The novel " Love in the time of Cholera" was the first book of Gabriel Garcia Marquez I read. At that time, I did not know that he had won Nobel prize or that he was one of the greatest Latin American writers. I had picked up the book at a random browsing in a NewYork bookshop by sheer instinct. The title was intriguing. When I started reading, I could not stop. It was so absorbing and powerful. This great romantic story transported me to a new world..literally...the new world of Latin America. And that was how I got interested in Latin American authors and in Latin America.
So, the novel has a special significance for me as an inspiration which lead me to become "Passionate about Latin America". The passion has remained as enduring and inolvidable as Florentino's passion for Fermina.
Against the above background, I was a bit apprehensive that this English film of a Latino story and that too by Hollywood might not do justice to a great writer and story from Colombia and might reduce the great impact made on me by the book. And the reviews of the film in Argentine media were unfavourable.
With hesitation, I went to see the movie yesterday, the first day of its release in Argentina. It was released in USA in November 2007.
Hmmm... I liked the film and enjoyed it. It not only rekindled the romantic feelings generated by the book ten years back but also gave a visual dimension of enjoyment to my treasued memory of the book. The last scene in which Florentino, the hero, sails on River Magdalena with Fermina and his command to the captain of the ship to hoist the black flag ( to announce cholera in the ship - in those days) so that his love moments can go on uninterrupted is very touching.
The story is about Florentino's long wait of over fifty years to regain the heart of his beloved Fermina. The young Florentino falls in love with her at first sight and writes letters and poems to her. After initially encouraging him and responding to him, she turns him down due to pressure from her father and her own female whim. She gets married to a doctor, has the usual married life of ups and downs and reaches the age of over seventy. But he does not give up. He waits year after year with full-blooded love for her, undiminshed by time. Of course, his body lets itself indulge in carnal unions with over 600 women.. and he keeps count and an annotated diary. When Fermina's husband dies, he comes to her house on the day of the funeral. He reiterates his love saying he was waiting for that day. The 72 year-old widow shouts at at him to get out of her life. But he is persistent untill she relents. And he takes her on a cruise in the River Magdalena to celebrate the fulfillment of his passion after having waited for a life time. There, the two hearts are reunited and reignited. And the two old bodies even make love.
Javier Bardem, the Spanish actor has superbly acted as Florentino while Giovanna Mezzogiorno, the Italian actress has portrayed the role of Fermina truthfully.
Shakira, the Colombian singer has lent her voice to the background songs which go harmoniously with the mood and flow of the story taking place in Cartagena in Colombia.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate in Argentina
Magical Realism- is not just a genre of Latin American literature. It could be a visual experience too ! This is what i felt, standing before the magical beauty of Glacier Perito Moreno. Was it magic? ..a dream ? ... an optical illusion? or real? I could not be sure. My eyes were moist with the misty with the white and blue, soft and frozen snow. My mind did not trust my eyes. My heart stopped its beat. I was swept off my feet. My soul took refuge in the heavenly abode of the glacial ambience. The only part which was conscious and did its duty.. my fingers... kept clicking and clicking..digital pictures. Welcome to view them in my photo album
I was stunned and overwhelmed by the majestic sight of Perito Moreno Glacier on 8 jan 2007. I had seen pictures and a movie about it and was expecting something. But what I saw was more than I ever imagined.
The Glacier stands majestically with its 50 metres height, like a wall, on the waters of Argentina lake. It is held on two sides by the snow-clad mountains. The area of the glacier is 250 square kilometres. There are many glaciers in the world, some bigger than Perito Moreno. What makes it distinct is its easy access at an altitude of just 1000 metres and pleasant climatic conditions surrounded by lush green scenery.
From time to time, pieces of the glacier fall with thunderous sound causing a kind of tidal wave in the lake. The pieces float on the lake moved by the winds.
After the admiration from a distance and close up views from the boat, the climax came with the walk on the glacier. The guides took us for about a kilometre over the glacier. It was my first ice walk with crampons ( ice spikes) fitted to my shoes. During the walk, one comes across a number of tunnels, cave-like openings and streams of water rushing into the holes of the glacier. One is scared of the possibility of the surface caving in and an ice burial.
The Argentina Lake, which is 100 kms long and 5 kms wide starts from the Glacier and stretches upto the small town of El Calafate, from where the tours to Glacier are organised. I stayed in the Design Suites Hotel, which has fantastic view of the lake. El Calafate is a typical Patagonian region marked by barren lands and merciless fierce cold winds. Cattle ranches and sheep farms are the only activities.
The little village of El Calafate, with a population of just 16000 residents, has 8000 hotel rooms and hosts 400,000 visitors every year. It has a modern airport, a nine-hole golf course and plenty of restaurants serving Cordero- sheep meat which is barbecued in Asadors (open pits).
The most memorable aspect of the glacier is the bluish hue, shining and reflecting the sunlight. It has inspired a local poet to write a poem called as " El Azul " - The Blue.
Here are some excerpts of the poem..
Azul..glacial, arriesgo una palabra
glacial como alma de los hombres
glacial como la mole que lo mece
O simplemente El Azul....
Friday, January 04, 2008
Carlos Paez Vilarao - Uruguayan artist
During my visit to Punta de Leste, the Uruguayan beach resort last week, I visited Casa Pueblo ( people's house ), the studio of the famous artist Carlos Paez Vilaro.
Carlos is a prolific and multimode artist. He is primarily a painter but has tried his creativity in painting, murals, ceramics, sculpture, films, cartoons,music, writing and architecture. Below are some of his paintings:
more about him
Carlos is a prolific and multimode artist. He is primarily a painter but has tried his creativity in painting, murals, ceramics, sculpture, films, cartoons,music, writing and architecture. Below are some of his paintings:
Casa Pueblo is a striking building and reflects the creativity of Carlos Paez. It is hanging on to the sea side of a tall cliff overlooking the sea. After entering the building at the top of the cliff, one keeps going down and down to the water level seven stories below.
He now lives in part of the Casa Pueblo and has made the other part as a hotel. He has designed and built it with local materials from the same site, with his own hands! From every room in the building, he welcomes and worships the sun, reflects over the blue waters and dialogues with the birds sitting on the bamboo stick roofs.
He has built a similiar building and a church near Buenos Aires in Argentina.
I was touched by a documentary film on him shown in the casa pueblo. Coming from a poor family, he emigrated to Argentina and started work in a printing press. He developed interest in painting and returned to uruguay. He joined the African band and played tambore. He travelled to Bahia in Brazil and studied the African traditions there. Then he visited Europe, Africa and Asia and Oceania. He had particularly relished his interaction with Africans. He has held exihibitions in cities around the world and has painted murals in many parts of the world. He has also painted many parts of women, who have been his sources of inspiration !
He is now 84 years old but is still burning with vigorous creativity. He has three Argentine children and three Uruguyan children. One of them was in a plane,with the uruguyan rugby team, which crashed into Andean mountain in 1972. While others gave up hope, he continued search for three months and found out that his son was one of the 16 who miraculously survived the crash and the exposure to snow and hunger for several weeks. They had eaten the flesh of their dead colleagues. He wrote a book ENTRE MI HIJO Y YO, LA LUNA in which he quotes Walt Whitman
"If you cannot find me immediately, don´t give up.
If I am not in a place, look for me, I´ll be waiting for you somewhere,
I wait for you, in some place I am waiting for you."
