torstai, 30. heinäkuu 2009

Shell-shocked Europe vs. agile Asia

I've been travelling a bit between Europe and India this spring. As a European I'm stunned by the gloom over the Old Continent. Seems like there is no fight left anymore. It's like the collective mind would have just given up and decided to lie down to wait for the final count.

Meanwhile in India: I was initially a bit annoyed by the reluctance of business forums, media and other entities to acknowledge that the crisis was also suffocating India. It took me a while to open my eyes. Now I see that while Europe is wobbling like a punch-drunk boxer, Indian operators are nimbly moving about the field and happily chomping off sizable slices of the markets.

What a bounce-back ability, what extraordinary agility in the face of adversity! Meanwhile Europe seems ageing and clumsy, an ex-champion staring in disbelief as the contender inevitably becomes the champion.

The same, as for India, seems evident elsewhere in Asia as well. Malesia, Singapore, China, all are thriving. Of course at the same time it should be noted that e.g. China has single companies that leave a larger carbon footprint than some major industrial nations in Europe. But there you go, as Asia takes the center stage in industrial development, so must they take responsibility that comes with it too. Hope they take it on better than we did.

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Asia is busy as an ant hill - this picture from jungle of cranes and high rises in Singapore.

Moving away from big picture, there seems to be no fast lift in the condition of "everyman" in India. Half still can't read, politics and national budgets are sad charades that promise no improvement. Well, no, scratch that: they promise but do not deliver. And talking with local peers I find that nobody expects a delivery either.

Looking over the compound wall,  the construction sites are filled with little children carrying earth, tottlers crawling in dust while their mothers work, fathers hanging from hights without safety ropes.

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Construction site "daycare" in Bengaluru - here we will have 10 stories in a year.

India, as a nation, through it's business champions, is beating the crap out of western competition, one foot safely in home markets. Meanwhile the people manning the bottom echelons of that market toil in grime and dust. Everything in scales, I guess. Or maybe I'm just a sore loser from the old world.

 

tiistai, 14. huhtikuu 2009

Nilgiris

In the old days those who could afford it escaped summer heat to hill stations. One such hill station in South India is Ooty. It's located in the Nilgiris, or the "Blue Mountains", in Tamil Nadu. We spent a long weekend there over Easter in temperatures between 15 and 25 celcius. Nice. 

Ooty is a manageable drive away from Bangalore and after Mysore the scenery was interesting. The roads were not very good, especially on Karnataka side, but rural life was again exotic enough to city dweller's eyes. Before the climb up to the mountains the road winds through Bandipur National Park, where deer were grazing on the roadside in abundance. It's also a tiger reserve, and though we didn't really expect to see any of those magnificent beasts anywhere, our heads kept turning in anticipation. But we had to be content with wild deer and monkeys. The only elephant we saw was labouring as a forrestry machine, but kids appreciated it all the same.

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Frequent "cross-tarffic" caused enjoyable pauses along the way.

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Forest was in bloom in places. And these are indeed flowers, not withering autumn leaves.

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These guys were so numerous that even I could not miss them all with my camera.

A good place to stay in Ooty is Taj Savoy, oldest part built in 1829, if I recall correctly. Based on very limited experience of course. Some of the more heritage-oriented rooms were heated only by open fire place, which gave the night time some extra atmosphere.
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Savoy at dinner time from behind the front lawn.

Now the negative part. Ooty was packed. Half the Bangalore was there and for instance the much talked about peak of Doddabetta (highest peak of the sierra) was so full of people, cars, stalls, noice and trash that it was excruciating. There were even paddle boats (!) lined up where you could take your picture in. Why on earth was that? The surrounding scenery seemed to be the only thing not properly exploited, hardly visible behind the massing families. Even the benches were facing toward the centre, not the view. We got away soon as possible.

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"Om" to you too...

Coming back we decided to stop along the way and take a walk off the tourist brochures We hiked up a slope, through eucalyptys forest, along the mud fields and ended up in village on a slanting hillside. People were friendly, as always, seemed at peace with the simple life they were leading. It was a good detour. 

The botanical gardens were worth a visit too, as well as the colorful back alleys of the Ooty proper.

Another day we visited Coonoor, not too far from Ooty, a pleasent car or train ride away. As a town it is not that different from Ooty, but the tea plantations around it are something else.
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Roadside view near Coonoor.

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Tea fields east of Coonoor. No wonder the leaves are picked on foot.

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Dolphin's Nose offered magnificent views of the valleys and peaks around, as well as the 250 ft water falls. Come early and you can evade the crowds that are probably already on their way.

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Catherine Water Falls. Someone told me they are named after a woman who committed suicide there.

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Another view from Dolphin's Nose. Monkeys obviously have a good head for heights.

Visited a tea factory too, and got a nice unhurried tour with a knowledgeable guide, just for us. The place was Swamy&Swamy at High Land Estates.

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Ladies feeding the selected leaves to cutting machine one floor below.

All in all it was a nice trip. Perhaps next time we'd rather get a cottage away from the major towns, where hiking is a bit more accessible. Anyway the country side is breath taking and the climate is superb during the season.

Coming back to the heat in Bangalore felt a bit oppressive. It's back to life under AC.

 

torstai, 9. huhtikuu 2009

Warm again!

Just came back from home up north. It was a quick visit, but useful all the same. Skies were grey, not a beam of direct sunlight aywhere, mud seeping through the thinning off-white (very "off") layer of snow and the temperature was around zero. no proper winter anymore, but nowhere near the awakening spring either. Admittedly everything there worked well, traffic was organised, no trash on the streets, etc. But it was just so cold, grey and bleak. And of course you could read the depth of the recession from downcast faces, even if you chose not to browse the papers.

So coming back to India was no hardship. Arrived at midnight to pleasant 24 degrees. Locals were wearing woolly hats and winter coats, but I could not help enjoying the noice, haggling, colours, lights and the glorious warmth!

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I bet this view hasn't changed much during the past millenia. Allepey backwaters, Kerala

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...or this for that matter. Arabian Sea, off Kerala

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Veggie explosion. Russel market, Bengaluru

tiistai, 24. maaliskuu 2009

Papanasham and the other end

South end of Varkala beach, "Papanasham", is manned by locals. This is because it's closer to the temple and steady procession of devotees make their way fom temple to the beach. A dip here is said to purify mind and body.


Ceremony is in progress. I think.

The northern end of the beach is a different story altogether. Almost all people are westerners. It came as a bit of of surprise, walking right into it. But a quick visit to the top of the cliff behind the beach sort of explains it. There is a commercial alley which is all geared for tourists, with its coffee shops, knick-knack stalls and mobile merchants. Actually it was still rather nice and in no way agressive. Everybody seemed to be unusually respectful of your right not to buy stuff.


Picture from the cliff toward south end of Varkala Beach.


And to the north.

Coming back to the beach, we noticed that there is a high proportion of obvious old hippies with their minds a bit off somewhere, dancing under the sun to a music inaudible for the rest of us mortals. And an almost equal proportion of new aspirants into the hippie world, young, long haired, bearded and inked. There must have been about two "mainstream families" in all. Whatever the composition, the atmosphere was very pleasant and easy-going.

sunnuntai, 22. maaliskuu 2009

God's own country

Kerala. So far this has been a slice of paradise. Green paradise.  The people seem unhurried and rather content with their existence. Even the roads, so far, have been good. Sickle and hammer signs seem predominant signs on walls and flags. So maybe it is the one place where socialism actually works.

We've only been here a few days and I feel that I've had Bangalore detoxed out my veins and cerebellum.


Green, green, green


Last 2 hours of daylight.


Sunset over Arabian Sea