AFRO BERBER CULTURE AND BERT FLINT . AN AFTERNOON IN MARRAKECH

 

Bert Flint, a dutch ethnologist passionately befriended studied and helped and collected artifacts and postulated the nativeness of BERBER people of North West Africa and the sub Sahelian branch of that culture 

A passionate life, intelligently lived

What a great pleasure to meet him at his home and museum 

MUSEUM TISKIWIN 

This is a work of Love and I can feel it, and you have done it with great love and passion for the Berber people, I told him.

He smiled and said: words like that make me want to go on ..

I do hope in the years to come when younger anthropologists or ethnologists come and our paths cross, I can also inspire them, like Bert Flint did to me , one afternoon in Marrakech . 

ARRIVAL IN MARRAKECH AND YOUSSEF THE DRIVER

 

BRITISH AIRWAYS 207 LONDON TO MIAMI. A GOOD TIME SPENT ON AIR. A PLEASANT JOURNEY OF CIVILIZED SERVICE

 I am not in the habit of writing Trip Reports (there are plenty of websites for that), but one thing remains that I do enjoy flying and my own little bag of tricks.

I psychologically prepare for the trip the day before by calming my mind down and throw out all conflicts and meditate if possible and think very positively about the flight to come. My flights tend to be long, as my favourite destinations are in South East Asia and in Europe.

I recently flew from London Heathrow to Miami on British Airways Boeing 777-300. The plane was showing its age as BA had mothballed most of its newer planes until the holiday season.

I had stayed overnight at a hotel near the airport. Because LHR London Heathrow is such a large airport, even if you could see the airport from the hotel, it might take a good 20 to 30 minutes to reach your terminal. The best way for me to get to Terminal 5 from the hotel was to take the local transport, Bus number 243 which deposited me right in front of the Terminal 5. Beware of the checking in at LHR BA terminal for International flights, they are pretty rigorous about the documents and searching of the carry on luggage. A east european lady with a rigid face, my luck brought me face to face as she scrutinized my luggage (i travel with just a carry on and back pack. I joked about my bad luck that two years ago, i had this very same lady who had ripped my luggage apart, metaphorically.

I did not feel any resentment, was feeling calm (vipassana meditation of SN Goenka does work!) and was greeted by a petite Thai lady whom I greeted in the traditional Thai fashion. A nice smile was elicited and I was off to the BA Lounge and when I got there, the agents gave me a choice of lounges and I chose Concorde Lounge which I have not savoured before. I am a fan of Airline Lounges and sometimes I go earlier than necessary to the airports to enjoy the Lounges.

In the 2 year Covid absence what i have noticed is that the absence of willowy blond east europeans at hotel desks and coffee shops, they were being replaced by Konkani speaking lanky Goan young men. The waiters at the lounge followed the rule, young dark men with Portuguese sounding name (but not a single one speaks Portuguese) just like you find among the Filipinos with Spanish names but without the accompanying language skills. Forgotten colonial pasts, I suppose.

view from Concorde lounge of the departure area below.

I had some cafe latte and scrambled eggs with salmon on a sourdough toast. I ate slowly enjoying the repast as I knew what lay ahead in the ten hour flight to Miami.

The flight to Miami left from the S gates, down the lift, on a short train ride there. The airport is not back to its splendour of the past after being shut down and restricted for such a long period of time.

The boarding was quick, if rather inelegant and I was directed to my seat which I had carefully chosen. A lady much the caricature of a primary school principal warmly welcomed me and as soon as I settled down offered me a flute of champagne.

She even brought out the bottle when I asked what was that I was drinking.

I have to tell you that I was fully prepared to enjoy this flight and it was more than a coincidence that I was offered a flute of this champagne.

I had become a fan of this bubbly during my years of living in France and I like their habit of apero when a bottle is opened around 4 pm when visitors happen to drop by .. bubbly and savouries like we would say in Oz

Named after the Grand Siecle when "Sun King" Louis XIV reigned this a regal Champagne, and one of the greats. Grand Siècle is always a blend of three vintages, with grapes sourced from Grand Cru vineyards. The 50% Chardonnay 50% Pinot Noir blend is matured for 10-12 years on yeast lees to give it exceptional finesse and complexity.  (from BA Menu)

the minute it touched my palate (caressed would be a better word) I knew i was in for a treat and the madam was happy to oblige filling the flute as they went down a little. I thoroughly enjoyed this champagne.

