By Vincent Van Ross
Like many other curious tourists, it was the thousand year old temple complex that drew me to the land of the Khmers—Cambodia—Siem Reap to be precise. Spread across some 20 kilometers, Angkor Wat boasts of one of the most ambitious and magnificent construction projects of that period comprising an incredible cluster of nearly 200 temples.
About forty minutes after we departed from Bangkok, the Airbus started descending. And, there was an announcement that we should fasten our seat belts as the Bangkok Air flight was coming to a close. I looked out and the Siem Reap Airport came into view. I looked around as I pulled out my pocket camera. I could not locate the Angkor Wat temple complex from air. Before I could carry out any further survey, the plane landed and taxied on to embarkation area. I felt sad that I could not capture an aerial view of Angkor Wat in my camera.
Siem Reap is a very small airport by international standards. But, this small airport handles an amazing number of tourists. After, emigration check and baggage clearance, I was heading out of the airport. Suddenly, I realized that I needed some local currency to pay the cabby who would take me to my hotel. I turned around and went back into the Airport.
I was surprised beyond measure when the airport staff told me that I did not need to exchange dollars…that I could spend dollars in the city. Now, that was something I was not prepared for. “What about the cabby?” I asked. “Dollars would work,” they told me. I was a little confused. I thought they were pulling a fast one on me. All the way from the Airport to the Hotel, this thought kept bothering me. “What if the driver refuses to accept the payment in dollars?” I thought. “If worst comes to worst, I would exchange dollars at the hotel and pay him,” I decided.
As the cab pulled up at the Hotel porch, I opened the door and stepped out quickly and spent some anxious moments as the cabby offloaded my luggage and walked over to me. I pulled out a 20 dollar bill from my wallet and handed it over to him. And, he readily accepted it and returned 5 dollars. I couldn’t believe it in spite of the prior warning! “He is a cabby. He moves around. So, he should be able to exchange the dollars,” I thought.
I got up early next morning and rushed to Angkor Wat to view the main temple at Sun rise. I peered into the ticket counter and asked the gentleman seated there: “How much for the ticket?”
“Twenty dollars for one day; forty for three days and sixty for a week,” he responded.
I stared at him in disbelief as he printed out my ticket. But, my eyes popped out when he opened his cash box to put in the 20 dollar bill I gave him. It was full of dollar bills! The whole day I traveled from one temple to the other shopping in between. I purchased books, picture post cards and a fan from street venders; I bought coconuts, juice and souvenirs from shops and I had breakfast and lunch at restaurants. All of them quoted in dollars and gladly accepted dollars in payment and returned the change!
The next morning I settled my hotel bill in dollars and made for the Airport. At the Airport, I discovered that I had to pay a departure tax as it was not included in my ticket. “How much for departure tax?” I enquired.
“Twenty five dollars,” replied the lady with the beaming face.
I checked into my return flight and went through the immigration. I sank into a sofa in the departure lounge and pondered over the events of the past two days. Suddenly, I realized that I had spent three days and two nights in Cambodia and I had not seen any Cambodian currency.
I walked up to a security guard and asked him: “do you have Cambodian currency?” He was a little surprised because he was the one who was supposed to be asking questions—not I. He appraised me from head to foot.
“What you want?” he quizzed in a puzzled way.
“You have some Cambodian currency notes? I want to see Cambodian currency.”
He gave me a queer look and pulled out a 1000 riel bill from his purse. For the first time in my trip to Cambodia, I saw Cambodian currency. I wondered why it was not in circulation. I have not visited other cities in Cambodia. But, I suppose it must be the same everywhere. In fact, I learnt that it is the same in Laos and some African countries.
As my flight took off, I pulled out my camera again to shoot the aerial view of the Angkor Wat. Again, I could not locate the Angkor Wat temple complex from the air. The aerial view of Angkor Wat eluded me again.
