:: Kishwar Desai

Nirvana on the side in heavenly California

Kishwar Desai

May.09 : Despite India’s "love" for America (as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shyly confessed to former President George W. Bush), it is fascinating to note the insignificance of India in the popular US media: it is not more than a little blip on the horizon. Even the brouhaha over the Newsweek article calling Mayawati the anti-Obama is shrugged off here because, frankly, most people haven’t a clue who she is. Nor do they really care, since most news is predominantly US-centric.

So right now it is Pakistan and the "surge" planned in Afghanistan or the AfPak scenario, which is bothering US experts and the government as the most important factor on the subcontinent. As always, aggressive militants have succeeded in grabbing the agenda.

But as the arguments and debates rage on about AfPak, is anything really different about what the Obama administration is planning? Having promised to pour more than 20,000 troops into Afghanistan, the old policy of meddling in Pakistan’s internal affairs also continues (no doubt encouraged by the present Pakistan regime which has thrown its hands up in helplessness). Sadly, these are the kind of stories which should alarm pro-democracy supporters all over the world. We should be worried when a foreign super-power openly interferes in another sovereign state. Instead, there is fear that the Americans are not doing enough. There are equally blase discussions about which leader the Americans will support in Pakistan — is it Zardari or will it be Sharif? None of this sends liberals scurrying for cover — as consensus grows that Pakistan is a divided country, a failing state and the locals need protection from the Taliban. It is now the porous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan which has begun to catch everyone’s attention. Is this really news? Is it possible that Americans had no idea till now that the Taliban have been finding safe harbour in Pakistan for decades?

While US interference in Pakistan has not worked in the past, will the new "stimulus package" of troops work in Afghanistan? This is a battle being fought thousands of miles away on foreign soil. The Russians learnt the hard way — and now it is time for America to bite the dust. But for the sake of grand pronouncements of homeland security, both the UK and the US will keep their populations diverted by fighting a proxy war. The critics already point out that there will be large amounts of collateral damage before the Americans pull out, just as they have done in Iraq. Are the Pakistanis ready for this? And is India, reportedly the US’ most-favoured partner in the sub-continent, even being consulted? Who knows? Certainly, from being a giant that India was a few years ago (when everyone spoke of China and India in the same breath), India is slipping off the map and becoming just another developing country whose time is yet to come.

MEANWHILE, IT is fairly easy to forget about India in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s California. It is a mesmerising land of plenty — and San Francisco especially abounds in restaurants and good food, as well as excellent wines. One of the richest states in the US — it has a hard-working population which encourages a cool, laid-back attitude towards everything. It seems that even theft and crime is extremely low here as everyone is drunk on the pure Californian air. One of the great pleasures here is indulging in the rich variety of organic fruit and vegetables — there are farmer’s markets held nearly throughout the week in the Bay area. The locals impress upon you the importance of clean environment and healthy living. The gyms are doing very well — and are mostly packed — as are the wine, cheese and chocolate shops. In fact, I felt I had died and gone to chocolate heaven as the chocolates available here are amazing.

One of the oldest chocolate manufacturers here is the famous Ghirardelli which has a fine old building overlooking the Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s delightful to wander in there and be plied with free samples and then sit in the open square, contemplating the newly acquired loot of chocolate bars and drinking intense dark chocolate fudge poured over huge scoops of chocolate ice-cream. All this was so good that I actually experienced nirvana — and even imagined that the music I was hearing was some celestial chorus — until I woke up from my chocolate reverie and found I was listening not to a heavenly choir but a live piano concerto. This is chocolate mecca and is definitely to be recommended to all chocoholics.

The other great experience here, having seen the marvellously funny film Sideways a few years ago, was to realise my ambition to drive around tasting wine in a halcyon daze in Napa Valley. So it was wish-fulfilment time — as we crossed the marvellously designed Golden Gate Bridge on a quest for Pinot Noir which, for those of you who saw the Hollywood film, was a much-recommended wine. We finally encountered it in a beautiful little town called Yountville. Sitting at the Bouchon, Thomas Keller’s restaurant (he is the only US chef to get six Michelin stars), we sipped a full-blooded Pinot Noir, biting into a seafood salad. It wasn’t quite the same high as one got with the Ghirardelli chocolate, but it came close.

Then, of course, we had to go next door to Keller’s Bakery, which serves fresh pastry and had our fill of tarts and macaroons. In Yountville, it was even easier to forget about India because we were probably the only two "natives" wandering about. Despite the closeness to the Silicon Valley, it was strange to encounter such a completely white population.

San Francisco itself is, luckily, much more multi-cultural — huge swathes of it have been totally taken over by different communities. For instance, it has perhaps the largest Chinatown in the US, and the peculiar thing is that many of its residents don’t even bother to speak any other language apart from Chinese. But then this is a reflection of the Californian motto — "live and let live".

The locals’ desire to create a quaint lifestyle fusion is perhaps most evident in the variety of different cuisines. And one restaurant in San Francisco that I can recommend for a gourmet gastronomic experience (but only for those who can stomach the smell) is The Stinking Rose, called thus because its cooking is thoroughly imbued with garlic. Rather grandly decorated in red velvet, very art-deco — complete with chandeliers — The Stinking Rose served us some rather unique but wonderful food. I never thought I would chomp my way through appetisers made with whole cloves of garlic — or sip through an entire tureen floating with shrimps, mussels, crab meat and... yes, garlic — but I did. I couldn’t have been much fun to sit next to — but for me it epitomised the culmination of my San Francisco experience —- an exciting mix of good food, wine, chocolate… rounded off with garlic!

The writer can be contacted at kishwardesai@yahoo.com