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coming up

#15 The Internet has been here for a while. But when has it become genuinely accessible? I would say this happened at the start of a decade back in India. Around this time, 4G came to India, and through that, fast, reliable Internet started reaching our hands. I started using 4G in December 2013. The sharp contrast to 3G was something one could distinctly experience. One of the first benefits of 4G was not streaming or downloading for me, but tatkal booking. With 4G, a Tatkal ticket was guaranteed in IRCTC. Data rates were still on the roof for streaming. At that time, data was priced at around Rs 250/1 GB/month. Now, it is roughly Rs 200/60GB/month. I remember tracking 1 GB over a month; the entire music library had to be downloaded and kept, and streaming was non-existent. Streaming was a costly affair till Reliance disrupted the telecom sector.

One of the craziest stories I first heard online was about Brother Orange. You must google this—a story of a stolen iPhone and its journey from the US to China. I wondered if such a thing could ever happen before the Internet. I felt like writing about the Internet because of a short film series I saw a decade ago. I saw Naatukaar.com on YouTube and thoroughly loved it. But later, I could not find it. I forgot the title and no matter what keyword I tried, it did not work. The short film bloom meant searching was difficult. Much like MH370 in the deep sea, I searched for a short film on YouTube. To my surprise, a few months ago, the YouTube algorithm brought this back into my feed, and I was delighted. I watched it again, and many of the actors in that series are now in mainstream Malayalam cinema.

With the launch of Hotstar and Jio, streaming became accessible. Cricket, Formula One, Federer, and everything else were available anywhere. Any movie you imagine is available on demand. However, it still cannot replace the theatrical feel. Last year, I was fortunate to see Titanic, Dark Knight, Inception, and Interstellar in the theatre. Nothing can deliver the theatrical experience of movies like Interstellar; in that way, it is good that certain things remain old school. I remember waiting for school to end, reaching home to check if Sachin was batting and what his score was. These surprises are not possible today.

A few months back, 5G came to India, and there was not much of a change from 4G except for downloads. Mostly because systems are yet to exploit the power of 5G. How 5G will unfold is something for us to wait and watch. What is more intriguing is to think about how the Internet works when we go beyond Earth. Today, a video call to anyone on Earth is a cakewalk for most of us. But imagine a video call to someone on the moon from Earth. Now, it is not as easy as it seems to be. Firstly, Earth and the moon are separated by a time gap of 1.6 seconds. That means a “hello” would take 1.6 seconds to reach the moon and another 1.6 seconds to get the reply. On top of this, a clock on the moon would run faster (56 microseconds per day) than Earth’s. Now consider Mars; a video call to someone on Mars would take at least 4 minutes to get a hello. No technology whatsoever can solve this time delay. The reality of the vast cosmos. In another way, everything we experience is something of the past, and this past is separated by time and space. On Earth, the time factor doesn’t play a significant role in day-to-day life. However, though minuscule, the truth is that we are constantly experiencing things of the past through our senses. It is a subtle reality one need not know, but it is there.

#14 The last day of my first visit to Japan was reserved for Kyoto. Out of the many places I had in mind and within the limited time, Kyoto was chosen because it was the seat of Japanese Imperial Power for a millennium. When I started to filter down the places to see, I immediately realized that it cannot be experienced in a day. Among all the options, I decided on two locations and kept an option for a third one if time permits.

The plan was to see the Imperial Palace in the morning and then go to Kiyomizu-dera temple. We were lucky to get a direct train from Kobe to Kyoto. Otherwise, one must switch trains at Osaka. My JR pass would not work beyond Osaka as it was primarily valid for West Japan. So, we took the Rapid train, which itself is pretty fast. As per Google, we had to take a subway train from Kyoto station to a station near the palace. However, I misread the ‘Transit’ option in Google. We went to a subway station near Kyoto station and had a tough time looking for a subway station near the palace, which did not exist.

