Rohit’s Weblog

It is my last week in Dublin. As always ‘days just flew by’. Just when I started feeling a little too comfortable with the place, it is time for me to pack up. So looking back at the rapidfire weeks in Ireland I was wondering what I could have learnt from the ‘Irishmen’.  The Irish have a way of life which is quite detached from the rest of Europe. They are the ones torn between being a developing nation but unfortunately placed in the European ‘Advanced’ Union. 

Not too long ago, about a 150 years back the Irish suffered from the worst kind of famine.( It was a two thronged misery inflicted upon them by nature and The British). They went hungry for days as they were forced to evacuate their cultivable lands by the Empire and the little ‘potato’ that they could cultivate in the mountainous regions was wiped away thanks to a bacteria for 8 years in a row. One third of their population died of hunger and most of the rest migrated elsewhere in the world. There are a lot of heartwarming stories of this time which they sing as songs till date. One of these was the story of a native who was deported for life for stealing a corn cobb from the landlord to feed his hungry son.This song is an anthem here and is sung before the Irish matches. This hunger of the past still has a lasting impression on the Irish culture. It is the reason why there is no ‘authentic’ Irish food except potatoes. It is the reason why most Irish are in a hurry to finish their food because for most of them psychologically it could be their last meal.

Coming back to the ‘present’(yes the ‘gift’ to life) . The Irish can teach you how to live in the moment like there is no tomorrow. Most of them drink everyday and pubs are just not refilling centres but just another social forum for them. Lost count of the things where random people in the pubs came upto me to ask me where I was from , what do I do and how I like it here….and in no time I found myself discussing things like Hinduism, Cuil-the search engine, bollywood etc with them. And another interesting feature of the ‘pub/bar culture’ is that almost every place has a live performance and it is a chorus from everyone in the pub. Songs are not just another form of art but it is a way to tell their glorious stories. They keep reminding themselves of the atrocities their ancestors had to face so that they are singing for the moment. 

Another thing that can be learnt from the Irish is their encouragement of art. The best of English writers are Irish, my favourite among them being Oscar Wilde( irony is that he hates being called Irish). It is just not in spirit that they encourage art but also on paper. Higher education in art is absolutely free in Ireland and also if you are an artist by profession you don’t have to pay taxes. Beat that for an incentive. I may be saying good things about the Irish because they have been good to me but who is not bad??. I may not really want to come back to Ireland but it surely will remain a long cherishable memory.

So, It is time to pack my backpack. I am going backpacking in europe and that too alone. I am apprehensive as well as excited. Cheap flights, hostels, walking tours and authentic food are all out there in the next two weeks and should have many stories to tell at the end of it.

My first visit to Europe has been an overwhelming learning experience already.  With colleagues from all over Europe, I had a mini Euro tour in my office in the past few weeks. But one thing has been a persistent factor in all my interactions. Questions….Questions about India- a few which had no answers, a few which were obvious, a few due to certain prejudices and a few which made me question myself. So I not only am learning about the west but I also am learning about my own country. I know India WAS a mystic land but there  is still a lot of mysticism in the mind of the ‘westerners’. Mostly polite, these questions were genuine and were in no means offensive. Interesting how most questions start with a polite ‘Is it true’ . A few which I can recall from the top of my head…

The best: Do animals cross the roads in cities in India?

Is it true that there was a big hue and cry about Richard Gere kissing a girl on the cheeks?

Do you think the TATA nano is the best invention for the Indians?

Is it true that your parents tell you what to do when you grow up?

Is it true that the parents who choose the person you should marry?

Can you marry a christian?

Do you still live with your parents? Will you continue to live even after marriage?

Is it true that everyone cannot speak Hindi in India but English is the primary language in schools?

Is it true that you have breaks in cinema theatres between movies?

Is it true that people are beaten up for kissing their girlfriends in public parks?

Is it true that bollywood movies always have happy endings??

Do people sing and dance in real life like in movies?

Why don’t you eat beef if you are a non-vegetarian?

Is piracy legal in India?

How many languages do you have in India?

How many festivals do you have in India?

Is cricket really that famous iN India?

Do a lot of people sport moustaches in India? Is it a religious thing?

Does Hyderabad’s population run into millions?

Is the traffic in Hyderabad really like this?

How can you speak so good English?

How is your math so good?

Is it true that the women are not allowed to remarry when your husband dies?

Is it true that more than 100 people are invited to every wedding?

