was young Abhishek Raghuram, who I first heard in 2008. This chap just keeps growing and growing, musically! He is so creative that he can't help formulating new and beautiful sangathis for krithis, and give every musical mathematician/ mathematical musician a run for his money! If it weren't for squeezing into the Mini Hall at NGS and ducking from enthusiastic thala gestures of excited fans, I may have enjoyed Abhishek even more - if that is at all possible!

You can't leave Chennai without one KJ Jesudas concert on your itenerary. So I did just that. Thanks to friends, a free ticket was at hand for the concert. Jesudas made his usual magic and left an impression on me with a piece in Reethigowla, followed by another in Devamanohari. Known more for invoking emotion than for technical prowess, I think my soul food quota was filled for the day, despite short falls in kanaku. But that was ok! Variety in katcheris is the spice of life! I guess I was ready to head home, feeling fulfilled for the day.

I am however, a tad greedy when it comes to katcheris. So I did not want to pass up the opportunity to avail a dose of Sikkil Gurcharan at the Sivagami Petachi Auditorium. He enthralled audience for three hours and is one of the few atistes I've seen who appears to give the concert a "band" feel rather than a solo-performance feel. This is quite (pleasantly!)uncharacteristic of carnatic concerts I've otherwise attended and hence is yet another novelty witnessed this time during the season. I was awestruck as soon as he started his Ranjani RTP which at the pallavi stage, morphed into Sriranjani and then Janaranani before spawning Kharaharapriya. He also challenged the audience by singing a long alapana in a raga some thought resembled Thodi and others knew belonged to the Nethrachakra given G1 and M1. I realised the raga was #11 in the Melakartha, but it was my genius of a university senior who effortlessly whispered "Kokilapriya" into my ear within seconds of the full scale being rendered.

Ready for another dose of intellectual nourishment, I attended two lectures; "Harikatha in four south indian states" and "Varnam in Six Kalas", at the music academy. I missed the Suguna Purushotaman concert in Forum, but managed to finally attend Shankari Krishnan on my last day, catching her in Thodi-action. It was great that I bumped into about ten people I knew from my uni days that day and made a small reunion out of it!

Shortly after, grappling between Sanjay Subramanyam and Bombay Jayshree to attend, I finally resorted to the former's concert. And boy, did I make the right decision! Though I got a seat on the dias, about 6 feet away from the singer, it was a fabulous experience! I thought it would be uncomfortable, but I can't say I felt disadvantaged even for a second. Sanjay's energy draws you into his performance and he gives you moments when neither you nor he exists! Such is the power of his music. "Who knew Hindolam could be sung like that?!" was all I was thinking as he belted the RTP. And I love the way he never fails to display his thala while singing, making it both, a learning experience as well as a purely-pleasurable one for me.

Overall, the season was well-spent where I was concerned. Paatu katcheri and saapaatu katcheri, were equally good. Can't wait for next year's experience!

Photo Courtesy: The Hindu

Hobson's Choice: A TV Addict's Story

I. WATCH. TV. A. LOT.

Do you? Oh! You don't, you say?

Well then, don't read ahead, because you wouldn't have a clue as to what I'm saying here.

The rest of you TV-addicts, follow me...

It's 8pm. A weeknight. Or a weekend. Immaterial, really.

You're back from work after several earth-shattering meetings. You're on your couch, recalling a squabble with the attendant at the gas station moments ago, who could not understand that a request for "petrol for 30 ringgit please", does NOT mean he can fill you up for RM 50 and then ask for the remainder with a snooty grin.

Ah, but now, you're home, aren't you? And that glorious thing called the TV will slowly bring your heart rate back to where it's meant to be.

You turn it on and start the usual surf. The usual being, HB-OWW, Minimax, Supernova Movies, Hallingtonmark, Star Universe, Bayou, Grandad, Hisherstory, Discoveroot and Flox.

MOVIES ON THE REMOTE!

Click!

"Nope, saw that yesterday."
"Nope, saw that last week."
"Nope, saw that last Wesak."
"Nope, saw that in 2006 - and seven times since! What the...?"

Ok, so it seems you're done with the movie channels. You give up and move on.

SITCOMS N' SUCH

Maybe some good situational comedy. You enjoy both British and American comedy so long as it isn't in French yeah, so why not checkout your favourite channels for a good hour of laughs.

"Huh?! 'American Ideal' again?! Now that the show is over for the season, we have to watch reruns. We ALLLLL know who won already! Please save us the agony of that reality show's rerun!"

"NCEyeS...what? Click."

"Oh look... Midslumer Murders with not male, but GET THIS - - - FEMALE British detectives! What a twist, I say Jeeves! Move on!"

THE LAST STRAW

It's 8.45pm and you've yet to settle on a channel. This is bad. Maybe you should move on to something you can learn from despite weary eyes. Why? Because everything else sucks ...sigh!

"Nope, don't want to learn how to build a mosoleum."

"Nope, no interest in the immortalisation of Gods in Greek Mythology when we Asians already have enough Gods to populate a small planet, with the same stories - if not more intricate. Yes, a tad ethnocentric there. But someone HAS to be if we're going to get anything Asian on knowledge-oriented channels."

"Nope,don't want to see someone pulling out her hair and the world trying to save her from herself."

"Hmmm...DEFINATELY don't want to see 15 obese people on bicycles in Finland OR China OR Uranus, now that I've seen the American, Australian and Malaysian versions! Repeatedly!"

Click! The TV is switched off. It is now 9pm and you've gone over all your favourite channels and even some other random ones and then back to your faves again.

Silence.

You ponder your choices - movie at the nearest cinema resulting in a late night and a groggy morning? Or a DVD of Leaonardo Di Cappucino's Interception my aunt left behind on my TV stand last week?

What do YOU think?

;-)

(Any people, places, events, objects, movies,brands or gas stations mentioned in this post are purely fictional and do not intend to bear resemblence to real life. Any resemblence is purely coincidental. Smites here represent those of the blogger and not of any organisation or authority.)

(Really.)