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TIMES CITY
Manga meets
CHENNAI
EXPRESS
MANGAI
R
inko Nagami’s love affair with India began
way before she met her
Malayali husband. A
visit to the country in
1985 had her hooked. Since then,
the manga artist has been an ambassador of south Indian culture
and cuisine in Japan, bringing
out books on the country that
fascinates her.
Nagami’s latest manga, ‘Rinko
Nagami’s South India is so delicious!’ hit the stands in Tokyo on
March 9, 2015. “I wanted to draw
the attention of Japanese people
to south Indian food,” says Nagami, whose husband Koodathodi
Chami has been running a south
Indian restaurant, Kerala Bhavan, in Tokyo since 2004.
Over the years, the number of
Japanese coming down to south
India — Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and
Puducherry — has gone up. “In
2014, the numbers touched 1,019
for south India and 836 for Tamil
Nadu,” says Deputy Consul-General Koji Sugiyama.
According to him, a majority
of Japanese come down on business and stay for two to three
years. “As on 2014, there are 1, 209
Japanese companies in India,
with 225 in TN,” he says. “The
Japanese Chamber of Commerce
& Industry (JCCI) in Chennai
celebrated its 10th anniversary
in February 2015. Ten
years ago, there were
only 24 Japanese
companies which
were members of
JCCI but in 2014,
there were 180.”
With an increasing number
of Japanese coming down, and a common love for rice and
Rajinikanth, there is a
growing interest in south Indian culture and cuisine in Japan. “South Indian and Japanese
culture may be very different in
many ways but there are also interesting similarities. For instance, we have a festival called
Dondo-yaki which is akin to
Bhogi, the day preceding Thai
Pongal in Tamil Nadu. In the mid-
Food, Music, Dance — South
India’s Essence Is Finding
Takers Among The Japanese
Pic courtesy: Eiko Sawaki
Priya.Menon@timesgroup.com
BUILDING BRIDGES: (Above) Kaoru Katori has been
working to popularise south Indian cuisine in
Japan; (left) Masalawala with Rajini
dle of January, we
also burn old things
and cook rice porridge
with Japanese dal, like
Pongal. During another festival,
Hinamatsuri, usually celebrated
by girls, people display dolls at
home just like you have kolu during Navarathri in south India,”
says Shinji Kashima, who along
with artist Hiroyoshi Takeda, call
themselves Masalawala, and specialise in dishing out south Indi-
an meals to the Japanese.
Recently, the duo, along with
photographer-writer Akira Io
and his wife Haruna brought out
‘Visual Guide of South Indian
Culture’, a Japanese book that
covers cooking, cinema, performing arts and rituals, wherein they
introduce Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Pongal,
and Jallikattu to Japanese readers through their point of view.
“The basic concept was in my
MASALAWALA | The duo
has been conducting events
to popularise south
Indian culture
in Japan since
2008. This
March, they
held the
Hachioji Masala
Festival in Tokyo.
It was an Indian
cultural event
showcasing
classical music,
dance, and food.
AKIRA LO | He introduces
Carnatic music and Indian
performing arts to the
Japanese audience through
his talk shows.
KAORU KATORI | Runs the
Kitchen Studio Paisley
Culinary School in Tokyo.
Apart from introducing south
Indian cuisine to the
Japanese, she
and her
students
started an
Indian film
dancing team
called the Sundris
in 2013 just for fun.
RINKO NAGAMI | She is
married to a Malayali,
Koodathodi Chami, who has
been running a south Indian
restaurant, Kerala Bhavan, in
Tokyo since 2004. Among
other works, she has brought
out a series, ‘Tea cups for an
Indian & Japanese Couple’,
which is based on the
daily life of Rinko’s
Indian-Japanese
family. Vol.20 of
the ongoing series
was published
in December
2014.
Kaoru and I did field work in
Chennai, Hyderabad,
and Chettinad region.
And I have overseen
the section on Tamil
cuisine | AKEMI
YOSHII, FOOD
TALE COLLECTOR
brain for a long time. I had written a small book on Carnatic music with chief editor of Sruti
magazine V Ramnarayan. After
my return to Japan, I wanted to
do a similar visual guide of south
Indian culture,” says Akira. The
work was distributed, with Akira
and Haruna writing about music,
dance and handicraft, while Masalawala wrote about cuisine and
cinema. The book was released in
October last year.
* SUNDAY TIMES OF INDIA, CHENNAI
APRIL 5, 2015
“Previously, only naan and
curry were known to the Japanese. But recently south Indian
cuisine is getting featured in
Japanese media and exclusive
restaurants have emerged in metropolitan areas such as Tokyo,”
says Hiroyoshi. “Also, many
Japanese are now leaning Carnatic music, classical dances
such as Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Mohiniyattam
as well as Ayurveda.”
Rajinikanth’s ‘Muthu’
a n d l a t e r ‘ E n t h i r a n’
spurred a renewed interest in Tamil cinema. In
fact, Masalawala will
soon appear in the 3D
film ‘Jumbulingam’ as crazy
Rajini fans.
