Following Modi to the Middle Kingdom
Sliced pig ear with ginger in sake, duck blood curd and vermicelli in soup, steamed bullfrog in spicy sauce, fish, ribs and turnip soup, wax gourd pork stomach soup.
What does this sound like? Yes, you are in a Chinese restaurant. You seriously run the risk of losing your appetite forever; or who knows, if you strike it right, you could be mourning your calorie count misfire.
"Let me choose for you," offered Sun Xiu Fung, who was a media officer in the Chinese embassy in New Delhi until recently. Just a year back, he was sent on deputation to the foreign ministry in China. He would invariably end up as our food guide in restaurants and street food expeditions. His wisdom often helped us choose the best amidst the animal kingdom delights on the run. The Cantonese Duck, Peking Duck or Beggar’s Chicken (whole chicken cooked in clay) are delicacies that stay forever. Not to miss the Kung Pao chicken which is close to the Indian Chinese version we have made. The desserts were strikingly creative.
Unbelievably, the Chinese obsession with rice does wonders, sometimes ending up in green tea rice cakes with caramelised sesame. A piece of art.
Food apart, China is an experience. Unfortunately, almost everytime I have landed there, not less than a kilometre-long traffic jam has been my welcome note. As for the cab driver I was with, he had chosen a unique way of fighting the stress. He rolls two table tennis ball-sized rudraksh beads in his left hand while driving with his right.
China has been worried about the spurt in cases of road rage in recent years. So, if you are travelling there, and if time is a constraint, keep an extra hour. Traffic tensions apart, in case you are on the look out for the simmering discontent or "autocracy" tensions among its citizens, you are on a difficult track. As I pass through the skyscrapers and images of a China that has advanced decades ahead of India, I wonder if autocracy has helped Beijing scale new heights. In the 1990s, as both India and China raced towards fast economic growth, by 2007, India’s GDP had doubled but China’s increased seven-fold. Then again, I wonder if their growth has been because of state policy, and if autocracy-led growth is sustainable.
What really troubles you in China is that asking too many questions can instantly make you hit the dead end. The average Chinese on the street, most of whom are extravagantly dressed in American/European brands seem happy with life. Street corners are busy with the regular group Tai Chi sessions, or even more interesting groups of youngsters doing some amazing dance steps to loud Western music, especially in the evenings at the main hubs. They would even smile their way with broken English into clicking a selfie with you, but words like corruption and democracy still remain topics of taboo.
They have mastered the art of not understanding and, therefore, not responding to serious questions. Few journalists I interacted with, talked of monstrous corruption that had shaken the country and forced the state to take strict measures like mass dismissal of corrupt officers and not allowing relatives of government officers in Shanghai to start private business in fear of special favours. A lesson we could learn.
For the democracy versus autocracy conflict, I would like to take you to the Shingua University where Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited with Chinese Premier Le Keqiang. A student very cleverly asked him on democracy and what role it played in economic growth. The core essence of the question was lost in translation. Nevertheless, the question was asked.
Not surprisingly, Tiananmen Square remains a revered spot for every tourist visiting China, but its history smeared with violent protests during the student revolt of 1989 remains a complete taboo. Beijing, at best, is pleased to showcase its Terracota Warriors and Wild Goose Pagodas to the world.
Ultimately, China amazes and shadows the world as an economic power, its bullet trains and Maglevs make India wonder when that speed will reach Indian tracks, but if Twitter and Google are your daily dope, you would be left gasping for free air.