Johnny Gone Down - Karan Bajaj

Price – Rs. 99

Over twenty years and 324 taut pages, Nick Arya goes from being a young MIT graduate with a promising NASA career in hand, to a player in a game of chance unhesitant to put a gun to his own head.

Nick's journey begins on the day of his graduation when, on a whim, his friend Sameer picks Cambodia as a holiday destination little knowing that the country was at that very moment, being taken over by the Khmer Rouge. Nick helps Sameer escape, but he himself is captured. When he does escape Phnom Penh, it is into a life that reboots itself every few years with a different alias in a new location.

Nick discovers a quiet resilience that becomes invaluable in the years to come as he loses an arm to gangrene, falls in love, becomes a Buddhist monk, becomes an accountant to a drug empire, fathers a child and loses everything many times over.

Nick's character arc is intertwined with those of many others - Dechen the Buddhist monk in Thailand, Lara the supermodel from Brazil, Marco the druglord, Philip North a struggling entrepreneur in Minnesota and Dayaram, his opponent in the game of death in India - and Nick is transformed by these intertwinings even as he radically changes their lives in the brief period he knows them.

At every step, the book challenges the reader's tendency to stereotype people, places and situations, but most of all, the mindset of a Non Resident Indian protagonist. Nick has an all-encompassing world view, yet, he also draws into his life the very events that break and make him over and over again. Nick makes sacrifices but is human enough to acknowledge the regret of having made them. He steadfastly refuses to own anything and is most content owning only the clothes on his person as he charts his rocky destiny through Cambodia, Thailand, Brazil, USA and finally, India. 

An edited version appeared in Culturama's September 2010 Issue

24 By City Bhubaneswar

Designed by the German architect, Otto Königsberger, modern Bhubaneswar is a well-planned city that looks to the future with infrastructure development while taking pride in its historical identity as the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kalinga.

SEE:

Temples
Bhubaneswar is known as the Temple City of India, and not without reason. The many temples you see are a survived fraction of hundreds more that existed in ancient times. While some temples are fully functional places of Hindu worship even today where non-Hindus are only admitted in certain areas, there are other temples that are purely archaeological landmarks.

The Lingaraj Temple is one of the most important temples in Bhubaneswar and a perfect representation of Oriya temple architecture. The presiding deity, Lord Shiva is also known as Lingaraj (The King of Lingas) and Tribhuvaneswar (Lord of the Three Worlds). It is from the latter title that the name of the city was derived.

Other important sites that capture the evolution of Oriya architecture are the temples of Megheswar, Mukteswar, Kedar Gowri, Parasurameswar, Rajarani, and Vaital.

While a tour of the some temples is a must, do take the time to head a little out of the city for other sites of equal importance.

JUST OUTSIDE BHUBANESWAR:

Khanda Giri & Udaya Giri

Hathigumpha, Ganeshagumpha and Rani Ka Naur are the most ornately decorated caves at Khanda Giri and Udaya Giri that served as abodes of Jain ascetics in the time of Emperor Kharavela.

Dhauli Giri

The Mauryan emperor Asoka is said to have waged the bloody Kalinga War in 261 BC near this site. When he saw the river Daya flow red with the blood of thousands, he renounced violence and converted to Buddhism. A stupa (Buddhist Pagoda) stands atop the hill. The rock edicts of Asoka are at the base.

Nandankanan

A zoological park in the lush Chandaka Forest, Nandankanan is renowned for its population of white tigers, succesfully bred in-house. It also has a reptile park, acquaria, and safaris for spotting lions and white tigers. Open 7.30 a.m. To 5. 30 p.m (April to September) and 8 a.m.to 5 p.m.(October to March).

Other Attractions:

Besides the Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar is home to the Tribal Research and Training Institute. It has a fascinating Tribal Museum that provides an insight into the lives of the 62 indigenous tribes in Orissa. Open: Mon - Sat. 10a.m. - 5p.m. Closed second saturdays.

