Thursday, December 30, 2010

The Captains and the Kings depart

The tumult and the shouting dies—
The Captains and the Kings depart—

The last rays of 2010's sun on the Himalaya north of Kathmandu and an end to a tumultuous decade. Looking back on the decade brings to mind these lines by Kipling:

Far-called our navies melt away—
On dune and headland sinks the fire—
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Will the 2001-2010 decade be considered as significant as the year 1979 in world history? Only time will tell.


Friday, December 24, 2010

One hand clapping

Zen master Hakuin Ekaku 白隠 慧鶴 (1685 - 1768) asked what is the sound of one hand clapping (隻手の音声) ? Is it silence? Or silent echo? Maybe the non pursuit of an answer. Or is it your emotions? Each must come to his own personal answer.

What is the taste of tea? Is it the considered opinion of tea masters and tasters? Like the sound of one hand clapping each must come to his own conclusion distilled from an open mind filled with nothingness. Ultimately it may just be what the slogan in the tea salon of G Clef in Koenji, Tokyo says: Mirror of the Spirit.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society howl
You can't plant me in your penthouse
I'm going back to my plough

Back to the howling old owl in the woods

Hunting the horny back toad
Oh I've finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road.

Music & Vocals: Elton John
Lyrics: Bernie Taupin
Album released in 1973

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Madogiwa Zoku 窓際族


When I was in school in Darjeeling my English literature teacher, Miss Cynthia Hawke who was from Australia, used to repeatedly tell us how lucky we were to be in a class room with one of the best views in the world: Kanchenjunga to the north and a lovely view of the tea gardens right below our class rooms going down all the way to Rungeet and Teesta rivers. Picture on top of Mount Kanchenjunga is what that view from the class room was like.

Perhaps childhood memories of Darjeeling: happy days in school with views of the tea gardens and Kanchenjunga always looming large behind and the wonderful aroma of manufactured tea wafting from the tea factories played a part in our decision to start a tea garden in Nepal.

These days I often remember Miss Hawke when I look at the Himalaya from my office window in Patan-Kathmandu. The mountain vista stretches from the north west all the way to the north east a distance of ca. 200-300 km. The picture at the bottom, Ganesh Himal, is one of them. Alas no tea gardens here!

Am I a lucky member of the Madogiwa Zoku (窓際族) to have had rooms with a view? Maybe I am not completely useless like those in the original term but definitely lucky!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

The Art of Food







Can art be food? Or food be art? Japanese have made presentation of food into fine art. Here some visually stunning presentation of food encountered in Japan recently is shown: parts of a Kaiseki meal (nimono and reiten oroshi soba) in the top two images; the third image is Japanese green tea and the last two images are of desserts in Japanese and western style. All very artistically done.

The question is, can one eat art? Won't it be a sacrilege to eat these artistic creations? Can one eat them without destroying them?

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Himalayan Fragrance

Fragrant hand rolled Himalayan tea is matched with visually pleasing Japanese sweets in a Kyoto tea school. These autumn themed candies were not so sweet and went surprisingly well with the tea. This particular tea reacted very well to the water in Japan producing a brilliant flavour and superb aroma. This tea is now available in Japan.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Zen Vanity

Perfect calm and solitude of a Zen garden ( 枯山水 Karesansui) at Ryogin-an in Tofuku-ji temple complex, Kyoto. Garden of Vanity and its simple design with colourful autumn leaves in the background.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Tea colours

After momijigari in Gifu ken, Hotta san of Liyn An Tea in Owariasahi City (尾張旭市) in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, prepares to taste four bowls of teas from the Himalaya in his tea shop. Coincidentally the multi coloured teas seem to reflect and carry on the theme of colourful autumn leaves.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Momijigari Gifu



Autumn colours at Eihoji (永保寺) temple in Tajimi in Gifu prefecture, Japan. The yellow Iccho tree (Ginko) at the bottom dates from 1332

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Tea ceremony 茶の湯


Preparing powdered tea probably started in Tang period in China by pulverising tea bricks and was refined during the Song period. However now it only exists in a meaningful way in Japan where there is an elaborate formal ceremony to prepare Matcha or powdered green tea. Here, in an informal setting Matcha is whisked in a prescribed way by a student under a watchful eyes of the tea master. The tea must be uniform and frothy ensuring that no residue remains on the side of the bowl. It is then then served along with some sweets.