Andhra Dining - A Surprise In Ginza!

Roaming around Ginza, we were left with a massive appetite and what we discovered next was quite a surprise, something that we did not expect to find!

While we have developed a deep love for Japanese food - curries, ramen, sushi and tempura, but nothing can compare the way we get drawn to Indian cuisine, especially since we moved out of India. And finding a place that serves South Indian food was quite really the icing on the cake - we could not really believe our luck!!!

And Andhra Dining was rated as the best restaurant in 2014...

Scanning the options...

What a pleasure to see Japanese office-goers going crazy over spicy South Indian food - truly our cuisine is a potent weapon of Indian soft power...

I could not resist ordering vada sambhar...

...and masala dosa!

...followed by cold payasam...

...and filter coffee!

Our last meal in Tokyo was indeed satisfying, a pleasurable end to this trip to Tokyo! And now we will head out to Haneda...

Daydreams Of Paradise - Still On Fiji Time...

It's been a few hours since we landed back in Incheon. Back in the dull, wintry chill of the Siberian winds that ravage the Korean peninsula, the balmy, warm and bright climes of the South Pacific seem to be a couple of light years away, on an alien planet in a distant galaxy...

Landing at Incheon Airport and we were greeted by the traditional Korean impersonal efficiency which is far cry from the warmth that the ever-smiling Fijians exude.

It is said your personality evolves to be a sum total of your experiences and your travels shape you in no small measure - you may return from your travels, but a little intangible and invaluable bit of the place that you have visited will always remain with you. 

This trip to the South Pacific was indeed one such epochal event in our lives. There is indeed something about Fiji in specific that will always stay with us forever, till we die.

The Fijian vibrancy is so perfectly reflected in the colourful banknotes that we used there...

It was particularly interesting to see how Indians who were brought into the Fijian islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu over a century ago, as labourers (girmitiyas), were persecuted, were at the receiving end of repressive colonial policies and then persecuted by a government dominated by ethnic locals, the vibrant community and prospered economically...

We were a bit startled to see an example of this in a jewelry shop in Denarau. Ornaments with the primordial Hindu symbol - Om - ॐ, were being sold. These were designed by a Fiji-Indian, Romil Patel...

The media too had a strong Indian imprint. The television has a significant Hindi content - both from India as well as local Fijian-Hindi content. And it appears to be really popular...

A news report on Amazon India in a local Fijian newspaper...

News on India's renewable energy revolution in Fiji Sun...

Obviously Bollywood stars are popular amongst all Fijians, cutting across racial lines, a clear example of India's soft power...

And then Titan watches seem to be quite popular in Fiji...

In Fiji, we did feel at home. You may attribute that to the significant presence ethnic Indians here, but we truly believe it was also because of the warmth of the Fijians...

As we settle down at home, it is hard to believe that we are back here in this icy urban "wilderness". It feels as though our consciousness is there, in sunny Fiji, and not here in Songdo. But thankfully, we have a weekend to recover from the weariness of the trip...

And to cheer ourselves, we treat ourselves to cups of hot chocolate - chocolate that I bought in Samoa...

Clearly we will enjoy the taste of the sunny Pacific for a bit more into wintry and snowy months that lie ahead of us...

Ni Sa Bula, Fiji, Nadi - नमस्कार फ़िजी, नांडी!

And so here I am in Nadi, Fiji. I had a 6-hour stopover here before I fly into Apia, Samoa...

After getting off the plane, I proceeded towards transit security check. And just there was a group of Fijian singers, serenading incoming passengers with a wonderfully beautiful song. Unfortunately I could not take a video of the song but found a similar video on YouTube, which embedded here...

I spent a while taking a good look at the terminal, checking out the shops in the departure lounge before finding a quiet corner to sit. Fortunately, I had newspapers for company, to spend the six-odd hours here...

Catching up on Fijian news...

It's Bollywood all the way in Fiji, talking of my favourite topic of India's soft power...

Fiji has a strong Indian diaspora community, a community that was tricked into coming to Fiji by the British colonials over 150 years back, with the promise of a prosperous life. The innocent village folk from Gangetic belt, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were made to sign agreements that pushed them into indentured labour - the labour agreements gave them the term girmitiyas. And they were forced into hard labour - clearing the land for sugar plantations and then cultivating the land. These poor girmitiyas earned so little and barely survive. 

