FOUAD DIOUMAN
The focus on India this week, due to the PM’s visit, reminded me of my own (simpler and sadly sans per diem) travels to various places there over the last 20 years. A career in Aviation meant that my visits lasted only for a few days at any one time, but I nevertheless managed to gain some interesting knowledge about the very different cultures spanning this vast country, which is far from monolithic. Many in Mauritius might think of India only for its Bollywood blockbusters or shopping sprees. Some seek to renew ties with their birthplaces. Others, closer to death, visit for medical reasons. Whilst we can guess that hundreds of different languages are spoken there, we may not be aware of the rich difference in Culture within India itself.
My first encounter happened with my work colleagues in the Gulf. The first thing that strikes you is that, as suspected, Indians are almost never on time! I surmised that this was due more to not worrying about the clock (just like the Arabs – and obviously very contrary to Europeans) than what we may readily construe as a lack of respect. Indeed, I found that even the new generation still upholds the Values that make India what it is. Being older, more senior than my colleagues from the Indian Sub-Continent, they rarely took the liberty to address me directly by name, and if so, only by saying “Fouad bhai”. Never heard that before, a novel appellation way too honorary, especially after my life in Europe… Funnily, I also found that neither the Hindus nor the Muslims I knew practiced some of the religious rituals I witnessed in Mauritius. But nothing beats seeing a country with one’s own eyes…
Bangalore (Karnataka) has, for decades now, been touted as ‘India’s Silicon Valley’. I befriended a native who came back from the UK to be a tour guide and proudly showcase his region, but through the cultural and historic prisms. It is by far the most pleasant place to stay in India, the weather being surprisingly an almost constant 27-28 degrees Celsius all year round, helped by its elevation of 3,000 feet. Maybe the City was always destined for high tech: it was the birthplace of Tipu Sultan (1751-1799), the Tiger of Mysore, who pioneered rocket artillery, which he deployed against the British during the Anglo-Mysore wars. The British established their largest Military Cantonment within India in Bangalore in the early 1800s.
Continuing with its strong military history, today, Bangalore is the home of the elite Indian Air Force Technical College (AFTC) as well as an Air Base. And the city still displays a very ‘British Army’ culture, with its very own Gymkhana, just like in Mauritius. It is now used as a club by some Indian army retirees. I had tea with them, and yes, they do sport the proud military moustache, just like in the movies! Knowing that I was from Mauritius, my new guide-friend related a very surprising piece of history to me. In colonial times, a British soldier in Bangalore sent a marriage proposal to the daughter of an Officer stationed in Mauritius. The very noble family on our island checked his credentials and adamantly refused, predicting that that man would come to nothing in the future. The soldier was… Winston Churchill.
The South in general is a region of very high intellect. They did invent numerals after all. As they did not use rock tablets or paper in ancient times, but only leaves, South Indian languages had to use rounded letters to counteract the veins in the leaves. My daughter’s Chess teacher, from Chennai, told me more. My Gujrati friends in Mauritius may be surprised to learn that quite a few Southern Indians identify themselves as: “We are not like Gujratis”. Not a value judgement, but nevertheless quite funny, I thought. The teacher explained: “We are not interested in business, we prefer technical analysis. This is why we do Mathematics, Finance, IT, chess”. No wonder my South Indian work colleague (an Accountant, of course) gave the name ‘Anamika’ to her newly-born daughter, telling me that it literally means ‘Nameless’ in Sanskrit (in a mysterious way) but also “someone using highly analytical skills to probe intricate layers”. Phew! Know also that Tollywood is bigger than Bollywood, by the way. But it is Bengali cinema which stands out to the cognoscenti…
Moving North, I was even more impressed by the broader intelligence of the Bengalis. The first ever foreign-born Managing Director of McKinsey was Kolkata-born Rajat Kumar Gupta (1994-2003), after a stint at Goldman Sachs, who reputedly… finished his work by midday. However, he was later convicted of insider dealing! Surprising how some very high IQ financial people easily confuse company funds with their pockets… Nevertheless, Bengalis are infused with Art & Culture. It is no coincidence that the first Indian Nobel Prize winner was Rabindranath Tagore (in Literature, 1913). Bengali cinema is, to me, equivalent to French Art Movies, reminding me of the films noirs genre, not least, by the master, Satyajit Ray. Other cinematic highlights, and one of which I am particularly fond, is detective Byomkesh Bakshi, a Bengali character loosely inspired by Sherlock Holmes, in a slightly more minimalist and intellectual style. Fundamentally, nothing screams culture and family values as when I was invited to my flatmate’s (and work colleague) wedding, in Dehradun (the Hill Station beyond Lucknow, also known for its elite boarding schools), where I was very honoured to meet the… venerable lady doctor who gave birth to my young friend!
