2.1. Visit to Malaysia

[Full title: Journeys for Cultural Exploration (1): Visit to Malaysia]

PAGES FROM THE DIARY—After spending about a week in Myanmar for collecting relevant material for my work on the Rama Story in Southeast Asia which I am preparing for the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) I go to Malaysia with my wife Dr. Mrs. Usha Satyavrat. I reach Kuala Lumpur, the capital on December 25, 1999 and stay there with one of my old pupils Dr. Mrs. Madhu Sharma whose husband is working there and who, working as she does at Kalindi College, New Delhi is dividing her time between New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur. She happens to be at Kuala Lumpur at that time, it being a period of Christmas vacations at New Delhi. First two days of my stay I just take rest after a gruelling visit to Myanmar. 27.12.1999 Together with Mrs. Madhu I go to the High Commission of India in Malaysia to call on Mr. K. Sreenivasan, the First Secretary who looks after culture and information. I also intend to meet Mr. S.K. Bharadwaj, the Counsellor who is also the Acting High Commissioner in place of the High Commissioner who is away to India. in connection with the marriage of his daughter. In the High Commission I meet one Mr. Dass who informs me that a lecture of mine has been fixed in the Department of Indian Studies, University of Malaya on December 30, 1999. I also express to him my difficulty, New Delhi. Digitized by S 3 Foundation USA of not having a confirmed seat

for the sector Bangkok-Delhi and seek his assistance in taking up the matter with the Thai Airways. I then meet Mr. Sreenivasan and Mr. Bharadwaj, who happens to be an old acquaintance; he had been with the Embassy of India in Bangkok when I had been there. Mr. Sreenivasan invites me and my wife for lunch the following day. He has a mind to invite Prof. Rajakrishna Ramasami also to it. I inform him that Prof. Ramasami would be meeting me in the forenoon that day. Mr. Sreenivasan tells me that I can have a talk with him on the Ramayana in Malaysia at the lunch which could well stretch on even after it. I give Mr. Sreenivasan a brief idea of the project in which I am engaged at present; the genesis of it and its scope and what I need to procure from Malaysia. It was a pleasure meeting Mr. Sreenivasan. He is a product of Tirupati and an M.A. in Sanskrit of its Sri Venkateswar University. He also studied with Prof. E.R. Sreekrishna Sarma and Prof. Kunjunni Raja, the latter as the Guest Professor at the University. He comes from a family of Sanskritists and was a Lecturer in Sanskrit before joining the Foreign Service. All this information about himself he gave on December 30, 1999 at the tea that he had at Dr. Madhu's house as he came to drop us after my lecture at the University. 28.12.1999 Mr. Sreenivasan takes us, Mrs. Satyavrat and myself, for lunch at the Karuna restaurant in the Brickfield area. In the evening Dr. Noria Mohammad picks up both of us (myself and my wife) and brings us to her home which we find so elegant. The house has for guests an apartment which has a kitchenette and other facilities. She tells us that a number of her friends including Mrs. Srisurang Phulthupya, the Director of Indian Study Centre of the Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand had stayed in it. She then takes us to a restaurant, a Muslim one, for dinner. She offers prayer before breaking her fast. The restaurant, a very ordinary one, has a CC-0. Prof. Satya Vrat Shastri Collection, New Belasa Prayer room. This

Visit to Malaysia 119 shows how particular Muslims are about their rituals. As we finish our dinner, Dr. Noria's husband turns up for dinner at the same restaurant. After this he leaves for another place while Dr. Noria drives us to her place where she changes over to another vehicle to bring us back to Dr. Madhu's house. She tells us that she would pick us up the following evening, around 6.00 to introduce us to some of the Ramayana scholars of Malaysia. She would break her fast; it was a period of Ramzan; in their company. 29.12.1999 Together with Mrs. Madhu I go to the National Museum called the Museum Nagara and the National Library. My wife stays back in Madhu's apartment. A big space in the Museum is occupied by exhibits of the photographs of the ruler of Malaysia and his family which also describe its Constitution. Its other interesting sections are those of musical instruments of different countries and the natural history. In the National Library I try my best to locate a book on the Malaysian Ramayana but meet with little success. The Library has only one book: Shadow Play in Malaysia which I already have in my collection, Dr. Chirapat having presented it to me while in Bangkok. In the evening Dr. Noria Mohammad comes. She had told us the previous evening that she would introduce us to some of Malaysia's Ramayana scholars. She takes us to the Malaysia Writers' Union building to which the writers start coming one by one. Some of them are poets, some fiction writers, some critics. There is nothing of Ramayana in them. They pray and break the day's fast with a drink and sweets (dates figuring in them prominently; it is with that the Prophet used to break his fast, we are told). Finding nothing vegetarian in the food, Dr. Noria takes us to an Indian restaurant, the Karuna restaurant, the same restaurant to which Mr. Sreenivasan had taken us two days earlier. The dinner over, we return to Mrs. Madhu's housetya Vrat Shastri Collection, New Delhi. Digitized by S 3 Foundation USA

