Your raison d'être?

Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
Netflix

At a time when most people could hardly read, write or count, people like Charles Babbage (1791- 1871) and Ida Lovelace (1815-1852) were working on something totally irrelevant to their time. Babbage is course credited for the general-purpose computer, and Lady Lovelace is said to have written the first computer algorithm. Laypersons would have scorned upon them, thinking that they were weirdos living in their own dream world. Nobody would have thought that an infallible self-calculating machine was even possible, what more writing computer programmes?

Like that, many go on doing things in their lives, thinking that the thing that they do is the reason for their existence. But who really knows what is your raison d'être? Surely there is no laid roadmap given to us upon birth. Things that you do in childhood, the upbringing that you had, the friends that you cross path with and develop bonds all determine the direction of life and the career path that you choose. Who knows what your dharma is?

Most people let the stream of life take its course to lead their life path. Everywhere the wind blows, they set sail and head on all steam ahead. They reap the maximum from the journey of life in the voyage of their life mission. Like a rolled down carpet, some have it easygoing. Others go wayward but realign to the right path later. A fraction makes the best of whatever is laid on their plate. Some prosper late, Others never.

This exciting documentary tells the story of an 82-year-old (at the time of filming, now 93) sushi chef in Ginza who the oldest Michelin 3-star recipient. His sushi joint is a simple 10-seater bar specialising in sushi and sushi only. From the age of nine, after running away from home from a drunken father, he started as an apprentice in a sushi stall. 

Listening through the interview with the Sushi Masterchef, Sukiyabashi Jiro, one can appreciate the work culture of the Japanese. They take some much pride in whatever they do, and a lifetime seems not enough to master whatever they do. Jiro, even after spending 70 years into making sushi, finds every day a learning experience. He is still perfecting his craft.

His establishment is small, but he is very meticulous in the preparation of sushi. Till the age of 70 when he was afflicted with a heart attack, he used to personally hand-pick tuna fish, octopuses and prawns at the whole sales fish market. He has a long-time rice supplier who would choose only the best grain for his shop. It is not the rice, Jori says. Even big hotels like Grand Hyatt try to get the best rice but fail to make tasty sushi. It is little things that make the difference - the way of cooking the rice, the 45-minutes' massage of the octopus by his trainees, Jori's eye for clientele comfort and tastebuds, and so on. An apprentice has to learn to hold a fish properly before he can cut anything and has to work ten years before he can even make an egg cake. Only then he is a sushi chef, a shokunin.

Jiro, son Yoshikazu(his left), a shokunin and 3 apprentices.

Sorry, he has reservations about female chefs. His establishment

has only openings for a female cashier and female cleaner. 

His eldest son, Yoshikazu, is due to take over the business once Jiro. The question is that Jiro is a workaholic who finds cooking sushi his passion. The sheer joy he finds in the contended smile of satisfied gives him the purpose of living. He only closes for national holidays and funerals. His other son, Takashi, run another sushi shop elsewhere.

Jori's unassuming tiny sushi bar is not cheap. It costs $300 per head and reservations are made one month in advance.

You must dedicate your life to mastering this skill. This is the key to success. 

Being a rebel is not all that bad, being respectful and obedient does not guarantee success. 

                                                                                                                             Jiro Ono

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Bare necessities that we need!

S2B: Seoul to Busan
It is not a race. Ep #1
Meet the P-stars. Ep #2
Fighting the demons! Ep #3

Episode 4: Bare necessities that we need!

It has become a weekend routine to go grinding and spinning around the treacherous hills of Peres, off Hulu Langat, on our vehicles to build up stamina and to prepare ourselves to what may lay ahead in unexplored Land of the Kimchi. The sight of us, five or sometimes six, saddled with our panniers sticking out erect from our rears (of the bicycles) must have stirred the curiosities of many fellow cyclists. 

During one of these outings, a few curious bicyclists inquired about our set-up, accessories and all. 

When we told them of our intentions of touring South Korea on bikes and what they saw were what we were carrying all along our week-long trip, they were understandably astonished. With the usual travellers who try to bargain through the airline staff with their excess baggage, here we were squeezing one week’s requirements into a pannier. 

Only then did it strike me of the number of unnecessary things that we go on accumulating in our lives. We build false attachments and create excessive dependence on unnecessary items that are not essential for our existence. 