Finally, we decided to take a leap of faith and took the subway, which we felt was right. I tapped my IC card, and we were on the platform. Then, we realized that we were wrong. We met a few ladies and asked for help. They could not figure out even the simplest of English. I was amazed they did not know the essential English words, and their native Japanese was good enough for their life there. To another girl, we asked again, and all she said was Kyoto. We realized that the subway was bound to the central Kyoto station. The subway design was so that you could not come out once you were on the platform. I wonder why it was so. There should have been an exit, but we did not see any. The only way out was to take a train, and we took the next one. I rechecked Google and realized I misread the bus station to a subway station.

For about a millennium, the Imperial Palace has been the seat of the Japanese Empire, which was why I decided to see it. The first thing that caught my attention was the vastness of the palace complex. One cannot just run away from that complex. The palace complex comprises many structures for individual purposes, and we are not allowed to enter inside. A structured tour was available post-noon, but we will not stay that long. We walked from one structure to another, basking in the architectural magnificence. The thing that unites all these structures is the sweeping, long, inverted arch-shaped roof, which we see everywhere in Japanese historical structures. I imagined the precision required to get the proper joints from these long arches. A minor tilt in angle means improper joints. The craftsmanship of the highest quality was straight in front of my eyes. When we were there, it was bloody cold with chilling winds and intermittent rain. The occasional sunshine was a bliss to warm up. Having realized my mistake in looking at the transit options, this time, I was right to take the bus straight away to the temple.

Kiyomizu-dera was a lively place. There were tourists everywhere. Throughout my time in Japan, I was looking for a shop to buy a Kimono for my niece. And the thing that I realized is that if you want to shop, you must plan it. The shops here open around 10 am and close by 6 pm. Unlike in India, where we could shop at night, it is impossible here. The only shops open at nighttime are supermarkets and 7-Eleven stores. On the road leading to the temple, I saw Kimonos hanging, but those were rental shops where they dress you up in one. Kiyomizu-dera is a mesmerizing temple complex. A place that makes you amazed. I think the time I was there, April or the Sakura season, made it even more beautiful. Sharp blue skies, orange structures and green leaves all around meant all the right notes were ticks in the RGB spectrum.

Just looking around in itself was very pleasing. A place of surprise here was Zuigudo Hall. It is a place symbolizing a mother’s womb, especially Buddha’s mother. We decided to go inside and were asked to go through, taking hold of a rail as the only guide in this pitch-dark space. I meant darkness dialled to the max. Open your eyes wide, and you will not see anything. My eyes would have dilated to my lifetime high. The kind of darkness that knocks your sense of madness. It is exceedingly difficult to recreate eyes open darkness of this intensity. As you walk, you will end up in front of a thin ray of light falling on a stone. As you see this, you are allowed to make one single wish. This experience was exactly the opposite of what I had in the ropeway cab amidst dense white fog. It made me rethink my perception of vision. The absence of light is not the reason for the lack of vision. It is the contrast that gives us the vision.

The next one in Kiyomizu-dera was Otowa waterfall. It is not a waterfall but a freshwater stream split into three—one for a long life, another for success in studies, and the last for a fortunate love life. A queue was there to get near the stream, and we were quite curious to know what stream was for each. Funny enough, there was no marking for which stream was for what. I drank from one of them. One of the streams is redundant for me anyway. The other two could have been nice, but I do not know from what I drank. One could pause and drink from all three, but that would be considered greedy. So, without knowing what Kiyomizu-dera had blessed me with, we decided to leave the temple with that uncertainty and spend our last few minutes in the streets of Higashiyama, which is at the foothill of the temple. This was my last opportunity to get a Kimono, and thankfully, I got one. We had to leave once everyone bought the souvenirs since we had a morning flight to catch. The streets of Higashiyama are historically significant and beautiful, but we had to go. We again got the direct Rapid from Kyoto to Kobe. It was here at Kyoto station; while waiting for the train, a few girls heard us speaking English and asked us where we were from. In a way, they were stunned at our English.

