VIEWPOINT

Liz had come from the Isle of Skye in Scotland - her first visit to India.  She had applied for a 'Residency' and been successful.  She had just graduated from Art College and was here for a month to teach print-making.  The studio cum flat was situated in a small gaited Society, in a new part of the town.  It was small and sunny and the upstairs had a small balcony.

This was a short 4-day course in print-making - a chance for local Indians to learn something from someone from the West.  She had travelled through Rajasthan for a few weeks, before coming to Gujarat and her sketch books were filled with her first impressions of crowded streets, women in saris and turbaned men sitting on their haunches, in characteristic style.  "What has made the most impression on you"?   I asked......thoughtfully, she replied..."the layering - the way the new is pasted on top of the old, without removing the original - the constant layering - it provides a slice of history"

CORPORATE EXPATS

Our host  was the CEO of a German Company, fast expanding in India.  In four years, the company had increased from 60 employees to 600 and more investment was planned.  They had recently migrated from a small office in the most exclusive neighborhood of the city, to a huge new corporate office in the newly developed outskirts.  The reality of the world economic situation is palpably obvious, as India doubles its gross domestic product and surges ahead, with a growth rate in double figures.  All around, are the echoes of a country under construction and at the expatriate dinner parties, this view is reinforced by top executives flying in and out of the country, from Europe.  Unlike, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy, the German economy is showing an improvement, based on its investments and expansion in emerging markets.

But tonight was a special occasion.....their home was some miles from the city, out in the countryside, of this part of Gujarat.  The moon was up and the sky was clear and dark,  the air felt fresher, cooler, than the city.   After a half hour drive,  along dark country roads, we arrived at our destination and passed through the double gates, as the armed guard waved us on.  Immediately, one entered a different world - coloured lights decorated everything -  Las Vegas style.  Shallow steps, led up to a wide open porch and entrance way,  which in turn led into a huge hall of enormous opulence.  The CEO and his wife were there to greet guests.  She, dressed from head to toe in scarlet, was the 'belle of the ball', diamonds glittered from her jewelry and sparkled from her high heel sandals!   This was her official Birthday Party,  but it was also an opportunity to show off their Corporate image in India and in Gujarat.

Their vast mansion glowing with lights, led out onto a vast lawn, whose perimeter was also encircled with lights, bright enough to rival an airport runway.  Enrico Englesias songs were piped from hidden speakers - drinks, from a well stocked bar, were served to the mixture of expats from a variety of European countries and local Indians, who ran high profile businesses in the town.  The host and hostess, being foreign nationals,  had a license to consume and serve alcohol on their premises.  Otherwise, Gujarat is a strictly 'dry' State, and imposes a two-day prison sentence and heavy fine,  on anyone breaking the law.  Foreigners are allowed a certain number of units of alcohol per week and their licenses are stamped accordingly,  in a carefully monitored system.

Speeches were made,  fireworks went off with precision, at just the right moment and the buffet dinner was provided by the best restaurant in town.  Here was Indian entertainment, colour, romance and emotion,  executed with German efficiency. A match made in heaven.  "It's difficult for us to understand their way of thinking"  said the visiting German Executive from Dresden.  "We expect them (Indian employees) to think like us,  but they don't - and so it's a challenge, as we aim to expand the company ...the potential is vast....but when I go back to Dresden, I appreciate what we have in Germany - it's taught me not to take things for granted back at home."

THE PUJA

Her sms read "I'm organising a prayer ritual at my place at 4.30 p.m. - please come"  She lives in the US and comes to India for periodic holidays.  Known as NRIs, (non-resident Indians), these expat. Indians, own farms and apartments in India, which they leave empty, to await their return, sometimes just for a week or two in a year.

Her apartment was on the second floor.  I emerged from the lift to find the front door open and as I looked into the living room, I was startled to see an immense blaze, flames shot two feet into the air - it was so incongruous in this elegant sitting room.  The fire was contained within a low cauldron, a group of seven sari clad women sat around it - an image of the deity presided over the proceedings.  She, Mata, the mother of all gods, sat enthroned with many garlands of flowers around her neck.  The women were chanting a mantra and throwing seeds and spices into the fire, as well as spoonfuls of ghee.  Every now and then the oldest lady would reach behind her back for another branch of wood to place on the fire.  The heat was immense and I wondered how they could sit so close to the blaze. The mantra went on for half-an-hour, 101 incantations, I was told afterwards and then suddenly it stopped.  The rhythm changed -  a tray with little lit lamps was slowly turned around in a clockwise direction - we were all invited, one by one, to participate in guiding its revolution - feeling the warmth of the fire, as we did so.  And then it was over - the food which had been offered to the God, known as prasaad (sanctified food) consisting of fruit, nuts and sheera (sweetmeat) was handed out to all present - we were being ultimately included in the blessing and purification of the home.

This religious ceremony did not need a priest - it was an emotional and personal family event.

THE GLOBAL PATEL CLAN

The value of networking was so clearly demonstrated - here was a clan who had globalised their family and in this way their business interests.  Where 'Body Shop', McDonald's, Kalvin Klein, etc. have a globalised commodity, the Patels had done the same with their family, which is continually diversifying and adapting to change.