I realized that I was sitting on the wrong side! But, then, so is Cambodia. “How can any country let the currency of another country be used as legal tender? Is Cambodia trying to save on printing its own currency by letting the dollar prevail? Does the government of Cambodia realize the repercussions of this short cut? What will they do when they need to control the flow of currency in the country? How will they do it? That is a million dollar question. After all, it is a dollar economy!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
THE CORNERED SWEET SHOPS
By Vincent Van Ross
It is a unique phenomenon. I found it in Delhi for the first time. Then I found this phenomenon being replicated in other north Indian cities. I feel certain that it exists in other parts of the country. And, I am sure this phenomenon would be carried to other countries of the world as well. Aggarwal sweet shops are found in this corner and that corner in the market. And, they are always called Aggarwal Sweet Corner!
I am yet to come across an Aggarwal sweet shop in the middle of a market. That is not to say that there are no sweet shops in the middle. Usually, if you find a sweet shop in the middle of the market, it may not be owned by an Aggarwal!
In Munirka, for instance, there is an Aggarwal Sweet Corner at each of the two corners of the market.
Aggarwals are a business community from northern India. While their business activities extend far beyond sweetmeats (mithai), a good number of them are engaged in the sweet business!
These sweet shops no longer deal only in sweetmeats. They have diversified to salty preparations (namkeens) and fast food. Their product line ranges from Ladoo and Burfi to Son Papri and Chum Chum; from Samosa and Tikki to Golgappa and Dahi Bhalle; from Aaloo Chat and Namak Parre to Chole Bhattorey and Chow Mein. And, there is Kulfi Falooda, Jalebi, Fruit Juice and a whole lot of other goodies in between. The list is almost endless.
While some of them claim that it is a good omen to have their sweet shops in the corners, I think there is a business angle to it. If the shop is in the middle of the market, you have a very small opening at the front. But, if the shop is in the corner, you can have two sides open.
With two sides open, a corner shop may have several counters which open directly in front of the shop. So, the shop keepers can segregate and deal with customers, who come for different kinds of products, at the same time. In fact, the customers need not even enter the shop to buy or eat these products. They could do that standing outside the shop. That reduces the crowd inside the shop who come to buy sweetmeats.
Now you know why the Aggarwals have cornered the corner shops for Aggarwal Sweet Corner(s)!
It is a unique phenomenon. I found it in Delhi for the first time. Then I found this phenomenon being replicated in other north Indian cities. I feel certain that it exists in other parts of the country. And, I am sure this phenomenon would be carried to other countries of the world as well. Aggarwal sweet shops are found in this corner and that corner in the market. And, they are always called Aggarwal Sweet Corner!
I am yet to come across an Aggarwal sweet shop in the middle of a market. That is not to say that there are no sweet shops in the middle. Usually, if you find a sweet shop in the middle of the market, it may not be owned by an Aggarwal!
In Munirka, for instance, there is an Aggarwal Sweet Corner at each of the two corners of the market.
Aggarwals are a business community from northern India. While their business activities extend far beyond sweetmeats (mithai), a good number of them are engaged in the sweet business!
These sweet shops no longer deal only in sweetmeats. They have diversified to salty preparations (namkeens) and fast food. Their product line ranges from Ladoo and Burfi to Son Papri and Chum Chum; from Samosa and Tikki to Golgappa and Dahi Bhalle; from Aaloo Chat and Namak Parre to Chole Bhattorey and Chow Mein. And, there is Kulfi Falooda, Jalebi, Fruit Juice and a whole lot of other goodies in between. The list is almost endless.
While some of them claim that it is a good omen to have their sweet shops in the corners, I think there is a business angle to it. If the shop is in the middle of the market, you have a very small opening at the front. But, if the shop is in the corner, you can have two sides open.
With two sides open, a corner shop may have several counters which open directly in front of the shop. So, the shop keepers can segregate and deal with customers, who come for different kinds of products, at the same time. In fact, the customers need not even enter the shop to buy or eat these products. They could do that standing outside the shop. That reduces the crowd inside the shop who come to buy sweetmeats.
