Goodbye Temasek!

As we leave Singapore, the island which was called Temasek, or the sea-town, by the Javanese in ancient times, I can only appreciate the spirit of the people here, people from varied varied backgrounds who have come together from all over and transformed a marshy swamp into a megapolis which today at the crossroads of modern civilisation...

I saw these school kids so enthusiastically visiting the National Museum...

The residents take pride not only in their original homeland's heritage, but also the heritage of modern Singapore that they have collectively forged...

Traditions survive alongside modernity..., I would rather say, thrives...

That gives the island state a unique zing...

The nation recently celebrated its national day as well as commemorated Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's decade in office...

The newspapers showed the Prime Minister as quite a people's man...

Celebrating the National Day festivities with communities across the city, he seemed quite at ease...

Probably that's the kind of connect that the rulers need to make with the commonfolk...

At the recent National Day Rally, the Prime Minister paid tribute to Lee Kuan Yew's former driver, Rahmat Yusak... The common man is also worthy of honour...

Singapore also has a keen watch on its neighbourhood...

The general public too seems quite conscious that they live in an ecosystem that thrives only if the neighbourhood thrives...

That is perhaps why Singapore is quite keenly looking at India, China and Indonesia...

And they have great hopes on India... they were looking for key economic announcememts on Independence Day...

I remembered the affable, elderly Chinese man I met at Bukit Chandu who was nothing but positive on Prime Minister Modi, he called him a "man of action"!

The soon to be launched airline, Vistara is proof of our collaboration with Singapore...

We need each other... They need growth opportunities, we need investment and expertise...

50 years and going strong...

External Affairs Minister Swaraj visited Singapore a few days...

And we joked that she had come to check that our trip was going fine!

I was surprised to see Mamata Bannerjee put up advertisements in the Straits Times...

India's defence also made for prominent news here... The underlying tone was positive, as though India was being seen as a net provider of security in the region!

But, it is time to head back to opportunities back home...

The sunflower at Changi Airport reminds of the warmth and positivity that Neeti and I had encountered here!

My ride back home - 9V-SKI!

We took off and headed up north crossing Johor Baharu which is Malaysia's gateway to Singapore...

And dinner was served - for me it was a seafood meal - crunchy shrimp salad, baked snapper fillets with vegetables...

For Neeti, it was an Indian meal - dahi bhalla, pulao, dal and alu palak.... with papad medallions!

And now, its time to say Goodbye Temasek, it's time time to stretch and relax before we hit Mumbai...

Botanic Gardens - Singapore's Eden... Part I

I woke up feeling very happy this morning. It was a bright sunny morning, but that was not the only reason to be cheery - I was only a day away from meeting Neeti, as her course was to be getting over tonight.... 

And then it was independence day, India's independence day... I was 4,000 kilometers away, I was a missing a momentous occasion - Narendra Modiji's maiden speech at the Red Fort in Delhi. 

Despite the distance, my heart was in India, I was thinking about the roadmap that Modiji would layout for India, for the next 5 years, at the least, but I hope that's not less 15-20 years....

With a lot of optimism for the future of our nation, I got ready and headed out for breakfast at the Kopitiam in Balestier Food Market. I passed by Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, a villa that was used by the founding father of the Republic of China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen in the early 1900s for his organisation, Tongmenghui.

I had to visit the memorial during this trip, my hotel key-card card granted me free access, but today was not the day for it. Today, I had to head to the place I so wanted to visit ever since I knew I was going to visit Singapore, the Singapore Botanic Gardens.... Afterall, it was a bright, sunny morning and what an ideal morning to spend outdoors.

After breakfast (I had very interesting, delectable local fare), I took a bus from Balestier Road to take me to Novena MRT. When I alighted at Novena, my heart sank - heavy clouds were moving in, covering the skies fast.... I prayed for just a little sunshine and moved on. 

