Conserving What and For Whom?

The use of land is a contentious issue. The debate often involves what should take precedence in determining the use of land with more than 12 per cent of the surface land under protected areas ( According to the World Conservation Monitoring Center). While the trade-off between the claims of indigenous people and the claims for non-human species are unclear, the protection of the natural environment has made displacement and compensation-based resettlement a taken-for-granted strategy in developing countries. Studies show that the practice of conservation through displacement adversely affects people’s welfare, and particularly that of economically marginalized people. 

Nepal has almost 23% of its total surface area for conservation. The large-scale displacements continue to represent the major conservation strategy whereas the indigenous communities face social exclusion which has been historically rooted in the land settlement policies. The backdrop of this socio-economic upheaval involved a displaced indigenous group, the Rana Tharus in the western-most districts of Kanchanpur in Nepal. Rana community experienced a large-scale displacement due to the expansion of the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve in 2001. Consequently, the Nepalese government carried out a land-based resettlement scheme on the principle that all displaced families should be given cultivable land, which they previously lost due to the extension of the wildlife reserve.

Shukalphanta Wildlife Reserve

We conducted an empirical study based on an 18-month long anthropological survey of the displaced Rana Tharus community administered between 2004 and 2006. Our research findings indicate that the conservation-led displacement made the Rana Tharus community vulnerable to further impoverishment. First, the history of social exclusion rooted in the land reform and land settlement policies deprived Ranas of proper land rights. Second, the inadequate land-based compensation policy both in terms of the size and the quality of land has compounded only social injustice. We further assessed the welfare impact of this land compensation policy.

On one hand, displaced Ranas suffered from landlessness, inadequate agricultural produce and food insecurity. This led only to further impoverishment. On the other, displacement led to serious household partitions in the wake of impoverishment. This negatively affected the patrilineal kinship relationships which have traditionally been a major source of informal security for Rana households, both economically and socially. Also, the poor harvest in the resettled communities and growing conflicts over the control of limited land deteriorated the traditional patron-client system of permanent agricultural workers and lowered the kinship ties. Overall, the erosion of informal safety nets resulted into a vicious cycle of poverty for the poor Rana Tharus community and made them vulnerable to destitution within a period of three to five years.

This is taken from my ongoing research with my colleague Christie Lam (Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Osaka University).

A day trip to Nara, Japan

Todai-ji Temple

The Great Buddha

For visitors to Japan, Nara contains a very nice slice of the land of the rising sun. Not so famous like Kyoto, Tokyo, Hiroshima or Osaka - Nara is known for its historical importance, the Great Buddha site, and last but not the least the sake (rice wine). It was the first permanent capital of Japan (before Kyoto and Tokyo) and is located near Kyoto and Osaka (takes less than an hour to reach there).

The main attraction of Nara is the todai-ji temple, which houses the great Buddha statue (the Diabutsu) which was created out of iron. All the non-samurai had to give up their swords to help create this huge statue of Buddha, amazing huh! According to the lonely travel guide book, this rivals Mt. Fuji and Kyoto’s golden pavilion as the single most impressive sight of Japan! Also, the Todai-ji temple is the largest wooden building in the world. 

Sake barrels

You will also come across free roaming deer walking all over the city. Sometimes they get aggressive but that is only when they see food. You can feed rice cakes (from local vendors) to them, just be a little careful as they would almost knock you over to get the rice cakes. One good thing, the ones with antlers have them filed.

Touka-e Festival in Nara

We stayed late to watch the elegant summer night illumination events (in Japanese Touka-e festival). Since its beginning in 1999, it has attracted a large number of tourists and converted them into ardent fan of Nara. It is a fascinating sight, more than 20,000 candles illuminate Nara's famous world heritage sites. Each candle is set in a small plastic cup, and lit by hand, one by one.

Finally, sake. If you come to Nara, dont forget to try the sake. The history of Japanese sake started in Nara, and since then Nara has been producing the finest sake in Japan, indeed!

Nakamuraya Curry Traces back to the Indian Revolutionaries in Japan

Nakamuraya Instant Curry Pack

If you are in Tokyo you must visit Nakamuraya bakery (restaurant). It has branches all over Tokyo specializing in Indian curry. The first of its kind in Japan, Japanese-style Indian curry has been sold since 1927 as one of the reputed products of Nakamuraya. They also sell pre-cooked instant curry that only needs to be heated and served at home. It is indeed a popular product in Japan and you can get them in almost every convenient or departmental store across Japan. Why did Nakamuraya, which was originally a bakery start selling Indian curry? And continues to be obsessed with Indian curry for nearly a century? 

It was an Indian, Rash Behari Bose, who introduced Indian curry to Nakamuraya. He was a revolutionary leader fighting the British in India. The post war generations of Japanese may not know the great Indian revolutionaries like Rash Behari Bose or Subhash Chandra Bose, but they were well-known figures in Japan in the years before the Second World War. Rash Behari Bose was one of the key organizers of the bomb attack on Lord Hardringe and the Gadar conspiracy at Lahore. In 1915, he fled to Japan to avoid a certain death sentence and had no inkling of the harsh destiny in store for him, and that he would never step on Indian soil again. He was instrumental in persuading the Japanese authorities to secure foreign help for India’s liberation from the clutches of the imperialist power. He did the spadework for the creation of the Indian National Army (INA) before passing the baton on to Subhash Chandra Bose in 1943.  

