SUNSET, ROYAL PALM, THUNDER AND CHANGO. ALL IN MIAMI IN THE EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK

 

This is an ancient land and there are people living here whose ancestors had inhabited and fought the invaders who had come from Spain. 

Cuba was colonized first and the Spaniards arrived in Florida (named by Ponce de Leon , on Feast of Flowers , Easter possibly 1521). The Natives of this land who maintained connections with their relatives in Cuba knew of the Invaders and were prepared for their arrival. The tradition of resistance to the outsiders still continue, now against the Colonial Government of the United States with whom they never signed a treaty, unlike most other natives of this land they call the Turtle Island.

Cuba later instituted slavery and one of the last places to abolish slavery, and the slaves brought their religion which they syncretized to the invader's catholic faith. Chango, the supreme spirit is identified with Santa Barbara but in the minds of the believers, Chango is identified with Palm, Thunder ..

Whenever I see the above palm, especially at the time of sunset, I think of the spirit of Chango

Characteristics

• Consecrated day: Friday
• Colors: white and red
• Elements: thunder, lightning, fire
• Sacred food: amalá (a stew of okra with shrimp and palm oil)
• Instruments: oxê, a double ax; bangles; brass crown; Thunder Stones, or objects struck by lightning
• Garment: red cloth with printed white squares or cowrie shells
• Necklace or Elekes: white and red beads
• Archetype: power, dominance
• Sacred dance: alujá, the roda de Xangô. It speaks of his achievements, deeds, consorts, power, and dominion
• Sacrificial animals: fresh water turtle, male goat, duck, sheep

Like in other parts of the tropics, night falls very quickly and the park is enveloped in deep darkness. One drives in complete silence as the pouring rain welcomes you to the inhabited parts of the metropolis

TOMORROW YET TO BE BORN IS A COLLECTION OF TODAYS NOSTALGIA.. AUTUMN LEAVES FOR PENELOPE, VIENTE ANOS ATRAS

 I was still at university when I listened to a jazz pianist playing this melody 

Autumn Leaves 

Did not realize at that time, many years later I would be listening to it, the above on a youtube video, in Paris, France 

Yves Montand had gone by then, along with his beloved Simone Signoret .. did I not see them lying next to each other at Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris?

Pablo Neruda might have questioned, he wanted his Matilda Urrutia all alive and well next to him, rather than lying in silence next to him in a cemetery..

But in Isla Negra, they both lie next to each other, facing the ocean..

as he had sung, of all the things Love alone is inexhaustible..

I wanted to send this song to a friend of mine who send the autumn leaves lying in the pavement on her way to work in Mashhad, Iran

one emotion leads to another. I thought of the song Penelope..

when did I first hear it? was it in Miami with my latin american colleagues or was it in the drunken distance of Baracoa while sitting on the malecon looking for the emptiness left behind by the stars in that dark sky?

 

Love, at least what we thought was Love in our youthful frivolity, came by so easily under those tropical nights (Ayn Rand said Tropical Nights are like hammocks for lovers) 

Life has presented me so many lovely spots in this world ..Melbourne the town that I longed to call my home, now buried under mountains of memories.. London Paris Brussels Kingston Havana  Miami and there is Baracoa, the gilded age of youthful exuberance surrounded by friends and innocence and affection and songs and poetry.

Suddenly I thought of the song Viente Anos, written many years ago by a cuban woman, Maria Theresa Vera and made popular by another great cuban singer, Omara Portuondo.. 

The above group is from Tirana, Albania, our brothers and sisters so far removed from our latin hearts and tongues but sharing our sentiments..

So on this late evening, as the clock is about to strike midnight, on a pleasant late autumn in Miami, the mind carried a little cup of happiness  from that distant land where once my father had worked treating peoples physical wounds, without realizing one day that very same country would create emotional wounds in his son.. who seems to have been born a century or so later or in another planet...

Such is life, friends and lovers and those others whose fragrance lingers on .. and I thank Iran now bleeding from its multiple wounds sending breaths for my respiration.

Lights for Iran..

I AM GLAD I HAVE MIAMI IN BETWEEN MY TRAVELS .. always grateful to the NATIVE INDIANS

 I just arrived back in Miami from South East Asia .. the drastic change (food and people ) is softened by the fact that Miami is as tropical spot, one of the few in the USA ..

Each morning I sit at the patio of the house where i stay in Miami and the tropical skies put on a show, each day slightly different than the other 

It is truly a pleasure to watch the sunshine slowly spreading over the earth and the plants and birds in front of you . 

I am very disconnected from the way of life or people in Miami and the USA but i am well connected with the Indigenous people with whom I work during my stays here .

I prepare myself leisurely to join them where they live and always it is a pleasure .

I always remember my earlier Indian teachers, Pat "Dr" Brown of the Meskwakia, Pierre Merrick of the UmonHon and my Kickapoo sister Mena and her relatives, two spiritual leaders of the Mexican Kickapoo, Annico and Cha Ko Ka.

Dr Brown said to me on my first visit to her tribe: regardless of who is sitting in front of you, show them RESPECT . Just yesterday, a young Indian patient complained that the American doctors and nurses do not show any respect for them and throw  the laboratory tests at them in an accusatory manner.

After these many years, respect for Indians comes naturally to me. 

Over the years the Native people of this Turtle Island has taught me humility, gratefulness and how to shed false pride and in general I am a better person from this contact

The greatest gift during my professional life in the USA has been The Indians ..

This morning I received a message from a small Indian village along the Amazon River a couple of hours away from the small colombian town of Leticia 

Me envio mensaje diciendo que cuando me comunique contigo  que te digera, que estas autorizado para  entrar a comunidad sin ningun problema. Bueno tengas buen dia.