I took the North South Line and headed north towards Bishan, where I interchanged to the Circle Line, that would take me to my destination for the morning.

The clarity of signages and directions in Singapore's MRT and transport network (as well other places, like Hong Kong) is liberating. All you need is a map, which supplements the signage. Seldom, did I ask for directions from anyone, in the last two days that I spent here.

Just as I reached the exit of the MRT station, I knew my worst fears were coming true... It was raining, the rain was rather heavy, so heavy that I had to wait at exit for nearly 20 minutes till the intensity reduced.

I stopped by to look at the map and plan my walking trail through the 74-acre green patch that was indeed thriving despite the rapid urbanisation and rising skyscrapers of the city-state. This was the third botanical garden that I was visiting.

The first one was at Entebbe, Uganda - the Entebbe Botanical Gardens. I went there in 1981, I was little kid then. The enduring memories of marvelous green palm fronds fluttering in the breeze against a backdrop of shimmering, gentle waves of Lake Victoria are very evocative, they still give me goosebumps.

The second one was at Mauritius, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden, popularly known as the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden, which is known for typical African species - the baobabs, mahogany and yes, the giant water lilies. The visit here was again special, for it was during the initial days of my life, together, with Neeti...

My first impressions of the garden were positive. The garden was spic and span, fallen leaves were placed at the base of trees and plants - they weren't scattered around. That was the way they claimed, the nutrients were being returned to the soil.

The garden was much like the Garden of Eden - green and peaceful, with little ponds and lakes breaking whatever little monotony that the vegetation around gave,

The garden had its beginnings in 1822 when Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore who was also a keen naturalist, developed the first ‘Botanical and Experimental Garden’ at Fort Canning. 

In 1859, the Garden was shifted to its present site an agri-horticultural society under the colonial administration. In its early years, the Gardens played an important role in development of agriculture in Singapore and Malaya. The administration collected, grew, experimented and distributed plants that could thrive in the climate of this region. 

A little known fact is that development of the rubber plantations in Malaya had its roots here, in these Gardens. A native of the Amazon rainforest, Para-Rubber, hevea brasiliensis, was introduced to the region from these gardens. And it went on to became a major cash-crop which brought great prosperity to Malaya and then, later, Malaysia. 

Besides, plants, it was evident, the Gardens supported a wide variety of life - including these pigeons.

A Love & Peace Flower sculpture by a Croatian artist, Ana Tzarev.... 

I wish I could pause here, sit here and soak in all the peace that Nature has to offer.... 

But I had to move on.... There is a lot to see in these Gardens....

Random Thoughts on Independence Day...

This Independence Day comes after an interesting event, the London Olympics.

After the depressing 80s and 90s, India performed wonderfully well at this edition of the Games, beating all expectations back home. Why India has performed better is simple - individual performances were stellar, but we failed in team-based events. Personal excellence overshadowed the overall objectives of the team. That's true at Indian workplaces also. The Olympics is a manifestation of why Indians excel in all spheres, but teams fail.

On this Independence Day we do need to introspection as to why we, Indians, value personal excellence and achievement more than the country's. Perhaps, that will help us grow as a nation.

I was particularly disturbed when certain lumpen elements started targeting my countrymen from the North East in retaliation for the attacks the Rohingyas have faced in Buddhist dominated Myanmar or local violence in Assam. Indians with Mongoloid features are not Myanmarese or "Chinkis", they are fellow Indians, my brothers and sisters who have every right to each grain of this country's soil, as you do and as I do. Not respecting a fellow Indian and infringing a fellow citizen's rights should be severely punished.

Let's not forget, Mary Kom who belongs to the North East brought us glory at the Olympics. Why were we proud to call it an Indian achievement if we can't treat citizens from her areas with respect.

We have already forgotten the persecution of Kashmiri Pandits. Let's not let this violence against North Easterners continue anymore.

We can only call ourselves as Indians only if we respect our fellow countrymen, else we ought to get lost in hell.

