Mental Excursions

The Moral Burden of Almond Butter I found them while clearing my small pantry. Sitting at the back of the shelf were these two small jars, one with a golden lid, the other with a black one. I remembered one came in a Diwali hamper, the other as a thoughtful gift from someone I had met for the first time and to whom I had in my frequent bouts of unabashed frankness and stupidity, told I ‘love’ almonds. The next time I met her, she leaned forward, her eyes wide with mystery, her voice a mere confidential whisper near my neck, “You must try this, it is not regular almond butter,” and thrust a package into my hand. I came home and opened it. Inside was a 200-gram jar that displayed a price more than my monthly milk bill. I kept it at the back of the shelf and of my memory. It stayed there hibernating, till a few days ago when I was clearing up to prepare for the humid weather.   What must have looked like a spread when packed, now had acquired a different personality. The o...

Lanterns, Tailors, and Missed Purchases By nightfall, Hoi An stops looking like a city and begins resembling a slow-moving festival of light. Luckily, we had no agenda for Hoi An. Of the cities we visited, Hoi An felt like the one where I could simply absorb the atmosphere.   A young Vietnamese friend had joined us. Leaving Mani in the hotel with his favourite possession — mobile phone, early in the evening we left for what I later understood was the reason the younger duo chose the city. The city central market feels a little cramped, shops exuding old world charm, clean roads but broken footpaths much like Indore, the city named the cleanest in India. Yet what surprised me was how the city is the hub of bespoke attire. Custom suits, shirts, dresses, or leather shoes, whatever you need, you can get it made within 48 hours, that too, at very affordable prices. I was reminded of James Bond and his sculptural suits, and marvelled at how unknown Hoi An tailors can stitch perfec...

Vietnam Diaries -3 From Imperial Silence to Coastal Roads: Hue to Hoi An Photo: Culture Pham travel We had learned the hard way how to schedule our sight-seeing in hot and humid Hue. So, we took a Grab (a local ride-hailing service) early next morning and off we went to see the tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh, another major UNESCO-listed monument in the Complex of Hue Monuments. History says that Emperor Khai Dinh, the twelfth ruler of Vietnam’s Nguyen Dynasty, was closely allied with the French colonial administration and greatly fascinated by European culture . So much so, that he was mocked as “a salaried employee of the French Government”,* and he had himself ordered the building of his Tomb, officially named Ung Mausoleum. Located on Chau Chu Mountain just outside Hue, the structure is unique among the royal mausoleums in Vietnam because of the blend of traditional Vietnamese design and European architectural impact. It was completed after 11 years during the time of his son and ...

Vietnam Diaries -2 Hue: Empire, Ruins, and Riverlight Truong Tien Bridge on perfume River Our introduction to Hue began with a walk along the Perfume River. Like much in this old imperial city, even the river comes wrapped in its own story. Legend says it earned its name because flowers drifting downstream — lotus blossoms and yellow apricot petals from orchards upriver, once perfumed the water. Standing beside it in the humid late evening, however, we could detect no delicate floral fragrance. To us, it smelled unmistakably like river water: damp weeds, mud, and that faint stagnant scent that makes you instinctively wrinkle your nose. And yet, somehow, the darkness softened everything. Reflections of the lights from the Truong Tien Bridge trembled in water, while couples, families, and solitary walkers moved along the riverside promenade. Hue did not feel dramatic or immediately dazzling. It felt slow and slightly faded. Top:The Noon Gate Bottom Left: Ceremonial Drum in the ri...