Hyderabad is also a place of high culture, known for its strong Urdu poetic tradition. In this respect, in terms of sheer purity of language, it reminds me of Syria for Arabic and the City of Tours in France. It is also a culinary capital, famous for its Hyderabadi biryani as well as other dishes. By the way, most biryanis in India come without potatoes, a sacrilege which would be a real challenge for us Mauritians to accept – and even to imagine! I mentioned A.R. Rahman (again, hailing from the South, Chennai to be precise) to my Hyderabadi friend. He was not impressed. Whilst the modern melodies of the ‘Mozart of Madras’ are now justifiably world-famous, he told me that the lyrics would not match the high standards of poetry of the older classical songs. A revealing insight…
Last but not least, I usually brought our famous Dholl Puris from Mauritius to share with my Indian friends. Many of us will be surprised to know that it is almost non-existent in India. However, I was also educated by my friends in that it should not technically be called a Puri at all, as it is not fried. It is a… stuffed Paratha!
(*) A Passage To India, a novel by E.M. Forster (1924)
——————-
INDIA *
FOUAD DIOUMAN
The focus on India this week, due to the PM’s visit, reminded me of my own (simpler and sadly sans per diem) travels to various places there over the last 20 years. A career in Aviation meant that my visits lasted only for a few days at any one time, but I nevertheless managed to gain some interesting knowledge about the very different cultures spanning this vast country, which is far from monolithic. Many in Mauritius might think of India only for its Bollywood blockbusters or shopping sprees. Some seek to renew ties with their birthplaces. Others, closer to death, visit for medical reasons. Whilst we can guess that hundreds of different languages are spoken there, we may not be aware of the rich difference in Culture within India itself.
My first encounter happened with my work colleagues in the Gulf. The first thing that strikes you is that, as suspected, Indians are almost never on time! I surmised that this was due more to not worrying about the clock (just like the Arabs – and obviously very contrary to Europeans) than what we may readily construe as a lack of respect. Indeed, I found that even the new generation still upholds the Values that make India what it is. Being older, more senior than my colleagues from the Indian Sub-Continent, they rarely took the liberty to address me directly by name, and if so, only by saying “Fouad bhai”. Never heard that before, a novel appellation way too honorary, especially after my life in Europe… Funnily, I also found that neither the Hindus nor the Muslims I knew practiced some of the religious rituals I witnessed in Mauritius. But nothing beats seeing a country with one’s own eyes…
Bangalore (Karnataka) has, for decades now, been touted as ‘India’s Silicon Valley’. I befriended a native who came back from the UK to be a tour guide and proudly showcase his region, but through the cultural and historic prisms. It is by far the most pleasant place to stay in India, the weather being surprisingly an almost constant 27-28 degrees Celsius all year round, helped by its elevation of 3,000 feet. Maybe the City was always destined for high tech: it was the birthplace of Tipu Sultan (1751-1799), the Tiger of Mysore, who pioneered rocket artillery, which he deployed against the British during the Anglo-Mysore wars. The British established their largest Military Cantonment within India in Bangalore in the early 1800s.
Continuing with its strong military history, today, Bangalore is the home of the elite Indian Air Force Technical College (AFTC) as well as an Air Base. And the city still displays a very ‘British Army’ culture, with its very own Gymkhana, just like in Mauritius. It is now used as a club by some Indian army retirees. I had tea with them, and yes, they do sport the proud military moustache, just like in the movies! Knowing that I was from Mauritius, my new guide-friend related a very surprising piece of history to me. In colonial times, a British soldier in Bangalore sent a marriage proposal to the daughter of an Officer stationed in Mauritius. The very noble family on our island checked his credentials and adamantly refused, predicting that that man would come to nothing in the future. The soldier was… Winston Churchill.