Thank you, BA for that introduction. 

Canapes arrived as soon as we were airborne: baba ganoush on labneh in the middle and basil marinated rather pungent olives on the left. I did not taste jamon and manchego on the right 

For starters, why not Loch Fyne Smoked Salmon, mustard dressing?

The choices for main dishes were Corn-fed chicken breast, Lamb hot pot, Mezze rigatoni. Lamb because of my middle eastern ancestral origins and the excellent cooking of my miami based sister, was my choice but by this time I was feeling rather full and i was slowly savouring my food (disfrutando is a nice spanish word to describe this feeling).

Another flute of champagne followed. In fact every thing was a decorative addition to the champagne..I felt that way.

On the side was sweetcorn gnocchi (have been a fan of gnocchi since my Buenos Aires visits), grilled broccolini, mediterranean vegies.

I did not mind at all that the flight today would take nearly one hour longer than normal, the headwind were heavy and at times troublesome for the first part of the journey but once we reached this side of the Atlantic the flight became very smooth.

I could read a little, I could write a little and fortunately the flight had high speed wifi connection which is always a blessing in that one can keep in touch with people that you want to keep in touch with and at the same time enjoy the stress free atmosphere of being ensconced in your favourite seat.

I could even make video calls but out of respect for the fellow passengers I did not do it. 

The lady had promised afternoon tea or High Tea and i began looking forward to it , in between dozing off and dreaming of return to Marrakech or Cochin or Siem Reap.

A little vanilla ice cream to wet the palate while waiting for my traditional afternoon tea.

It was good to watch live, all the flights headed towards Miami flying as in a formation, while actually miles apart: TAP from Lisboa, VS from London, BA from London, IB from Madrid and QR from Doha were all headed in my direction.

Long awaited tea arrived with scones and cream and jam and savouries and I enjoyed the Earl Grey Tea. It was served about one hour before arriving in Miami

I was not bored for a minute during the entire journey, I did not lament to myself how many more hours to go but enjoyed the experience of flying.

All good things must come to an end. The flight arrived in Miami and we parked at our gate. Because of Covid regulations they were asking passengers to alight by row and groups to avoid closer contact. Wearing masks throughout the flight (except eating and drinking) was required. 

I was surprised at the absence of any Public Health Officials on arrival. I was at the Global Entry machine and it spewed out a paper which I showed to the Immigration agent who asked, where are you coming from.

London, said I thinking of Bar Italia in Frith street in Soho.

Within one minute of approaching the machine, I was already out of the Customs hall and called for the arranged drive back to my sisters' home in Miami. 

Thank you BA

What lovely memories of Marrakech

I pray for the welfare of the young men from Goa for a career worthy of them in years to come. 

After a deep sleep, the morning broke well in South West part of Miami.

Felt grateful to be alive

With a strong cup of coffee in hand 

and opened the day for words and actions not yet imagined.

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS 2 NOV MEXICO, FOR MANY OTHERS THE DAY OF THE LIVING DEAD and PABLO NERUDA IN RANGOON

 It had been raining, the day with the Indigenous people living in the Park has been emotional. Two colleagues needed help, one talked about her husband and the other one was carted away by the Ambulance to the nearest hospital suspected of a heart attack. 

I decided to leave the clinic and it was raining. Driving slowly but still enjoying this scenery that I have seen many times, lines of poems began to appear in my head. 

I recorded them as they came into my head. there is noise of the air conditioning of the car and also the windshield wipers. but I enjoyed recording what was occurring in my head, a rather spontaneous oration.

(when I am able to upload the spoken words , i will do so )

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tn4KpP9BGmvNHrOU6xFt_3NIutHtuL22/view?usp=sharing

I mention two poems in this narration

Josie Bliss

This is how Pablo Neruda recalls in his memoirs, 'I confess that I have lived', to the girl from whom he fled months later, she crazy with love, he with so much fear of his passion that he left without saying goodbye at dawn. He barely left a note. Months later he wrote that mismatch in the poem 'Tango del viudo', which starts with the shame of the fugitive: 'Oh Maligna, you have already found the letter, you have already cried in fury, / and you have insulted my mother's memory / calling her a bitch rotten and mother of dogs, / you have already drunk alone, alone, the afternoon tea / looking at my old empty shoes forever, / and you can no longer remember my illnesses, my night dreams, my meals / without cursing me out loud as if I was still there ... '

The poem Josie Bliss has special meaning for me. I remember walking behind my brother along the RIver Irrawady in Bagan in Burma and reciting this poem 

Also once in the pine infested forest in Northern Finnish Lappland near Ivalo, while looking for the guest house to spend the night, I had this book of poems by Neruda and I sang it aloud to the trees and the silence that inspired Sibelius.