USEFUL LINKS:

The Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus service linking the sights in and around Bhubaneswar. More details can be had here: http://panthanivas.com/hop_on-hop_off.htm

EAT

While there are restaurants serving an array of international and Indian cuisine, a chain of restaurants called Dalma serves traditional Oriya platters. Dalma is itself a staple vegetarian Oriya dish, made with lentils and mixed vegetables like pumpkin, raw banana etc. Ghanta Tarkari is an ensemble of vegetables and pulses. Don't miss the fish curry made with Hilsa, Pohala and Mahurali varieties. All these side dishes are served with boiled rice. Also try the shrimp, prawn or crab preparations with a distinct Oriya flavour.

Many Oriya desserts are made with fresh cottage cheese, locally called Chhena. West Bengal's famous Rasgollas were originally created in Orissa. Taste authentic Oriya desserts like Chhena Poda, Tadia and Rasabali at Pratihari near Rajmahal Chowk.

SHOP

Ekamra Haat is a vibrant shopping destination that showcases the art and craft of Orissa. Pick up silver filigree work, terracotta, Chitra Pothi and Patachitra paintings, Ikat and other fabric products from Pipli, Cuttack and Sambhalpur in cotton and silk. Timings: Weekdays, 10 a.m.to 10p.m.

Pal Heights Mall is the local hangout and is home to a delightful bookstore, part of the Oxford Book Store chain.

Visit the Market Building for a taste of local shopping. Rub shoulders with locals and savour some of their favourite snacks like Gupchup (called Pani Puri in other parts of India) and rolls. Utkalika, the government-run handicraft emporium is located here.

(An edited version appeared in Culturama's September 2010 Issue)

Patachitra Art

B.K. Nayak, a Patachitra craftsperson from Raghurajpur near Puri in Orissa says, “In our village, over 500 people are employed in making both Chitra Pothi as well as Patachitra. A blanket term of Patachitra is attributed for the sake of convenience to these two distinct creative forms. While the themes depicted may be the same, the techniques are very different.”

The first is a craft, Chitra Pothi also called Tala-patra-chitra (palm-leaf illustration), that uses the ancient technique of manuscript engraving on palm-leaf strips to create illustrated panels that can be framed as art.

In ancient India and parts of South East Asia, strips of treated palm-leaf were used as paper. These engraved and inked palm-leaf pages would be bound together to make a book bundle. In some of these Pothis (manuscripts), illustrations were added to complement the text. This is perhaps the oldest form of the Chitra Pothi craft and much of the technique used remains the same to this day.

Nayak says, “For Chitra Pothi, we use an iron needle to engrave the designs carefully on the 'tal -patra' (palm-leaf). Then, an ink, usually kohl, is applied on the leaf. Sometimes, in the place of kohl, rice is burnt and the charred powder is used instead. The black colour remains in the engraved lines even when the ink is wiped from the leaf. The finished product is a set of panels assembled by stitching, to denote a picture. Lately, we have begun to selectively use natural dyes to brighten the finished product. In addition to panels, we now also make greeting cards and bookmarks in this technique.”

Unlike the usually single-coloured engraved panel of Chitra Pothi, Patachitra, is an art that uses Tussar silk or canvas as an even base. Nayak says, “The pata (canvas) is made with cotton fabric pasted together with tamarind glue and chalk powder. This resilient base is used to paint the subjects in natural colours made from ground seashells, bark and stone.”

Nayak narrates a fascinating ritual that merges religious ritual and local art, “Sixteen days before the famous annual Rath Jatra (chariot procession), the presiding deities at the Jagannath temple at Puri – Subhadra, Balabhadra and Jagannath - are given a ritual bath on an occasion called Debasnana Purnima. Following this, the gods are supposed to be suffering from cold and fever. They are kept isolated from the public for a period of fifteen days. On those days, all the worship and rituals at the temple are conducted for Patachitra representations of the deities. At the end of this 'recovery' period, the wooden deities are repainted and presented to the public. Every year a new set of Patachitra paintings is made to take the place of the ailing deities.”

In both creative forms, the themes depicted are primarily Hindu religious and mythological. Dashavatara (the ten incarnation of Lord Vishnu), Ramayana and Mahabharata are favourite themes and the subjects are usually Krishna with Radha, Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha and the Lord Jagannath tableau. Nayak says, “To cater to a growing number of non-Hindu patrons, we have also begun to render village themes and scenes from nature in both creative forms.”

(An edited version appeared in Culturama's September 2010 Issue)