Now you know why the Aggarwals have cornered the corner shops for Aggarwal Sweet Corner(s)!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
MOSQUITOES ADD TO OUR ECONOMIC GROWTH!
By Vincent Van Ross
Sting operations are nothing new to mosquitoes. They have been doing that for ages! Unlike television journalists, they announce their arrival through their war cries before launching their sting operation.
Mosquitoes are no different from human beings. That is why they work in shifts. Some work during the day. The others are active at night. Some of them really love their night life! The mosquitoes that do the night shift pack up and are ready to leave at the sight of the first rays of Sunlight. That is why you find them battering against your window panes in the morning.
As I said, mosquitoes love the dark. Black is their favourite colour. If you are gossiping with your friends and happen to be wearing black clothes, you would find most of the mosquitoes hovering around you. If you stand under a lamppost at night, the colour of your hair—black—attracts the mosquitoes most. That is why you find them hovering over your head. In fact, wearing black is the best way to attract a swarm of mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes have wings but they are not birds. They are not birds because they are insects.
I consider mosquitoes as the tiniest nuisance of the animal kingdom! If there are smaller nuisances, they are not so much in contact with human beings. That could be the reason why I don’t know about them.
Mosquitoes have gained a reputation as blood suckers. But, they were the ones who taught us the science of blood transfusion! Mosquitoes not only suck blood but also inject it into the blood streams.
Man has domesticated many animals. But, he is yet to train mosquitoes. Just imagine how useful mosquitoes could be!
If we could train mosquitoes to suck blood from blood donors and inject it into the veins of recipients, we could do away with the services of doctors and nurses with regard to blood transfusion. Mosquitoes know where to inject blood. It is a matter of instinct for them. They can be trusted not to miss the vein!
In fact, we could use mosquitoes for other injection assignments as well. By doing that, we could also save on the cost of syringes. But, as of now, they are dangerous because they may be sucking blood from birds and animals and injecting them into your veins.
If you have the magnanimity to let them inject blood into your bloodstream, you could count on them to deliver the choicest of viruses along with that for free. They consider human blood a delicacy and they keep sucking till their bellies are ready to burst. Sometimes, they suck so much of blood that it makes them unwieldy in flight. If you hit them when they are blood-laden, their bellies burst and blood spurts in all directions.
The Chinese have developed several martial art forms around animals. But, they missed the smallest and most effective stinger—the mosquito. However, India produced the world’s smallest jet fighter and named it ‘Gnat’ which is another name for mosquito.
We curse mosquitoes day in and day out. But, the numerous mosquito-related products must be making manufacturers and traders happy. They may even be making offerings to god to help them bring about an explosion in the mosquito population! Some of them may be secretly worshipping them. You never know, someday the mosquito may even be worshipped as a deity!
Out of 2,700 species of mosquitoes in the world, fewer than a hundred are known to transmit diseases. Arboviral Encephalitides, West Nile Virus, Malaria, Dengue Fever and Yellow Fever are prominent among the many diseases they are believed to carry. But, that is enough to keep so many industries in business. However, it must be admitted in their praise that they do not carry the HIV+ virus that causes AIDS.
In normal times, electric mosquito repellent machines using perfumed mats and liquid vaporizers are used. These call for frequent replacement of mats and liquid refills. And, then, there are mosquito killer bulbs and electronic insect killers. These gadgets consume electricity on a regular basis. These gadgets engage the power sector as also our electric and electronic industries.
Some people prefer to use mosquito nets since they have no side effects. And, they do not need any refill. They need not be replaced until they get torn. So, the demand for mosquito nets is increasing day by day. Some others use incense sticks to drive away mosquitoes. They benefit the textile and handicrafts industry.
There are some who use mosquito repellent creams. Those who use creams need to wash their face and body with soap when they get up in the morning. That helps the cosmetics industry.