Kansai Airport is the last of the few experiences I wanted to write about. It was terrible. I have never been in such a long queue for security checks. Even before that, the baggage drop took us an hour. I have felt that all those airport staff should intern at one of India’s international airports. Japan is a treasure trove for people to experience history and modernity coexisting together. Indians especially would be spellbound at the Indianness in the historical roots of Japan. One more thing that caught my attention is the cemetery. The Japanese tradition is to burn the bodies, just like in India. The ashes are then put in a small square plot in the cemetery. If you plan to go to Japan, you only need a smartphone, internet, JR pass, IC card, and stamina to walk a long way. On average, I walked 15 km daily during the three days I roamed.

#13 I wrote this just after the 2023 World Cup final loss to get it out of my head. I didn’t expect it to be my 13^th post, though 13 has always been good for me. Joke apart, this time, I thought we would go through. The moment Australia qualified for the final, 2003 kept ringing in my head. And just like my first proper World Cup experience, India lost. Over the years, I have felt consolation that it was good to lose in 2003 since that kept Sachin playing. If we had won in 2003, Sachin may not have carried beyond 2007. Thankfully, he did, and we saw a magical 2010 and the cup in 2011.

About the 2023 team, I don’t know if our two all-time greats will play another World Cup. Virat was lucky to get right at the start of his career, but I feel for Rohit. Post Sachin, Yuvraj and Dhoni, he is the one who kept me watching cricket. The team was the best we had in years, better than 2011, but it doesn’t seem sufficient. I can relate to this a lot from my journey in SAE BAJA in my graduate years. It was a competition of 250 college teams. When all the events were over, and we were waiting for the declaration of winners, we never thought it would be us the National champions. We thought it could be the one from Bombay because they had the best car that year, but they didn’t win. We did better across all the segments of the competition. I vividly remember the declaration ceremony. It went like this: “The winner is from south of India, from Tamil Nadu {we thought of a team, not us}, from Chennai, {we thought whom from Chennai}, and it is SRM”. It isn’t easy to replicate the adrenaline rush we experienced that day, much like Dhoni said about the Vande Mataram chant in the 2011 final. As much as the elevation peak, I experienced the exact opposite the following year, when our car broke down, and we couldn’t patch up within the stipulated time. Looking back, I feel good that I tasted both ends.

Back to cricket, the 2011 victory was too sweet to overcome the bittersweet 2003. Sachin finally got one. In the middle, we had a forgetful 2007. In 2015, we didn’t have a great team, but we still won seven in a row until the semifinal. We took all ten tickets in each game from a not-so-great bowling lineup and saw Shami the bowler. I remember following the semifinal from the office with all the hopes on Dhoni. 2019, we had a better team, but the same story. With that Dhoni run out, it was all over. This time, the loss hurts more because the team was the best.

The number of finals we lost in recent years is agonizingly high. Women lost the 2017 T20 and 2022 ODI final, men lost the 2017 CT final, 2021 & 2023 test final and now 2023. I never expected history would rhyme again in 2023. Once again, an India-Australia final, India losing, and our best player winning the man of the series. Sachin winning that award was the only consolation after the loss because we knew that Australia. The early 2000s Australia was probably the greatest team ever in the history of cricket. All eleven in that team were legendary, so the 2003 loss was kind of acceptable. Two decades later today, it was India having an edge. Once again, I realize it’s not the best team that wins but the one who delivers when & where it matters. The best I could do now is to watch Gabba 2021 and find some solace.

#12 I first thought about writing down the memories with Federer when he retired. I didn’t. Then, this year, Wimbledon happened, and tennis saw a glimpse of someone who could level up to the Big 3. When Alcaraz was relentless against Djokovic in this year’s Wimbledon final, the commentator said that for the first time, Djokovic is having a taste of what it is to play against Djokovic. And after two decades, beyond the Big Three and Murray, we have a new champion at centre court. Only time will tell if this was a sign of a change of the guard or a mere flicker.