A few years ago, a husband-wife friend of mine got into an existential crisis. Going headlong into their newfound passion, they decided to paddle all the way from Kuala Lumpur through Thailand, Cambodia, China, Korea and finally ended their journey at the tip of Hokkaido Island. Relating their experiences later, their one take-home message was ‘we carry redundant baggage that we refuse to unload’. I think they were speaking not literally but at a metaphysical level. This they realised after unloading much of their belongings halfway through their journey when they met a friend who was returning home. 

So next week, on our maiden international trip, we would be leading an Epicurean life. Living simply close to the elements of nature - sun, wind, trees, birds and bees. “Give me water, give me water; I will be a happy man,” says the Epicurean. We will have to make do with the contents of our backpack. 

T -junction to Peres

Like Bablu, the bear in Jungle Book, we are expected to live with the bare necessities, be content with simple pleasures in life, forget the worries and strife and wander around with the company of friends. Was it not also Epicurus who observed friendship at where human nature was sweetest? He considered fellowship essential for a happy life. Unlike love and romance, it ‘goes dancing around the world, announcing to all of us to wake to happiness’. 

'Hakuna Matata' say Timon and Pumba. But then, familiarity also builds contempt. 

And cannot be seen around like vagabond without papers, cash and credit card. Do not leave home without it!

(T-7) 

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The ends, not the means?

Fly by Night (Malaysian, 2019)

Once a while you get a good Malaysian movie without the usual ridiculing of races or filled with simpleton slap slick comedy. This is it. There are no attempts by the moviemakers to ensure that the characters are overtly different. They are who they are, Malaysians, and they act their roles. They switch between Malay, English and Cantonese seamlessly, with no demarcation of us and them.

Every scene springs familiarity as the background has been seen in real life many times before. The settings are authentic, like the back lanes and the interior of a typical working-class Chinese family.

The film centres around a band of brothers in a small family business of extortion and trickery. They use their city taxis and the airport terminal as their fronts for their nefarious activities. Their quiet business becomes a mess as their firebrand youngest brash family member spring wings and wants to explore greener pastures. A scorned mistress who is hellbent on seeking revenge from her jilting wealthy married boyfriend, everything goes wrong. Hot on their trail are the police and the leader of a triad whom the young member had royally pissed.

Trying to make everything as authentic as possible, I fail to see why they decided not to leave the 'TEKSI' labels on the cabs but rebrand it as 'TAXI'.

Mafia Boss Michael Corleone makes his confession to a 

Cardinal in “The Godfather-Part III” 

Credit: mozarellamamma.com

The world tries to divide all our actions into either good or bad. Professions associated with elements of gambling, intoxication and sex unsanctioned by the institute of marriage are frowned upon. Wealth acquired through these means is considered unholy. In reality, wealth is wealth. It does not matter where it came from. At the end of the day, one is either poor or rich. When he is rich, everything he does is right. He can even 'sanitise' his 'unholy' income.

Take the example of information technology. The leaps and bounds of progress that it has made is not merely via kosher means. Porn and porn-related industries form the backbone of the research and advancements that it has made. Nobody scorns the headways the digital world has executed but tribute it to the intelligence of computer scientists. The spread of successful small businesses and multitudes of trades based on algorithms helps to erase the internet of its somewhat tainted pass.

As a passing, one should not forget that the seemingly religious Sicilian mafias continue their treacherous activities planned right under the patronage of the Roman Catholic Churches. Their relationship can be described as twisted. The Mafia bosses baptise their children, attend Mass, wear crosses, pray to Madonna but their faith gets intertwined with acts of violence.

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Weapons gone astray!

Sensitive topic - Readers' discretion advised

A Mosque in Munich (2010)

Author: Ian Johnson

When 9-11 attacks came about, investigations traced the perpetrators of sleeper cells spending a time of their lifetimes in Germany. These terrorist group did not spring up just before attacks on the American soil. They, in fact, have a very long past, going as far back as the Bolshevik revolution.

When Communist Soviet took over the predominantly Muslim lands in the Caucasus, collectively known as Western Turkestan, the area was filled with adrenaline-filled Muslim fighters who wanted to liberate their lands from their godless rulers. They were collectively known as the Prometheans, the mythical Greek hero who defied Zeus to save humanity.

This golden opportunity was grasped by Wehrmacht, the unified WW2 German Army to aid in their attack of Russia. As is common knowledge, many Muslim scholars, including the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, soar at the thought of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after WW1, decided to pour their support on the side of the AxisPower. 