Loves: Josie Bliss (I)

What became of the furious one?
It was war
burning
the gilded city
that drowned her, so that neither
her written threats
nor her electric blasphemies could get out
to find me again, to persecute me
as they did so many days, in that faraway place,
so many hours
that time and oblivion
took care of, one by one,
until, at last, she can be named as death,
death, bad word, black earth
in which Josie Bliss
will rest in her rage.

She would add up
my absent years
wrinkle by wrinkle, as they probably gathered
on her face from the grief I gave her;
because she was waiting for me on the other side of the world.
I never came, but in the empty
cups,
in the dead dining room,
maybe my silence wasted away,
my faraway footsteps,
and maybe until death she saw me
as if through water,
as if I were swimming in glass,
slow of movement,
and she couldn't take hold of me
and would lose me
every day, in the pale lagoon
on which her gaze was fixed.
Until she finally closed her eyes -
when was that?
Until time and death covered her over -
when was that?
Until hate and love bore her away -
where?
Until she who loved me in rage,
in blood, in revenge,
in jasmines,
couldn't go on talking to herself,
gazing at the lagoon of my absence.

Now, maybe,
she rests restlessly
in the great cemetery in Rangoon,
or maybe on the banks
of the Irrawaddy they burned her body
all afternoon, while
the river murmured

things that I might have said to her in tears.

Ahora bien,

si poco a poco dejas de quererme

dejaré de quererte poco a poco.

 

Si de pronto

me olvidas

no me busques,

que ya te habré olvidado.

 

Si consideras largo y loco

el viento de banderas

que pasa por mi vida

y te decides

a dejarme a la orilla

del corazón en que tengo raíces,

piensa

que en ese día,

a esa hora

levantaré los brazos

y saldrán mis raíces

a buscar otra tierra.

These two are some of poems of Neruda that I adore

Under the dim street lights outside the humble abode in Gordon Town in Jamaica, a steep drive from the cacophony of the downtown, I gently whispered this poem..

Today is the Day of the Dead 

but where are the Living Dead

I shall no longer look for them , let them bundle their kisses and hugs and take them to the great cemetery of kisses in the sky.

This corner, Dalhousie and Brooking street still exist in Rangoon now called Yangon. I have stood there,a this very same corner hoping  a ghost of some local who knew Neruda would offer me a salaam.

This is one of his poems, Rangoon, 1927: 

“I came late to Rangoon. Everything was already there -- a city of blood, dreams and gold, a river that flowed from the savage jungle into the stifling city and its leprous streets, and a white hotel for whites, and a golden pagoda for the golden people. That's what went on and didn't go on. Rangoon, steps wounded by the spitters of betel juice.” 

LET US FORGIVE WITH GENEROSITY THOSE WHO CANNOT LOVE US

THOSE WHO DESERVE TO BE FORGOTTEN ARE FORGOTTEN EASILY

THE FUTURE IS ALEADY HERE: YUVAL NOAH HARARI AND THE PROGRESSION IS AT BREAKNECK SPEED

 I had come back to the hotel after visiting a village of Ticuna Indians along the Colombian Amazon, The hotel is certainly one of the more pleasant places to stay in Leticia, the Colombian town bordering, Tabatinga in Brasil and Santa Rosa in Peru.

A pleasant place.

A guest I had met, I only remember him very vaguely, was he an East Indian working at an university in the UK ? but he said, I am leaving this book for you. It was SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.

Yuval is an Israeli, a historian but a person who studies the change in Homo Sapiens and their rapid evolution and the breakneck speed of the technological advances. I have heard his name mentioned on several occasions in the past but the time had come to make a true acquaintance of his work.

I was bowled over as if a West Indian fast bowler was coming at me! I was intrigued, fascinated, scared and my own neurons were opening at a rapid pace. 

At every chance I got, I talked about Yuval and my friends in far away countries began reading him in their own languages. A fringe benefit of getting to know Yuval was an introduction to Vipassana meditation as taught by SN GOENKA who introduced Yuval to Vipassana meditation and he meditates I think two hours per day and while SN GOENKA is no more , Yuval goes once a year to India for one month isolation at a Vipassana centre. I was also told that Yuval does not carry a cellphone.