For Kaoru Katori, it was the
strong urge to introduce the
range of south Indian cuisine
that drove her to collaborate with
Chennai-based Akemi Yoshii to
work on ‘South Indian Homestyle
Curries & Spice Dishes’. “It’s a
pity that many people in Japan
have not yet known those fascinating South Indian cuisine. I feel
frustrated that most Indian restaurants in Japan are tandoori
restaurants. And I know many
people — though still a minority
in Japan — are aspiring to cook
south Indian dishes that they
have come to love,” says Kaoru,
who has been running Kitchen
Studio Paisley Culinary School
in Tokyo since 1992 and has published many cookbooks.
She started her research for
the book in 1995. “I have tried to
illustrate the distinctive characteristics of each south Indian
state through the recipes I chose,”
says Kaoru, whose book will be
released in July.
All of them do extensive research. Kaoru learned recipes not
only from Hindus but also from
Muslim and Christian families.
Akemi, who is married to Purushotham, a Tamilian, did the
coordination for Kaoru’s research
on South Indian cuisine. “We did
field work in Chennai, Hyderabad, and the Chettinad region.
And I have overseen the section
on Tamil cuisine,” she says.
Rinko spent three months on
research. “I interviewed my husband, Kaoru Katori and Masalawala, among others. I also wrote
down my memories of the food
my husband’s family in Kerala
cooked for me,” she says.
Since these books have a niche
market, some of them do find it
difficult to get publishers. But
that is also slowly changing. “After I got married to an Indian, I
published several works that introduce India to my Japanese
readers,” says Rinko. “The publishing company that I worked
with first contacted me about the
book on south Indian cuisine as
the editor, Kawamura, is a great
fan of my previous works.”
Students find
physics part
of IIT JEE first
paper tough
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai: The physics portion of the first paper of the
IIT JEE (Main) exam was
tough, said students who appeared for the examination
across the state on Saturday.
The three-hour paper one
(BE/BTech) contained 30 objective-type questions each in
physics, chemistry and
mathematics. Each correct
answer carried four marks,
while there was a negative
mark for every wrong answer. While students found
the chemistry part easy, they
found some physics and
maths questions tricky.
P Madhav, a student of
Maharishi Vidya Mandir at
Chetpet in Chennai, said the
physics portion was lengthy
and took time to solve. “The
physics questions took up a
lot of time due to which I did
not have enough time to solve
the maths portion. I had to
leave out two or three questions at the end,” he said.
STIFF CHALLENGE
Another student, R Deepak, said he found the physics problems much more difficult when compared to the
papers of last five years. “The
questions were conceptual
and so they required a lot of
thinking, and involved multiple steps. A few questions in
the maths portion were ambiguous but others were
easy,” he said.
Analysing the paper, Triumphant Institute of Management Education director
Ajay Anthony said the paper
was more difficult when compared to the previous years.
From an academic point of
view, he said, the physics
questions were lengthy and
needed innovative thinking.
However, based on the
feedback received from students from different cities, he
said many found the maths
part very challenging. Meanwhile, written exam for paper 2 for Bachelor of Architecture/Planning was held
from 2-5pm on Saturday.
SEASON’S SPECIAL:
For wildlife
enthusiasts, the
scorching days are
a delight as it is the
perfect time for
bird, reptile and
bug watching
Pix courtesy: Venkat
Five Ways To Get Your Summer Squeeze Of Goodness
SOME LIKE IT HOT
Kamini.Mathai@timesgroup.com
T
here’s really no need to break into a sweat
because summer’s here. It’s a pretty cool
time of year, if you think about it.
Take the case of bug and bird specialist
‘Poochi’ Venkataraman, or Poochi Venkat as
he insists on being called because of his penchant for all things poochi. You’ll never find
him indoors during summer, as it is the perfect
time for bird, critter, reptile and bug watching.
On a personal note, the wildlife enthusiast
waits for summer because his favourite insects,
the dragonfly and robber fly, make an appearance. “The robber flies eat other insects and
are better fliers than the dragonfly. Scientists
at one point were experimenting with them for
vector control because they eat mosquitoes.
This failed, though, because there were far
more mosquitoes than these robbers could eat,”
he says. “Dragonflies signal rain because they
come out when the air is
humid. That’s why
farmers love them.”
Venkant say when
flowers are blooming, it
draws the insects out,
which in turn bring the
birds and animals
Dragonflies little
out. He suggests headsignal rain ing out to Pulicat lake to
because they
see the Siberian ducks
come out when
that fly in this time of
the air is humid. year, or Sriharikota island to see the painted
That’s why
storks. “The water level
farmers love
is at its lowest this time
them | Poochi
of year and this draws
VENKATARAMAN,
out the water-borne
BUG & BIRD SPECIALIST
creatures. That’s why
you will find a number
of birds this time of year,” he adds.
