Blowing Hot and Cold in Japan !

This is part 2 of my “Japan and I” Series. To read Part 1, Please click here.
 
In many ways, Japan still remains a mystery to the rest of the world. 
For here, the ancient and the modern not only coexist but seem to do so in great harmony. The land of the rising Sun is as comfortable with its bullet trains and cutting edge technology as it is with Zen and Geishas.Japan has a unique culture, with its own peculiarities and quirks that seem natural to the Japanese but intrigue and surprise all foreigners. Through this series, I attempt to talk about the Japan I saw and experienced! 

Today we talk about the Japanese and their love for formal wear !

The first thing I do whenever I am about to visit Japan is stock up on my formal clothes! 

Formals are an accepted wear in any work environment across the globe but the Japanese take the formal wear fetish to new heights. Not only are they particular about being dressed in formals but also about the color. Every working person in japan or “Salary-Man” as they are called will be dressed in a conservative black or dark blue suit, tie and a sparkling white shirt all five days of the week. Yes, even on Fridays, when the rest of the world, a little saner in aspects of allowing people freedom, lets its employees come to work in informal clothes, Japan still sticks to full formal attire.

I guess men don’t have much of a color choice any ways, but even the women stick to black and white or dull light colors. During the morning rush hours, the Japanese scuttling out of the train station reminded me irresistibly of penguins!

Wearing formals is fine in winter, but in summer wearing a full suit in Japan can be sheer hell. From June to September, Japan gets extremely hot and humid and the severe jackets and tailored shirts just add to the discomfort. 

I used trains to commute to work and my office was a good 10 minutes’ of sweltering walk from the station. In spite of carrying my Jacket in my hand, I used to reach work all sweaty and already in need of another bath.

To add to our woes, a few years back, the Japan Government in a crazy bid to conserve energy came up with the brainwave that the A/C in all offices will not be more than 28 degrees. At 28 degrees the cooling is non-existent and there is no concept of ceiling fans in japan. People resorted to buying small fans and clipping them on their desks but that did nothing but throw ineffectual gusts of air your way. So you slowly and steadily melted in the stifling heat as the day progressed.

We foreigners muttered and complained darkly about this new regulation but the Japanese “salary-man” bravely soldiered on – while their crisp white shirts turned grey and sodden in the heat and their ties hung loosely and lifelessly around their neck. But they still wore their formals! The Japanese are nothing if not conformists!

Then a few years back Ministry of environment decided to come out with the  “Cool – Biz” Campaign.

The formal wear was relaxed a bit in the summer. People were now allowed to wear short sleeved shirts and jacket and ties were not required from the months of June till September. Women could wear loose cotton tops and do without jackets as well. 

A special advisory was passed to wear starched collars so that they don’t become limp with sweat and also to wear light cotton shirts and trousers as this material was most comfortable in summer.

This sent shock waves throughout the working world in Japan. Most of the Japanese, trained for years on wearing full formal clothes found the whole idea sacrilegious! I suppose coming to work without ties and jackets was for them equivalent to coming to work in shorts and Hawaiian shirts. For a logn time, most of them still came to work with their ties in their pockets and their jackets in their hands lest they were the odd ones out.

But clothes retailers caught on fast and started manufacturing thin cotton clothes suitable only for the Cool Biz period. It’s now quiet common to go to department stores in Japan in the beginning of summer and see advertisements for “Cool Biz” attire.

Japanese Clothes Retailer Uniqlo showcasing its "Cool Biz" range ! 

Japan still follows its rule of formals throughout the week but now the number of people coming to work tie less and wearing light colored trousers and half sleeved shirts in summer is slowly increasing. 

I suppose the Japanese “Salary-man” has finally given in to comfort over conformity! 

Age No Bar - 55 Fiction !

I love you so. He said earnestly. Just give me one chance.

Look at our age difference !

Loves knows no age, and you’re an adult at 23.

And you are too .....

She stopped. Unwilling to hurt his feelings.

Dejected he walked away.

He’s got loads of spunk for a 12 year old. She thought amused. 

Written for the Write Tribe 55 Fiction challenge.

Faking Food !

This post was chosen as BlogAdda's Spicy Saturday Pick ! 

Beginning today, I plan to start a new bi-monthly series on Japan called “Japan and I”.
In many ways, Japan still remains a mystery to the rest of the world. 
For here, the ancient and the modern not only coexist but seem to do so in great harmony. The land of the rising Sun is as comfortable with its bullet trains and cutting edge technology as it is with Zen and Geishas.
Japan has a unique culture, with its own peculiarities and quirks that seem natural to the Japanese but intrigue and surprise all foreigners. 

Through this series, I attempt to talk about the Japan I saw and experienced! 

In the inaugural post of the series, we talk about the Plastic Food Displays in Japan.

On my very first day in Japan, I decided to go out for a meal. As I walked down a street lined with restaurants, I was surprised to see that all of them had plates of food displayed outside or in their windows. What amazed me that the food  looked so fresh, the ice-creams never melted and  the beer remained frothy. Then off course once my Jet Lag had worn off and I could think clearly I realized that the food was made of plastic ! 

