Dânesh Zaki

[daneshzaki]

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Enchanted Garden in Changi Airport

Singapore's Changi Airport differentiates itself from others by having these unique areas in the airport. These areas give weary travelers a place to relax and make them actually look forward to transiting in Changi again. The Enchanted Garden is one such place that I spent a few minutes to relax on my way back from Sydney. A few pictures below.

[daneshzaki]

A Trip to Sydney

I was on a work related trip to Sydney for a month and a half, and used the time to see a few places there.

Opera House - the most recognizable landmark in Sydney

Another view of the Opera House

The Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Skyline

The Sydney Tower

View from the Sydney Tower

Another view from the Sydney Tower

Town Hall in Parramatta, a Sydney suburb

Kangaroo relaxing in the Taronga Zoo

More photos:

Opera House and Harbour Bridge

Sydney Tower

Taronga Zoo

Parramatta

[daneshzaki]

Empire of the Moghul - Raiders From The North: Book Review

If you desire an escape into the past, in the plains of Central Asia filled with horses, blood, tribes and treachery, Raiders From The North offers plenty of it. First in the Empire of the Moghul series, the book opens with young Babur who is thrust into become a king at the age of twelve. It traces his life and times where he wins a few wars, loses his kingdom, becomes a vagabond and at the end becomes the founder of the Mughal empire in India. The book is a tribute to Babur, hailing him as a hero and lavishes praise on him. Though Babur is portrayed as an irreligious person who drinks alcohol and seldom prays, he is also shown as a just ruler who trusts his people. The authors who go under the pen name of Alex Rutherford have done extensive research based on the historical texts available. They have used Baburnama, the official biography of Babur and other texts authored by the Mughals. The standout feature of the book is the narrative, which is fast-paced and gripping. The attention to details is also amazing, serving to paint a vivid picture of the era in the mind of the reader, transporting him/her to that time. I enjoyed the book and will recommend it to those who love historical fiction.

[daneshzaki]

Temptations of the West: Book Review

Pankaj Mishra is a journalist, essayist and novelist who is acclaimed for his political opinions on India and the sub-continent. Temptations of the West: How to be Modern in India, Pakistan and Beyond contains treatises on the author's travels through India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and Tibet. Pankaj Mishra provides honest, fearless reports from the areas he visits. The incidents and conditions that he reports are hardly covered or purposely censored in the mainstream media. Reports from Kashmir, Pakistan's play in Afghanistan and the political reasons on events and the governments responses, are well covered. He also mentions the threats he and his family have received due to his frank coverage. He starts from Allahabad, where he had stayed as an university student, detailing the terrorist activities in the region and the reasons for it. He also touches upon the Nehru dynasty who had been based out of Allahabad. He then moves to Ayodhya and brings to light the business of communalism. He rounds off part one of the book, by talking about the glamour of Bollywood highlighting his interviews with Mahesh Bhatt. In the second part, he covers the volatile situation in Kashmir and exposes the falsehood that mainstream media reports about the events there. He continues into Pakistan and Afghanistan, and details the nexus of the ISI, the Pakistani army and the Afghans - Taliban and the Mujahedin before them. In the final part, he provides an overview on Nepal and Tibet. While Nepal has moved on to become a democracy, Tibet is beginning to lose its culture and tradition to the Han Chinese. Whatever is left, seems to be only for showcasing to the tourists. Overall, I liked the book and will recommend it to anyone who wants a honest, on-the-ground view of things rather than relying on the mainstream media that reports based on its paymasters' and overlords' whims and fancies.

[daneshzaki]

Silk Road: Asia to Europe By Road

I have always wondered how it would be to travel from Asia to Europe over land and this has led me to read a few travelogues on the topic. A Ride to India Across Persia and Baluchistan by Harry De Windt is a book written in 1891 that I had read a few years ago. This was obviously very dated and did not satiate me. Searching on Amazon.com led me to Tom Coote's Tearing up the Silk Road: A Modern Journey from China to Istanbul, through Central Asia, Iran and the Caucasus.

The book is a travelogue in which the author traces the ancient Silk Road route. The Silk Road was the trade route that connected Asia with Europe in the past. Silk, spices and other goods for trade were transported through this route. The author starts from China, goes through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Armenia, Georgia and Turkey. Major cities that he covers are Chengdu and Urumqi in China, Almaty in Kazakhstan, Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara in Uzbekistan, Mashhad and Isfahan in Iran, Tbilisi in Georgia and finally, Istanbul in Turkey. While the coverage of places visited is good, lack of photographs and maps alongside their descriptions is a big miss. Enclosing these would have helped the reader get a better picture of what the author saw.

In order for me to understand the route traversed, I have mapped out the route below.

If one wishes to read this book, it would be better to have a map such as the above with the route traced out and photographs of the places visited to fully enjoy the trip along with the author.