At the end of the term of their agreements, they had to buy their fare back home, which very few could afford. So the vast majority were forced to stay back even though they missed home and hated living in these harsh conditions. The colonists, in turn, got an assured supply of labour. The girmityas ended up shedding "Tears In Paradise" - there is a book by the same name, authored by a Fijian Indian, Dr. Rajendra Prasad that details the account of how his forefathers landed up in Fiji and the tortures faced by the girmitiyas here in Fiji. I was anguished by some of accounts detailed in the book.

Can that be termed as an historic human rights abuse that calls for an apology from the erstwhile colonists? Yes, I would say! And there is merit to calls by Shashi Tharoor for reparations.

Today I made that journey and see Fijian Indians everywhere here at Nadi Airport. Each one has an untold story, a painful story running through generations. The success of the diaspora here, despite the odds makes me salute them, respect them from the core of my heart!

Fiji makes moves towards solar energy...

All about the girmitiyas - a tale of lies, tears, despair and toil...

These stories of the migrants are gut-wrenching...

And Fijian Indians are a significant part of the Fijian population, constituting nearly 38 percent...

And Hindi has evolved into Fijian Hindi or Fiji Baat that is spoken by all Fijian Indians, irrespective of their origin within India...

Bollywood gossip is big here...

It appears my flight to Apia is getting delayed...

But I will have to hang around over here...

I plan to return here to Nadi on Friday. And Neeti will also fly in on Friday and we would spend a few days exploring Fiji. Till then vaka-viti or अलविदा!

I Don't Want Nirvana! I Want Great Food, Always! -- Part XXXVIII - "Dil To Pagal Hai"...

With a long morning, walking around the charming lanes and bylanes of Marrakech, it was time to have a delicious Moroccan meal...

And so I got into this restaurant at the Jemaa el-Fnaa for a well deserved and hearty meal...

The restaurant is opulent and lavishly decorated in traditional motifs...

Traditional Moroccan lamps...

And some traditional music to keep me entertained...

And guess what - when they realised that I am an Indian, they spontaneously performed on the Bollywood teeny-rom-com, Dil To Pagal Hai...

And as I always say say, Bollywood is an iconic cultural symbol of India, an important facet of the immense soft power we enjoy, as a country...

Here come my salads with some rice...

And the pièce de résistance - a steaming hot tagine, which is just what I need...

And it had lamp meatballs with eggs on top, and some parsley garnish. Could I ask for more? All I can say is  "I Don't Want Nirvana! I Want Great Food, Always!"...

ⵉⴼⵓⵍⴽⵉ ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽ - Ifulki Amerruk...

My journey from Casablanca's  Mohammed V International Airport into Marrakech began after a smooth immigration clearance, baggage retrieval and customs inspection. I must say I was impressed by the gregarious nature of ordinary Moroccans, but the officials manning immigration and customs were quite surly...

The roads leading out of the Casablanca Airport were lined up with Moroccan flags - the red background on the Moroccan flag represents hardiness, bravery, strength and valour, while the green pentagram comes from the seal of Solomon representing love, joy, wisdom, peace and hope...

And I got on to Highway A7 that would brought me to Marrakech...

The distance of 200 kilometres took about 2 hours and 15 minutes...

And I was enjoying the Moroccan countryside along the highway...

Sheep grazing by the side of the highway...

The stark rugged landscape was interspersed by groves of trees...

My driver, Hamid, got really excited when I told him I am from Mumbai. And he had all the lovely tales about which all Bollywood films he had seen. His favourites were Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha!

The landscape was indeed quite inviting...

And in the yesteryears, these hills were home to the original natives - the Berbers. After them came in the Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs and then the colonial Europeans... 

And quite a few of them stayed back, assimilating themselves into local societies, which is why Moroccans today appear as a diverse race - they are a diverse group - some look like blondes, some are distinctly of mixed-race origin...

And the landscape changes every few kilometres and so do the colours...

An agricultural field...

Foothills of the Atlas mountains...

As I enter Marrakech, I realise this is indeed a very beautiful country or as the Berbers would say ⵉⴼⵓⵍⴽⵉ ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽ - Ifulki Amerruk, or Beautiful Morocco...

And we've entered Marrakech...

The main railway station...

The Royal Theatre...

And now I am looking forward to a few hours of rest and relaxation till work starts tomorrow morning. This is quite a hectic trip and I am not sure I will have much time to see Marrakech. But the lively conversation with my driver made me instantly love Morocco...

And then I am told a wonderful Berber saying by my driver "The land where the stones know you is worth more than the land where the people know you."