First memories to ’08

I cannot remember the first match of Federer I saw. It could probably be in ’05. I remember feeling disappointed about the French Open loss to Nadal in ’06. I also remember the win against Nadal in ’07 Wimbledon. And then possibly the greatest match of all time, the ’08 Wimbledon final when Federer lost to Nadal. The unbelievable 2 set lead by Nadal, the comeback two sets by Federer, the never-ending tiebreak. To think of what got me into Federer, it is probably the finesse with which he played. The powerful forehand, rare single-handed backhand, aces and drop shots all captivated and pulled the fans towards him. Federer has also been emotional post-matches, and I think this plain human expression took Federer to the hearts of millions of fans worldwide that no player could match. There was never a court where he didn’t get the crowd’s support. For 19 years in a row, he won the ATP fan’s favourite award, including years he didn’t win a slam.

Big 3: ’09-’12

The best thing that happened to Federer in ’09 was winning the French Open. For three years in a row, Federer couldn’t go past Nadal in the French Open, and maybe God was kind enough to acknowledge the pursuit that Federer could complete his career grand slam. After the debacle in ’08, Federer would continue to win Wimbledon in ’09, in yet another long match with Andy Roddick. I felt for Roddick that day because it was one of his best matches, and a Wimbledon would have been great. With Nadal’s ’08 Wimbledon, his first major beyond the clay and Novak’s phenomenal ’11 with three slams, tennis was known to have the Big 3. I don’t think tennis has ever had three giants playing together simultaneously. Their level of the game was exceptional. Beyond the Big 3, I shall not forget to mention Murray. He was the closest to the Big 3 and would win three grand slams later. After a lean year in ’11, Roger would win the ’12 Wimbledon, and we, the fans, wouldn’t know that we were embarking on a long 4-year journey of grand slam draught.

2013-16

Federer was playing fine in these times, but a grand slam never realized. He was consistent in reaching the semifinals and finals. The ’14 and ’15 finals with Novak were terrific matches. Those matches probably made him and the fans believe a slam was around the corner. This is also the time that I would say the fans he had were forged in fire that they would continue to bel18ve in him. Federer won 1000 Masters and Davis Cup. This period also saw troubles with the knee and the back. Novak was supreme in these times, taking slams like Roger did in the mid-2000s. Novak won his first French Open in ’15, a new champion beyond Nadal, but Nadal would come back stronger in the years to come. I had felt sometimes that we should just hand Nadal the French open. There is no point in playing; he just blew anyone in that court. He is undisputedly the King of Clay. Federer troubles with knee rose to the point that he would take a sabbatical from mid-2016 for a surgery. It was a rare thing for Federer after consistently playing grand slams for a decade and a half. It was a tough time for Federer and us, the fans. We had to arrest all our wishes on grand slams and just wish Federer would be OK on and off the court.

’17 to Forever

2017 was the year of relief, surprise and, as Federer said, a fairy tale. At the Aus Open ’17, we all wanted Federer to be healthy and back, but the story went on to a memorable Nadal final. I felt for Nadal’s loss for the first time and was equally ecstatic over Federer’s 18^th. We always bel18ved in Roger. The sublime run went to Wimbledon ’17 victory without losing a set. Federer continued this run to defend the Aus Open in ’18, reaching 20^th slam and all in tears. Post this, Federer played well, but the Grand Slam did not realize. The last time we saw the best of Federer, I mean the absolute best of him, was at Wimbledon ’19. He won over Nadal in the semifinals and had a brutal loss to Djokovic in the finals. It was an epic game to the proportions of the ’08 Wimbledon final. Federer won the most points and had the championship point, yet that day was for Novak. One of the most difficult days since the ’08 final. I was severely disappointed. Matches like this make me question rationally to why I should feel bad at the loss of a tennis game. I realized that it is difficult to question the genesis of why we like someone. It is just so. Try your best to cherish that. The knee had started to trouble again, and slowly, it sank on us that it would be difficult to return to the best. Federer once again took a sabbatical for surgery and would eventually call retirement. 