The small community of Ticuna at the village of Nazaret has sent their welcome. They will see this doctor very soon...

I have not been there since 2019 , three years to be exact because of the Pandemic. Very few Ticuna lost their lives to the Virus as they had the forest surrounding them to heal them.

GASTRONOMIC JOURNEY FROM COCHIN TO MIAMI IN 36 HOURS .. SPECIAL THANKS TO TRAVANCORE COURT HOTEL IN COCHIN AND QATAR AIRWAYS

 I had an intense day in Cochin being with old and new friends both in Ernakulam and Mattancherry. and it was time to leave Cochin to get back to this part of the atlantic ..I know foodwise once you reach USA, it is a downgrade in Gastronomy (quotidian)

Rajesh the GM of the Travancore Court Hotel asked me whether I would be interested in some traditional Kerala seafood dishes and my favourite kerala bread Parotto, i could not say no.

we had Karimeen pollichathu , fish cooked in banana leaves and then served on a plate and the taste was so fresh and the flavour of Kerala. I had a glass of wine from Australia (a sauvignon blanc) and finished the dinner off with a cup of Masala Tea (very good)

I left the hotel soon after to go the Cochin International Airport.

At 10 pm on this Friday in Cochin , I said Hasta Luego and Hasta la victoria Siempre to Rajesh while a soft spoken driver by the name of Nixon took me to the airport. I will arrive at the home where i stay in Miami, 36 hours later, slightly longer than normal as I have to connect at Washington DC to Miami, rather than go directly from Doha to Miami.

At 10 pm, the hectic erratic pace of travel had slimmered down and we were able to reach the airport in 40 minutes (normally it might take one hour to 90 minutes).

Checking in was smooth, immigration was not painful or bureaucratic but the police at security made up for it all by making your life complicated wanting to check anything or everything smacking of electronics .. They were unsmiling unpleasant and without exception all from the north of India with permanent sour faces. I thanked them for doing their job.

Immediately up the stairs to the EARTH LOUNGE which serves as a Lounge to all eligible passengers regardless of the airline they are flying. I wish I was hungry to once again savour the Kerala cuisine that i am so fond of .

My brother Eliyahu loves Idlys.. rice cakes to which you add sambar or coconute chutney 

I had a small sample of Uppama and a sliver of uthappam with the appropriate condiments. Delicious.

I started my journey at Cochin Airport and I had to transit through Ronal Reagan Airport in Washington (which befits a poorer country than USA where they dont invest in infrastructure of airports! Cochin airport is about ten times nicer than DCA )

I love Qatar Airways and during the pandemic i had not been able to fly them and was looking forward to fly them 

Cochin to Doha 4 hours and 

Doha to Washington DV. 14 hours 

Imagine another meal at 4 am ..

I chose Lam and Tikki with curried chana and of course anytime is good for Champagne, this time Laurent Perrier. (merci beaucoup, France)

Qatar would be hosting the world cup in a few days time and the spacious cavernous luxurious tagged as the best airport int the world was full of people with their bags of different shapes and contraptions, coming and going and it was an organized chaos. The airport has hired hundreds of extra people knowing this onslaught and I was very surprised to see how friendly these people were.. I had a chance to say hello to someone from Yasawa in Fiji ! long ways to come fly Qatar. an also another pleasant person from Hyderabad.. All workers are young and you very seldom saw any one past about 30 years of age but of multiple nationalities.

Al Mourjan lounge has to be one of the best lounges at an airport in the world. Paris London HongKong have excellent lounges and I like the lounges at Narita Muscat and KL (my personal list). 

It is truly luxurious, service oriented, wide variety of food, sit down restaurants all done with a smile for those lucky to be able to enjoy this wonderful lounge 

I couldnt bring myself to eat yet another meal or savour the various chefs in attendance .. little Pellegrino please ..

and proceeded to the boarding gate . another security check, I told him I was from Uganda knowing that almost all security workers at the airport are from Uganda ..He was happy and said. It is my country.. (such minor pleasant interactions with a wide variety of people does crank up your happiness meter)

The flight was heading west leaving the gates at Doha at 9 am. The existential dilemma was to drink such a nice drop of champagne at this hour? Consulted my foodie friends and all of them unanimously agreed.  Time for Champagne 

I only had a small meal knowing more would be coming, as at Qatar Airways you can order any mean from the menu at anytime during the flight 

I had warm croissant pudding with pistachio and chocolate chips 

This aircraft had WiFi on board and it was good to have it as I could say hello to my friends as i flew over them , if the local time was appropriate.

My side was served by Olivia and to my surprise she was from Jakarta so an immediate rapport was created. She had to work very hard (they rest for half the flight and another set of Flight attendants take over) and she was enthusiastic and friendly. QR does not encourage the staff to take photos or exchange information etc, so I did not ask for a photo. and the chances of seeing her again on another flight is small as they have over 10 000 flight attendants at Qatar Airways which serves over 150 International destinations and in my opinion is the best airline in the world 

I was not bored, did not watch any movies or listen to any music but had a very interesting book on Qatar written by an anthropologist about the situation, nationality, identity in a country which was dirt poor in 1948 and recently was named the richest country on earth (Oil and Gas) and there are ten times as many indentured workers from Europe and America and South Asia and rest of the world as locals ..

Apart from slight turbulence near Greenland it was a smooth flight. Anytime i wanted a drink or a bite, there it was .. excellent service ..

Thank you, captains and crew of Flight QR 707 for bringing us all safe from Doha to Washington DC while the cabin crew did an extremely good job of making sure that we slept well, we ate well and we drank well.

Not a single American (North and South) or European (a toast to Air France, my favourite in Europe) airline would come anywhere closer to QATAR Airways. Kudos to HE Ali Akbar CEO