The South in general is a region of very high intellect. They did invent numerals after all. As they did not use rock tablets or paper in ancient times, but only leaves, South Indian languages had to use rounded letters to counteract the veins in the leaves. My daughter’s Chess teacher, from Chennai, told me more. My Gujrati friends in Mauritius may be surprised to learn that quite a few Southern Indians identify themselves as: “We are not like Gujratis”. Not a value judgement, but nevertheless quite funny, I thought. The teacher explained: “We are not interested in business, we prefer technical analysis. This is why we do Mathematics, Finance, IT, chess”. No wonder my South Indian work colleague (an Accountant, of course) gave the name ‘Anamika’ to her newly-born daughter, telling me that it literally means ‘Nameless’ in Sanskrit (in a mysterious way) but also “someone using highly analytical skills to probe intricate layers”. Phew! Know also that Tollywood is bigger than Bollywood, by the way. But it is Bengali cinema which stands out to the cognoscenti…
Moving North, I was even more impressed by the broader intelligence of the Bengalis. The first ever foreign-born Managing Director of McKinsey was Kolkata-born Rajat Kumar Gupta (1994-2003), after a stint at Goldman Sachs, who reputedly… finished his work by midday. However, he was later convicted of insider dealing! Surprising how some very high IQ financial people easily confuse company funds with their pockets… Nevertheless, Bengalis are infused with Art & Culture. It is no coincidence that the first Indian Nobel Prize winner was Rabindranath Tagore (in Literature, 1913). Bengali cinema is, to me, equivalent to French Art Movies, reminding me of the films noirs genre, not least, by the master, Satyajit Ray. Other cinematic highlights, and one of which I am particularly fond, is detective Byomkesh Bakshi, a Bengali character loosely inspired by Sherlock Holmes, in a slightly more minimalist and intellectual style. Fundamentally, nothing screams culture and family values as when I was invited to my flatmate’s (and work colleague) wedding, in Dehradun (the Hill Station beyond Lucknow, also known for its elite boarding schools), where I was very honoured to meet the… venerable lady doctor who gave birth to my young friend!
Hyderabad is also a place of high culture, known for its strong Urdu poetic tradition. In this respect, in terms of sheer purity of language, it reminds me of Syria for Arabic and the City of Tours in France. It is also a culinary capital, famous for its Hyderabadi biryani as well as other dishes. By the way, most biryanis in India come without potatoes, a sacrilege which would be a real challenge for us Mauritians to accept – and even to imagine! I mentioned A.R. Rahman (again, hailing from the South, Chennai to be precise) to my Hyderabadi friend. He was not impressed. Whilst the modern melodies of the ‘Mozart of Madras’ are now justifiably world-famous, he told me that the lyrics would not match the high standards of poetry of the older classical songs. A revealing insight…
Last but not least, I usually brought our famous Dholl Puris from Mauritius to share with my Indian friends. Many of us will be surprised to know that it is almost non-existent in India. However, I was also educated by my friends in that it should not technically be called a Puri at all, as it is not fried. It is a… stuffed Paratha!
(*) A Passage To India, a novel by E.M. Forster (1924)
——————-
FOUAD DIOUMAN
The focus on India this week, due to the PM’s visit, reminded me of my own (simpler and sadly sans per diem) travels to various places there over the last 20 years. A career in Aviation meant that my visits lasted only for a few days at any one time, but I nevertheless managed to gain some interesting knowledge about the very different cultures spanning this vast country, which is far from monolithic. Many in Mauritius might think of India only for its Bollywood blockbusters or shopping sprees. Some seek to renew ties with their birthplaces. Others, closer to death, visit for medical reasons. Whilst we can guess that hundreds of different languages are spoken there, we may not be aware of the rich difference in Culture within India itself.