Federer announced Laver’s Cup as his last ATP tournament, and there was magic even in his last match. Federer played a doubles match with Nadal, his biggest rival on the same side, and a magical shot making the ball go between the post and the net, through a gap just enough to scrap through, something we have never seen before. That match and tournament was the best sendoff Federer could get. Roger not winning any more grand slams or losing the last chance at the ’19 final will not do any blemish to the aura he built. By now, his stature had grown beyond numbers and records. To us, he is always the greatest. A perfect blend of technique and finesse. I wish to see him in person one day and thank him for all the games we relished.

To summarize what Federer was, the best analogy I heard was from acclaimed Bharata Natyam dancer Rajashree Warrier (she is also a fan). She said when you see a photo of Federer, be it any moment in the game; one can see it is composed, elegant, measured, and devoid of tension, a quality a classical dancer should aspire to exude. Will we see a player of Federer’s level? It can happen, but will we see a player of Federer’s finesse, probably not. He will always remain the cre’me de la cre’me.

#11 As I wrote before, if everyone you meet in life is replaceable, so are you in other’s life. We may now ask this question, how does one become irreplaceable? Have you asked this question yourself? Most of us think we are irreplaceable. Is it so? What is it that makes us irreplaceable? How far are we from being irreplaceable? Who can say we are irreplaceable? A certain self-evaluation is required for this understanding.

To a reasonable extent, self-help books have helped people realize they are replaceable at work. Of course, some still live within the hallucination that the company revolves around them. Companies run on balance sheets, investor’s interest, and nothing more. On the first day of my job, my HR was kind enough to remind us that the primary reason for us to be there was the money involved. I felt it was harsh at that time, but that’s reality. I always appreciate that statement in my life. Even with the realization that they are replaceable at work, people feel they are irreplaceable at home because they are tied up to home in some form. They come home with their roles granted. Parents take for granted that their children will always stand up for them and vice-versa. In marriage, people take their spouses for granted by their vows. And so on. Things go fine until a situation comes when the assumptions go wrong. Thus, if you don’t play the role you are supposed to, anytime things can fail. The fewer roles you play, the easiest to replace you.

Everyone you meet and keep in your life is because you consciously or unconsciously expect them to play a role for you in your life. So first thing you should realize is that you have to be ready to play as many roles as you can for all others around you. The more roles you play, the more you become irreplaceable to the people around you. Again remember, one shouldn’t do this as a mechanical process; that won’t be lovely and caught quickly. One should grow to make this an inherent quality. We all know when one does something for you, is it coming from own willingness or not? And that’s the whole point. Are you willing or not? If you are genuinely willing to everyone around you, then you are ready to take on any role for them.

Is that all you need to do to become an irreplaceable being? No. As you build yourself to take on any role, you should become that person with no expectations of someone playing a role for you. In a way, you have to grow towards a self-sufficient life. All the roles you want others to do for you should gradually be your responsibility. As I always remind myself, Your life, Your responsibility. The more you travel in life with this awareness, the more freedom you experience. And as with more freedom, more responsibilities. This lack of ability to be responsible for one’s life makes them tied up to things they otherwise don’t want to.

In life, if you know someone of such a quality of being an irreplaceable entity, don’t burden them further. Cherish them. I am sure they are rare. As said by someone who I feel is an irreplaceable figure in my life, “If you have no will of your own, you are truly willing to life.”