As a preventive measure, DDT is sprinkled on the breeding colonies of mosquitoes that are scattered over water-sheets of different sizes and descriptions though it has become more or less ineffective. And, then, there is mosquito spray which is a petroleum-based aerosol insecticide. In some cases, kerosene is used to prevent mosquito breeding on stagnant water such as the water found in water tanks and desert coolers. So, that ropes in the petroleum and chemical industries.
Just one mosquito droning over you can give you sleepless nights. They say mosquitoes could infuse alertness even in the laziest of lazy bugs! Some people take sleeping pills to snatch some sleep. And, there is quinine and a whole assortment of medicines that are prescribed for diseases transmitted by mosquitoes that host the backbone of our pharmaceutical industry. And, don’t forget the meshed doors and windows we install at our homes to keep the mosquitoes away!
But, if you don’t want to use any of these, you can just apply soap on your palms and swat the mosquitoes with your hands. Even if you manage to barely touch the mosquitoes while you are swatting, the mosquitoes will stick to your hand!
Mosquitoes have created vacancies for a variety of positions in clinics, dispensaries and hospitals. They have also created employment opportunities in health centers and municipal bodies. There is so much of medical research going on because of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. There are so many shops selling medicines. These provide employment to medical scientists and chemists.
Mosquitoes have singlehandedly generated a lot of employment, income and business. It is because of them that so many of our industries are in business. We may not appreciate this and our finance ministry may not attach too much importance to this. But, mosquitoes make a significant contribution to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In short, they contribute to our economic growth!
Sting operations are nothing new to mosquitoes. They have been doing that for ages! Unlike television journalists, they announce their arrival through their war cries before launching their sting operation.
Mosquitoes are no different from human beings. That is why they work in shifts. Some work during the day. The others are active at night. Some of them really love their night life! The mosquitoes that do the night shift pack up and are ready to leave at the sight of the first rays of Sunlight. That is why you find them battering against your window panes in the morning.
As I said, mosquitoes love the dark. Black is their favourite colour. If you are gossiping with your friends and happen to be wearing black clothes, you would find most of the mosquitoes hovering around you. If you stand under a lamppost at night, the colour of your hair—black—attracts the mosquitoes most. That is why you find them hovering over your head. In fact, wearing black is the best way to attract a swarm of mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes have wings but they are not birds. They are not birds because they are insects.
I consider mosquitoes as the tiniest nuisance of the animal kingdom! If there are smaller nuisances, they are not so much in contact with human beings. That could be the reason why I don’t know about them.
Mosquitoes have gained a reputation as blood suckers. But, they were the ones who taught us the science of blood transfusion! Mosquitoes not only suck blood but also inject it into the blood streams.
Man has domesticated many animals. But, he is yet to train mosquitoes. Just imagine how useful mosquitoes could be!
If we could train mosquitoes to suck blood from blood donors and inject it into the veins of recipients, we could do away with the services of doctors and nurses with regard to blood transfusion. Mosquitoes know where to inject blood. It is a matter of instinct for them. They can be trusted not to miss the vein!
In fact, we could use mosquitoes for other injection assignments as well. By doing that, we could also save on the cost of syringes. But, as of now, they are dangerous because they may be sucking blood from birds and animals and injecting them into your veins.
If you have the magnanimity to let them inject blood into your bloodstream, you could count on them to deliver the choicest of viruses along with that for free. They consider human blood a delicacy and they keep sucking till their bellies are ready to burst. Sometimes, they suck so much of blood that it makes them unwieldy in flight. If you hit them when they are blood-laden, their bellies burst and blood spurts in all directions.
The Chinese have developed several martial art forms around animals. But, they missed the smallest and most effective stinger—the mosquito. However, India produced the world’s smallest jet fighter and named it ‘Gnat’ which is another name for mosquito.
We curse mosquitoes day in and day out. But, the numerous mosquito-related products must be making manufacturers and traders happy. They may even be making offerings to god to help them bring about an explosion in the mosquito population! Some of them may be secretly worshipping them. You never know, someday the mosquito may even be worshipped as a deity!