Betting on the wrong horse, they lost more than just their homeland. Many of the Muslim freedom fighters ended up as refugees in Germany. By 1950s, West Germany, especially places like Munich, had undergone an economic transformation. The miracle of German tenacity and engineering marvel saw industrial giants like Siemen and financial titans like Allianz proving their strength. Many Turkish immigrants soon start coming into West Germany.
After WW2, communism became the bogeyman, and there was an urgent need to keep activities behind the Iron Curtain under check. Many of these ex-Soviet Muslims became the eyes and the ears of the CIA and West Germany. They were rolled in the CIA-sponsored propaganda Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe as well as many of its espionage work. Along the way, the CIA decided to use Islam as their weapon to go after the non-believer Communists. They are said to create ruckus in Mekkah during a Haj season to highlight injustices against Muslims in the Soviet Union. At the 1955 Bandung Conference,  their members also created an embarrassing moment for the Soviets.

Schematic representation of the Mosque

The idea of having a mosque was drummed in by the Muslim community of Germany to garner more support to this end. Somehow, there soon came to be a tussle for leadership as members of the Muslim Brotherhood gained a stronghold in the Munich Mosque donation collection and construction. 

The Muslim Brotherhood movement, known for its doublespeak, saying one thing to one party and denying it to another, managed to hoodwink the Americans into believing that they could speak for the general world Muslim population. In reality, they advocated a rather conservative and domineering form of Islam; a kind which tends to control all aspects of day-to-day living and has no reservations against terrorism or killing of its enemies. 

Munich Mosque

The Munich Mosque was finally opened in 1973.

The Muslim Brotherhood, with the cooperation of the US intelligence agencies, managed to outmanoeuvre the ex-Nazi soldiers to control the mosque. As time went, The Muslim Brotherhood gained more traction in the world politics. The conservative, arch-Catholic city in Bavaria soon became a centre of radical Islam.

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Time ends all things!

Sacred Games (Season 2; 2019)
Miniseries Netflix

Just like the convoluted world that we live in and the twisted problems that we get intertwined, the storyline of this miniseries is complex. In life, there is no one truth. Things are not so black-or-white as we grew up thinking it is. Good things happen to bad people, and conversely, bad things happen to good people. An action seemingly done in good faith may actually be pure evil in another's eyes. 

There is so much hatred amongst and between all the people of the world. On one side, one group is hellbent on destroying the other. It seems destruction of the other is the way to avenge or ensure justice on Earth. On another end, another group feels that injustices have tipped the point of no return. The only way to correct it is to re-boot everything. Evil has taken over where goodness used to prevail. Annihilation and jump-starting from zero is the only option. 

Like the first season, the most exciting part of the season is the title of the episodes. If in the previous season, the titles begged of Indian folklore or mythology to be told, this season episodes refer to a broader spectrum.

Matsya is the first of the nine avatars (manifestation) of Vishnu. Avatars of Lord Vishnu has been compared to the evolution of mankind. The first step to the formation of Man started when a sea creature such as fish (Matsya) became a creature of two kingdoms (Koorma, the turtle) before they became well-grounded as like Varaha, the wild boar.

Siduri is a Babylonian female divinity of ale making. Babylonians were known to have mastered the art of beer making as early as 2500 BCE. She appeared in a poem during the reign of Emperor Gilgamesh. She tries to dissuade Gilgamesh from his quest for immortality and urges him to be happy with life's simpler pleasures. 

Apasmara is the demon seen crushed under the feet of the dancing feet of Lord Nataraja. Apasmara is the personification of ignorance. Ignorance cannot be destroyed but can be put under check and balance. 

Bardo is the Buddhist purgatory, the place between heaven and hell. It is the no man's land between life and death or a transitional phase between death and rebirth. People are forever stuck in not knowing what they want in life. They do not know what they want.

Vikarna is the third Kaurava in the Mahabharata story. Even though the Kauravas are painted as the villains, Vikarna opposed to his brothers' ungentlemanly act of disrobing Draupadi, the common wife of the Pandava brothers when the Kauravas won her over in a dice game. There is goodness even in the evilest of Man.

Azrael is the Angel of Death found in Jewish and Islamic culture, responsible for transporting the souls of the deceased. Many amongst us fit the bill of Azrael for yearning for the destruction of others. What we do not realise is that as our weapons become bigger and more powerful, entropy seems like the endpoint.

Torino, another name for Turin, Italy, is known as the most haunted cities in the world. Ghosts are nothing but the haunting of my mind of our guilt and unfulfilled wishes. Our guilt of past mistakes, inactions and willful nasty acts haunt us for life.