.12.1999 On December 27, 1999 when I had gone to the Indian High Commission I had been informed that I have to give a lecture at 3.00 P.M. at the Department of Indian Studies, University of Malay. At 2.30 P.M. the High Commission car comes with Mr. Sreenivasan to bring us to the University. Along with me go my wife and Mrs. Madhu. Prof. Kandasami and his colleagues receive us and bring us to the Auditorium where the Dean, Faculty of Sastra who is to preside over the lecture joins us. He introduces me to the audience and I speak on Rama Story in Thailand as a conduit to my mission to gathering information about the Rama Story in Malaysia, an important part of my project on Rama Story in Southeast Asia. I preface my lecture with a quotation, 'I come to thee a pilgrim, O Siam' from the poem "O Siam" of Rabindranath Tagore which he had composed after visiting Thailand, known as Siam then. I tell the distinguished gathering that in line with Tagore I come as a pilgrim to Malaysia to discover the India that it has preserved and nurtured including its great epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata on the former of which I am concentrating at the moment. I further tell the gathering that I have come to Malaysia to gather information about the Rama story as it obtains in it in its various forms, literary and artistic. I am told it exists in literary form under the title Hikayat Seri Ram which has been translated into English. I am told that the University Library has a copy of it which I later find incorrect, only a brief summary of the work being available in English in a few pages. As for the visual art; the murals and the sculptures, the wood carvings; there is nothing of it for the Rama story in Malaysia. The Rama temple that there is, is a very recent one and does not represent the old tradition. As for the performing art, the presentation of the story in the form of Wayang Kulit is fast becoming a thing of the past. There may be some performers of it in the eastern States of Kalantan and Kedah bordering Thailand. I am told Malaysian television telecasts its CC-0. Prof. Satya Vrat Shastri Collection, New Dats its show once a while. ..

Visit to Malaysia 121 It is not easy to procure a Video Cassette of it. As for the folklore, there is nothing of it available in print. To my query as to whether there are different versions of the Hikayat Seri Ram, I am told, there are none. The variations, if any, could be the handiwork of Dalangs, the narrators of the story in the Wayang performances. One may have to locate them and spend some time with them to know the story from them, each giving his own version, to form an idea of its variations. The Dalangs are the inheritors of the tradition which passes from father to son. They are also innovative. To create and sustain interest of the audience they add to the age-old narration something of their own which is at the back of the variations in the narrative, if any. The staff of the Department of Indian Studies promises to take me to the main University Library the following day to show the English translation of the Hikayat Seri Ram and make available to me the photocopies of the articles of Prof. Singaravelu on the Malaysian Ramayana. After the lecture we return to Mrs. Madhu's residence. In the evening I go to the photographer's shop to collect the slides of the Ramayana bas reliefs and the Golden Pagoda of Yangoon, Myanmar. I also see something of the Thursday Bazar of Brickfield which is an experience in itself. Shops come up on the roadside all of a sudden in the evening with all sorts of wares. Particularly prominent in the Bazar are the vegetable stalls which do brisk business. People are seen carrying from them big bags of fresh vegetables, a few of them carrying them on trolleys. There are some stalls which serve South Indian dishes like Dosa, Vada and so on which draw large crowds. Interspersed among stalls of various kinds is a stall which sells chapattis and pakoras. This has large clientele, people preferring to buy from it chapattis and dal with chutney to serve as dinner to avoid the hassle of preparing these at home. We buy chapattis and pakoras from this stall, bring them home and have our dinner. This reminds me of the small towns in Panjab where the practice of selling chapattis or vegetables or Prof. Satya Vrat Shastri Collection, New Delhi. Digitized by S 3 Foundation USA

