And That’s When I Realized – Part II

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5. South Africa remains inspired by Gandhi in the vision of her Madiba; that’s what the common people call Nelson Mandela. And perhaps that’s why as the rest of Africa burns in their struggle, South Africa remains peaceful. And that’s because people like Rev. Desmond Tutu believed that he had the responsibility to forgive. Every guide in South Africa talks about the moment when Madiba came out of his prison and they knew that he would one day be the President. And that’s where I feel proud to have the man with a stick as the Father of My Nation.

And that’s when I realized, violence can never replace non violence.

6. We went on the biggest culinary journey I have ever taken, more experimentative than any I have ever done before with food. It started with Nandos and the peri peri sauce. The signature spice burst in my mouth was like multiple instruments creating an orchestra at high crescendo and I had ordered just the medium spicy. For the first time I was crying in front of my boss and he had nothing to do with it!!! We went across tasting the lobsters and prawns and the occasional vegetable dish, all through figuring out which side of the Atlantic the fish came from. The Langoustine remains the best prawn I have ever had. One day, the Bongs of the World would count The Codfather as their ultimate culinary destination. And then one night we searched for home food and landed in Jewel of India. It was definitely not the best Indian Food in the World but then after a week of staying away from home, it tasted heavenly.

And that’s when I realized, the taste of home is beyond any in the world.

7. We travelled like crazy in the only free time we had before we had to board the flight and we went ahead to view the most important spots of the country. The choice was between Nature and History and my city bred eyes have always picked nature without a second though when faced with this dilemma.  Table Mountain spread out an entire city beneath us, cradled between the mountain and the sea. The clouds did not descend on us but what we saw was worth it by itself. The sunset at Camp’s Bay, the Cape of Good Hope, the legend of the Flying Dutchman and the Chapman’s Drive, all of them took our breath away. I worked on my framing of my pictures and realized that slowly my own style had developed over the years. I have three distinct takes – portraits, which need a good camera and thus I need to wait for a good one; nature – I think I am getting better at it when there is no human interference and album – the pictures you want to show people back home. Now in the album art I know exactly how and where to focus on people, what should be the subject and how the background should look like and it was nice to go back to theory of photography once again. And all with a Point and Shoot. Good at least I have shutter speed and aperture to play with.

 And that’s when I realized, I never bought a digital SLR not just because I missed my old analog cameras but because deep down I knew a digital lens can never replicate what my eyes can see and hold in wonder.

The Many Faces of Mumbai

Grand Designs – The other day I was sitting on the steps of a mall. I was there for a visit but being over zealous about my job had reached about half an hour before the scheduled opening of the shops. But while waiting on the steps I noticed something interesting. The ladies who had come to clean up the mall were huddled together near one of the shop windows. Out of curiosity, I strolled near them and could see them discussing excitedly over the designs of some earrings that were on display. I am sure that they knew that the earrings were well beyond their affordable price range but that did not stop them from appreciating and commenting on the designs. And then I realized what in Marketing we call as Aspiration – the dream, the desire to reach beyond our means. Aspiration – the building block of a consumerist society. And I do not think consumerism is a bad idea in a developing economy.

The one rupee change in taxi – This can happen only in Mumbai. I was getting off from the taxi at Five Gardens, the usual place for my weekend strolls. As I was ready to walk away, I heard a voice calling me back. The Cabbie actually asked me to wait and gave me back 1 Rupee change from the fifty rupee note that I had given him. And this is not an isolated incident. I think Mumbai is the only place in India where this can still happen. Once Mumbai loses its honest cabbies, it’ll lose one of its major points of differentiation with respect to other cities.

When money talks – An interesting insight can be seen when you visit The Mantralaya in Mumbai. The Father of the Nation has the most prominent place in the sprawling lawns but stands under the sun, all alone, directly under the attack of birds. The founding father of one of the Nation’s biggest industry houses however has a seat at one side of the gardens, more visible to the people walking past, enjoying his cool shades and marvelling at the imposing paraphernalia of statues that accompany him. Money talks, and how!!!

Power to the People - If you walk along the Mantralaya, you’ll see the importance of money even more clearly. It’s the seat of power in Mumbai. Also technically it should be the greatest demonstration of people’s power since at the end of the day in a democracy the common man is the king. Unfortunately however, the understanding that the government exists as a servant to the people is lacking. G and I were sitting under a tree one day generally chatting when a police personnel came and asked us to get out of there, mainly because some minister would pass by. Unfortunately, years of servility to the political powers have made both the police and the public forget that the politicians exist because of the votes the public decides to cast or not. The dance of democracy is surprising. It not only makes strange bedfellows as the cliché goes but it also ensures that the press and the public have enough in their hands to chew upon till the next elections. I really believe that R.K.Laxman is one person who captures the pulse of the nation better than anyone else. I was going through the archives of Laxman. Only twice I saw hope in the eyes of the Common Man. First in his undying faith in Nehru and secondly the dreams he had seen with Rajiv.

As I said, the dance of democracy is surprising. I just wish Bapu was here tomorrow to witness it himself.