Taiwan-Taipei: Part II (The Digital Natives talk back)

Day 2 in Taipei:
Set the alarm for 6 (IST) and wake up to 9:36 a.m. Taiwanese time, rush hour. Made it in the nick of time, talking back starts. Flash talks, presentations, keynote speeches, activity, lots of drilling, questioning, talking it through to the extent that this digital native begins to doubt her own focus/aims/agenda etc. Confusion is healthy (at least on the first day). The evening follows with an equally packed entertaining city tour. The Shi'da night market! Trust me, this has to be one of the most intercultural (hah, I had to use that as a foreign delegate :P )experiences I've had: vegetarian Greek food in Taipei on the Chinese Valentine's day! Yes, it was the valentine's day (or a similar legend) here and the menu had pink hearts (I sound like a journalist now, this daily blogging destroys my obscurity techniques).
So, the highlights of the day, things you might want to do if you too get a free unexpected trip to Taiwan:
Stinky Tofu!!! As the name suggests, this food stinks horribly, almost (mildly disgusting) but you should eat it, worth an experience. True, it grows on you, like beer. (I am not the faint hearted, mind you!)
Jasmine tea: Iced tea with jasmine flavor, I tried the orange and Jasmine before that, tea is something I've learnt to appreciate here.
Of course I owe the pleasure of a head dive into Taiwanese peculiarities to Nishant and Zona (shie shie!).
Now, that all the worldly details are done with, the parallel universe of the mind and the eyes are discovering the place bit by bit, open spaces, fewer people, vacuum nothings happening around and giving some temporal space to gulp the surroundings in. Sleep evades me, rightly this city doesn't make me want to curl up and snore. There are few pictures with this post, of the food, street, people at conference.
(ps. the waiters are really cute and earphones really funky :P)
Goodnight world, too soon for India, too late for Taiwan!

Taiwan-Taipei: Part I (The travel)

There, made it. Crossed the seas and got the stamps. Ran around and seen all the gigantic airports. This is of course quite unlike the well cherished 'first overseas trip' dream I ever harbored which included the entire family crying and waving goodbye, garlands and some fancy overcoats (drama is essential). Before I start on how this trip is turning out so far, you all unknown thousand faces must know, I will try my best to update everyday, for four days at least, sort of live blogging, with pictures.
Now, philosophically, beyond the realm of yummy duty free swiss chocolates and a purse full of money, waiting for you to spend it, there lies a larger sigh. There is always some respiration in between a lot of action. This particular deep breath was a nostalgic realization that people are shaped by their pasts. Everything that we do is usually motivated by our past experiences and while occupied at the surface level with this exercise,we are also simultaneously creating the present of the past (like Schlondorff's 'Ten minutes...") And that is why, the oh-so-existential self seeks oils and spice in the midst of lush south Indian cuisine, and the moment it migrates to the ever desired dreamy north India, it runs to the nearest 'Sarvanna Bhavan'. There, while eating the last morsel of butter masala roast dosai, I realize the past is changing too, the present's filling it.

Now, for the Formosa isle, or Tai-won! It rarely occurs that I board a flight/train early. I ran again, almost missed it. Here I am posting some pictures of the "much" coveted Hong Kong airport that I could hardly see, given the rush and some Taipei street photos. The food, yes, boiled vegetables and rice, some awesome canned orange and jasmine tea and a few chopstick battle hours later, the digital native is breathing online :P Tomorrow should be fun, the workshop starts and so does the city tour! Will post, as the promise is made. Only to remember that they break real fast :)

The ambitions of the station side maid

As I start on these ways every morning, wading through scattered left-overs of the party at house number 70, the night leaves letters on the road, adding to the hang over of the 'baithak' at Sharma Sahib's. The screeches of inebriated men and women, high on power and pomp, mirth and recklessness, drip down the rain spattered hoardings of these mum shops and stores. It is difficult to make a living out of so little and yet feel any dignity for self. When always the dreams are powered by petrol but the house still runs on fire wood, its a shame to boast to the mirror. But then, I have been plagued by dreams of grand dark milky ways and slant angled free ways and most importantly, dreams of perfect people, almost myth like. The one that sways lily like yet unrooted gentle yet strong with potent cloud swallowing prowess and yet like how, such ordinary black lush curls. So on... Till then it is play, the mind that lives through body waits a spell of rain to clear the old ones who could never live an epic, a making of a big self inside their heads. The heady pompous cocaine drug of life keeps flowing as I watch each day, an exhibit of hundreds of lives parade in the trains that slither past. I feel the throbbing heart of my country in my soles as they tread tracks.

(ps. these are random excerpts for now but I hope to bind them up in a play or something, once character sketch is done)

Cloudy obsession

I have discovered that clouds are the most beautiful things to look at. Also, while I look at them, I very conveniently walk past all of you. :) I also hear rains wash the places and bring new ages. So, the red filtered clouds.




Another:

Krishna and the snake

I drew this picture when I chanced upon the poem by Narsinh Mehta that captures the confrontation of Krishna and the snake in the water.