I gave him a book on India in Spanish and invited him to visit. He gifted to me a copy of his autobiography, "Arte y Parte"
more about himSaturday, December 22, 2007
Kiss and Tango- novel by Marina Palmer
Did I find the book or the did the book find me?... Sounds like the title of a story by the Argentine writer Luis Borges?
I was in one of my exploratory walks in the jacaranda-clad avenues, filled with the aroma coming from the side-walk cafes of the elegant city of Buenos Aires. I came across a English bookshop. I stopped when I saw the title.."Kiss and Tango- diary of a dancehall seductress". It was instant seduction.
But when I saw name of the author... I hesitated. I thought it might be another one of those Gringa ( American woman ) package with lot of marketing hype and a bit of story. But I gambled, as my Argentine amigos do in love and life, and bought the book. .... Dios Mio... When I started reading, I could not stop. And when I was nearing the last pages, I did not want it to end. I wanted it to go on like all-night tango... It was sheer enjoyment from the beginning to the end.
The story is about a young American woman,who visits Buenos Aires for a week and gets introduction to Tango. After her return to New York, she starts learning, finds it interesting and becomes obsessed. She dances all night and yawns all day in the office. She loses interest in her advertising executive job, quits it and comes back to Buenos Aires to become a professional tango dancer.
Now tango becomes life ... or life becomes a tango. She discovers the meaning of the saying " two to tango". She might be a great dancer but she needs a partner. And she starts the pursuit of an ideal partner.. a dancer who will lead her on the dance floor perfectly, a macho who will take her to orgasmic heights, a husband who will be tender, loyal and blind to the other beauties and a man with the right age, height,length and without bad breath. But she gets one disappointment after another and goes through one desencuentro ( a meet which did not materialise because the guy forgot or got the date or place mixed up..) after an encuentro.
She goes through the every day ritual of finding a partner at the milonga ( dance hall). The woman has to wait for a " cabezeo" .. a nod inviting you to dance. So she hangs around desperate for a cabezeo. After dancing with one man, she wants to do with others. But when he dances with others, she cannott take it.
What happens after the all night tango? the man invites her for a little " mate"- the bitter Argentine herbal tea at 5 am. your place or mine?. It could be climax or anti-climax, she is never sure. When she finds out, that experience makes her wait for or dread the dance partnership with that guy the next night.
One dance, one night-stand ... Then she starts seeing beyond the night and the morning sex. She wants marriage but finds it as a mirage. Compromisso( commitment in spanish) is the word missing in the vocabulary of the tango Machos. She is frustrated, desperate and goes through jealousy, rivalry, fights and heart-breaks.
Tango becomes a nightmare. Life becomes like the tango lyrics.... sad, frustrating, bitter and nostalgic.
After dancing in many Milongas and a few shows and short of funds, she ends up as a street performer in Calle Florida, the famous shopping avenue of the city. She runs out of audience when the Argentines are hit by the economic crisis of December 2001. She flees Argentina and gets away from tango. She returns in 2005 to rediscover that Tango had never left her. It has become part of her body and soul and she remembers every "body" with whom she had danced
I found the book as a window to the world of Tango, Buenos Aires and the Argentine society. The author has given an authentic flavour of the life of Portenos, as the inhabitants of Buenos Aires are called.
I enjoyed her subtle British style wit and tongue- in- cheek American upfront articulations about sex and feelings. She is provocative and hilarious.
Her website http://www.kissandtango.com/home.html is as interesting as I imagined about the author of Kiss and Tango. She lives in Buenos Aires.
Here are some excerpts from the book:
-She realises the law of physics: two bodies that rub against each other for four hours, three times a week cause friction; friction causes sparks; and sparks cause a fire. And by definition , tango is about containing the fire. you need a fire, because without it, there is nothing to contain. So tango is about playing with fire without getting burnt".
-Tango involves kicking the heels between the legs of the partner. When the the macho does not behave, he gets it up. But the machos dont flinch because either they dont have balls or they have become so numb after so many hits.
-Latin lovers love the chase more than the conquest.
I was in one of my exploratory walks in the jacaranda-clad avenues, filled with the aroma coming from the side-walk cafes of the elegant city of Buenos Aires. I came across a English bookshop. I stopped when I saw the title.."Kiss and Tango- diary of a dancehall seductress". It was instant seduction.
But when I saw name of the author... I hesitated. I thought it might be another one of those Gringa ( American woman ) package with lot of marketing hype and a bit of story. But I gambled, as my Argentine amigos do in love and life, and bought the book. .... Dios Mio... When I started reading, I could not stop. And when I was nearing the last pages, I did not want it to end. I wanted it to go on like all-night tango... It was sheer enjoyment from the beginning to the end.
The story is about a young American woman,who visits Buenos Aires for a week and gets introduction to Tango. After her return to New York, she starts learning, finds it interesting and becomes obsessed. She dances all night and yawns all day in the office. She loses interest in her advertising executive job, quits it and comes back to Buenos Aires to become a professional tango dancer.
Now tango becomes life ... or life becomes a tango. She discovers the meaning of the saying " two to tango". She might be a great dancer but she needs a partner. And she starts the pursuit of an ideal partner.. a dancer who will lead her on the dance floor perfectly, a macho who will take her to orgasmic heights, a husband who will be tender, loyal and blind to the other beauties and a man with the right age, height,length and without bad breath. But she gets one disappointment after another and goes through one desencuentro ( a meet which did not materialise because the guy forgot or got the date or place mixed up..) after an encuentro.
She goes through the every day ritual of finding a partner at the milonga ( dance hall). The woman has to wait for a " cabezeo" .. a nod inviting you to dance. So she hangs around desperate for a cabezeo. After dancing with one man, she wants to do with others. But when he dances with others, she cannott take it.
What happens after the all night tango? the man invites her for a little " mate"- the bitter Argentine herbal tea at 5 am. your place or mine?. It could be climax or anti-climax, she is never sure. When she finds out, that experience makes her wait for or dread the dance partnership with that guy the next night.
One dance, one night-stand ... Then she starts seeing beyond the night and the morning sex. She wants marriage but finds it as a mirage. Compromisso( commitment in spanish) is the word missing in the vocabulary of the tango Machos. She is frustrated, desperate and goes through jealousy, rivalry, fights and heart-breaks.
Tango becomes a nightmare. Life becomes like the tango lyrics.... sad, frustrating, bitter and nostalgic.
After dancing in many Milongas and a few shows and short of funds, she ends up as a street performer in Calle Florida, the famous shopping avenue of the city. She runs out of audience when the Argentines are hit by the economic crisis of December 2001. She flees Argentina and gets away from tango. She returns in 2005 to rediscover that Tango had never left her. It has become part of her body and soul and she remembers every "body" with whom she had danced
I found the book as a window to the world of Tango, Buenos Aires and the Argentine society. The author has given an authentic flavour of the life of Portenos, as the inhabitants of Buenos Aires are called.
I enjoyed her subtle British style wit and tongue- in- cheek American upfront articulations about sex and feelings. She is provocative and hilarious.
Her website http://www.kissandtango.com/home.html is as interesting as I imagined about the author of Kiss and Tango. She lives in Buenos Aires.
Here are some excerpts from the book:
-She realises the law of physics: two bodies that rub against each other for four hours, three times a week cause friction; friction causes sparks; and sparks cause a fire. And by definition , tango is about containing the fire. you need a fire, because without it, there is nothing to contain. So tango is about playing with fire without getting burnt".
-Tango involves kicking the heels between the legs of the partner. When the the macho does not behave, he gets it up. But the machos dont flinch because either they dont have balls or they have become so numb after so many hits.