#10 Miyajima Island: I came to know of this place only because of the JR pass. I had fixed my mind to visit Hiroshima and chose the corresponding JR West pass. Each JR pass comes with a map of the places where the pass is valid, and I saw Miyajima here. The pass also included the ferry ride to the island. On checking more about Miyajima Island, I realized that it is perhaps a place worth seeing. Miyajima is also known as the Island of the Gods, much like the place from where I come. There are so many temples and shrines here. So, the plan was to see the island first and then visit Hiroshima. All this was possible only due to the Bullet train. From Kobe, it’s around 300+ km to Hiroshima and was covered in just over an hour. From Hiroshima, it was another 30min train and a 15min ferry to the island. That day severe rain was predicted in both Kobe and Hiroshima, and when we started from Kobe, the predictions came true, and it was raining heavily. It rained all through the way to Hiroshima. As we reached the island, the rain subsided. It would take about two days to experience Miyajima Island completely, and I had roughly 4 hours. I planned to see the Daisho-in temple complex, make the 2-hr. trek to the top of Mount Misen, and then take the ropeway down. As planned, I was at the temple complex at around 10:30 am.

There was so much to see and appreciate, but I didn’t have enough time to explore truly. I did walk around the temple and saw the 500 Rakan statues, which are small and placed on both sides of the walkway. Each sculpture is a disciple of Shaka Buddha and has an individual face. There was also a Buddha in a posture similar to Padmanabhaswamy at Trivandrum, albeit smaller. Buddhism came to Japan around the 6th century AD, and the temple belongs to the Shingon sect, which falls under Mahayana Buddhism. Their prayers and chants are in Sanskrit. I also realized that the protectors of these Buddhist temples are Indian deities called Ten, just like what I saw in the Todaiji temple. I had written a little about this temple in my previous post.

When we quickly finished seeing the temple, it started raining profusely, and I felt trekking in that weather was not a wise choice. So, I quickly changed the plan to take the ropeway and go to the top of Mount Misen. It was a two-stage ride and took about 20 mins, I guess. There was this dense mist that all I could see was a diffused white halo. If those ropeway cables were to rupture, I wouldn’t fall; I would float like a Greek angel. I wouldn’t know at this time that I would experience the exact opposite thing a day later. Once we reached the top, there were places one could go, and I chose to trek to the topmost point. From what I have read before, it was around a 15-20 minute walk, but it was not so. The rain had subsided, but it was cold, and the trail was wet and slippery. From the ropeway station, you first walk through a downward slope, and then it is a continuous upward trail. The path was highly non-linear, with frequent short and steep climbs, and it took around 30 minutes to reach the top. More than reaching the top, the climb was the most memorable part of Miyajima. The trail was well paved with natural stones, but the weather made it adventurous. If you are going to fall, there is probably no coming back.

The place was surrounded by thick forest, and the ambiance was similar to Winterfell. I especially felt so because of the raven calls; it was the same as the three-eyed raven in GOT. All the while you climb the trail, you will appreciate each breath, the coolness, the breeze. On the trail, you can also see small temples; one had a fire chamber burning for 1200 years. At the top, there is nothing much apart from a viewpoint and a souvenir shop. The mist meant that I wouldn’t see anything that day. By now, I had overshot time, and the aim was to get to Hiroshima asap. I took the ropeway down, and thankfully the mist parted, and I had one of the most admirable views of the waters and the mainland from the top of Misen.

I reached Hiroshima around 4:30 pm, and the Peace Memorial Museum was scheduled to close at 6 pm. Visiting the museum was the main aim at Hiroshima, as you will not find any remnants of the disaster anywhere else except for one or two buildings kept as memory. Truth be told, if you were brought to Hiroshima blindfolded today, you wouldn’t accept that it had experienced the worst in human history. It is now a well-planned city. If I am not wrong, the museum had about four sections, with the first being about Hiroshima before and the day of the blast. Soon I realized that it would take 3-4 hours to view the museum thoroughly. More than a museum, it reflects the people’s memories in that time. And it is not for the faint-hearted. You shouldn’t come here if you are one such. I was in the museum for over an hour, and it was time for closure.