My first encounter happened with my work colleagues in the Gulf. The first thing that strikes you is that, as suspected, Indians are almost never on time! I surmised that this was due more to not worrying about the clock (just like the Arabs – and obviously very contrary to Europeans) than what we may readily construe as a lack of respect. Indeed, I found that even the new generation still upholds the Values that make India what it is. Being older, more senior than my colleagues from the Indian Sub-Continent, they rarely took the liberty to address me directly by name, and if so, only by saying “Fouad bhai”. Never heard that before, a novel appellation way too honorary, especially after my life in Europe… Funnily, I also found that neither the Hindus nor the Muslims I knew practiced some of the religious rituals I witnessed in Mauritius. But nothing beats seeing a country with one’s own eyes…
Bangalore (Karnataka) has, for decades now, been touted as ‘India’s Silicon Valley’. I befriended a native who came back from the UK to be a tour guide and proudly showcase his region, but through the cultural and historic prisms. It is by far the most pleasant place to stay in India, the weather being surprisingly an almost constant 27-28 degrees Celsius all year round, helped by its elevation of 3,000 feet. Maybe the City was always destined for high tech: it was the birthplace of Tipu Sultan (1751-1799), the Tiger of Mysore, who pioneered rocket artillery, which he deployed against the British during the Anglo-Mysore wars. The British established their largest Military Cantonment within India in Bangalore in the early 1800s.
Continuing with its strong military history, today, Bangalore is the home of the elite Indian Air Force Technical College (AFTC) as well as an Air Base. And the city still displays a very ‘British Army’ culture, with its very own Gymkhana, just like in Mauritius. It is now used as a club by some Indian army retirees. I had tea with them, and yes, they do sport the proud military moustache, just like in the movies! Knowing that I was from Mauritius, my new guide-friend related a very surprising piece of history to me. In colonial times, a British soldier in Bangalore sent a marriage proposal to the daughter of an Officer stationed in Mauritius. The very noble family on our island checked his credentials and adamantly refused, predicting that that man would come to nothing in the future. The soldier was… Winston Churchill.
The South in general is a region of very high intellect. They did invent numerals after all. As they did not use rock tablets or paper in ancient times, but only leaves, South Indian languages had to use rounded letters to counteract the veins in the leaves. My daughter’s Chess teacher, from Chennai, told me more. My Gujrati friends in Mauritius may be surprised to learn that quite a few Southern Indians identify themselves as: “We are not like Gujratis”. Not a value judgement, but nevertheless quite funny, I thought. The teacher explained: “We are not interested in business, we prefer technical analysis. This is why we do Mathematics, Finance, IT, chess”. No wonder my South Indian work colleague (an Accountant, of course) gave the name ‘Anamika’ to her newly-born daughter, telling me that it literally means ‘Nameless’ in Sanskrit (in a mysterious way) but also “someone using highly analytical skills to probe intricate layers”. Phew! Know also that Tollywood is bigger than Bollywood, by the way. But it is Bengali cinema which stands out to the cognoscenti…
Moving North, I was even more impressed by the broader intelligence of the Bengalis. The first ever foreign-born Managing Director of McKinsey was Kolkata-born Rajat Kumar Gupta (1994-2003), after a stint at Goldman Sachs, who reputedly… finished his work by midday. However, he was later convicted of insider dealing! Surprising how some very high IQ financial people easily confuse company funds with their pockets… Nevertheless, Bengalis are infused with Art & Culture. It is no coincidence that the first Indian Nobel Prize winner was Rabindranath Tagore (in Literature, 1913). Bengali cinema is, to me, equivalent to French Art Movies, reminding me of the films noirs genre, not least, by the master, Satyajit Ray. Other cinematic highlights, and one of which I am particularly fond, is detective Byomkesh Bakshi, a Bengali character loosely inspired by Sherlock Holmes, in a slightly more minimalist and intellectual style. Fundamentally, nothing screams culture and family values as when I was invited to my flatmate’s (and work colleague) wedding, in Dehradun (the Hill Station beyond Lucknow, also known for its elite boarding schools), where I was very honoured to meet the… venerable lady doctor who gave birth to my young friend!