-Latin lovers love the chase more than the conquest.
Friday, December 07, 2007
It is Jacaranda time... in Buenos Aires
It is jacaranda season. There is a riot of jacaranda flowers in Buenos Aires. The Jacaranda trees adorn the avenues. Those inside the car peep out to see the trees. Those hurrying for work, slow down after seeing the flowers. Those sipping cafe in the outdoor cafes sit longer letting their imagination soar in the sky.The jacarandas add to the joy of playing in the golf courses. There is a purple carpet of fallen flowers under the jacaranda trees. The golfers look up the tree and down the carpet and hit yet another bad shot!
The romantic spring season of Buenos Aires is made poetic by the jacarandas...
NOS CUBRIMOS CON FLORES
BAJO LA JACARANDA
CANTAMOS NUESTROS AMORES.
EN ESA TARDE ESTIVAL,
LOS TRINOS CANOROS,
LA BRISA DEL VIENTO,
EL RUMOR DE LA FUENTE,
TODO SE CONVIRTIÓ
EN UNA CASCADA DE BESOS,
EN ESA TARDE PASIONAL.
LA LUNA NOS ENVOLVIÓ
EN SUS RAYOS PLATEADOS,
AMANECIMOS COBIJADOS
BAJOS LOS RAYOS DORADOS.
BAJO LA JACARANDA
NOS CUBRIMOS CON FLORES,
BAJO LA JACARANDA
CANTAMOS NUESTROS AMORES.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Homage to Maria Rene Cura, 1 December 2007
I was invited yesterday to the ceremony for paying homage to Rene Cura at Chivilcoy. Rene Cura was a friend and admirer of India till her death in July 2007. She had established Anand Bhavan ( inspired by the one in Allahabad) as a centre for Indian studies in 1977 and published a magazine " India eterna y actual" from 1982 to 2007. She had visited India and had interacted with Mrs Indira Gandhi. She was close to Victoria Ocampo another admirer of India. Rene Cura was conferred with Padmashri award in 1984.
In my speech, I paid homage to her contribution to promotion of Indian culture in Argentina and the foundation she had laid for Indo- Argentine cultural relations. I talked about the potential to build on this foundation a partnership between the modern India and the new argentina.While Rene Cura was passionate about India, I am passionate about Latin America.
The ceremony was simple and elegant. The last issue of the magazine " India eterna y actual" was released. The two ladies who read excerpts of Rene Cura's writings did it professionally and emotionally.
I was also impressed with the city of Chivilcoy, although small with a population of 70,000, has beautiful plazas and a large public library with over 100,000 books in a five-storey building.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Indian photo exihibition by Graciela Roger
The photographer Graciela is on the right. Ambassador Biritos who was Argentine ambassador in India is on the extreme left. Ambassador Mignini from the foreign office is next to me.Graciela has an interesting collection of fotos of faces and people of India. She has visited india four times. She has been to many parts of india, outside the conventional touristic places. She has even held an exihibition in India during the time of Ambassador Biritos in India.
The exihibtion was inagurated today and is open to the public from 27 to 30 November at the Circulo Militar, Av Santa Fe 750.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Hunabku - New Argentine film
Last week I was invited to the premier of this film at the Recolecta Village cinema. The film is being released in theatres in Argentina on 29 November 2007.
The movie is directed by Pablo Cesar, the famous Argentine director. He is at the moment in India as a jury in the international film festival in Goa. He has earlier directed a Indo- Argentine joint production called as " Unicorn- the garden of fruits" released in 1996. The cast of this film has both Argentines and Indians.
Hunabku has been shot in the glaciers region of Patagonia in the south of Argentina close to the city of Calafate. The glacier scenes are spectacular.
The story is about Lucas a 13 - year old boy who shifts to Patagonia, with his father who is posted there to develop a tourism project. The boy is fascinated and mesmerised by the glaciers, mountains, sea and the fantastic bounties of nature. His wanderings in the magical Patagonian landscape triggers new emotions, imaginations, fears and curiosities. He decides to study anthropology. His father, immersed in his own project, thinks that the son has gone crazy. Luca's mother becomes depressed by the isolation in the desolated patagonian emptiness. Finally, the anthropology teacher Nicolas helps the whole family to come to terms with the nature and with each other.
Pablo has used sitar and santoor music from India to add to the mystery of the mountains. In fact, the theme of the movie is like an Indian one. Nicolas the anthropologist is like a Guru in the Himalayan mountain unveiling the mysteries of life in simple terms while using riddles to mystify simple things.
The movie is directed by Pablo Cesar, the famous Argentine director. He is at the moment in India as a jury in the international film festival in Goa. He has earlier directed a Indo- Argentine joint production called as " Unicorn- the garden of fruits" released in 1996. The cast of this film has both Argentines and Indians.
Hunabku has been shot in the glaciers region of Patagonia in the south of Argentina close to the city of Calafate. The glacier scenes are spectacular.
The story is about Lucas a 13 - year old boy who shifts to Patagonia, with his father who is posted there to develop a tourism project. The boy is fascinated and mesmerised by the glaciers, mountains, sea and the fantastic bounties of nature. His wanderings in the magical Patagonian landscape triggers new emotions, imaginations, fears and curiosities. He decides to study anthropology. His father, immersed in his own project, thinks that the son has gone crazy. Luca's mother becomes depressed by the isolation in the desolated patagonian emptiness. Finally, the anthropology teacher Nicolas helps the whole family to come to terms with the nature and with each other.
Pablo has used sitar and santoor music from India to add to the mystery of the mountains. In fact, the theme of the movie is like an Indian one. Nicolas the anthropologist is like a Guru in the Himalayan mountain unveiling the mysteries of life in simple terms while using riddles to mystify simple things.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Indian Culinary Engineers in Buenos Aires
Sharukh Merchant ( extreme left) and Belliappa ( on the right) are the Culinary engineers in Buenos Aires.Sharukh has done masters from MIT in telecom engineering. Belliappa has studied electronics engineering in USA. Both have left their engineering vocations and are in restaurant business which has become their passion. Both love Buenos Aires. They have opened an Indian restaurant " Tandoor" in Buenos Aires, since June 2007.
I had dinner in Tandoor yesterday with my Argentine friends. The food was delicious. The ambience elegant. The building in which the restaurant is located is historic. We visited the kitchen which is clean. My Argentine friends saw for the first time tandoor cooking of India.
I had pre and after dinner drinks and conversations with Sharukh and Belliappa. I found their passion for Buenos Aires as profound and infectious as mine. They speak fluent spanish.
Shahrukh has another passion- Tango. He learnt tango in Boston, formed a Tango society there and became a Tango teacher ! He does Salsa too.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
By night in Chile - novel by Roberto Bolano
This is the story of a boy who wanted to be a poet but ended up as a Opus Dei priest Father Sebastian Urrutia. But he continues his literarary pursuits as a successful critic, although he writes poems occasionally and unsatisfactorily. He is sent to europe to study the challenges for preservation of churches. He encounters priests who consider pigeon shit as the most challenging. They keep falcons to drive away the pigeons. But then one of the priests confesses that falconry is destruction of the very symbol of the Holy Spirit.
Father Urrutia gets an assignment to teach Marxism in ten lessons to General Pinochet and his Junta secretly. He frequents the house of a literary lady Maria Canales who hosts all-night parties for the authors and artists while the city is clamped in night curfew. Later they discover that the American husband of the hostess colludes with the Chilean secret service to detain, interrogate and kill those suspected as subversives, in the basement of the house where his Chilean wife had literary soirees. This last part is based on the realife story of Mariana Callejas, a Chilean who was married to Michael Townley an American involved in the repression in Chile.