Don’t you have part time jobs to pay for your study?

How do people manage to work in temperature above 40 degrees?

How do you know how God looks like?

If Hinduism is so old, how come it is not followed anywhere else in the world?

Is it true that some schools in India don’t have grounds?

I had different reactions for every question and every question made me think in a different way about the place I come from and the different perceptions to it. But I am happy that I could involve in conversations which had no boundaries and mostly were ‘off topic’. I think I have done a pretty good job of facing these questions. But one perpetual answer was that things are changing and change of course is healthy.

I did try my part to change some notions and in that attempt also made them(forced them) to watch the movie Rang De Basanti with crappy subtitles and hope that it addressed a lot of issues regarding movies and the society.Though people really needed a break in between to cope with the length of the  movie, I am happy that everyone liked it.:)

I am a major fan of the Indian cinema and happy endings are by no means a coincidence to me. Sadly enough these happy endings always end in raising ‘the question’ which I spent arguing for and against with my friends hours together.-Are movies= entertainment??? Are tragedies not movies. Than what are they?

‘Movies are a reflection of the society’ was the well known norm before bollywood arrived and then the Tollywood took over. But opinions can be changed and they have. What does it take for that ?? For me atleast it was two movies. Movies in the real sense of the word.

Two movies which are similar in most sense but so different- ‘Micky Boe and me’ &  ’The boy in the striped pyjamas’. Two movies that are set in completely different times and completely different societies but were made with a similar motive.

Micky Boe and Me is the story of two kids who are from two opposing factions in Northern Ireland-the protestants and catholics( strangely enough as if they need  a reason to fight, this time they are fighting to decide whether or not to be a part of UK) Also strangely enough it is the catholics who are protesting this time. These kids have the best time of their life together and actually set out on an adventure to be their childhood heroes. But things are not so smooth and it is not a bollywood movie so tragedy strikes and leaves the feeling of despair at the end of the movie. You just need a solution and you are left asking for it.

Speaking of tragedies ‘The boy in the striped pyjamas‘ is a movie set during the Nazi rule in Germany and is about the friendship between the son of the General who runs the concentration camp and his secret friend from the concentration camp. The way in which the director explores the mind of an eight year old who is still to come to terms to understanding the gruesome happenings in the society. Naturally enough he never understands it till the end of the movie where he sees himself in a situation where everything is laid out for him to understand but it just is not the right time. It will leave you with a long lasting impression of the hostilities imposed by the Nazis on the Jews.

The beauty of these movies lies in sending the message across without actually saying it. And this the directors could get it across by using eight year olds. And realistically enough these kids do not grow up to change anything. It is just there. 

Kudos to the directors for such brilliant works of art. Subtleness rather than abstractness is what we need . I am pretty bad at movie reviews but the only reason I mentioned this was to give these movies some visibility( atleast to the few loyal readers/commenters of my blog). But Hindi cinema also is coming of age. With movies like Aamir and Wednesday cropping up once in a while the change is in process.

Both movies are a must watch and there is no better way to understand what is happening in the world around us that we are /were ignorant of.

It is 4 am in the night here or in the morning somewhere else. This was supposed to be my lazy weekend but after chatting with so many of my friends from all over the world and after failed attempts at getting good food in the night( Hyderabad is much better in this regard) and after hours of excercising my fingers on the TV remote, I am just blank.

Blankness of the wierd silence of this hour. Blankness which is actually ‘nothing’ to share and ‘nothing’ to do anything about. I miss those corridors of VIT hostel which were always abuzz with action throughout the year,the week and the day. I miss the feeling of not having anything to do the next week/next day/ next year. Some useful and some forceful. It is the wierdest of thoughts that are passing my mind. No connection, no relevance and NO control on them. I suddenly feel active. My body is not supporting it but my mind is just travelling in all the four dimensions. I have no clue why I blog and why it is forcing me to write about blankness with so much content at the worst time that could be. 

It is really wierd how two words can spark of a race( more like a marathon) of thoughts. Two words which have no place in this materialistic,optimistic and practical world. Two words- ‘What if’

There is food and there is Haleem.  It is seasonal. It is festive. And it is awesome. Sad for me though that this time around that I am approximately 7,193 kilometres away from the best place to get it. 

