'Bangkok': In brief-III

Raana Haider

Graham Greene (1904-1991) an intrepid traveller and a resident at the hotel; has left us with numerous thoughts on the art of travel: 'Everything is going to be different; life is never going to be the same again after your passport has been stamped' Greene remarks in his book Another Mexico. In Travels with my Aunt, Graham Greene declares: 'He decided if he couldn't travel physically, he would travel mentally.' In his advancing years, he writes in Ways of Escape (1990) 'Though I can see now that my travels as much as the act of writing were ways of escape.' Noel Coward too found his way to the Oriental Hotel. So have John le Carre, James Michener, Gore Vidal and the romance novelist Barbara Cartland. The haunt of many literary luminaries, the Oriental Hotel has spawned the hope that its ambience will cure every writer's perennial phobia - the limbo state of 'writer's block.'
   The hotel itself has generated a number of books. I saw The Oriental Hotel Cookbook with text by William Warren and photographs by L.I. Tetoni on the Front Manager's desk. William Warren is also the author of Asia's Legendary Hotels: The Romance of Travel. A visual journey through Asia's grandest heritage hotels includes: the Bombay Taj, the Simla Oberoi Cecil, the Udaipur Taj Lake Palace, and the Shiv Niwas Palace in Udaipur. Other iconic piles include the Galle Face Hotel in Sri Lanka, the Raffles in Singapore, the Railway Hotel in Hua Hin, Thailand and not surprisingly - the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. I would love to get my hands on An Oriental Album: a collection of pictures and stories of and about the oldest hotel in Thailand.
   Labyrinthine arcades within the hotel offer the best of Bangkok - at a price. Jewellery sparkle, coffee-table books beckon, antiques' call, composed Buddha images promise serenity. A mecca of merchandise, the Oriental Hotel has its own shop that cashes in on its historical reputation by offering a range of contemporary consumer paraphernalia - souvenirs for hotel residents and gifts for the fortunate. Soap, towels, bags, floral potpourri, t-shirts, biscuits, cakes...stock shelves.
   Bangkok is every person's favourite food-stop. Good food is never far away. The waft of spicy and pungent aroma promises seductive street food. Sidewalk eateries offer appetising bowls of noodles, rice, soup, stir-fries and other Thai staples that are sold off vendor carts. Close by, sidewalk style outlets offer the same - only enhanced by the convenience of plastic chairs and tables. Should one choose a steamy phat thai (thin rice noodles fried with tofu, vegetables, egg and peanuts) or the ever-popular tom yam kung (prawn and lemon grass soup with mushrooms) or the more selective yet messy kaam puu neung (steam crab claws) or the high-end huu chalaam (shark-fin soup)? To round off the culinary experience, one can opt for a sweet ta-koh (Thai jelly with coconut cream) or for a combination fill of carbohydrate and cholesterol - khao niaw daeng (red sticky rice with coconut cream). Food courts offer local cuisine and that of the region - Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Indian and beyond - American and Italian. Sprawling hotel buffets serve every item from A-Z. Apple tarts to yoghurt; from beef stroganoff to vegetarian dishes... Choices include sushi, sashimi, salmon, squid, shrimp, spaghetti, steak, salads, sauces, syrups, sherbets and more...Eating in Bangkok is not a past-time but a passion that one succumbs to effortlessly. And not to be left out at the high-end Oriental Hotel, we find a Thai Cooking School run by the hotel. A week-long course combines lectures with demonstrations.
   The realm of food is in reference to one of the most vivid images of Bangkok imprinted in my memory - a recollection that rewinds itself to the late 1950s. Beautifully-cut slivers and pieces of succulent Thai fruit stacked in glass boxes perched on the back of bicycles or stacked in the vendor's cart form lingering memories to this day. Perked with a pinch of the uniquely Thai salt, sugar and chilli flake combination; pineapple chunks, guava pieces and slices of raw mango would come to life. The orange-red Thai papaya remains a great favourite. Who can resist the incredible range and abundance of rambutan, custard-apple, mangosteen, longan, watermelon and sapodilla? The sole exception is the Thai 'King of Fruits', the foul-smelling durian. "Another way to describe the durian experience: Eating durian is like sitting on the toilet eating your favourite ice cream" is the graphic description provided by James O'Reilly and Larry Habegger in what constitutes a collector's item Travellers' Tales: Thailand. A feast of fruits eaten out of a plastic bag is a childhood memory - remembrance of things past. The enjoyment continues some decades on...
   Back in the late 1950s, Bangkok was a city of khlongs and many a traditional wooden house. Our two-storied modern villa had a large khlong within the compound. Afloat rose-pink water-lilies grew in abundance. Mini spirit houses that graced the main gate represent the all-pervasive Buddhist culture. Subscribers to the 'Bangkok Post' newspaper would find their copy rolled inside a small container marked with the paper's name. Surprisingly, the same containers are to be found today, hanging or posted on walls and gates. We were living in Bangkok since my father was posted as a diplomat at the Pakistan Embassy situated on Soi Nana. Now eclipsed by the imposing Bumrungrad Hospital, Soi Nana has vivid Arab overtones - women decked in black abayas, men in white robes, the rotating shwarma rotisserie, Egyptian falafel patties and shisha smoking water-pipes. Interspersed are the fixed features of Bangkok today - garish bars and relaxing and rejuvenating massage centres. Through numerous visits to Bangkok over decades, the two-storied villa of the Pakistan Embassy with its spacious compound looked the same. Only in my last visit to Bangkok in early 2008, did I find that the old buildings have been knocked down and replaced by modern blocks. Time has taken its toll.
   The city's only centrally located grand hotel was Erawan Hotel. Parents would attend receptions and dinners here. Today, it is known by its longer name - the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel. Schooling was at the Holy Redemeer Convent on Soi Ruam Rudee. In the mid-1980s, I revisited my old school. The imposing cathedral with its Thai-styled roof appeared infinitely smaller. Now, I recall the words of Carlos Castaneda: 'Things don't change, you change your way of looking.' Or had I fallen into those categorised by Josh Billings as: "There are many people who mistake their imagination for their memory." Since then the Convent, now renamed an International School has been relocated outside the city limits.
   Over decades, repeated visits to a city that has grown - as have I - reveal as much about the city as it does the individual. And it is in Bangkok that one finds the lines composed by T.S. Eliot ringing a resonating bell:
   'We shall not cease from exploration
   And the end of all our exploring
   Will be to arrive where we started
   And know the place for the first time.'
   [Concluded]