Father Urrutia describes the dilemma/excuse/explanation/ justification of those who went along with the dictatorship in these words:
"At the end of the day, we were all reasonable ,we were all Chileans, we were all normal, discreet, logical, balanced, careful, sensible people, we all knew that something had to be done, that certain things were necessary, there's a time for sacrifice and a time for thinking reasonably."Father Urrutia confesses that he has spent his entire life fleeing from the wizened youth.
The novel brings out the creative and destructive forces which had shaken and shaped the Chilean politics, literature and society in the last thirty years. The author uses magical realism to take the readers between reality and imagination; between Neruda and Pinochet; between Chile and Europe; and between the church and the state. He relishes sarcasm and satire in his powerful imageries and graphic style of writing.
Bolano himself was a victim of the military dictatorship. He was imprisoned. Later he went into exile in mexico and Europe. he died at the age of fifty in 2003.
This is the second book of Bolano for me. I have already read his other novel "Distant Star", which was also about literature caught in Chilean dictatorship.
Father Urrutia gets an assignment to teach Marxism in ten lessons to General Pinochet and his Junta secretly. He frequents the house of a literary lady Maria Canales who hosts all-night parties for the authors and artists while the city is clamped in night curfew. Later they discover that the American husband of the hostess colludes with the Chilean secret service to detain, interrogate and kill those suspected as subversives, in the basement of the house where his Chilean wife had literary soirees. This last part is based on the realife story of Mariana Callejas, a Chilean who was married to Michael Townley an American involved in the repression in Chile.
Father Urrutia describes the dilemma/excuse/explanation/ justification of those who went along with the dictatorship in these words:
"At the end of the day, we were all reasonable ,we were all Chileans, we were all normal, discreet, logical, balanced, careful, sensible people, we all knew that something had to be done, that certain things were necessary, there's a time for sacrifice and a time for thinking reasonably."Father Urrutia confesses that he has spent his entire life fleeing from the wizened youth.
The novel brings out the creative and destructive forces which had shaken and shaped the Chilean politics, literature and society in the last thirty years. The author uses magical realism to take the readers between reality and imagination; between Neruda and Pinochet; between Chile and Europe; and between the church and the state. He relishes sarcasm and satire in his powerful imageries and graphic style of writing.
Bolano himself was a victim of the military dictatorship. He was imprisoned. Later he went into exile in mexico and Europe. he died at the age of fifty in 2003.
This is the second book of Bolano for me. I have already read his other novel "Distant Star", which was also about literature caught in Chilean dictatorship.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Argentine Polo tournament
I was invited to the semifinals of Hurlingham open at the Hurlingham club today. La Dolfina beat Chapa Uno by 17-15. It was not surprising since the world number one Adolfo Cambaiazo played for El Dolfino. He is the Tiger Woods of polo. His game was indeed very impressive. He is fast on the horse and is an artist with the polo ball. He was the youngest player to win a 10 goal handicap at the age of 19. He has won every medal and tournament in polo.
This is the polo season in argentina. They have three majors: Tortuga open, Hurlingham Open, and Palermo Open.
The number of ten handicappers in the world is eleven, all of them from Argentina.
There are 2000 polo grounds in Argentina. many of them private in farm estates. Hurlingham itself has 5 polo grounds. The number of polo clubs affiliated to the Argentine Polo Association is over 150.
Pepe, the Argentine friend and player who was explaining to me the finer details of the game has two children who have been on the horse since the age of two. They have been playing polo since six years of age. Pepe's grand father was a polo champ. Like him there are many families with polo tradition.
This is the polo season in argentina. They have three majors: Tortuga open, Hurlingham Open, and Palermo Open.
The number of ten handicappers in the world is eleven, all of them from Argentina.
There are 2000 polo grounds in Argentina. many of them private in farm estates. Hurlingham itself has 5 polo grounds. The number of polo clubs affiliated to the Argentine Polo Association is over 150.
Pepe, the Argentine friend and player who was explaining to me the finer details of the game has two children who have been on the horse since the age of two. They have been playing polo since six years of age. Pepe's grand father was a polo champ. Like him there are many families with polo tradition.
Argentina is on top of the games
Yesterday, Angel Cabrera of Argentina won the Singapore Open Golf. This is his his fourth international victory this year. He had won the US Open earlier this year. He is the second Latin American to win a major, after Roberto Vincezo ( another Argentine) won the British open in the sixties.Andres Romero another Argentine, almost won the British Open this summer. He made ten birdies on the sunday and was leading untill the disastrous double bogies.
Yesterday marked another Argentine victory in Tennis. David Nalbandian won the ATP Masters after beating Federer and Nadal, the number one and two.Argentina has produced some great tennis stars in the past.
Last month Argentina came in the third place in World Rugby Championship.
In Footbal,Argentina is among the top. After the El Dies ( number ten) Maradona, now there is Lionel Messi capturing the imagination of the world footbal fans.
The rivalry between Boca and Riverplate is the most ferocious. There is also a class division here. Boca supporters are the masses while the Riverplate supporters are from the upper classes in general. This year Riverplate has won the semifinal of the World club championship and is now going to Tokyo for the finals.
Yesterday I saw a few buses full of screaming and shouting youth escorted by several police cars. They were fans of Independiente club, one among the top. They needed protection from their rival club fans! I had not seen this even in Brazil.
In Polo, Argentina is the best. They have the best nine players in the world of the top ten. There are so many polo grounds here. The horses and the game are not expensive. Kids learn horse riding during summer vacation in their farm estates.
Guess what is the national sport of Argentina.. it is Pato.. a polo game in which they used duck( pato in spanish means duck) instead of ball. The player hooks the duck from the ground and carries while the others try to stop. But these days they use a leather ball with a handle to hook and carry.
Yesterday marked another Argentine victory in Tennis. David Nalbandian won the ATP Masters after beating Federer and Nadal, the number one and two.Argentina has produced some great tennis stars in the past.
Last month Argentina came in the third place in World Rugby Championship.
In Footbal,Argentina is among the top. After the El Dies ( number ten) Maradona, now there is Lionel Messi capturing the imagination of the world footbal fans.
The rivalry between Boca and Riverplate is the most ferocious. There is also a class division here. Boca supporters are the masses while the Riverplate supporters are from the upper classes in general. This year Riverplate has won the semifinal of the World club championship and is now going to Tokyo for the finals.
Yesterday I saw a few buses full of screaming and shouting youth escorted by several police cars. They were fans of Independiente club, one among the top. They needed protection from their rival club fans! I had not seen this even in Brazil.
In Polo, Argentina is the best. They have the best nine players in the world of the top ten. There are so many polo grounds here. The horses and the game are not expensive. Kids learn horse riding during summer vacation in their farm estates.
Guess what is the national sport of Argentina.. it is Pato.. a polo game in which they used duck( pato in spanish means duck) instead of ball. The player hooks the duck from the ground and carries while the others try to stop. But these days they use a leather ball with a handle to hook and carry.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Nueve Reinas - Argentine Film
Nueve Reinas- (nine queens) is the first Argentine film I have seen after my arrival here.
The story is about two conmen, one a pro Marcos ( role played by Ricardo Darin, a popular Argentine actor) and an amateur, Juan ( Gaston Pauls - another Argentine actor) who is the son of another conman. The two join together and pull off tricks on people stealing money and cheating them. One day a friend of Marcos comes up with a scheme to sell a set of forged rare German stamps called as nueva reinas. They see an opportunity here to make big bucks but then they are taken for a ride by many other intermediates who try to cut deals and seek commissions. The conmen get conned.