both is common. People---a large majority of them householdersrepair to them for their needs of food. 31.12.1999 We go to the KLU main Library in the High Commision van. As per the program fixed the previous day, Prof. Rajakrishna Ramasami was waiting for us at the main gate. He handed over to me some material related to the Malaysian Ramayana. He was to show me the English translation of the Hikayat Seri Ram and some other books. The books having been shifted to some other building, he took me there. There I saw three books which had something in English on the Hikayat Seri Ram besides its text in Malay in Roman and Arabic scripts. I made a request for the photocopy of the matter which the Library staff said would be possible only after 2.45 P.M. Dr. Noria Mohammad called me at 3.30 P.M. She wanted to know from me whether I could come to see her in the evening to which I expressed my helplessness in the absence of the arrangements for a vehicle. She then proposed to see me on January 3, 2000 before my departure for Bangkok and deliver me the book "Shadow Play in Malaysia" a copy of which she had procured for me. Around 5.00 P.M. I receive a call from Mr. K. Sreenivasan. He enquired of me as to whether I had seen Prof. Singaravelu's book. I said no. To this his suggestion was that I could well request the Professor for its photocopy which I pointed out to him may not be possible, the Professor may not be willing to give one to a total stranger like me, especially when it is in manuscript. I propose that the High Commission may well make a request to him for the photocopy which it may later give me. Mr. Sreenivasan said he would try . He further said that during the two days that I would still be in Kuala Lumpur I should see him. I told him that I am already in touch with him. He had taken down my telephone number and promised that he would call back which he never did. Anyway, I would try again. I called him in the afternoon. Mrs. Singaravelu received CC-0. Prof. Satya Vrat Shastri Collection, Ked the call and said that these

Visit to Malaysia 123 days the Professor has been keeping aloof. He had been avoiding even the functions at the High Commission. He had also not turned up at the Ramayana-Mahabharata Conference-Seminar where he was invited to give the Key-note address. There are people in this world who have strange ways. Prof. Singaravelu appears to be one of the type. He seems to avoid people. It is not for me to question as to why he does so. Anyway, I have got to meet him. I plan to call him late in the evening. I would feel really bad if I am not able to meet a man who has worked and produced a voluminous thesis on the same subject on which I am working: The Ramayana Tradition in Southeast Asia. It is the last day of the year, nay the last day of the century; not even that, as per popular perception, the last day of the millennium. We decide to celebrate it by eating out. Though initially we were inclined to go to the Chettiar or the Woodland restaurant we opt for Sagar restaurant in view of the difficulty in finding parking space for the car anywhere near the former restaurants. After dinner we leave for a round of the city which is all set to welcome the new millennium in all its splendour. People throng the roadside shows singing and dancing. It is 11.30 when we return to the Apartment. At 12 the fireworks in a riot of colour go up the sky. The new century had dawned. The new millennium had taken birth. In the restaurant we had not had the dessert, preferring to have it at home. We now have it. We celebrate the birth of the new year, the new century and the new millennium with delicious ice cream. To herald the auspicious event my wife asked me to offer prayers. I recite the invocatory stanzas and pray to God Almighty for the continued good health, progress and prosperity of both the families, of that of Mrs. Madhu and mine. Mrs. Madhu and her husband then gave us two big plates of Chinaware with the figure 2000 embossed on each one of them which are our proud possession now, always reminding us of the most memorable occasion.

.1.2000 We get up in the morning and wish each other a Happy New Year. The previous day Mr. Sreenivasan had told me over the phone that he would be sending the High Commission car to take us to the K.L. Tower which is of its kind in the whole of Southeast Asia and the fourth tallest in the world. Mr. Ashok Sharma, Mrs. Madhu Sharma's husband suggests that we visit the Genting Highlands instead. Accordingly I together with my wife and Mrs. Madhu Sharma leave for the same. Mr. Ashok Sharma is not able to join us because of his appointment with an ophthalmologist. Outside of Kuala Lumpur, Genting Highlands are a treat in themselves. The route to that is lined by green hills and dales. Up on the highest of the hills perch a number of Hotels of which the most important is Genting Hotel which houses in its two floors a number of restaurants, a departmental Store, a jewellery shop and a casino. There is provision for water sports too. The hilltop is approachable by a ropeway, the longest in Asia as also an exquisitely laid out motorable road. On the way to it the Chinese have built a temple at some distance in which they have put up a very imposing statue of the Buddha. On the approach to this statue to the left side are smaller statues of the Lord in different postures and in various actions. When we reached the hill-top the clouds had spread turning everything white. It was shivering cold over there. We hurried to Hotel Genting to escape it. After staying there for a while and going round its various sections we left for Kuala Lumpur where we saw before getting back to the apartment the KL Tower. We had from there a panoramic view of the city with its plethora of high-rise buildings. We returned to the apartment at 4.00 P.M. just in time to welcome Prof. Singaravelu with whom an appointment had been fixed for 5.P.M. by my wife who had pleaded with him the previous day to do spare for us some time and allow us to be with him for a few minutes since we would not like our visit to go waste which would be the case if we were not to be able to see a dedicated scholar like him, the remark CC-0. Prof. Satya Vrat Shastri Collection, ask which seemed to touch New