Atleast I have a gourmet suggestion for this. Do try 555 cafe just around Masab tank Chowrastha corner. It has been my pick of the lot from last time around. If you are looking for ambience then you can stop reading. Haleem is at its best when it is eaten at a cafe( read kayff). Do go and give this place a try.Value for your money. And one more suggestion:

PLEASE DON’T TRY THIS( making it) AT HOME.

Just completed a three day south tour of Ireland. It was just Amazing. It was a true Irish experience with the so called ‘liquid sunshine’ on the first day, cold winds from the Atlantic caressing as we stand 250 metres above the shores on the cliffs of Moher, the pub crawls at every town we bunked, singing through the bus rides, tasting the traditional Irish stew which is cooked in Guinness(:P), gulping down few more boiled potatoes, staying in hostel with 10 other random people, believing in a few traditions( read superstitions) of the Irishmen(I kissed the Blarney’s stone for the gift of gab), listening to our driver/guide’s heartwarming story of the Irish history and sharing our own stories with the rest of the tourists. I found a new teacher in travelling. No history is completely learnt until you hear it from the locales and nothing is a greater joy than watching all forces of nature present themselves in the most pristine form. Ireland is not just about Dublin. Beauty perhaps is at its best when untouched.

We were a group of young tourists experiencing the Irish culture in the best way that it could be. I know most people would like the night part of it but when it comes to the Irish pride it must be from its landscapes. An island troubled for a longer time by the British Monarchy than any other kingdom has so much more to it than its cities. AND of course photography was at its peak. Every single one of us had a camera and we were clicking away to glory and trying to the capture the best that was on offer. Strangely enough I ( yeah me) started wondering whether we need photos at all to reminisce such a beautiful experience??? Is the proof of being there more important than just being there and enjoying the moment. I guess the best explanation I could get was that we can relive all those beautiful moments through those pictures and the fickle minded HUMAN beings that we are we need something materialistic to concentrate on to invigorate our emotions. Am I talking sense?? Maybe yes because I figured that the same concept is the corner stone of Hinduism which thrives on Idol Worship and God as a figure on whom focusing our/your devotion is much easier!! . I don’t know why I go off tangents when I write but will surely write about my trip in detail and of course about the Irish!

Everywhere!!!

Why do I even think? It is probably an inbuilt problem or something that is herditary or just fate(:)). I think a lot. And trying to understand why I do that really makes me think more. It is not always nice to think. Atleast now sitting in front of my laptop in the Dublin Office it pains me that I am thinking about everything else in the world. Is it good to think? Or is it better to live in the moment? Is thinking about the future a bad thing? It surely is when I am losing the moment.The moment which is an outcome of a thought, but beautiful in itself. I have to learn, learn to think at the right time and live in the right moment. So let me think how to do that.!

One Answer-Guinness,Guinness and GUINNESS!!!

It is the brand that has built Ireland itself. I found it funny when I once heard a tagline which said “the jeans that built America” but for Guinness it is more than the truth. There are more hoardings of Guinness than traffic lights. It is an obsession. It is their national word!. There are more t-shirts and other merchandise which read Guinness than that which read Ireland or Dublin. If there are still people in other side of the world who don’t know what Guinness is you better start reading up. It is not just Beer anywhere in the world but it is Ireland’s very own BEER. I am talking about a country where people queue up to enter bars as people in my side of the world do to enter a temple or a movie theatre. Probably thats the reason the most popular area in Dublin is called TEMPLE BAR ( for the facts it is the name of a guy).

Back to Guinness. Most of the Irish creations are from musings/discussions over a pint of beer. Most famous of these is the Guinness Book Of world Records which is supposed to have come into existence after a drunk brawl between two guys who worked in Guinness over which the fastest game bird is. I think Guinness deserves a mention in the Guinness book of world records for highest word density in a given city. The Guinness Storehouse is the most important landmark in the city. But it is quite impressive to know that 10 million glasses of Guinness are served everyday. Quite an achievement I must say for something that prides itself for its Goodness. I visited the storehouse. It was more like they were marketing holy water. They have a proper tourist deck which is flanked by tourists who are so enthralled by the ‘history’ of guinness. A healthy learning!

There is supposedly ‘Poetry in a pint of Guinness’. maybe thats the reason why Irish poets have made an impact on the world stage.The most famous among them being  James Joyce, Seamus Heaney,Oscar Wilde and W.B.Yeats. Never been a great fan of poetry. By the way they do serve a pint of Guinness fresh from the barrels to digest the learning in the Guinness Storehouse. No points for guessing whether I liked it!