It is a delightful crime comedy. Ricardo Darin and Gaston Pauls have acted well. The movie was directed by Fabian Bielinsky. The movie has been shot in Buenos Aires. Released in 2000, it is said to be one of the best Argentine films and it has won many awards.
The story is about two conmen, one a pro Marcos ( role played by Ricardo Darin, a popular Argentine actor) and an amateur, Juan ( Gaston Pauls - another Argentine actor) who is the son of another conman. The two join together and pull off tricks on people stealing money and cheating them. One day a friend of Marcos comes up with a scheme to sell a set of forged rare German stamps called as nueva reinas. They see an opportunity here to make big bucks but then they are taken for a ride by many other intermediates who try to cut deals and seek commissions. The conmen get conned.
It is a delightful crime comedy. Ricardo Darin and Gaston Pauls have acted well. The movie was directed by Fabian Bielinsky. The movie has been shot in Buenos Aires. Released in 2000, it is said to be one of the best Argentine films and it has won many awards.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Hotel, Soccer and Tango for gays in Buenos Aires
An exclusive hotel for gays, Axel Hotel opened today in Buenos Aires, the first of its kind in a country famed more for machismo and Catholicism than overt homosexuality.
Male tango dancers and drag queens will perform at an inauguration party tonight to which 1,000 people have been invited.
The hotel, aimed squarely at gay men, not women, is the second opened by the Axel group, a Spanish company which started its maiden one in Barcelona in 2003. Named after a former boyfriend of the founder, Juan Julia Blanch, the group plans rapid expansion.
The move to Latin America is a sign that a continent once marked by conservatism and homophobia is liberalising, albeit slowly and unevenly. Colombia has recognised gay rights and Venezuela has outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Argentina blazed the way with a law allowing civil unions among homosexuals which has helped make Buenos Aires Latin America's gay capital. Some 300,000 gay visitors are estimated to spend £300m here each year in the city.
Last month the city hosted the 10th Gay World Cup soccer tournament, a first for South America, and next month it will host the first gay tango festival, Tango Queer.
Male tango dancers and drag queens will perform at an inauguration party tonight to which 1,000 people have been invited.
The hotel, aimed squarely at gay men, not women, is the second opened by the Axel group, a Spanish company which started its maiden one in Barcelona in 2003. Named after a former boyfriend of the founder, Juan Julia Blanch, the group plans rapid expansion.
The move to Latin America is a sign that a continent once marked by conservatism and homophobia is liberalising, albeit slowly and unevenly. Colombia has recognised gay rights and Venezuela has outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Argentina blazed the way with a law allowing civil unions among homosexuals which has helped make Buenos Aires Latin America's gay capital. Some 300,000 gay visitors are estimated to spend £300m here each year in the city.
Last month the city hosted the 10th Gay World Cup soccer tournament, a first for South America, and next month it will host the first gay tango festival, Tango Queer.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Ines of my soul - novel of Isabel Allende
It is after a long gap that I had a chance to read Isabel Allende again. In this book " Ines of my soul" Isabel has chosen a historical theme and has recreated the time of conquest and colonisation of Chile. The novel is based on a real-life Ines Suarez, who was one of the rare women who accompanied 110 conquistadores who founded Chile.
Ines is a not-so pretty daughter born in a lower middle class family. She falls in love with Juan de Malaga who teaches her the art of love-making. But Juan is given to gambling and womanising and is not meant for a quiet family life like the many characters of Jorge Amado of Brazil. He abandons Ines and goes away to the New World in search of fortune and adventure. Ines goes after him to the Americas and lands in Panama and later in Peru. The real reason is her quest for adventure rather than find the husband. Here she falls in love with Pedro de Valdivia, a war hero,who has a vision to conquer Chile and seek glory. Ines follows his expedition over the Andes and desert. Since both are already married, they live as lovers although he makes her as the Gobernadora of Chile. She gives crucial support for the expedition and later for establishing a settlement in Chile with her medical and other skills. When Pedro abandons her in order to comply with a judicial ruling, she marries Rodrigo, the loyal captain of Pedro who had been silently in love with her for several years. The story ends with the killing of Pedro by the Mapuche Indians of Chile in a battle.
Isabel has give a flavour of conquistadores, clergy, Indians and the Spanish royalty and the role they played in the conquest of Latin America. She has given fair space to the native Indians who fought against the Spanish conquerors unsuccessfully. Isabel says she did four years of research for this novel. One could see the fruits of that by the vivid accounts of the campaigns, the struggle between the Indians and the Spanish and the courage and adventurous spirit of the Spanish adventurers,who braved so much misery and suffering.
Ines has become yet another memorable adventurous and passionate latina character in my soul too. Ines says " a man does what he can; a woman does what a man cannot"... I have nothing to say....
Ines is a not-so pretty daughter born in a lower middle class family. She falls in love with Juan de Malaga who teaches her the art of love-making. But Juan is given to gambling and womanising and is not meant for a quiet family life like the many characters of Jorge Amado of Brazil. He abandons Ines and goes away to the New World in search of fortune and adventure. Ines goes after him to the Americas and lands in Panama and later in Peru. The real reason is her quest for adventure rather than find the husband. Here she falls in love with Pedro de Valdivia, a war hero,who has a vision to conquer Chile and seek glory. Ines follows his expedition over the Andes and desert. Since both are already married, they live as lovers although he makes her as the Gobernadora of Chile. She gives crucial support for the expedition and later for establishing a settlement in Chile with her medical and other skills. When Pedro abandons her in order to comply with a judicial ruling, she marries Rodrigo, the loyal captain of Pedro who had been silently in love with her for several years. The story ends with the killing of Pedro by the Mapuche Indians of Chile in a battle.
Isabel has give a flavour of conquistadores, clergy, Indians and the Spanish royalty and the role they played in the conquest of Latin America. She has given fair space to the native Indians who fought against the Spanish conquerors unsuccessfully. Isabel says she did four years of research for this novel. One could see the fruits of that by the vivid accounts of the campaigns, the struggle between the Indians and the Spanish and the courage and adventurous spirit of the Spanish adventurers,who braved so much misery and suffering.
Ines has become yet another memorable adventurous and passionate latina character in my soul too. Ines says " a man does what he can; a woman does what a man cannot"... I have nothing to say....
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Rosario Tijeras - Colombian film
I saw this film, with a hesitation that this might be yet another exaggerated drama on drug trafficking in Colombia with predictable scenes of crime and violence. But I found it different. The difference was made by the electifying performance of the charming and seductive Flora Martinez perfect in her role as the "femme fatale". She is a Canadian of Colombian origin and has acted in other films and soap operas.
Rosario Tijeras, the heroine ( Flora Martinez) is a hit-woman for the drug world of Medellin. She kisses her victims before shooting them to death. She is a merciless killer and a drug addict but has a tenderness and sentimental side. She has affairs with many men but eventually falls in love with Emilio. She has had a tormented childhood and filled with internal pain and insecurity. In the end she pays for her criminal career with her life.
The Spanish actor Unax Ugalde and Colombian actor Manolo Cardona have complimented the superb acting of Flora Martinez.The Mexican director Emilio Maillé has done a good job by portraying the reality of drugs, crime, love and death in Medellin.The film, released in 2005, is based on the novel of the same name by Jorge Franco.