When ever we go to a restaurant, we usually decide on what we want to eat by looking at the menu or asking the waiter about a particular dish. Not so in Japan. The Japanese decide what they want to order by looking at its plastic replica in the restaurant’s window display.

 The plastic model will have everything from the size of the portion, the garnishing, and even the placement of the food exactly like the actual dish.The name of the dish and the price is also displayed. Its amazingly realistic ! 

Image curtsey - http://www.travelocafe.com

Apart from the fact that the Japanese prefer things to be visual than written, the reason behind these plastic models is that when Japan opened up to the west in the beginning of the 20th century and a lot of westerners trooped in, they had a very tough time in understanding the Japanese cuisine. 

I suppose many a confused westerner must have ordered a plate of noodles and ended up with a plate of raw fish instead. Then the Japanese hit upon this ingenious idea of displaying plastic “samples” of the dishes.

And not only the main dishes, but even dessert is displayed. Now who wouldn't like to go in if the display is so tempting ! 

Earlier the fake food was made of wax but now it’s made of a whole lot of sophisticated plastic. The plastic food or “Fake food” Industry is really big in Japan. I once visited the kappabashi area in Tokyo that is famous for shops that sell such plastic food to restaurants. 

Although things like bowls of rice, a plate of sushi or bowls of plain noodles are manufactured in bulk, most restaurants send pictures of the dishes they want plastic samples of. The samples are then painstakingly handcrafted to make them look realistic!

These shops have something for the tourists too ! If you want, you can take home a plastic sushi, shrimp or even ice-cream sundaes in the shape of key chains, cell phone charms and even magnets!

(Images from fakefood.com)

Delectable, I am sure ! But would you really want a piece of raw fish or a bit of chicken hanging from your phone ?

From Commoner to Royalty and Back !

For someone who hates any sort of attention, I did get a lot of it the minute I was born. I was rather tall for a newborn and every doctor and nurse in the All India Institute of Medical sciences hopped over to my Mom’s room to have a look at the tallest baby anyone had ever popped out! Mom was obviously exasperated and as she confessed to my aunt, she felt as if everyone was accusing her of smuggling in a month old baby instead of a new born. 

Before I was born, my brother had ruled over the Shukla family in solitary splendor for 8 years. Then, thanks to me he was unceremoniously dethroned. Till then, he was comfortably encosed in his world of toy warships and cars, with the entire family revolving around him. Enter younger sister into this idyllic existence and he suddenly didn’t know how to fit me into the scheme of things.

Luckily for him, because my Mom had to go back to work and my Grandmother couldn’t bear to see me being looked after by a nanny, I was taken away to my Grandparents home.

Thus began the golden period of my life!

When my brother was born, my parents were in Calcutta so no one got the chance to mollycoddle him. This time, I was right there and never the ones to miss a good opportunity, they wasted no time in spoiling me!

My life you see was made.

Oh I was such a pampered child! My every whim and fancy was their command. My grandma planned her whole day around me and my aunts never came home from work without bringing something for me. Other assorted family members plied me with sweets and toys.

My aunts loved to dress me up and take me out. Even one sneeze, one little cough from me used to send them scattering about like headless chickens flapping their arms and worrying. And on hot summer nights, when power cuts and mosquitos abounded, they spent the whole night carrying me in their arms and patting me to sleep.

But the most amazing thing was the change in my grandfather. He was then the Principal of a school, a strict disciplinarian, and everyone from the family to his teachers and students was petrified of him. Although he loved his children, he never displayed any emotions towards them. All this changed with me. I looked at him once out of my big liquid eyes and he melted.

The family had to face his wrath if I as much as whimpered and there was no one to pick me up. According to my grandmother, he never ever picked up any of his children but I was mostly to be found in his lap. I was allowed in his room and he didn’t mind when I waddled all over the place overturning his books and papers and playing with his spectacles. This man who hardly spoke would tell me stories any time I asked for them. And he was the one who gave me the greatest gift of my life - By teaching me how to write.

But then all good things must come to an end. I reached the school going age and my parents decided to call me back. So very reluctantly, amongst much drama and tears, I left the tender loving care of my Grandparents and went back to Delhi.
My parents were the loving kind, but were not the ones to fuss over their kids unnecessarily. No special treatment was doled out to me.

And so ended my days as the Royal Baby! I was back to being a commoner!

Here an old grainy pic of me with my grandfather. 

Written for the Indiblogeshwaris That Tuesday Thingy

On Writing a Haiku !

Haiku is a form of Poetry very close to my heart. Recently I wrote a short write-up on Haiku on Write Tribe - An excellent site for Writers and Bloggers. 

[Haiku is a style of Japanese poetry mainly characterized by its very short format. Like almost all Japanese forms of art, Haiku is inspired by nature. Through Haiku, poets attempt to create an image for an element of nature or an emotion.
The beauty of a Haiku lies in its subtle imagery. Personal experiences or natural beauty is never explicitly described but fleeting natural images or emotions are used to subtly capture a larger scene. A haiku leaves a lot to the reader’s imagination or interpretation.......]

To read the complete Post click on http://writetribe.com/haiku/

We also have a very interesting writing Prompt on Haiku.So hop on over and give it a shot !