Hyderabad is also a place of high culture, known for its strong Urdu poetic tradition. In this respect, in terms of sheer purity of language, it reminds me of Syria for Arabic and the City of Tours in France. It is also a culinary capital, famous for its Hyderabadi biryani as well as other dishes. By the way, most biryanis in India come without potatoes, a sacrilege which would be a real challenge for us Mauritians to accept – and even to imagine! I mentioned A.R. Rahman (again, hailing from the South, Chennai to be precise) to my Hyderabadi friend. He was not impressed. Whilst the modern melodies of the ‘Mozart of Madras’ are now justifiably world-famous, he told me that the lyrics would not match the high standards of poetry of the older classical songs. A revealing insight…
Last but not least, I usually brought our famous Dholl Puris from Mauritius to share with my Indian friends. Many of us will be surprised to know that it is almost non-existent in India. However, I was also educated by my friends in that it should not technically be called a Puri at all, as it is not fried. It is a… stuffed Paratha!
(*) A Passage To India, a novel by E.M. Forster (1924)
——————-
FOUAD DIOUMAN
The focus on India this week, due to the PM’s visit, reminded me of my own (simpler and sadly sans per diem) travels to various places there over the last 20 years. A career in Aviation meant that my visits lasted only for a few days at any one time, but I nevertheless managed to gain some interesting knowledge about the very different cultures spanning this vast country, which is far from monolithic. Many in Mauritius might think of India only for its Bollywood blockbusters or shopping sprees. Some seek to renew ties with their birthplaces. Others, closer to death, visit for medical reasons. Whilst we can guess that hundreds of different languages are spoken there, we may not be aware of the rich difference in Culture within India itself.
My first encounter happened with my work colleagues in the Gulf. The first thing that strikes you is that, as suspected, Indians are almost never on time! I surmised that this was due more to not worrying about the clock (just like the Arabs – and obviously very contrary to Europeans) than what we may readily construe as a lack of respect. Indeed, I found that even the new generation still upholds the Values that make India what it is. Being older, more senior than my colleagues from the Indian Sub-Continent, they rarely took the liberty to address me directly by name, and if so, only by saying “Fouad bhai”. Never heard that before, a novel appellation way too honorary, especially after my life in Europe… Funnily, I also found that neither the Hindus nor the Muslims I knew practiced some of the religious rituals I witnessed in Mauritius. But nothing beats seeing a country with one’s own eyes…
Bangalore (Karnataka) has, for decades now, been touted as ‘India’s Silicon Valley’. I befriended a native who came back from the UK to be a tour guide and proudly showcase his region, but through the cultural and historic prisms. It is by far the most pleasant place to stay in India, the weather being surprisingly an almost constant 27-28 degrees Celsius all year round, helped by its elevation of 3,000 feet. Maybe the City was always destined for high tech: it was the birthplace of Tipu Sultan (1751-1799), the Tiger of Mysore, who pioneered rocket artillery, which he deployed against the British during the Anglo-Mysore wars. The British established their largest Military Cantonment within India in Bangalore in the early 1800s.
Continuing with its strong military history, today, Bangalore is the home of the elite Indian Air Force Technical College (AFTC) as well as an Air Base. And the city still displays a very ‘British Army’ culture, with its very own Gymkhana, just like in Mauritius. It is now used as a club by some Indian army retirees. I had tea with them, and yes, they do sport the proud military moustache, just like in the movies! Knowing that I was from Mauritius, my new guide-friend related a very surprising piece of history to me. In colonial times, a British soldier in Bangalore sent a marriage proposal to the daughter of an Officer stationed in Mauritius. The very noble family on our island checked his credentials and adamantly refused, predicting that that man would come to nothing in the future. The soldier was… Winston Churchill.