Visit to Malaysia 125 him and coax him out of his diffidence in meeting any one so much that he insisted on his visiting us and we not doing the same. Prof. Rajakrishna Ramasami had told me when I had met him on December 27, 1999 that Prof. Singaravelu had written a book on the Ramayana Tradition in India and Southeast Asia which he had submitted for the Ph.D. degree at the University of Malaya. The same thing the teachers of the Department of Indian Studies had conveyed to me on December 30, 1999. I had been further told that the thesis is still in manuscript. The Department had wished to publish it before the Ramayana-Mahabharata Conference-Seminar which could have been the proper forum for its launch but its plan could not materialize due to various reasons. Prof. Ramasami wanted me to see it in the University Library which has a copy of it. Since it was getting late, I had resisted the temptation of looking through it. Moreover, a quick glance at it would have meant nothing. Since Prof. Singaravelu's thesis and my project covered the same ground, it was natural for me to wish to see the Professor. The additional reason was that I had somehow the idea that the Professor had published something on Sanskrit in the Malay language, another area of my interest. I had been given the impression that since his retirement he had been cut off from the academic activities and prefers to keep aloof, not wanting to meet anybody. At 5.30 P.M. the door bell rang and the Professor was there, much to my delight. I found him quite an affable person. He had brought with him the off-prints of some of his articles and a copy, in one page, of his bio-data. He told me that he had written only two books , one, The Social Life of the Tamils in India (in the classical period ) and the other, The Ramayana Tradition in India and Southeast Asia which was published in 1984. Since only a few copies of it had been printed, it is not available now. He, however, promised to send it to me [a promise that he did not fulfill].His assertion that his book on the Ramayana is published came to me as a complete surprise. I wonder as to why and how his colleagues in the Department with whom he had worked for years have absolutely no knowledge of it! The book the Professor told me deals with the Rama story in S 3 Foundation USA

Malaysia and Thailand while it just touches other countries in its chapters. He had been going to Thailand frequently and had stayed there once at a stretch for six months. He has been quite friendly with Prince Dhani Nivat and Prince Anuja. In the talk he also referred to Prince Subhadradis Diskul. He retired at the age of 55; that is the age of retirement in Malaysia, said he. After this his contract was extended by three years. After the age of 58 he did law as private student. Nobody would engage him as a lawyer at that age. So he could not practice law. He is now leading a retired life looking after the grandson and is very attached to him. "Grandchildren are more attached to their grandparents than to their parents. When he was young, he would beat his grandfather. Now that he is grandfather, it is his grandson who beats him", said he. His son is in Perth in Australia. Of the off-prints of the articles that he gave me one pertains to Bahasa Malay, the Malay language. That was the topic that I had suggested to Mrs. Madhu for her Post-Doctoral research for working on which she could apply for Study Leave from her College. Another article of the Professor pertained to the concept of time and space. I told him that I am working on the Yogavasistha, a work which tradition ascribes to Valmiki, wherein there is an interesting discussion on Time. I then narrate to him the story of Gadhi. According to the Yogavasistha Time is a mental creation; it just does not exist, naivasti na ca vidyate, as the work says. I then show him my bio-data. Prior to that I had given him some idea of my work. On going through some portions of my bio-data, he says that it is a privilege for him to meet me and sit for some time at my feet. These words of his greatly touch me. After spending with us about an hour and a half the Professor leaves . I feel gratified that I could at last meet an erudite scholar of Kuala Lumpur. 2.1.2000 We do a little bit of sightseeing and pack our things. We have to leave early the next morning for Bangkok en route to Delhi. CC-0. Prof. by S 3 Foundation USA