News of horrific tales of Pakistani Hindus trying to legitimately cross the border into India have been coming in. My heart bled at their plight. Hindus have been terrorised in that demonic shitty state. Hindu girls have been kidnapped, raped and forcibly converted. Hindus can't think of progressing in that state. They are not allowed to practise their vocation. Their meagre possessions are taken away by force, yet they get no legal succor. It's time our government stood up, gathered some courage and called a spade a spade and did some plain speak on the plight of Pakistani Hindus.

Look at Israel. Any Jew in any part of the world can call Israel home. Ethiopian Jews, numbering over 20,000 were airlifted to Israel in three operations - Operation Moses, Operation Joshua and Operation Solomon. Similarly a million Soviet Jews made their Aliyah to Israel.

Why does India shy away from openly supporting Pakistani Hindus? Why can't the government grant them a free, unfettered and unconditional right of asylum in India?

Let's think of these basics and truly make our country independent of these ills!

Juley Ladakh!

It's time to say Juley Ladakh! Hello Ladakh!

After passing whole day yesterday acclimatising, we dared venturing out today.

We started in the morning and headed straight to the Hemis Gompa monastery, which is about 40 kilometers from Leh city. The monastery was built in the 1600s by the Ladakhi king, Sengge Namgyal.

Our guide, Tenzing, kept us well entertained all through the way with a lovely collection of songs from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and other Bollywood movies. Our driver, Palges, ensured that we had a safe drive!

Tenzing told us that he was named by the Dalai Lama himself. Now the Dalai Lama's real name is Tenzin Gyatso, and our Tenzing claimed that Dalai Lama often names babies after himself!

The route to Hemis Gompa snaked along the Indus, which barely looks like a river. That's the river that gave our nation its name. This is the river along which we once had a mighty civilization, the Indus Valley Civilization, some 3000 years back!

The road, maintained by the armed forces, passed by a number of military establishments, Karu Garrison and many others. These brave men who guard the frontiers of our nation do deserve honors for putting up with adverse conditions to ensure we stay safe.

Tenzing mentioned that the Ladakhi economy is sustained by tourism and the armed forces.While tourism is a seasonal phenomenon, much like agriculture there, the armed forces sustain the local economy in winter.

The Hemis Gompa monastery, the oldest in the region, was quite impressive. Built nearly 600 years back, the monastery is home to the Drukpa sect of Mahayana Buddhism. Nestled between mountains, carved up by the elements, the monastery is surrounded by quaint little stupas.

We started back for the Thiksey monastery and stopped by for lunch at a place called Chamba Kitchen. As always I opted for local fare. This was an earthy warm vegetable broth called Chutagi Thukpa. Chutagis are steamed dough, shaped like wontons. The Chutagi Thukpa was instantly and immensely comforting and pleasurable!

The next stop was the Stok Palace of the Namgyal dynasty of Ladakh, which had ruled this cold desert for over 500 years.

Stok Palace lies across the Indus. The approach to the Palace passes through patches of green. A unique thing in Ladakh is that the mountains and hills are starkly barren, the valleys are green and fertile! They grow wheat, barley, sunflowers, vegetables and fodder for cattle. The Ladakhis raise cattle, asses and sheep. They need to toil for six months to grow enough food and fodder to get them through the winter.

The Stok Palace contained relics of the Namgyal dynasty. The Palace had a small shrine dedicated to the Drukpa sect and the Dalai Lama. And much to our amusement, our guide, Tenzing, took time to catch up with the caretakers of Stok, pretty Ladakhi girls, attired regally in purple.

It was nice to know from Tenzing that the Ladakhis migrated from Mongolia long, long back. Proximity to Tibet, when the Silk Route was booming centuries ago, aligned the Ladakhis culturally with Tibetans. The result is that the Ladakhis today use the Tibetan script, use Ladakhi, a dialect of Tibetan, as their language and revere the Dalai Lama as much as the Tibetans do.