Rosario Tijeras, the heroine ( Flora Martinez) is a hit-woman for the drug world of Medellin. She kisses her victims before shooting them to death. She is a merciless killer and a drug addict but has a tenderness and sentimental side. She has affairs with many men but eventually falls in love with Emilio. She has had a tormented childhood and filled with internal pain and insecurity. In the end she pays for her criminal career with her life.
The Spanish actor Unax Ugalde and Colombian actor Manolo Cardona have complimented the superb acting of Flora Martinez.The Mexican director Emilio Maillé has done a good job by portraying the reality of drugs, crime, love and death in Medellin.The film, released in 2005, is based on the novel of the same name by Jorge Franco.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
my first speech in Spanish in Buenos Aires, 25 October
I was invited today to give a talk at the Tourism workshop on India at the Marriot Hotel in Buenos Aires. It was my maiden speech in spanish here. I spoke about the emergence of India as a an economic and IT power and the growing business between India and Latin America. This has opened up Business Travel, offering opportunites for the tour opeartors. I managed to make the Argentine audience laugh a bit with my ususal jokes such as the one comparing Indian population with Latin American inflation.
There were about 60 tour operators in the audience. The event was organised by Piamonte,the wholesale tourism agency ( http://www.piamonte.com/) who have been sending tourist groups to india regularly.
A presentation on tourism to India was made by Vijay Raghavan from the Indian travel agency Amazing India Holidays Pvt Ltd, http://www.amazingindiaholidays.com/
New Delhi. Raghavan is a veteran in Argentine tourism to india for the last 15 years and has been visiting Argentina and Soth America twice a year.
Next month in November, there is going to be an International Travel Fair in Buenos Aires in which Indian travel agencies will participate in collaboration with the Embassy and the tourism department.
I am encouraged by the interest and enthusiasm of Argentines for India.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Book on the currency board of Argentina
"Hyperinflation, currency board and bust- the case of Argentina"
book by Jutta Maute
This was the book I completed in the long flights from India to Argentina. It was like a thriller fiction.
Jutta Maute analyses in this book (published in 2006) , the Argentine experiment of the Currency Board System to rein in hyperinflation and stabilise the economy. According to the author, the currency board, an exchange rate-based stabilisation programme, is meant for buying short term stability against probable future instability. In the case of Argentina, while it achieved the twin objectives for a few years, it became unsustainable and contributed to the collapse of the economy in 2001. There was nothing wrong with the Currency Board as a short term solution. The Argentine government should have had an exit strategy and phased it out which they did not do and eventually paid a high price for the mistake.
Some of the facts highlighted in the book:
-in the period 1980-90 there were 11 finance ministers and 10 central bank governors. There were 40 finance ministers and 40 central bank governors in the period 1945-90. This is perhaps one of the main causes for the economic crises!
-the average inflation in the period 1980-89 was 750%. This was preceded by average inflation of 133% in 1970-79 period. It was 23% in 1960-69 and 30% in 1950-59. No wonder, the system burst in 2001. It was a tragedy waiting to happen.
- since 1820 Argentina had defaulted on its debt repayment five times. So, the default in 2001 was not new and the foreigners who lent money to Argentina did not read history.
- In the period july 89- dec 93, the government issued 12000 executive decrees and 308 " decrees of necessity and urgency". This exceeded the total no of decrees issued in the 130 years before. This means, the executive bypassed the legislative authorites so often by resorting to such rule by decree.
- In 2002, 56% people went below poverty line after the crisis.
The book is a clinical and objective anaysis and in the style of a research paper. Not surprising..the author is a German.
The case of creation of poverty from riches and chronic instabilty in Argentina lends itself as an interesting subject for research.
Argentina has impressed me in the last one week with its elegant buildings, stylish houses, numorous polo grounds and golf courses and world-class excellence in polo, golf, tennis, rugby and football. The country has been blessed with oil and gas, large area of fertile land, mineral and natural resources. All this.. for a small population of 40 million who speak one language, belong to one religion and one ethnic stock. Argentina was among the top ten richest countries around 1920.
The contradiction of Argentina is amazing even for an Indian used to the infinite contradictions of the large and diverse India.
book by Jutta Maute
This was the book I completed in the long flights from India to Argentina. It was like a thriller fiction.
Jutta Maute analyses in this book (published in 2006) , the Argentine experiment of the Currency Board System to rein in hyperinflation and stabilise the economy. According to the author, the currency board, an exchange rate-based stabilisation programme, is meant for buying short term stability against probable future instability. In the case of Argentina, while it achieved the twin objectives for a few years, it became unsustainable and contributed to the collapse of the economy in 2001. There was nothing wrong with the Currency Board as a short term solution. The Argentine government should have had an exit strategy and phased it out which they did not do and eventually paid a high price for the mistake.
Some of the facts highlighted in the book:
-in the period 1980-90 there were 11 finance ministers and 10 central bank governors. There were 40 finance ministers and 40 central bank governors in the period 1945-90. This is perhaps one of the main causes for the economic crises!
-the average inflation in the period 1980-89 was 750%. This was preceded by average inflation of 133% in 1970-79 period. It was 23% in 1960-69 and 30% in 1950-59. No wonder, the system burst in 2001. It was a tragedy waiting to happen.
- since 1820 Argentina had defaulted on its debt repayment five times. So, the default in 2001 was not new and the foreigners who lent money to Argentina did not read history.
- In the period july 89- dec 93, the government issued 12000 executive decrees and 308 " decrees of necessity and urgency". This exceeded the total no of decrees issued in the 130 years before. This means, the executive bypassed the legislative authorites so often by resorting to such rule by decree.
- In 2002, 56% people went below poverty line after the crisis.
The book is a clinical and objective anaysis and in the style of a research paper. Not surprising..the author is a German.
The case of creation of poverty from riches and chronic instabilty in Argentina lends itself as an interesting subject for research.
Argentina has impressed me in the last one week with its elegant buildings, stylish houses, numorous polo grounds and golf courses and world-class excellence in polo, golf, tennis, rugby and football. The country has been blessed with oil and gas, large area of fertile land, mineral and natural resources. All this.. for a small population of 40 million who speak one language, belong to one religion and one ethnic stock. Argentina was among the top ten richest countries around 1920.
The contradiction of Argentina is amazing even for an Indian used to the infinite contradictions of the large and diverse India.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Interview published by Business Line on 10 October
‘Great potential to leverage synergies between India and Latin America’
We have two areas of serious interest with Latin America — energy security and food security. We have started investing in the oil and gas sector in the region. There is also a lot of potential in non-conventional fuels.
R. VISWANATHAN, INDIAN AMBASSADOR TO ARGENTINA
M. Ramesh
‘Passionate about Latin America’ is how his calling card describes him. After five years as Consul-General in Sao Paulo, Brazil, three years as India’s Ambassador in Venezuela, and three more as Joint Secretary, Latin American Countries, in the Ministry of External Affairs,
Mr R. Viswanathan, is perhaps the country’s best resource-person for anything relating to the landmass south of Texas and down to the South pole.
Mr Viswanathan, once an ambitious village lad who had to scrounge for school textbooks as his family could not afford to buy them, and who could not understand a word of English until he was in college, today knows Latin America like the back of his hand. He combines this knowledge with his fluency in Portuguese and Spanish that he expects will help him in his mission to bridge the distance between India and Latin America. Before he left to take up his new assignment as India’s Ambassador in Argentina on October 10, Mr Viswanathan spoke to Business Line about his first love — Latin America.
Excerpts from the interview:
You were Joint Secretary-Latin American Countries in the last three years. What changed during these three years?
