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.

And That’s When I Realized

It’s said Eve came from Africa. And that’s why perhaps the Africans believe that “nothing is too heavy to take back to your Mother.” So while I can claim to be from a place that held the cradle of civilization, I think Africa in all its raw grandeur can always claim to be the cradle of humanity itself. It’s where the boy Tarzan had been told, “Tarzan! You have to be humble if you want to live in the jungle.”

My closest friends know what South Africa meant to me many moons back and thus it seemed apt that this was the place where I learnt some of the most important messages of my life. Some were just plain vanilla good; some disturbing; some even raising more questions than solving.

1. And while I sit at the 19^th Floor of the Westin overlooking the harbour waterfront, where the giant Ferris Wheel still is lit up, waiting for the network finally to connect me to the rest of the world, I want to write.

And that’s when I realized, how important this blog has been to me to let out my inner self even when friends were not around. I have never remembered birthdays. Neither did I for this blog. But a few days back it did complete its four years and that deserves a standing ovation.

2. This was the first trip where I went around spending money left, right and centre. While I was coming to Cape Town, everyone under the sun warned me that it was an expensive place and it turned out just that. Everyone warned me to stay safe, in more ways than one, and probably it was not as bad. Yes, the main markets seemed to shut down pretty much by 6 and the grandeur of the evening bazaar of Istanbul was missing. But the markets showcased the beauty of the raw African talent and their art. Wares came from every nook and corner of Africa, each figurine representative of the tribe they were made by. I think that scared me a bit. I was no longer a backpacker running behind a truck to take me to Jhajjhar and it made sense to play safe.

And that’s when I realized, I behaved like a spoilt rich kid who was a sissy and the nomad was dying.

3. Green market square was a unique place to window shop. As soon as I entered it, I remembered all the horror stories you read as a kid about African dolls coming alive in the middle of the night. The graphics were different than whatever I have ever seen. If I were more conversed with art I could have said what they were, but to me it seemed more like extremely well done stick graphics; as if nothing much has changed since the days the Maori danced their spears and told their grandchildren of the lion they had tamed. And how sad they were that the King had gone on to become another star in the sky. In that market, I met shopkeepers who weren’t the best of them all. And in some faces, it showed desperation to close a deal. The value chain was perhaps as bad as it is for an onion farmer in India. The same artefacts were selling at double the cost 10 kms away at the waterfront. Perhaps this sale would mean buying there dinner for the night. And there she told me, “you are talking about 10 Rands and the coffee you will have tonight will cost you more.”

And that’s when I realized, the fight for survival is the greatest fight for all.

4. One night after a great dinner at Camp’s bay where I for the first time touched the waters of the Atlantic, we hailed a taxi to come back. The gentleman was twice my size and for some reason we did feel scared. But then we got talking and he was the most inquisitive man I have ever met. He had questions on India, on religions, marriages and everything else possible in a 20 minute drive. In fact, I wish in the future I get only such people working with me; an undying desire for knowledge.

And that’s when I realized, stereotypes are ingrained in our first impressions.

(to be continued)

It’s Time for Africa

So finally the wheels turned and after three years, I finally am in Africa, the most mysterious of all continents, perhaps even more than Asia can ever be. Romantics have written pages after pages on the Far East and the Indian sub continent, but very few places in the world have captured human imagination in the way Africa has done. The mystical Shamans, the lure of the diamonds, the vast bushlands and stories of man’s triumph over nature and in the process its slow but inevitable destruction.

SNDU being a good employer has kept us in a nice hotel and as I entered the room I saw the Table Mountains on my left and the harbour on the right and nestled in the cosy warmth of the land in between lay the beautiful city of Cape Town.

And somewhere close by lies Robben Island.

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.