[daneshzaki]

Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns: Quick Review

Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns is a movie on politics and rural mafia. I do not know if it has any links to its prequel as I have not watched it. The movie is slick, well paced and has several twists. Irfan Khan and Jimmy Shergill have as always given good performances and are well supported by Raj Babbar, Mahie Gill and Soha Ali Khan. Soha looks a little old in the movie though. Tigmanshu Dhulia, the director of the brilliant movie Paan Singh Tomar does not disappoint. Good: Fast pace, twists Not so: A big star could have made it a bigger movie Overall: Definitely worth watching

[daneshzaki]

Visit to Entertrainment Junction (Toy Train Museum)

Along with my visit to Cincinnati downtown, I also visited Entertrainment Junction (that is actually the name not a spelling error). The place claims to be the world's largest indoor train display. Whether that is true or not, it does have quite a few models on display organized based on eras starting from olden western trains to the modern railways.

Here are a few pictures:

Inside the museum

Western railway - olden style

Bridge over a river

Modern railway with a control tower

Full set of photos here

[daneshzaki]

Quick Trip to Cincinnati

I was in Cincinnati on a business trip and managed to get a few photos despite the awful weather. A few snaps of the Ohio river below were taken from Newport, KY.

Not sure what kind of a port of entry this is

Bridge over River Kwai Ohio

A view of the Ohio River from Newport, KY

A horse with green hoofs

Ahmed Samawi Mosque

Snow giving proof of the awful weather

[daneshzaki]

Chai Chai: Book Review

As the byline of the book states, Bishwanath Ghosh travels around India visiting the railway stations that one passes through usually but never gets off. He starts from Mughal Serai in the north, covering Jhansi, Itarsi, Guntakal, Arakkonam, Jolarpettai and terminating his journey at Shoranur. While some stations such as Jhansi are towns in their own right, the rest are just railway towns; the life there seems to revolve around the railway station. Ghosh has a chapter for each town he visits (only Arakkonam and Jolarpettai share a chapter) and the size of a chapter is vaguely proportional to the size of the town itself. Ghosh's narrative is light and transports one to the lanes of the place where he is at.  While reading a few chapters, I felt an urge to be physically present at that place! Overall, the book serves as a good alternative travelogue to people who have traveled in India and are curious to know about the railway junctions they pass through in their journeys. The only thing that I found missing was the details of the Chai that is sold in these stations!

Cover image copyright of Tranquebar Press

[daneshzaki]

The Caliph's Splendor: Book Review

Benson Bobrick's The Caliph's Splendor takes us on a journey from the times of the Rashidun (rightly guided) Caliphs (representatives) to the end times of the Abbasid and Umayyad dynasties. It is a fairly unbiased view covering their rise and fall. The book focuses a great deal on the cities of the time: Baghdad, Cordoba, Sicily and others; specifically, the architecture of the buildings, the Hamams (public baths) and overall city planning. There is an entire chapter devoted to Baghdad alone. Bobrick also touches upon the situation of the society: literacy, culture, religion, occupations and pastimes. He presents a more balanced view of some of the notable Caliphs such as Harun Rashid, stating that he welcomed people of all faiths and encouraged learning and trade. In Baghdad and Andalusia (now in Spain), their seemed to have existed universities where a great deal of development on science, mathematics, physics, chemistry and medicine seems to have taken place. One can imagine them to be like the developed countries of today. As is the case with most kingdoms and dynasties, the initial Caliphs were pious and the later ones were lavish, and extravagant. Their wealth seems to have been disproportionate and possibly one of the causes of their downfall along with their in-fighting. The book is not too detailed and tries to weave events into a story. It is a good read on the subject but readers looking for a more detailed account should read "A Short History of Saracens" by Syed Ameer Ali (freely available in the public domain).

[daneshzaki]

Green Munnar and Coastal Kochi

After a gap of 3 years, I visited Munnar with family again. The trip started with a visit to "The Niagara of India", Athirapilly falls. 

View of Athirapilly falls from the road

Then we proceeded to picturesque Munnar.

View from Mattupetty Dam in Munnar

Picturesque Munnar

Tea plantations abound in Munnar

After over a day in Munnar, we visited a few historical places in Kochi and took the boat ride.

St.Francis' Church in Kochi

View of a 5 Star hotel from the Kochi ferry

A fishing boat

A ship of the Indian Navy

Sunset in Kochi

The weather in Munnar was pleasant but Kochi was hot, nevertheless, the trip was relaxing and rejuvenating.

The full set of photos is available here

[daneshzaki]

The Wise Fool of Baghdad: Book Review

40 Sufi Comics by the Vakil brothers was well liked for the simple messages that it carried. Continuing with the good work is "The Wise Fool of Baghdad", the second book in the series. This book unlike the first one, has a central character,  Bahlool Dana - the wise fool. Bahlool feigns madness to escape punishment from the authorities and the powerful, whose corrupt practices he criticizes. He provides guidance to one and all on issues related to humanity.