I was probably the only Joint Secretary in the Ministry who was desperate to become JS-LAC. Normally, people seek high-profile jobs….
Is JS-LAC not high-profile?
It was not. I made it one. I was desperate for the job and, at the end of three years, I find it has been rewarding and fulfilling. There has been a tremendous surge of interest within India in Latin America, and vice-versa. In the last three years, the number of visits of foreign ministers from Latin America to India was more than in the previous 20 years.
From India we have taken delegations to countries never visited before, like Guatemala, Bolivia and Ecuador. We have established a strategic partnership with Brazil, with which country we have many common interests, both at bilateral and multilateral levels. These include co-operation for permanent membership on the UN Security Council, the WTO and the G-20. Brazil is regional leader, it has a voice. It also finds alliance with India useful. So, the partnership has flourished.
Today, there is a realisation across the spectrum — from political parties to business leaders, and think-tanks to chambers of commerce — that Brazil is important. Similarly, with Mexico, which we count among the ‘privileged partners’. We may not see eye to eye with it on all issues, as we do with Brazil, but trade is booming and it is the second most important country.
Argentina is the third largest. It has received less attention from both sides, because the country has gone through a nerve-wracking financial crisis in 2002. Now it has stabilised. Also, as the Argentine government was preoccupied with domestic affairs rather than foreign policy, it did not reach out to us.
Now there are going to be Presidential elections, the next President is expected to be more reaching-out, paying more attention to foreign policy. We are looking forward to that change. We can expect a lot to happen with Argentina in the next three years.
In the last few years, we have seen Left-of-Centre leaders elected to head governments in the region — like President Lula of Brazil, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Eva Morales of Bolivia. What does this trend mean for India?
I look at the election of Left-of-Centre Presidents as empowerment of the masses, who were excluded, neglected and marginalised by the military dictatorships and the transitional powers (that prevailed until about a decade ago.) Now people have the power to elect the person they want. They obviously go for the candidates with a clear agenda for the poor, for inclusive growth. The majority of voters are middle-class or lower-middle-class people.
Yes, but can you give examples of where this ‘empowerment of masses’ has helped Indian businesses?
There are many examples. But, first, let’s see what is happening. In the olden days, Argentina would import only from Europe and the US — it was just not interested in looking at a country like India, because the importer did not care for the masses. Now the economic agenda of Argentina is driven by the lower-middle-class people. And what do they want? They want a $10 shirt, not a $50 shirt. Where do they get it from? Not from the US or Europe, but India.
Perhaps the best example of the way empowerment of masses has opened up markets to India is in pharmaceuticals. In the past, Latin America had not heard of generic medicines.
Prices were very high, five to 50 times costlier than in India. That is why they invited Indian pharmaceutical companies to introduce generic medicines and to put pressure on MNCs and reduce the cost of medicines. Today, we do about $ 500 million of pharma exports to the region. Everyone has realised the benefits of buying from India.
What are the relative complementarities between India and Latin America?
As I said, in healthcare, Indian pharma companies are providing good value. Our IT companies add value to their human resource development.
When TCS employs 3,500 people in Latin America — the number of Indians may not be more than 35 — it provides jobs for people, but something more fundamental than that. It stimulates the imagination of the younger generation and introduces them to the age of information and the knowledge society. That is why TCS’ IT centre in Guadalajara was inaugurated personally by the President of Mexico.
What do we expect from the region?
We have two areas of serious interest with Latin America — energy security and food security. We have started investing in the oil and gas sector in the region — ONGC Videsh has already invested a billion dollars in Brazil and Colombia; it will invest another billion dollars in Venezuela and Cuba. Reliance, Videocon and Essar are also looking for opportunities there.
There is also a lot of potential in non-conventional fuels. The region has a lot of arable land, where one can grow sugarcane, jatropha and other plants. We can make bio-fuels and bring them here.
The second area is food security. In India we have a growing population and not enough land for agriculture.
So Latin America is attractive for us because it has large land area, less population and there is no restriction on foreign investments. Indian companies can invest in Latin America in agriculture and commercial forestry and bring the products back home.
Are Indian companies interested?
Many have expressed interest, have earmarked funds — like Bajaj Hindusthan, which has earmarked $500 million to buy land and sugar mills and ethanol plants in Brazil. It has already established a subsidiary there. Other companies are looking at Brazil, Argentina and even Surinam. A company from Pondicherry is looking at the possibility of acquiring 100,000 acres in Surinam to grow jatropha to make bio-diesel there.
I mentioned two areas of interest — energy security and food security. Energy and food imports are India’s two largest imports. Last year, our biggest import bill was crude oil — $55 billion — and our second largest import bill was of edible oils — $12 billion. We are already importing edible oils from Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
More of our companies can go there, buy farms and bring oil-seeds into India. This is likely to be done by the Solvent Extractors Association of India, whose delegation went to Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina recently. Now the Association is sending a special team to do a due diligence exercise for the purchase of 12,000 hectares of soya farm in Paraguay. The deal is likely to be concluded by the end of the year. There is plenty of scope for similar ventures.
In the race to engage with Latin America, who’s winning — India or China?
Well, China is ahead of us; it has invested far more than us, but gone mostly into extractive industries — crude oil and mining, and a bit of manufacturing. It is also a market for Latin American countries, for primary commodities. So, that is a definitely valuable partnership for both the sides.
But although we are not as big as China, the Latin Americans have a cultural empathy for India. They don’t look at India with suspicion, whereas they are worried about the competition of Chinese goods. They feel more comfortable with India.
What is your agenda for Argentina?
Economic diplomacy is my priority. Our exports last year were $290 million, I want to see that it goes up to $600 million in the next three years. Our imports are about $940 million.
I want to see that trade between two countries goes to $3 billion in the next three years.
The embassy is organising an exclusive Indian trade fair in Buenos Aires between March 26 and 29 next year. This will be the largest exclusive Indian trade fair to be organised in Argentina.
We expect over 200 Indian companies to participate. We want to send the message to the Argentines that we are not just interested in selling to you, we are keen on imports, acquisitions, joint ventures, etc., to synergise our complementarities.
We have two areas of serious interest with Latin America — energy security and food security. We have started investing in the oil and gas sector in the region. There is also a lot of potential in non-conventional fuels.
R. VISWANATHAN, INDIAN AMBASSADOR TO ARGENTINA
M. Ramesh
‘Passionate about Latin America’ is how his calling card describes him. After five years as Consul-General in Sao Paulo, Brazil, three years as India’s Ambassador in Venezuela, and three more as Joint Secretary, Latin American Countries, in the Ministry of External Affairs,
Mr R. Viswanathan, is perhaps the country’s best resource-person for anything relating to the landmass south of Texas and down to the South pole.
Mr Viswanathan, once an ambitious village lad who had to scrounge for school textbooks as his family could not afford to buy them, and who could not understand a word of English until he was in college, today knows Latin America like the back of his hand. He combines this knowledge with his fluency in Portuguese and Spanish that he expects will help him in his mission to bridge the distance between India and Latin America. Before he left to take up his new assignment as India’s Ambassador in Argentina on October 10, Mr Viswanathan spoke to Business Line about his first love — Latin America.
Excerpts from the interview:
You were Joint Secretary-Latin American Countries in the last three years. What changed during these three years?
I was probably the only Joint Secretary in the Ministry who was desperate to become JS-LAC. Normally, people seek high-profile jobs….
Is JS-LAC not high-profile?