I felt disappointed in not being able to go through it entirely and took as many photos as possible before exiting. Of what I saw inside the museum, I will not write now. It is primarily to be experienced. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is releasing this 21. I am reading Oppenheimer’s biography, the man behind the Atomic Bombs, and after watching the movie, I will perhaps write about Hiroshima. It is not a one-sided story of a hero and a villain, but for the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was indeed one-sided. The luckiest of them was the ones who died before realizing the blast, and the unluckiest ones were the one who survived. The only justice they were blessed with was that the explosion was indiscriminate. Rich or poor, or any social discrimination, none of it stood in front of the disaster. To be continued.

#9 Last time, I wrote about my experience with the people of Japan. This time, it is about the places I experienced. I stayed in Kobe; however, I hardly saw it in detail. I did walk a lot throughout the streets of Kobe and had a glimpse of the port, which is what Kobe is known for. Kobe, a city, is sandwiched between hills and sea, quite similar to Kerala, though this is way narrower than the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. You can clearly see the hills from the coast of Kobe. Close to the hills, like a border, run the Shinkansen line, the track exclusive for the Bullet trains. There are a few mountain view points, accessible through ropeways and roads, which I couldn’t find time to visit. The ropeway rides close at 5 pm, and the day I planned to go, I reached around 5:15 pm. In fact, before my travel to Japan, I never really planned to see anything, particularly in Kobe, and it happened to be so.

Before I go more about the places, I have to mention why I didn’t see any Korean cars on Japanese roads. It never crossed my mind to Google it. But what happened is that as I was reading the newspaper, I came across this article about the prime ministers of Japan and South Korea meeting after about a decade. In reading through, I see that Koreans always wanted Japan to apologize for the wartime acts they did. This probably could be why we don’t see Korean cars in Japan. I also read recently about the hesitancy of Korean companies to import cheaper Indian steel and still opt for Korean steel, even if it is at a premium.  

Nara: I planned to go here after learning about the huge Buddha statue in Todaiji temple, with a nose of about half a metre. My professor also recommended to visit this place. With the JR pass, we took Kobe-Osaka-Nara trains, and it was seamless. From the Nara station, it is roughly 2 km to the statue, and we decided to walk. Just from the station starts a shopping street leading to the Buddha. It was so beautifully put with sparse vehicles that you can easily splurge your Yens on traditional Japanese folding fans. The price tag on some of the fans was mind-bending. On the way, there was another temple, which I should have seen, but there was no time. And the 2 km felt long. We crossed 1 or 2 large wooden gates, which looked like a free-standing structure on probably foot-thick wooden columns, leading to the statue. There was nothing so special about the Buddha statue apart from its sheer size. One can easily understand that the entire structure or hall surrounding the statue was built after the statue was put in place. At each of the four corners of the hall, 4 warrior statues can be seen, all different from each other. We went around the Buddha, lit a candle,  and came out. At this point, what captivates you is the huge gates and the temple’s architecture. Aesthetically, those structures were built with much thought in place.

 The first thing in the Todaiji museum is a movie with a vast projection about the statue’s history and hall. It was burnt, rebuilt, and so on. Famine, wars, and it has all ingredients. It was then I regretted in not going to the museum before the Buddha Hall and statue. Everything from then on was all about Indian gods, culture, and history. If I am not wrong, what we see from now on is several buddhas over the years in Japan and taking different names like Suryaprabha, Chandraprabha, Sahasrabhuja, Sakyamuni, Prabhutaratna. All of these names have Japanese version also. The four warriors protecting the main Buddha statue have names: Virupaksa, Virudhaka, Vaisravana, Dhrtarastra. There was a huge Saraswati statue with features similar to what we see in India, except for the face. This is one place that shows how much the history and culture of the subcontinent have been influential in the foundation of Japanese life and most probably driven by Buddhism. However, the present statistics say most Japanese have no regard for Gods & Legends. I just saw only two churches throughout my time in Japan. I did see small Buddhist temples here & there, much like the temples in Tamil Nadu. To be continued.