The next stop was the Hall of Fame. At the edge of the Leh air force station's runway, lies this little tribute to the nameless soldier of the Indian armed forces who stood guard and killed and died for the Indian nation. It was interesting to read about Zorawar Singh's expeditions into Baltistan and Tibet in the 1800s.

But it was surreal and poignant to read about the accounts of the martyrs of various wars in this region, especially the letter of Captain Vijayant Thapar to his family moments before he died.

The captured Pakistani arms on display spoke a story of our valour. The section on the Siachen battlefield, the highest warzone in the world at 20,000 feet, showed the struggle our men in uniform face day in and day out.

But the best part was standing besides the unfurled Tricolour in the drizzle, watching the clouds move past the mountains, saluting our flag on our Independence Day. Undoubtedly this was the best Independence Day I ever had, that too on the roof of India!

Juley Ladakh!

Is India truly "Independent"?

This day, the 15th of August, as we celebrate our 62nd Independence Day, I am sitting here in the capital of our country, thinking about what independence means to us individually as citizens and collectively as a nation.
What does independence mean to us as citizens? Was it merely the transition of power that happened in 1947, from British rule to self rule? Is it a mere relic, a casual remembrance of an event that happened 61 years back, or crudely put, a mere public holiday to relax? Or is it freedom of thought and expression and freedom from fear? Does it mean economic empowerment? Or does it mean social development?
As a citizen of this nation, independence for me today means an independence from fear -- are we free from fear? Do I know I will be alive tomorrow? The answer is a big NO. We are not free. We as a nation are being held hostage to fear coming from various ideological movements that threaten the fabric of the very freedom our forefathers fought for. Successive spineless rulers are solely responsible for our "slavery" to fear. They have have made India a "soft state", a place where any Tom, Dick or Harry has been virtually granted a right to violent expression at the expense of an ordinary Indian. The encouragement of religious politics and "minorityism" at the cost of national interest has been the root cause of this. That is why Indian citizens were subjected to the humiliation at Kandahar, of numerous terror attacks, of countless release of militants to free influential hostages and of a systemic failure to curb naxalism.
Gandhi said that we are a peace-loving nation and that an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. In today's scenario, we can't just give ourselves away that we lose both our eyes. Wouldn't it be better that if one of our eyes is taken away, we blind the enemy in one eye, so that he doesn't return for our second eye? We have had enough of this idealism for 61 years of our so called freedom. Gandhi was certainly a great man, we all respect him, but I am sorry, we Indians can't give our "eyes" away. So our ruling class better take notice.
Nothing can happen in country where heroes are not respected and honored. We continue to pay homage to sons of dynasties, who did little for the country besides organised extortion. But we forget the real heroes who die guarding our borders in appalling conditions. We forget heroes like Field Marshall Sam Maneckshaw, who gave India one of its finest victories in military history. Nothing can become of a nation that forgets its heroes.
Nothing can happen in a country where traitors who supported the Chinese aggression against our country today hold positions of power in Parliament, hold the country to ransom and brazenly take positions detrimental to the nation.
Nothing can happen in a country where I cannot travel to certain places, cannot have ownership rights in certain states and where locals are displaced on the basis of religion, with the state being a mute spectator? We had for decades taken a moral high ground on issues like the South African Apartheid in global fora, yet we shamelessly practise a Apartheid against our own people within our own land.
Today we take pride in a booming economy. We take pride in being recognised as an economic might in the world. Indeed, India has changed. India has seen economic freedom in the last two decades. There have been multiplier effects on job creation and opportunities as a result of outsourcing of manufacturing, technology and services as result of which the common citizen does feel economically empowered.
But economic freedom and freedom from fear go hand in hand. One can never be really free without freedom from fear.
So while we "celebrate" the anniversary of an event that happened 61 years ago, we Indians still yearn for our TRUE INDEPENDENCE from fear.