The South in general is a region of very high intellect. They did invent numerals after all. As they did not use rock tablets or paper in ancient times, but only leaves, South Indian languages had to use rounded letters to counteract the veins in the leaves. My daughter’s Chess teacher, from Chennai, told me more. My Gujrati friends in Mauritius may be surprised to learn that quite a few Southern Indians identify themselves as: “We are not like Gujratis”. Not a value judgement, but nevertheless quite funny, I thought. The teacher explained: “We are not interested in business, we prefer technical analysis. This is why we do Mathematics, Finance, IT, chess”. No wonder my South Indian work colleague (an Accountant, of course) gave the name ‘Anamika’ to her newly-born daughter, telling me that it literally means ‘Nameless’ in Sanskrit (in a mysterious way) but also “someone using highly analytical skills to probe intricate layers”. Phew! Know also that Tollywood is bigger than Bollywood, by the way. But it is Bengali cinema which stands out to the cognoscenti…
Moving North, I was even more impressed by the broader intelligence of the Bengalis. The first ever foreign-born Managing Director of McKinsey was Kolkata-born Rajat Kumar Gupta (1994-2003), after a stint at Goldman Sachs, who reputedly… finished his work by midday. However, he was later convicted of insider dealing! Surprising how some very high IQ financial people easily confuse company funds with their pockets… Nevertheless, Bengalis are infused with Art & Culture. It is no coincidence that the first Indian Nobel Prize winner was Rabindranath Tagore (in Literature, 1913). Bengali cinema is, to me, equivalent to French Art Movies, reminding me of the films noirs genre, not least, by the master, Satyajit Ray. Other cinematic highlights, and one of which I am particularly fond, is detective Byomkesh Bakshi, a Bengali character loosely inspired by Sherlock Holmes, in a slightly more minimalist and intellectual style. Fundamentally, nothing screams culture and family values as when I was invited to my flatmate’s (and work colleague) wedding, in Dehradun (the Hill Station beyond Lucknow, also known for its elite boarding schools), where I was very honoured to meet the… venerable lady doctor who gave birth to my young friend!
Hyderabad is also a place of high culture, known for its strong Urdu poetic tradition. In this respect, in terms of sheer purity of language, it reminds me of Syria for Arabic and the City of Tours in France. It is also a culinary capital, famous for its Hyderabadi biryani as well as other dishes. By the way, most biryanis in India come without potatoes, a sacrilege which would be a real challenge for us Mauritians to accept – and even to imagine! I mentioned A.R. Rahman (again, hailing from the South, Chennai to be precise) to my Hyderabadi friend. He was not impressed. Whilst the modern melodies of the ‘Mozart of Madras’ are now justifiably world-famous, he told me that the lyrics would not match the high standards of poetry of the older classical songs. A revealing insight…
Last but not least, I usually brought our famous Dholl Puris from Mauritius to share with my Indian friends. Many of us will be surprised to know that it is almost non-existent in India. However, I was also educated by my friends in that it should not technically be called a Puri at all, as it is not fried. It is a… stuffed Paratha!
(*) A Passage To India, a novel by E.M. Forster (1924)
——————-
FOUAD DIOUMAN
The focus on India this week, due to the PM’s visit, reminded me of my own (simpler and sadly sans per diem) travels to various places there over the last 20 years. A career in Aviation meant that my visits lasted only for a few days at any one time, but I nevertheless managed to gain some interesting knowledge about the very different cultures spanning this vast country, which is far from monolithic. Many in Mauritius might think of India only for its Bollywood blockbusters or shopping sprees. Some seek to renew ties with their birthplaces. Others, closer to death, visit for medical reasons. Whilst we can guess that hundreds of different languages are spoken there, we may not be aware of the rich difference in Culture within India itself.
My first encounter happened with my work colleagues in the Gulf. The first thing that strikes you is that, as suspected, Indians are almost never on time! I surmised that this was due more to not worrying about the clock (just like the Arabs – and obviously very contrary to Europeans) than what we may readily construe as a lack of respect. Indeed, I found that even the new generation still upholds the Values that make India what it is. Being older, more senior than my colleagues from the Indian Sub-Continent, they rarely took the liberty to address me directly by name, and if so, only by saying “Fouad bhai”. Never heard that before, a novel appellation way too honorary, especially after my life in Europe… Funnily, I also found that neither the Hindus nor the Muslims I knew practiced some of the religious rituals I witnessed in Mauritius. But nothing beats seeing a country with one’s own eyes…
Bangalore (Karnataka) has, for decades now, been touted as ‘India’s Silicon Valley’. I befriended a native who came back from the UK to be a tour guide and proudly showcase his region, but through the cultural and historic prisms. It is by far the most pleasant place to stay in India, the weather being surprisingly an almost constant 27-28 degrees Celsius all year round, helped by its elevation of 3,000 feet. Maybe the City was always destined for high tech: it was the birthplace of Tipu Sultan (1751-1799), the Tiger of Mysore, who pioneered rocket artillery, which he deployed against the British during the Anglo-Mysore wars. The British established their largest Military Cantonment within India in Bangalore in the early 1800s.