Out of 2,700 species of mosquitoes in the world, fewer than a hundred are known to transmit diseases. Arboviral Encephalitides, West Nile Virus, Malaria, Dengue Fever and Yellow Fever are prominent among the many diseases they are believed to carry. But, that is enough to keep so many industries in business. However, it must be admitted in their praise that they do not carry the HIV+ virus that causes AIDS.
In normal times, electric mosquito repellent machines using perfumed mats and liquid vaporizers are used. These call for frequent replacement of mats and liquid refills. And, then, there are mosquito killer bulbs and electronic insect killers. These gadgets consume electricity on a regular basis. These gadgets engage the power sector as also our electric and electronic industries.
Some people prefer to use mosquito nets since they have no side effects. And, they do not need any refill. They need not be replaced until they get torn. So, the demand for mosquito nets is increasing day by day. Some others use incense sticks to drive away mosquitoes. They benefit the textile and handicrafts industry.
There are some who use mosquito repellent creams. Those who use creams need to wash their face and body with soap when they get up in the morning. That helps the cosmetics industry.
As a preventive measure, DDT is sprinkled on the breeding colonies of mosquitoes that are scattered over water-sheets of different sizes and descriptions though it has become more or less ineffective. And, then, there is mosquito spray which is a petroleum-based aerosol insecticide. In some cases, kerosene is used to prevent mosquito breeding on stagnant water such as the water found in water tanks and desert coolers. So, that ropes in the petroleum and chemical industries.
Just one mosquito droning over you can give you sleepless nights. They say mosquitoes could infuse alertness even in the laziest of lazy bugs! Some people take sleeping pills to snatch some sleep. And, there is quinine and a whole assortment of medicines that are prescribed for diseases transmitted by mosquitoes that host the backbone of our pharmaceutical industry. And, don’t forget the meshed doors and windows we install at our homes to keep the mosquitoes away!
But, if you don’t want to use any of these, you can just apply soap on your palms and swat the mosquitoes with your hands. Even if you manage to barely touch the mosquitoes while you are swatting, the mosquitoes will stick to your hand!
Mosquitoes have created vacancies for a variety of positions in clinics, dispensaries and hospitals. They have also created employment opportunities in health centers and municipal bodies. There is so much of medical research going on because of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. There are so many shops selling medicines. These provide employment to medical scientists and chemists.
Mosquitoes have singlehandedly generated a lot of employment, income and business. It is because of them that so many of our industries are in business. We may not appreciate this and our finance ministry may not attach too much importance to this. But, mosquitoes make a significant contribution to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In short, they contribute to our economic growth!
COFF-TEA TIME!
By Vincent Van Ross
I must have been about 15 years old when I took my first train ride. I traveled from Delhi to Trivandrum. I was traveling by Jayanti Janata Express. It was a three-day train journey. That was a great learning experience.
For the first time, I saw the fleeting images of beautiful India passing through the windows of my compartment. I was perpetually peeping out of the window and enjoying the scenery and the people of India to the accompaniment of the music produced by the moving train on rails. That was not only my first train journey but also the beginning of my journey of observation.
I cannot remember which railway station it was, but going by the landscape, it was a station in Madhya Pradesh where the train was scheduled for a long halt—some 20 to 30 minutes. Scores of wheeler dealers rushed to the train as it pulled up at the platform. All of there calling out the description of the items they were selling along with their prices. With them, two boys came running. They were trying to sell tea and coffee.
“Chai-Coffee (chai is the Hindi word for tea)…Chai-Coffee…Chai-Coffee…,” the two boys were calling and they had a tray in which they had about 24 cups of tea and coffee.
I asked for a cup of tea. I had a gulp. It didn’t taste like tea. It was awful. I dumped it. After some time, the duo returned with a fresh refill in their tray. I thought I would try coffee for a change. I had a gulp. Again, it didn’t taste like coffee. I dumped that as well.
I decided to take a stroll in the platform which was lined with stalls after stalls selling different items. I found a tea stall there and I decided to have a piping hot cup of tea. It was nice. As I sipped tea from my cup, my eyes fell on the two boys who had returned for a refill of their tray.