For those who are really not in the mood to
drive so far out, heading as close as the woody
south Chennai is good enough. This time of
year, says Venkat -- who has conducted workshops for the forest department in Chennai –
you will find bee-eater birds, the bulbul, and
the drongo flying about. “These birds love the
heat. The bulbul signals that summer has arrived,” says Venkat. “In summer, the drongo
will fly right into your home. Urbanisation does
not seem to faze them.” So, like Venkat, watch
out for summer.
All For Summer
HERE ARE A FEW MORE REASONS
TO WAIT FOR THE SEASON
‘D’ FACTOR | In a recent medical
camp he held, sports medicine
consultant Dr P Nagaraj noticed that
women in the ages of 25 to 40 were
showing signs of osteoporosis and
had low bone mineral densities. He
suggests exercising outdoors
between 6am and 9am or between
5pm and 7 pm. “This is good
sunlight and is one of the major
sources of vitamin D,” he says.
SOW SUNNY, SOW GOOD | MB
Nirmal, chairman of Exnora International, which focuses on environmental issues, says summer is the
perfect time to get planting ginger,
bitter gourd, ribbed gourd, tomato,
brinjal and chillies. “These plants
withstand Chennai’s summer heat
and thrive in the sunlight,” he says.
EAT WELL, BE WELL | Dietician
Dharini Krishnan suggests loading
up on the water-filled fruits and
vegetables that are in abundance in
summer. “This is the only season
you will get mangoes, musk melons
and a special variety of cucumber
called kakdi,” she says. “They not
only keep you hydrated, but also
help you stock up on beta-carotenes
and anti-oxidants.”
Chennai-Based Children’s Publishing House Tulika Has Brought
Out A Picture Book In Mishmi, A Tribal Language Of Arunachal
Keeping Indian tongues
alive against all odds
Joeanna.Rebello@
timesgroup.com
T
he limits of my language, said Ludwig
Wittgenstein, are the
limits of my world. In worlds
progressively made smaller by
loss of language — and associated attrition of culture — the
philosopher’s words reverberate between the ellipses. Even
as Hindi and English are taking over Indian tongues —
even Arunachal Pradesh with
its 90 languages, not counting
dialects, is fast ceding to Hindi
as the state’s lingua franca —
Tulika, the Chennai-based
children’s publishing house,
has swum against the tide and
published a picture book in
Mishmi, one of the tribal languages of Arunachal Pradesh.
“It’s the first book published in Mishmi using Roman
script,” says Tulika senior
editor Deeya Nayar, about
‘Hambreelmai Sai’, a folk tale
that mythifies the weaving tradition of the people. Mishmi,
an oral language, lacks a script
of its own but uses Tibetan and
Roman scripts when needed.
Sokhep Kri, state editor of
Arunachal Gazateers and
translator of the story for Tulika, says there are three subtribes of Mishmi: Kman
(Miju), Taraon (Digaru) and
Idu. “Hambreelmai Sai is
based on a Kman folktale and
has been translated in Kman
using Roman script — a script
the community uses to communicate on SMS and social
networking,” says Kri.
Tulika, which published
the same folktale in English as
‘Hambreelmai’s
Loom’, has also
published in the
Ro m a n s c r i p t
“Race of the Rivers,” a
Khasi oral folktale from
Meghalaya. “We’d identified these two very
charming folktales a
long time ago, from
a Verrier Elwin
collection,” says
Deeya. Elwin
was a 20th century anthropologist and tribal
AGAINST THE TIDE: (Above) “Race of the Rivers’ being launched on
the occasion of Children’s Day in 2014; (below) The book covers
There is a paucity
of reading material
available for children;
children are told stories |
ESTHER SYIEM, POET
activist. “When we decided to
do them we were sure they had
to be written by people from
the region who can capture the
flavour. We are multilingual
publishers, and in our sensibility it followed quite naturally
to explore the idea of publishing in the local languages so
children there could read a
folktale from their own regions
in their own languages.”
While tribal folktales have always
been orally narrated
to children, Esther
Syiem, poet, professor at
North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, and
author of ‘Race of the
Rivers’, says nowadays English
language stories seem to be
overtaking the
indigenous
ones in Megha-
laya, at least. “There is a paucity of reading material available for children; children are
told stories,” says Syiem.
Even as Tulika referred to
the Elwin collection in English, in commissioning local
writers to rewrite the stories,
it spotted discrepancies in Elwin’s telling of the Mishmi
tale. “In ‘Hambreelmai’s
Loom,’ Elwin had called the
girl ‘Hambrumai’ which
means ‘floor mat’, whereas
Sokhep said she should actually be ‘Hambreelmai’, hambreel being a kind of small fish
(which connects with the idea
of her flowing down the river
later). ‘Mai’ is a usual suffix for
female Mishmi names. The
porcupine too changed from
Hairum to Sheipung. Sheipung
is the actual word for porcupine, hairum means chameleon,” explains Deeya. “Perhaps
it goes to show the importance
of engaging with the local language of the region. When
they travel to other cultures,
stories sometimes change or
are misrepresented and that
becomes the accepted version.
It’s tricky.”