Rash Behari Bose and his wife Toshiko*

Going back to curry, Rash Behari Bose was not only a leading extremist Indian freedom fighter but was also a chef. Soon after his arrival in Japan, the Foreign Ministry under pressure from the British Embassy issued an extradition order against him. It was Aizo Soma, owner of the Nakamuraya in Shinjuku (Tokyo) who rescued him and skillfully hid him in a studio near the restaurant. He was confined there for months for security reasons. Fortunately, there was a kitchen in the studio where he could cook and the only leisure he had was to prepare his meals. He requested the maids to buy the ingredients and spices. Watching him, the maids and the owner of the restaurant gradually learnt to cook Indian food, however it took almost twelve years for Nakamuraya to launch Indian curry later in 1927.  

With Tagore at Nakamuraya*

Bose fell in love with Aizo’s daughter and got married to Toshiko. He had two children from her. In July 1923, Bose became a citizen of Japan and registered his wife and children under the ‘Bose family’. In the same year, Nakamuraya was recognized as a public limited company. Bose along with the children became one of the leading shareholders and was also appointed as the director of the Nakamuraya. Traditionally, Japanese curries were made in the Anglo-Indian manner. In order to turn Japanese eyes to the ‘real taste of India’ he devoted himself to the launch of actual Indian curry. Popularizing Indian curry among the Japanese was also a part of his anti-colonial struggle, by trying to win back India’s food culture from British hands. And since then Rash Behari Bose came to be widely known as ‘Bose of Nakamuraya’. 

Notes

I am grateful to Corinne Boyle (Professor of Economics, Konan University) for helping me find the fascinating story about Indian freedom fighters hidden in Nakamuraya’s Indian curry. 

The above materials are drawn from the book The Bose of Nakamuraya by Takeshi Nakajima. To capture the essence of Rash Behari Bose’s life, Takeshi travelled to India to visit Rash Behari’s native place in Chandan-nagar, West Bengal.

*pictures are taken from the Nakamuraya restaurent website @

http://www.nakamuraya.co.jp/100/showa/t_1918_01.htm

The International Monetary Fund needs a new head !

Read what Raghuram Rajan thinks (Professor, University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Former Chief Economist at the IMF) !

Not another politician at the IMF

(From Fault Lines) 

Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto

If you decide to visit only one temple (out of more than 13,000) in Kyoto, I would highly recommend Kiyomizu-dera, the largest and the most famous temple in Kyoto. It was founded in 798 AD but the present temple complex was rebuilt in 1633.   

 

It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Kiyomizu-dera occupies an excellent location on a steep hill in eastern Kyoto. The quaint street leading up to the front gate of the temple is called "Teapot Lane" and is lined with handicraft, restaurants, souvenir shops and sweet shops.

The main hall of Kiyomizu-dera is is notable for its vast veranda, supported by 139 wooden pillars (each 49 feet high), which juts out over the hillside and offers breathtaking views of the city. The views and temple grounds are especially lovely during the spring and autumn. The expression "to jump off the porch at Kiyomizu" is the Japanese equivalent of the English expression "to take the plunge." This refers to an Edo period tradition that held that, if one were to survive jumping from the terrace, one's wish would be granted. 234 jumps were recorded in the Edo period and of those, 85.4% survived.

This small building enshrines almost 200 stone "Jizo" images. They are protectors of travelers and children. It is told that if someone who has lost a child comes here to worship they will be sure to find a Jizo image that resembles their deceased child. Here, prayers are offered for the spiritual repose of those children who are lost.

Beneath the main hall is the Otowa-no-taki ("Sound of Feathers") waterfall, where three channels of water drop into a pond. This waterfall is counted among the ten most famous pure water sites in Japan and it is the source of Kiyomizu-dera's name (mizu means "water"). 

Visitors to the temple collect the water from the falls in metal cups and drink it for health, longetivity, and wisdom, respectively. Traditionally, one should only choose two; being greedy and drinking from all three can bring misfortune!

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Arashiyama - A walk on the serene side

Arashiyama (means storm mountain) with its striking mountains, ancient temples / shrines and UNESCO world heritage sites is a perennial attraction for visitors to Japan. It is located in the western part of the Kyoto city; it takes about 45 minutes by train from Osaka downtown area (Hankyu line). Enlightenment for the day hikers can be found throughout the year. Several locations on the route offer a scenic view of the temples and gardens throughout the bamboo-woods. Among many other attractions, Tenry-ji Temple is a must see. The famous bamboo grove, which starts just the outside the north gate of Tenry-ji Temple, is undoubtedly one of the must-do experiences to be had in Japan.

The Demise of the World’s Longest-Running Elected Marxist Government: What Awaits the Future of Bengal?