I found them filling all the cups from the same dispenser. And, off they went calling Chai-Coffee…Chai-Coffee…Chai-Coffee… I was shocked. Some of the passengers were asking for tea and the others were buying coffee. And, all of them were getting the same thing!
No wonder the tea and the coffee tasted so awful. It was neither tea nor coffee. It was probably a mix of both! When you sip tea, you have a certain flavour in your mind and when you sip coffee you have different flavour in your mind. When the tea or the coffee does not match that you feel bad.
If they hand out the same thing to all the passengers, how do they keep the account? After all, coffee was more expensive than tea. As if in answer, I found the older boy handing out what was purportedly coffee and tea as the younger boy scribbled with a chalk piece under each window 2C+3T or 1C+4T and so on and so forth!
So, when they returned to collect their cups, they knew how many cups and how much money to collect from each window. Smart guys, these!
My only regret was what they were selling as tea and coffee was neither tea nor coffee. As I said earlier, it was probably a mixture of both. I would have liked them to be more honest and share the truth with the passengers.
May be they could have made “Double taste in a single cup” their USP! They could have told the passengers that what they were selling was a blend of coffee and tea. I wish they had renamed their new concoction and sold it as ‘COFF-TEA!”
I must have been about 15 years old when I took my first train ride. I traveled from Delhi to Trivandrum. I was traveling by Jayanti Janata Express. It was a three-day train journey. That was a great learning experience.
For the first time, I saw the fleeting images of beautiful India passing through the windows of my compartment. I was perpetually peeping out of the window and enjoying the scenery and the people of India to the accompaniment of the music produced by the moving train on rails. That was not only my first train journey but also the beginning of my journey of observation.
I cannot remember which railway station it was, but going by the landscape, it was a station in Madhya Pradesh where the train was scheduled for a long halt—some 20 to 30 minutes. Scores of wheeler dealers rushed to the train as it pulled up at the platform. All of there calling out the description of the items they were selling along with their prices. With them, two boys came running. They were trying to sell tea and coffee.
“Chai-Coffee (chai is the Hindi word for tea)…Chai-Coffee…Chai-Coffee…,” the two boys were calling and they had a tray in which they had about 24 cups of tea and coffee.
I asked for a cup of tea. I had a gulp. It didn’t taste like tea. It was awful. I dumped it. After some time, the duo returned with a fresh refill in their tray. I thought I would try coffee for a change. I had a gulp. Again, it didn’t taste like coffee. I dumped that as well.
I decided to take a stroll in the platform which was lined with stalls after stalls selling different items. I found a tea stall there and I decided to have a piping hot cup of tea. It was nice. As I sipped tea from my cup, my eyes fell on the two boys who had returned for a refill of their tray.
I found them filling all the cups from the same dispenser. And, off they went calling Chai-Coffee…Chai-Coffee…Chai-Coffee… I was shocked. Some of the passengers were asking for tea and the others were buying coffee. And, all of them were getting the same thing!
No wonder the tea and the coffee tasted so awful. It was neither tea nor coffee. It was probably a mix of both! When you sip tea, you have a certain flavour in your mind and when you sip coffee you have different flavour in your mind. When the tea or the coffee does not match that you feel bad.
If they hand out the same thing to all the passengers, how do they keep the account? After all, coffee was more expensive than tea. As if in answer, I found the older boy handing out what was purportedly coffee and tea as the younger boy scribbled with a chalk piece under each window 2C+3T or 1C+4T and so on and so forth!
So, when they returned to collect their cups, they knew how many cups and how much money to collect from each window. Smart guys, these!
My only regret was what they were selling as tea and coffee was neither tea nor coffee. As I said earlier, it was probably a mixture of both. I would have liked them to be more honest and share the truth with the passengers.
May be they could have made “Double taste in a single cup” their USP! They could have told the passengers that what they were selling was a blend of coffee and tea. I wish they had renamed their new concoction and sold it as ‘COFF-TEA!”
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