Sunday, August 21, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Laskar Pelangi (The Rainbow Troops)
Two decades before the East Asian financial crisis, the Indonesian island of Belitong was booming. The island, which is blessed with minerals and natural resources, is the setting for Laskar Pelangi (The Rainbow Troops), a film based on a book by Andrea Hirata.
Set in picturesque surroundings of rural Indonesia, the film captures the beautiful friendship between the children as they share their dreams. Pak Arfan plays the role of the simple and dignified principal, who works his heart out to keep the school open and imbibes the non-Wahabi qualities of Islam. He passes on the torch to Muslimah, a beautiful young teacher who inspires the students to perform well in academics and extra-curricular activities.
Hirata's childhood memories take us back to Belitong, where his teachers Muslimah and Pak Arfan struggle to keep an Islamic school open. The well-heeled on the island send their children to a modern private school, while the labourers feel education is a waste of time for theirs. The movie follows the joys, trials an tribulations of the teachers and the 10 children.
Set in picturesque surroundings of rural Indonesia, the film captures the beautiful friendship between the children as they share their dreams. Pak Arfan plays the role of the simple and dignified principal, who works his heart out to keep the school open and imbibes the non-Wahabi qualities of Islam. He passes on the torch to Muslimah, a beautiful young teacher who inspires the students to perform well in academics and extra-curricular activities.
Laskar Pelangi captures both the innocence of childhood as well as the struggles of the poor to live a dignified life in rural Indonesia. The storyline is filled with surprises and shows how superstitions and traditions from the animistic and pre-Islamic culture of the country is still alive.
A heart-warming comedy and touching story like this can't leave any viewer untouched. I can see why the film is the biggest box office hit in Indonesian history
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Book Review: Taikor by Kheng-Hor Khoo
While awaiting a flight back home to Bombay, I came across this wonderful book in the book shop at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Taikor (elder brother) follows the life of Ya Loong from British Malaya through to the 1980s. Loong who is raised partly in Penang and partly in Shanghai, becomes a triad after the Japanese occupation of Malaya ends and over time turns into a legitimate businessman. The story also follows the lives of 3 Malays, who are the children of a farmer, each one making it big in modern Malaysia.
If you're interested in Malaysia and the pride that it takes in its multi-racial society, this book is a must-read. Moreover, I would recommend this book for those who like the city of Penang. Kheng takes the readers into the shady lanes of the heritage city in the 1950s and 60s and gives the reader a great insight into the Chinese culture of the island. The gang-wars and violence isn't graphic and there is a great flow in the book that keeps the reader interested.
The section dealing with the Japanese occupation of Malaya seems much like a first person account, without any of the malice that Chinese-Malaysians of those times (justifiably) feel towards Japan.
The author skirts through the race-relations issues of the 1960s and one of his protagonists, Suleiman, a politician with Malaysia's ruling party, grows to oppose the affirmative actions policies of the government.
TAIKOR: Valour,Honour,Suspense, Betrayal and Love, the Definitive Malaysian Saga
The author was a leading business consulant and has a chequered career in writing books in the business realm but Taikor has definitely shown that he has a creative side as well. Kheng-Hor Khoo, now retired, lives in the mountains.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Jakarta Diaries:- A solution for the worst traffic jams
And the verdict is in. Jakarta, by far, has the worst traffic on earth. The city's gridlock makes Nairobi look like a city without traffic problems. I had the misfortune of heading to the northern part of the city from the Golden Triangle in what proved to be the most frustrating ride of my life. That's when I struck a conversation with the cab driver, who told to ditch cabs after this particular ride.
"Take the Trans-Jakarta," he said. The Trans-Jakarta is a wonderful bus service that connects the whole city and uses a specific lane that's closed to all other vehicles. Since I heard about pick-pockets on buses in the city, I asked the cabbie if it was a good idea and he told me that there's a guard in each bus and that my fears were misplaced.
So the Trans-Jakarta it was. There's a unique system of buying a ticket before boarding the bus and then queing up to get in. The guards allow a fixed number off people into the air-conditioned bus at each stop. This ensures that the buses aren't packed like Bombay's local trains. What's even better is the fact that there's a bus coming in to each stop every few minutes. The system is as good as a metro rail network considering the fact that the whole city is connected.
I saw a similar system in place even in Yogyakarta, which has virtually no problems with traffic. It's a complete win-win to use this system. You save time, money and a whole lot of nerves.
Bravo Indonesia!
"Take the Trans-Jakarta," he said. The Trans-Jakarta is a wonderful bus service that connects the whole city and uses a specific lane that's closed to all other vehicles. Since I heard about pick-pockets on buses in the city, I asked the cabbie if it was a good idea and he told me that there's a guard in each bus and that my fears were misplaced.
So the Trans-Jakarta it was. There's a unique system of buying a ticket before boarding the bus and then queing up to get in. The guards allow a fixed number off people into the air-conditioned bus at each stop. This ensures that the buses aren't packed like Bombay's local trains. What's even better is the fact that there's a bus coming in to each stop every few minutes. The system is as good as a metro rail network considering the fact that the whole city is connected.
I saw a similar system in place even in Yogyakarta, which has virtually no problems with traffic. It's a complete win-win to use this system. You save time, money and a whole lot of nerves.
Bravo Indonesia!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Jakarta Diaries - Shah Rukh Khan
Although India and Indonesia have civilizational links that go back thousands of years, since the days of bonhomie between Nehru and Soekarno, there has been a large disconnect between the people of these 2 great countries.
The most popular Indian in the country since Pandit Nehru is undoubtedly Shah Rukh Khan. Right from the customs officer at the Soekarno Airport to cab drivers and random people I met on the streets, India is now synonymous with the Bollywood actor.
The most pleasant Bollywood-related experience I had occurred at the Tamah Fatiullah, a cobble-stoned square near thee Old Dutch Town Hall in the northern part of Jakarta. On a peaceful weekday afternoon, Agosh, a balloon seller approached me and asked me if I was from India. When I replied in the affirmative, he became excited and started singing Hindi songs and speaking to me in excellent Hindi.
Within 5 minutes, we started singing the song 'Yeh Dosti' from Sholay. He told me about it was his greatest dream to visit Bombay and have street food on Chowpatty Beach. Agosh is still in school and I am sure that his dream will come true.
Indonesians, especially the Javanese, consider the Ramayana as their own and there is Sanskrit everywhere in Indonesia, in the language, in the names of people and coporations. In the 21st century, Indonesians in general seem to know little about India but there is an undeniable warmth towards India in the streets of Jakarta.
The most pleasant Bollywood-related experience I had occurred at the Tamah Fatiullah, a cobble-stoned square near thee Old Dutch Town Hall in the northern part of Jakarta. On a peaceful weekday afternoon, Agosh, a balloon seller approached me and asked me if I was from India. When I replied in the affirmative, he became excited and started singing Hindi songs and speaking to me in excellent Hindi.
 |
| Agosh |
Wherever I went in Java, people told me about how much they love Shah Rukh Khan. Bollywood might just be a great way to bring these wonderful countries together again. The next time I go to Indonesia, I will carry many photos of Mr Khan to present to his adulating fans.
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