Continuing with its strong military history, today, Bangalore is the home of the elite Indian Air Force Technical College (AFTC) as well as an Air Base. And the city still displays a very ‘British Army’ culture, with its very own Gymkhana, just like in Mauritius. It is now used as a club by some Indian army retirees. I had tea with them, and yes, they do sport the proud military moustache, just like in the movies! Knowing that I was from Mauritius, my new guide-friend related a very surprising piece of history to me. In colonial times, a British soldier in Bangalore sent a marriage proposal to the daughter of an Officer stationed in Mauritius. The very noble family on our island checked his credentials and adamantly refused, predicting that that man would come to nothing in the future. The soldier was… Winston Churchill.
The South in general is a region of very high intellect. They did invent numerals after all. As they did not use rock tablets or paper in ancient times, but only leaves, South Indian languages had to use rounded letters to counteract the veins in the leaves. My daughter’s Chess teacher, from Chennai, told me more. My Gujrati friends in Mauritius may be surprised to learn that quite a few Southern Indians identify themselves as: “We are not like Gujratis”. Not a value judgement, but nevertheless quite funny, I thought. The teacher explained: “We are not interested in business, we prefer technical analysis. This is why we do Mathematics, Finance, IT, chess”. No wonder my South Indian work colleague (an Accountant, of course) gave the name ‘Anamika’ to her newly-born daughter, telling me that it literally means ‘Nameless’ in Sanskrit (in a mysterious way) but also “someone using highly analytical skills to probe intricate layers”. Phew! Know also that Tollywood is bigger than Bollywood, by the way. But it is Bengali cinema which stands out to the cognoscenti…
Moving North, I was even more impressed by the broader intelligence of the Bengalis. The first ever foreign-born Managing Director of McKinsey was Kolkata-born Rajat Kumar Gupta (1994-2003), after a stint at Goldman Sachs, who reputedly… finished his work by midday. However, he was later convicted of insider dealing! Surprising how some very high IQ financial people easily confuse company funds with their pockets… Nevertheless, Bengalis are infused with Art & Culture. It is no coincidence that the first Indian Nobel Prize winner was Rabindranath Tagore (in Literature, 1913). Bengali cinema is, to me, equivalent to French Art Movies, reminding me of the films noirs genre, not least, by the master, Satyajit Ray. Other cinematic highlights, and one of which I am particularly fond, is detective Byomkesh Bakshi, a Bengali character loosely inspired by Sherlock Holmes, in a slightly more minimalist and intellectual style. Fundamentally, nothing screams culture and family values as when I was invited to my flatmate’s (and work colleague) wedding, in Dehradun (the Hill Station beyond Lucknow, also known for its elite boarding schools), where I was very honoured to meet the… venerable lady doctor who gave birth to my young friend!
Hyderabad is also a place of high culture, known for its strong Urdu poetic tradition. In this respect, in terms of sheer purity of language, it reminds me of Syria for Arabic and the City of Tours in France. It is also a culinary capital, famous for its Hyderabadi biryani as well as other dishes. By the way, most biryanis in India come without potatoes, a sacrilege which would be a real challenge for us Mauritians to accept – and even to imagine! I mentioned A.R. Rahman (again, hailing from the South, Chennai to be precise) to my Hyderabadi friend. He was not impressed. Whilst the modern melodies of the ‘Mozart of Madras’ are now justifiably world-famous, he told me that the lyrics would not match the high standards of poetry of the older classical songs. A revealing insight…
Last but not least, I usually brought our famous Dholl Puris from Mauritius to share with my Indian friends. Many of us will be surprised to know that it is almost non-existent in India. However, I was also educated by my friends in that it should not technically be called a Puri at all, as it is not fried. It is a… stuffed Paratha!
(*) A Passage To India, a novel by E.M. Forster (1924)