The effect of the Radcliffe line is still felt until today. Even though they were from the same stock, an arbitrary line under the guise of religion has turned them as mortal enemies. One demarcation set a state to two countries but poles apart, and their relationships irreparable.
The show is not over...

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Fighting the demons!

S2B: Seoul to Busan
It is not a race. Ep #1
Meet the P-stars. Ep #2

Episode #3: Fighting the demons!

It seems that humans start off life being fascinated with Nature - toddlers like to get their hands dirty with grime, dirt and soil, and as they grow older, they find union with Nature too. Is this a reminder that we are one with Nature or a hint of the adage 'ashes to ashes, dirt to dirt'!

What started as a weekend outing to Penang to partake a cycling race evolved to something that brought out the memories of the bygone care-free days of our youth. And we were itching for more. The agony of the heat, the sweat, the discomfort, the aches of sore muscles, the tan and the potential fall of the perch were no match for the post-race euphoria of accomplishment and the immersion in the high of endorphins.

Our resident techie, during one of his moment of bore, googled of a secluded highway in South Korea dedicated just for cyclists. It boasts of a 633 km picturesque trail along four main rivers on the Korean peninsula from Seoul to Busan. What started as a river beautification and flood mitigation effort soon became a tourist spot drawing cycling enthusiasts the world over to Korea.

couchonwheels.blogspot.com

Without a second thought, everyone in unison agreed to the idea of making a trip, and before long everyone was looking at the expiry dates on their passports, their work schedules and going online to book their tickets.

Then came the tricky part, the training. Leave it to Coach to prepare the pit to skewer the meat. We, the weekend warriors, in spite of the busy schedules, took the slightest excuse to grind and spin along the periphery highways of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. Places like Chanang, Titi, Puom, Pares and Bukit Antu which sounded alien to us before became our backyard.

Leave it to cyberspace to supply us loads of information about the going-on and the going-about of the trip. Unfortunately, many of the information with regards to the Four River Trail was in the Korean language. Further exploration revealed a Facebook page explaining cyclists' experiences on their trips in the trail. 

Nietzche reminded us not to be complacent when the going is good or conversely if the going is beyond hopeless. Either way, things would only turn around. Our training was marred with one of our rider having a temporary lapse in concentration that sent him skidding off a corner and his bicycle landing in a six feet deep ditch. Luckily, he flew off his vehicle just to sit nicely on the shoulder of the drain, shaken and stirred. His heroics stunts earned a broken clavicle which was quickly fixed and is on the road to recovery. Other small instances, like a snapped chain and faulty bicycle valve, gave the gang invaluable lessons in crisis management.

Necessity, mother of all inventions!

We have resolved not to let these temporary setbacks dampen the spirit. As they say, it is not the destination that matters, it is the journey that gives the most joy.

Courtesy of FB page - SBB Seoul, Busan and Beyond

(T - 15)

(Next: The Drama, The Uncertainties)

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It ain't over till the fat lady sings!

Game Over (2019)

It is always easier to follow the weather-beaten road. After the imperfections, the potholes, the unevenness may have been corrected, or the path may carry a warning sign. Unfortunately, in this era where individualism and self-expression takes a paramount role in human development, the onus in handling curveballs in life is placed squarely on the individual's shoulders.

Previously, one can look back, follow the path of least resistance, have faith and move forward with confidence with the Divine Forces as the guardian angels. Failure is accepted gracefully as if it was meant to be anyway.

Modern men (and women) do not subscribe to such determinism. Intellect has given free will to fight whatever eventualities. It also gave them the ability to think of the possible adverse outcome and the fear of the unknown. Not all minds are equipped to handle such stresses. Some crumble. Memory is sometimes a curse, especially of a traumatic one. 

Life is not as simple as in a computer game; lose one life and still have two in hand. In reality, it is one wrong move, and it is game over.

This story is well crafted one with many symbolism. It is a genre-bending thriller about a gamer who is recovering from a stressful situation; probably an assault of some kind which happened a year previously during New Year's Day. 

It is New Year's Eve, and her panic attacks are recurring. The tattoo that she had got inked a year previously has started hurting. A visit to the tattoo parlour reveals that the ink had been contaminated with the ashes of a brutally killed girl. And the deranged killer is back.

The storyline is relatively predictable, but it comes with a twist at the end. It gives three possible outcomes to the ending depending on how one strategise one's move. One should use one's nature-given faculties to determine one's fate, not leave fate to decide one's life.

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