I was struck by her interesting story of the resilience of a family.  It reminded me of a line from J.R.R. Tolkien's poem, from 'Lord of the Rings' ....."not all those who wander, are lost"

"I was born in Kampala, Uganda' she told me...."but because of the troubles there at that time, Idi Amin was in power, we left and came back to India, when I was very little.  We settled here, my mother, six sisters, two brothers and I.  My father secretly remained behind in Uganda and went into hiding, keeping the business going.  I was educated here in India and met my husband here.  He worked in the family business, but when they decided to open a new venture in America, about 30 years ago, we set off for Los Angeles. We settled down there and now 180 of our family are based in California.  My husband worked hard to make the business a success.   But we always returned to India once a year on holiday.  Years before, we had bought a farm, when we were just married - land was very cheap then and we planted flowering trees there every year.  It was a way of de-stressing - we'd go out early in the morning - there was a rustic cottage on the farm and we'd make tea.  Now it's a haven of tranquility.

When we return to the U.S., it's like changing gear, instead of the servants and the slow pace of life that we have here in India, I do everything myself at high speed.  Even though I come from a big family, we have only two daughters, who are studying there - they will marry in the U.S. and settle down" 

Despite changes of continent and hemisphere, the essential elements of this globalised Patel community were unchanging, first and foremost their loyalty to the family and their close contact with each other through family marriages and other celebrations and then their emphasis on entrepreneurship and hard work.   They now span Africa, India, Europe and the USA - a cat's cradle of relationships, a network, for younger members of the clan to use, in establishing themselves.

'But what happened to your father ?'  I asked....."He remained in Africa, he loved it so much - he wished to be buried in Uganda.  Now one of my brothers continues the family interests there" !

KITES

Happy Sankranti - always falls on the 14th January - one of the few festivals which is always on the same day.  It marks the sun's ascendency into the Northern Hemisphere and is highly auspicious for Hindus.

She smiled as she described what they would be doing on Friday 14th:  '

"We'll get up late, seeing it's a holiday...eat breakfast...then we'll prepare our kites and go up on the terrace to fly them - all those lovely colours.  I'll wear gloves because the powdered glass in the strings cuts your hands - there'll be music, we'll dance, there'll be firecrackers and we'll eat special sweets made from groundnuts and jaggery - we only ever eat these sweets at this time of year".  With that she produced a jagged piece of candy from her bag for me to taste....she exuded pleasure and the joy of anticipation.

OP Road was lined with people selling kites of every colour, so delicate and gay....the balls of string were sold separately.

I watched as the kites flew overhead - effortlessly floating in the air currents, yellow, white, brilliant purple - they flew so high, attached as they were to an enormous ball of brilliant pink string - a child was desperately trying to get his kite up in the air, his forefinger already bound with plaster from grasping the lethal string too tightly....his parents had  elevated theirs and were gently tugging on the strings, the kites so high up, they appeared as little fragile wisps of coloured paper against the fading blue of the late afternoon sky - everyone gazing upwards craning to watch their progress......

JUXTAPOSITION !

A melodious little jingle rang out - the cycle was complete!  It had taken just 28 minutes.  The Samsung Diamond Drum, Fully Automatic, Washing Machine with Silver Nano Technology is a wonderfully compact top load machine, about 3 ft tall, waist height for convenience and offers different water level options, air turbo choices, odour removal and sanitisation, wash, rinse and spin.

Outside,  in a concrete space, about 5 ft square, you could hear the dull thud of the wooden paddle, rather like a cricket bat, as wet clothes were rhythmically beaten, 'bam, bam, bam', a cake of soap applied, scrubbed with a scrubber,  a handful of water thrown over,  folded,  beaten again,  dunked,  held up for examination,  beaten again,  soaped,  rubbed,  rinsed and thrown aside for the next item - the whole operation about 28 minutes !

CULTURE

"Bham" !!   The sound ricocheted around the enormous aircraft hangar type space - it was huge, 45m x 45m, the dingy walls were dotted with iron reinforcing bars - this was a studio used by film makers, but now it had been turned into a makeshift gallery for an exhibition by an artist who had left India at the beginning of his career and become famous in the West.  This was his first major exhibition back in his country of origin. 

"They're getting ready to fire the canon again",  she said...  I went over to watch.  The canon was aimed at the confluence of two walls, which were already heavily layered with huge, solid clay coloured wax pellets and their detritus.  A large clod was loaded into the canon and with a terrific retort it darted, like a missile, towards the wall, landing with a splatter of dark red, against the white background.  It's fired every 15 minutes, so this picture-making changes and evolves through time.  It reminded me strongly of the paan spitting, which is so much a part of Indian culture.  Paan, a mixture of betel leaf and areca nut is chewed as a digestive, this produces a reddish spit which they aim at walls, anywhere and everywhere - the stair wells of even the smartest office blocks,  are stained with red spit in a variety of patterns and auto rickshaw drivers can project a ball of spit, several feet, from the side of their mouths,  as they drive along.

The other exhibits were variations of large spherical stainless steel discs, presenting a mirror-like surface which created patterns of reflection and distortion - under the large spotlights.  It was reminiscent of the decoration of rural bhungas, the traditional round houses, in the remote district of Kutch in Western Gujarat.  Mirrors are used in their interior and exterior decoration, to catch the light and please the eye.   But here,  the exhibits were shown in a different context, to be admired as high art, in this artificial setting.