It was not. I made it one. I was desperate for the job and, at the end of three years, I find it has been rewarding and fulfilling. There has been a tremendous surge of interest within India in Latin America, and vice-versa. In the last three years, the number of visits of foreign ministers from Latin America to India was more than in the previous 20 years.
From India we have taken delegations to countries never visited before, like Guatemala, Bolivia and Ecuador. We have established a strategic partnership with Brazil, with which country we have many common interests, both at bilateral and multilateral levels. These include co-operation for permanent membership on the UN Security Council, the WTO and the G-20. Brazil is regional leader, it has a voice. It also finds alliance with India useful. So, the partnership has flourished.
Today, there is a realisation across the spectrum — from political parties to business leaders, and think-tanks to chambers of commerce — that Brazil is important. Similarly, with Mexico, which we count among the ‘privileged partners’. We may not see eye to eye with it on all issues, as we do with Brazil, but trade is booming and it is the second most important country.
Argentina is the third largest. It has received less attention from both sides, because the country has gone through a nerve-wracking financial crisis in 2002. Now it has stabilised. Also, as the Argentine government was preoccupied with domestic affairs rather than foreign policy, it did not reach out to us.
Now there are going to be Presidential elections, the next President is expected to be more reaching-out, paying more attention to foreign policy. We are looking forward to that change. We can expect a lot to happen with Argentina in the next three years.
In the last few years, we have seen Left-of-Centre leaders elected to head governments in the region — like President Lula of Brazil, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Eva Morales of Bolivia. What does this trend mean for India?
I look at the election of Left-of-Centre Presidents as empowerment of the masses, who were excluded, neglected and marginalised by the military dictatorships and the transitional powers (that prevailed until about a decade ago.) Now people have the power to elect the person they want. They obviously go for the candidates with a clear agenda for the poor, for inclusive growth. The majority of voters are middle-class or lower-middle-class people.
Yes, but can you give examples of where this ‘empowerment of masses’ has helped Indian businesses?
There are many examples. But, first, let’s see what is happening. In the olden days, Argentina would import only from Europe and the US — it was just not interested in looking at a country like India, because the importer did not care for the masses. Now the economic agenda of Argentina is driven by the lower-middle-class people. And what do they want? They want a $10 shirt, not a $50 shirt. Where do they get it from? Not from the US or Europe, but India.
Perhaps the best example of the way empowerment of masses has opened up markets to India is in pharmaceuticals. In the past, Latin America had not heard of generic medicines.
Prices were very high, five to 50 times costlier than in India. That is why they invited Indian pharmaceutical companies to introduce generic medicines and to put pressure on MNCs and reduce the cost of medicines. Today, we do about $ 500 million of pharma exports to the region. Everyone has realised the benefits of buying from India.
What are the relative complementarities between India and Latin America?
As I said, in healthcare, Indian pharma companies are providing good value. Our IT companies add value to their human resource development.
When TCS employs 3,500 people in Latin America — the number of Indians may not be more than 35 — it provides jobs for people, but something more fundamental than that. It stimulates the imagination of the younger generation and introduces them to the age of information and the knowledge society. That is why TCS’ IT centre in Guadalajara was inaugurated personally by the President of Mexico.
What do we expect from the region?
We have two areas of serious interest with Latin America — energy security and food security. We have started investing in the oil and gas sector in the region — ONGC Videsh has already invested a billion dollars in Brazil and Colombia; it will invest another billion dollars in Venezuela and Cuba. Reliance, Videocon and Essar are also looking for opportunities there.
There is also a lot of potential in non-conventional fuels. The region has a lot of arable land, where one can grow sugarcane, jatropha and other plants. We can make bio-fuels and bring them here.
The second area is food security. In India we have a growing population and not enough land for agriculture.
So Latin America is attractive for us because it has large land area, less population and there is no restriction on foreign investments. Indian companies can invest in Latin America in agriculture and commercial forestry and bring the products back home.
Are Indian companies interested?
Many have expressed interest, have earmarked funds — like Bajaj Hindusthan, which has earmarked $500 million to buy land and sugar mills and ethanol plants in Brazil. It has already established a subsidiary there. Other companies are looking at Brazil, Argentina and even Surinam. A company from Pondicherry is looking at the possibility of acquiring 100,000 acres in Surinam to grow jatropha to make bio-diesel there.
I mentioned two areas of interest — energy security and food security. Energy and food imports are India’s two largest imports. Last year, our biggest import bill was crude oil — $55 billion — and our second largest import bill was of edible oils — $12 billion. We are already importing edible oils from Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
More of our companies can go there, buy farms and bring oil-seeds into India. This is likely to be done by the Solvent Extractors Association of India, whose delegation went to Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina recently. Now the Association is sending a special team to do a due diligence exercise for the purchase of 12,000 hectares of soya farm in Paraguay. The deal is likely to be concluded by the end of the year. There is plenty of scope for similar ventures.
In the race to engage with Latin America, who’s winning — India or China?
Well, China is ahead of us; it has invested far more than us, but gone mostly into extractive industries — crude oil and mining, and a bit of manufacturing. It is also a market for Latin American countries, for primary commodities. So, that is a definitely valuable partnership for both the sides.
But although we are not as big as China, the Latin Americans have a cultural empathy for India. They don’t look at India with suspicion, whereas they are worried about the competition of Chinese goods. They feel more comfortable with India.
What is your agenda for Argentina?
Economic diplomacy is my priority. Our exports last year were $290 million, I want to see that it goes up to $600 million in the next three years. Our imports are about $940 million.
I want to see that trade between two countries goes to $3 billion in the next three years.
The embassy is organising an exclusive Indian trade fair in Buenos Aires between March 26 and 29 next year. This will be the largest exclusive Indian trade fair to be organised in Argentina.
We expect over 200 Indian companies to participate. We want to send the message to the Argentines that we are not just interested in selling to you, we are keen on imports, acquisitions, joint ventures, etc., to synergise our complementarities.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Buenos Aires donde el tango nacio
Buenos Aires, donde el tango nacio
tierra mia querida
quisera poderte ofrender
todo el alma en mi cantar
( Buenos Aires, where the tango was born, dear land, i offer the whole of my soul in my song).
I have been posted as Ambassador to Argentina. I will reach Buenos Aires on 10 oct. I will also be accredited to urguay and paraguay.
This is a dream come true. Another fantastic opportunity to pursue my passion for latin america! This will complement my experience in Brazil and Venezuela.
Hmm...Tango and Football, Patagonia and Pampas, Evita and Che Guevara, Borges and Cortazar, ski resorts of bariloche and vineyards of Mendoza, cafes and bars of Recoleta...and more..
Argentina has the largest number of golf courses in Latin America. Having played in almost all the courses in Brazil and Venezuela, it is going to be challenging to repeat it in Argentina !
tierra mia querida
quisera poderte ofrender
todo el alma en mi cantar
( Buenos Aires, where the tango was born, dear land, i offer the whole of my soul in my song).
I have been posted as Ambassador to Argentina. I will reach Buenos Aires on 10 oct. I will also be accredited to urguay and paraguay.
This is a dream come true. Another fantastic opportunity to pursue my passion for latin america! This will complement my experience in Brazil and Venezuela.
Hmm...Tango and Football, Patagonia and Pampas, Evita and Che Guevara, Borges and Cortazar, ski resorts of bariloche and vineyards of Mendoza, cafes and bars of Recoleta...and more..
Argentina has the largest number of golf courses in Latin America. Having played in almost all the courses in Brazil and Venezuela, it is going to be challenging to repeat it in Argentina !
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