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Nurturing indigenous knowledge

Md. Anwarul Kabir

Each and every society of this era is striving for transforming itself into a knowledge-based society. Knowledge-based society, though this buzzword is not quite new and the people of the developed world have started their sojourn towards the formation of such societies as early as the beginning of the last century, the all pervasive globalisation of the recent time has paved the way for the creation of such societies. Dramatic change in communication, especially, the compression of time and geographical distances due to ICT revolution has been playing a pivotal role in this context since the closing decade of the last century.
   To achieve real development in different aspects of the country, Bangladesh must participate in the race for the creation of a knowledge-based society. As exchange of knowledge among different states is not that difficult now as we witnessed it in the past, knowledge has been transformed into global property to some extent. But to take the real and optimum advantage from this, we need to formulate some strategic decisions considering our socio-economic needs and cultural aspects of the society.
   Knowledge has two aspects, namely theoretical and empirical. However, for the overall development of the society applied knowledge is very crucial. For instance, theoretically, we may know different strategies for marketing but unless we translate these into our marketing efforts then these knowledge will have no contribution to our business growth. No doubt, the basis of development of the applied knowledge lies in theoretical knowledge.
   Theoretical knowledge of natural science has direct relationship with technological advancement. But the advancement of natural science, in fact, has become possible due to the growing demand of the technological fronts. If we want to keep pace, applied or empirical knowledge should be considered first.
   When we think about technology transfer we should assess its feasibility and effectiveness. For example, transfer of power plant technology of the USA or of European countries which give stress on huge plants, will not be beneficial to our country because for the installation of such huge plants we must rely either on foreign aid or on foreign investors.
   Welcoming both foreign aid and foreign investors by any state has been considered as detrimental strategies in the long run. So, in our context, we should think differently and we may focus on smaller power plants which can be installed by local mid-scale entrepreneurs. Moreover, in case of the installation of power plants in our country, use of solar energy and bio-gas should be remembered. This sort of transferring knowledge assimilating in our socio-economic needs may be termed as localisation of knowledge. Another example of localisation of knowledge may be in the ICT field.
   While developing software system for the larger user groups of our country, designing of the user interface in Bangla should be considered because a tiny fraction of the people in our country knows functional English. Besides, for economic reason we should prefer open source software to proprietary software in this case. So, in essence, any applied knowledge that we receive from other country must be assimilated and adapted in our own context.
   Beside localisation of knowledge, we must give emphasis on promoting our own indigenous knowledge or technology. Ironically, the indigenous knowledge, skills and technology are the most neglected area in our education system. For example, in our business study course at the tertiary level, we teach different aspects of business taking the foreign corporate business concerns like Ford, Motorola as test cases. But we hardly take any initiative to explore the business strategies of Dhakaia Kutti of the old Dhaka or the Swdagars of Chittagong who traditionally have proved themselves as successful business communities in Bangladesh. By theorising of these indigenous business skills, the country may be economically benefited.
   In the textile sector, our traditional weaving industry may be one of such classic examples. Incorporating latest technology, it is possible to enhance the productivity of our weaving industry. However, for nurturing indigenous skills and technologies we must be innovative so that we can blend these with the advanced technological knowledge of the present era.
   Localisation of knowledge and nurturing indigenous knowledge are only possible if these concepts are applied to our education policy. Just mimicking the curriculum and education system of developed countries like the US or the UK without considering our own context will certainly jeopardise our venture towards a knowledge-based society.

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