The central theme in the book is to be humble and considerate to the poor. In many stories, one is reminded of Birbal and Naseeruddin Hodja, like whom Bahlool uses his intellect to get justice for the poor.

While 40 Sufi Comics had great content, The Wise Fool of Baghdad has exceptional artwork and presentation. The book has illustrations in full colour and artwork in all the pages. The relevant verses from the Quran and Hadith (the Prophet's (saw) life & sayings) are depicted with excellent calligraphy.

As with 40 Sufi Comics, the book will appeal to both adults and children. With the great artwork, it is difficult to put it down and I ended up reading the whole book in a single go!

[daneshzaki]

Kite Strings: Book Review

Mehnaz is an average, middle-class girl who wants to enjoy life. She and her family are someone whom you can easily relate to. Kite Strings by Andaleeb Wajid is a story of life in Vellore, a town in Tamil Nadu from Mehnaz's eyes. The culture and traditions of the Lababin Muslim community are on full display in the book. Being part of the same community, the story felt real and about someone known or related to me.

For the major part of the book, the flow was nice and easy; towards the end, it became a bit too pacy with quite a few incidents happening at the same time. This could be seen in two ways: the author wanting to finish things off quickly or that she wanted to depict real life as close as possible (where sometimes things happen too quickly). The end seems a bit too sudden and has a few questions unanswered such as did the boys in school who harass Mateen (Mehnaz's brother) and his friends get punished and what happened to Basheer, Mehnaz's cousin who runs off midway in the story. I found out later though that there is a separate chapter about Basheer on the author's web site.

There are a few typos and a grammatical errors in the book that could have been avoided through better editing. Also, a glossary of Urdu words used along with their English meaning would be of help to readers not familiar with such words.

Overall, the book provides a good view of life in the Lababin Muslim community from a woman's perspective.

[daneshzaki]

Skyfall: 1 Minute Review

Daniel Craig in Skyfall is possibly the most gadget-free and old school Bond of them all. He is also made to appear more "real" and vulnerable. He fails a fitness test, his gunshots miss their mark and he does not outwit the villain always. This is what makes the movie different compared to the others in the Bond series. I am not a Daniel Craig fan preferring Pierce Brosnan and Roger Moore more, but Craig has done an excellent job in the action sequences. Using a car from older Bond movies and employing simple tricks to guard a castle-like home is interesting. Daniel Craig's performance, the un-Bond like action and an interesting twist in the end make it a must watch film.

Image courtesy: Wikipedia entry on the movie

[daneshzaki]

To Houston and Back!

I was recently in Houston on a work related trip for two weeks. I travelled on Emirates from Chennai to Houston via Dubai. I have heard a lot of people rave about Emirates but I did not find it very different from Etihad, on which I had traveled last year. The food and the in-flight entertainment system were good but the seats were no different from other airlines, very cramped. On my return, my seat was broken and a small part of it was protruding. The service by hostesses was average.

The weather in Houston was nice and warm in the first week with an average temperature of 25 C. But in the following week, it dropped to around 11 C. In the downtown, it was windy making it feel colder.

As I stayed at walking distance from the Galleria mall, I frequented it a couple of times. Here are a few pictures from around the place.

[daneshzaki]

Of Queues and Intruders

It is a common sight in India to see people jumping in the middle of a queue stating one reason or the other, common ones being - I was standing here and just stepped out, I have kept my kerchief/umbrella/other object here to reserve my place. Frustrating as it is, I have come to learn to live with this, prefering to move ahead after the "intruder" rather than create a scene. In the last few months though, two interesting incidents happened. One of them was at a counter in a super market where I was standing behind a lady who was being billed. A man came in between and placed an item at the POS (Point of Sale), claiming that he was standing there before and had gone to get "one more item". Then after a while, he came back with quite a few items. And then, took his place just as the lady was about to leave. I grumbled and hoped that he would complete his billing soon and leave. To my surprise, the sales clerk instead of billing his items, started billing mine!  In another incident, I was waiting in a queue at the petrol bunk, when I was asked to move to a different filling spot. Just as I was about to move there, a chauffeur driven Toyota Innova with a man looking like a politician, zoomed into the spot. As usual, I was willing to wait patiently, when the petrol bunk attendant who looked like a kid, firmly told the driver - "Anney (sir), please reverse your car, this person has been waiting here before you" and to my surprise, the driver quietly reversed the car and I moved in, and filled the tank.

So, the moral of the stories is that life still exists on earth and there are a few human beings still around.

Image courtesy: rajkumar1220's flickr photo stream