PS: When I started this website, I was looking for a copyright free image of mountains and I ended up with one, as what you see in the homepage. I never knew it was Mount Fuji and I would happen to visit it’s home a year later. However, I still haven’t seen it in person. Probably, something for the next travel to Japan.

#8 This is a brief outlook coming from my short stay in Japan. Along with me were my friends and we had come to Japan for a conference. In no way would I claim this to be a summary of the people of Japan. This may be a flavor of a slice from that summary. I stayed in Kobe and traveled to Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Kindai, and Hiroshima. I can roughly say that these places fall into the mid-south of Japan. Also, all these places are metropolitan. I haven’t gone to any rural, village landscape of Japan, though through my several train rides to these places, I did have a glance of this end of the spectrum.

Firstly, most people I saw in public wore formal dresses, with most men in suits. Maybe my timings coincided with the rush hours of Japan. Nevertheless, if I summarize all my memory, I can say the color tone of their dresses is skewed to shades of black and white. Take a photo of people waiting to cross the road or in the subways of Osaka; you will thirst for a splash of bright colors. The subdued approach to colors can also be felt in the cars on the road. All of them are in black and white tones. It also caught my attention that there were no American cars or Korean cars. Maybe, if I had gone a decade and a half before, I could see Sony Walkman phones. However, almost everyone was holding an iPhone or a Samsung phone. Secondly, people are dead serious in public. I hardly saw someone with a smile on their face. They also do not do any talking in public. It is in their rhythm that people shouldn’t engage in conversations, especially in trains and buses, so that the rest of the people are not disturbed. They are also not supposed to talk over their phones on trains. I heard that they do all the talking when they sit for dinner, and I did experience it when I went to a traditional Japanese restaurant.

Thirdly, the innumerous Arigatou Gozaimasu with bow downs I received. The thanking aspect, even for the slightest interactions, has, in a way, maybe unconsciously, set humility in the minds of Japanese people. Everywhere in Japan, you will see the respect people show toward others. Whether in a lift or train, they will first show you the way. And that is not because I was a tourist there. I had also seen them do this to their fellow citizens. You can see this also in the queues wherever they are in.

 Fourth is trash. The conference that I attended happened at Kobe Convention Centre. On the first day, at the opening ceremony, the conference chairperson said there were no trash cans, and you will have to carry your trash. When you hear that, you may feel that he is joking. But it was true. There was no trash can there. Somehow, everyone across the world who was there carried their trash with them. Another thing that caught my attention in the conference center was no water dispenser. All I could see was a vending machine where the only mineral water of Evian selling for 500 Yens. I wondered whether the Japanese drank water. I think they mostly drink green tea. The vending machine had more green tea bottles than water. The only water I got from the convention center was a Kobe-branded water bottle (like the Fiji water), which they gave me when I presented my work. This was a subtle way of tourism promotion. When I went to Miyajima Island, there too I saw minimal trash cans, though the place was filled with tourists. Amidst this, you must admit that all these places were spotless except for cigarette buds. You can find cigarette buds everywhere, and it especially got my attention at Sannomiya railway station. I don’t know if its an aftermath of their rigorous work hours.

Fifth, it’s Japanese everywhere. While waiting for the train at Kyoto station towards Sannomiya, a few girls were gossiping about us. As our train arrived, they asked, do you guys speak English? We said yes. Then they asked where are we from? In those few seconds, as we boarded the train, we welcomed them to India. Before this, whenever the internet had its limitation, we resorted to asking native Japanese for help, and they couldn’t understand even the slightest bit of English. But since technology works (& do not discriminate, unlike people), life was easier with Google lens. I had a tough time buying the Japanese Railway (JR) Pass. The first was to get to the right counter. I asked an officer outside a JR counter if this was the right place to get the JR pass. He pointed inside, but I was not sure. I took a leap of faith, typed an entire paragraph of what Pass I wanted and how I would pay, converted it to Japanese, and showed it at the counter. It worked. I think it’s enough for now. I have to end this with ありがとう ございます.