The people of West Bengal took their wrath to the ballot box as the historic verdict ousted the incumbent Left Front government after running the office for 34 years (since 1977) in the eastern state of India. After three decades of communist rule a majority of the people wanted a change as the common perception goes.

Where did the Left Front government go wrong? Uniformly likely in all possible directions - health, education, industry, employment or human development - progress over the past three decades has been negligible. However the Left Front’s political myopia in recent years was in some ways the catalyst that prompted the political debacle. None can deny the slackening pace of industrialization in West Bengal over the past three decades. After its landslide victory in 2006, the Left Front government vowed to go for an industrialization-drive, which was seemingly a contradiction to the agrarian development policy that has been witnessed since the early eighties. Despite embarking on a carefully considered path of industrialization, the ruling Left took a hasty move that only helped the opposition cement its foot in the Writer’s Building (the Secretariat building of the State Government of West Bengal).
As is evident, it requires more thoughts on

·     How would voters cope with the left Front’s changing image from “an architect of lend reforms” to “a promoter of industrialization” and reflect it in the ballot box?

·     Designing a thoughtful land acquisition framework so that it provides an adequate compensation package for the poor peasants.  

·     How could West Begal possibly fit into the Chinese model of Special Economic Zones (SEZs)? Severe violations of human rights in places like Nandigram or Singur did not go unnoticed.

·     How to battle against the opposition alliance which, for a change, was more united, especially with the Congress party in power at Center?

The process of industrialization often involves a trade-off. The big multinational companies would always pick locations for large industrial projects which are attractive from all points of view (proximity to a dock, connectivity with improved roads, etc). On that scale, the state of West Bengal has limited choices to offer because the convenient spots are most fertile lands (like Singur or Nandigram). It is a serious bottleneck for growth, which the Left Front government failed to overcome and it won’t be an easy task for the newly elected Trinamool Congress (TMC)-Congress alliance government too. What works best? An attractive compensation package (with future returns) for land acquisition (short-run) or improved infrastructure that lowers the distance to remote areas (long run) - it is time for novel ideas (from economists / policymakers)! 

A change in power is a good thing that shakes off the status-quo. West Bengal has been mired in backlash for decades, but by no stretch of the imagination, the TMC party- the flag bearer of the newly elected coalition, can be thought as a panacea. The most often cited criticisms of the TMC party are that it lacks a clear ideology, its party structure is weak and it has limited success in cohesive political movement and agenda based politics. As it turns out, its raison detre (reason for existence) has just been ‘the removal of the ruling Left’. The new government needs to run a show that is truly unprecedented. We wish that the new Chief Minister of West Bengal would live up to people’s very high expectation. Let’s just hope for the best!

Geisha: Secret, Closed and Exclusive

Facts

Geisha: literally means “Doers of Art” - trained professionals (mostly female) use their skills in traditional Japanese arts, music, dance and storytelling to entertain customers.

Maiko: young Geisha after one year to two years of live-in training.

Appearance: - red lipsticks on white painted face, long sleeved kimono (Furisode), sash (Darari) and ornamental hairpin (Kanzashi).

Ochaya: teahouse where they perform-entry is restricted only to the invited guests.

Whereabouts: Gion, historical town in Kyoto, the most common place to find them.

Mystery: Contrary to popular opinion, they are not prostitutes.

Geisha is probably the most iconic symbol of timeless Japan. They belong to a forbidden world - the world of “Flower and the Willow” which symbolizes the beauty, the grace and the suppressed emotions. It is hard to find a synonym to this century old profession. Geisha is not just an artist, a musician, a dancer or a storyteller – in fact they may be a mysterious mix of all. They seldom appear in public, occasionally you can spot them on their way to a teahouse. Only the invited guests have entry to a teahouse which might cost you more than $10K just for an evening.

Gion Entrance

I was told that late afternoon or early evening is the best time to find them, well, only if you get lucky! Someone truly said “Instinct is untaught ability”, I reached the main entrance of Gion by 3 pm to catch a glimpse of Geisha. I was roaming around well-intending to turn the odds in my favor. It was a cloudy day, and it felt like dusk by 5 and at a distance they appeared, illuminating the street. It was truly a remarkable experience, the much coveted sight in the land of the rising sun. Once a request was made, they posed for some beautiful snaps.

 

Gion reflects the ancient Kyoto’s classical heritage preserved at its best- the narrow serpentine lanes, traditional Japanese houses with sliding doors, quiet little alleys in the corner, the red lanterns and above all the discrete darkness it is hard to describe how it feels. Some streets resemble the Gion entertainment district in 1930s as portrayed in the movie “Memoirs of a Geisha”.

Be it Arthur Golden (author of Memoirs of a Geisha) or Lesley Downer (author of Women of Pleasure Quarters) – there have been many scholarly attempts made to unveil the mystery, the secrets behind the white painted face, suppressed emotions and the silence. It only took generations of readers inside the mysterious world of Geisha, a natural curiosity as they became increasingly intrigued by the silence - the mystery has remained unsolved.

Until soon!