Imagine my surprise when my sisters husband came into the office we share and said, did you watch 60 minutes yesterday, i gently reminded that I do not watch TV , he said you missed something, there was this historian who was more than brilliant. I said, Brother, I know who you are talking about, it must be Yuval Noah Harari.  Yuval is certainly the most admired public intellectual of our time, each of his books have sold more than 10 million copies. I recommend all the books.

Here is the link to YOUTUBE video of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper interviewing Yuval.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIVTf-C6oQo

( i will upload the video when I can compress it)

It is easy to listen to him and learn from him. He is all over the place, giving talks and participating in discussions, i saw a video of him being taken to the Favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeiro and offering to finding solutions to the situation there. 

I am proud to have read his works and follow his thoughts. He makes you think and realize the reality of what is happening to reality of what you think is happening. Too much emphasis on monetary objects makes you blind to what will happen in the very near future.. not to your grandchildren.. but to you in the next few years. Be part of the understanding of this evolution so you can participate it in a contributory fashion rather than become a victim of it. 

Good Luck

Dedicated to someone I know in Brasil, we don't have much time left.

As if to remind me that Yuval is punctual about his predictions, the professional society I belong to (The Endocrine Society) sent this missive among the hundreds (most of them useful)

Synthetic Organelles Let Researchers Control Cell Behavior

A technique that reversibly bundles tagged cargo into artificial membraneless compartments gives scientists the ability to switch cell processes on and off.

Like a drone operator, someone sitting in Washington DC or Beijing can turn on or off cellular functions of your bodies, in the not too distant future.

TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO SMILE.... YOU WILL LOOK FOR ME AND I WILL BE GONE , I KNOW MY SOUL

Today has been a lovely day

No one to disturb my peace, near and far 

A nice sensation when one is able to help, the philanthropy of time and knowledge

a chat about Balkan memories 

I wrote to my sister: If something were to happen to me tomorrow, I will not mind, like that song La Belle Dame sans regrets

Nice to make some difference in some other people's lives. Delacroix said: the greatest human attribute is to relieve pain

In my case, relief of anxiety, sorrow, depression and bring a drop of joy into their lives.

I have always believed and the Indians have reinforced that belief, what goodness you do, return to you (but not do things so that good things happen to you)

I was listening to some Blues Music and enjoying it fully.

The tragedy of Slavery and imposed faith gave us Music of Africa: Gospel Music, then the Blues, then Jazz, then Rock Music.. on and on.. Imagine USA CUBA BRASIL without the African people..  one wise Italian said to me on my first visit to Provincetown: take Jews and Blacks out of USA and you can turn this country into a cemetery..

The blues reflect what you are feeling in your heart. I was feeling good because of my actions but that makes you more aware of the tragedies and sadness the great singers are hollering about.

It was at that time Air Maroc called 

Sorry your flight has to be cancelled 

I was not perturbed at all 

I did my own investigations, there are other ways to get to my destination

But that would need the collaboration and cooperation of the Airline agent that would be on the phone

I was already feeling euphoric

Hello, i would really like your help

Could you route me through Madrid Barajas and give me enough time to go from one terminal, enjoy some tapas in the Dali Lounge 

Let me see what can I see on line. we chatted. His name was John. one of the best agents that i have spoken on line. Remember in whatever culture you have to learn to transact the symbols, especially the interactions are of short duration and you do not want to rub anyone up the wrong way. 

We have no seats available to redeem for miles that day but will make an exception for you and will assign you to seat 7A

Thank you , John

There would have been no point in worrying about whether or not my flight was leaving on the day of departure or the next or whether i would miss out on the snake charmers and water carriers in the shadow of the tall minarets at my destination.

That moment, a song by Sam T, an ancient blues song came on the Youtube video

I know my soul

a lot of people have recorded it and I have heard BB King singing that song

There is nothing that can lift you up to this euphoric mood than the right song at the right moment. 

This is exactly the song I needed to hear 

The feeling was wonderful 

here are the lyrics 

One day you will look for me, and I will be gone 

The best thing the best gift in life is the gift of TIME, those of our friends and lovers who are willing to give us their time , to spend together 

Thank You in australia   Merci Beaucoup in France. Gracias in Cuba and Obrigado in Brasil

You all added a little shine to my life 

If you like The Blues, you have to like BB King , here is a video from 1974 when he was touring Africa

Today has been a good day .