Feedback at Waseda

Feedback is the vital component that completes any communication cycle. In case of this exchange programme with Waseda University we, the students of Chowgule college were entrusted an important responsibility of communicating the culture of India and learning the different aspects of Japanese society and culture.  After a two week long interaction with Waseda students, faculty and staff we received feedback in various forms and at various points in time.

Students were willing to know more about India, its society and culture, our educational system and institution (Chowgule college).  We found that places like New Delhi, Jaipur etc were quite famous among those who had previously visited India or whose relatives worked in India.

Faculty tried to make regular sessions interactive and easy to understand by comparing situations in India and Japan especially evident from lectures of Prof. Watt on Religion (Shinto, one of the major religions in Japan, other being Buddhism) and Prof. Iino on Socio-linguistics. Students and faculty in Socio-linguistics class were amazed to know that India had many languages and each of us could speak not less than 3-5 languages. Faculty welcomed our questions and opinions during and after the sessions.

 

 

Supporting staff too was very co-operative and gave necessary inputs and information before sessions and field trips like maps, excerpts on ceremonies and etiquettes etc.

With Takako san at Sensoji Temple

With Yuri san at Sensoji Temple

Everyone appreciated our performances at Indian Cultural Night on 12^th November. One of the most memorable feedbacks was from Ms. Keiko Iizuka, an English teacher and Koto (Japanese traditional Harp) player, who was literally in tears and had no words to express the joy she felt after listening to my Indian classical recital. I regard her appreciation to be an evidence to prove that music and culture irrespective of language barriers have the capability of touching one’s soul and giving immense happiness to all. Prof. Gally expressed his appreciation through small videos that he shot of the event.

Discussion on Japanese society and culture with Mr. Yamaguchi during the trip to Kamakura and interaction with Prof. Sadoshima while visiting the Shinnyo-en temple are the two experiences I would cherish for lifetime.

The post would be incomplete without mentioning the feedback I received after returning to India in form of an email from Prof. Sadoshima in which she says :

“I am also very happy to hear that your trip to Japan was a fruitful one. I very much enjoyed the songs, recitation, and the dance you performed at the Indian Cultural Night. They were beautiful and profound. Your visit to Kamakura and Shinnyo-en Temple meant a lot to me, too. Your keen eyes and rich understanding of history, culture, and language is astonishing.”

 

Note : A glimpse of Indian Cultural night can be sought at the following link through a small video shot by Prof. Gally

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8nVVZpFlOn0aUIzZFYwaURNdWM

 

14th November: Yet another day in Tokyo

On 14^th November we started our day a bit early then usual as we were supposed to visit the Science and Engineering College of Waseda University. Half of us being science students, were excited about the visit. From Waseda university campus, we took a university bus to Nishi Waseda Science and Engineering college.  Ma’am Yuri and ma'am Takako accompanied us.

First we were all assembled together and  provided with pamphlets of campus map and students guide book. Then our tour guides Shota and Ezumi, post graduate students of this college took us on the campus tour. We were briefed about the founder of Waseda University and facilities available in campus. We were also informed that about 10,000 students study in science and engineering, out of which only 15% are females. Besides the university bus service, there is also an entrance to subway station “Nishi-waseda” of Fukutoshin line. 

3 humanoid robots”WABOTS” were exhibited within the information gallery. This WABOT project(1970) was started by four laboratories in the School of Science & Engineering of Waseda University, together to set up "The Bio-engineering group”.

WABOT-1 (1970~1973): The WABOT-1 was the first fun-scale anthropomorphic robot developed in the world. The WABOT-1 was able to communicate-with a person in Japanese and to measure distances and directions to the objects using external receptors, artificial ears and eyes, and an artificial mouth. The WABOT-1 walked with his lower limbs and was able to grip and transport objects with hands that used tactile-sensors.

WABOT 1

WABOT-2 X4-728(1980~1984): In 1980, our laboratories joined in a joint project again and commenced the WABOT-2 project. Playing a keyboard instrument was set up as an intelligent task that the WABOT-2 aimed to accomplish. The WABOT-2 was the first milestone in developing a "personal robot".

WABOT 2: X4 728

Besides we also saw number of laboratories that are fitted up with the newest equipment. 1^st year students use the laboratories for basic experiments in Science & engineering (bioscience, chemistry etc). Gloves, apron and safety glasses are worn as precautionary measures during practicals.

laboratary

WASEDA Monozukuri workshop: it is a material lab for architectural, civil and mechanical departments

with tour guide Shota & Ezumi

We finished our campus tour at 11:30a.m. and had lunch in college canteen after which we returned back to Waseda campus. This was followed by meeting on presentation in building 22 i.e. centre of international community.

Then we had a lecture from 14:45 - 16:15 by Professor Watt Paul on “Shinto in Japanese History and Culture".  In this session we learnt about “shichi go san”, a traditional kimono wearing ceremony for kids. We also studied about few major shrines like Meiji, Ise and izumo. The video shown on “Yamato Mai” Japanese dance of worshiping god was fascinating.

This was followed by another lecture on Introduction to global leadership by Professor Ikegami. We learnt about the fundamentals of global management, strategy making and leadership from a theoretical and practical point of view. We also had group discussion on the given problem.

In evening we took a small trip to shibuya which is known as one of the fashion centers of Japan, particularly for young people. This was followed by fabulous dinner of Prawn Biryani in Indian restaurant.

This marked the end of the yet another day. 

13th November 2012

Diwali decorations in hostel

Diwali Celebration in Tokyo

Diwali preparations started one day before Diwali.  Dr. Naandakumar sawant, Saurabhi P. Budkule and Soniya  Dessai  decorated hostel common room with diwali latterns ( Akash dive). Diwali celebration started with a lovely breakfast of Poha, laddus, chakri, bibinka, bhakavadi, farsan, juice and tea.  We offered breakfast to the hostel staff and also to Waseda staff and students who had come to take us to Meiji and Harajuku.

Poha

Meiji Shrine

We took a train from Iidabashi station to Meiji. Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine locates in the center of Tokyo. This shrine is dedicated to divine souls of Emperor Meiji and his consort Empress Shoken. This shrine was established on November 1, 1920. The pathway to the shrine resembles Goa’s scenic beauty in many ways.

Entrance of the Meiji Jingu shrine

Wishes written on wooden blocks

The ambience in the shrine was very calm and pleasant.  The entire vicinity is surrounded by huge trees.  Before entering the shrine we had to follow some cleansing rituals such as cleansing hands and mouth.  They pray to the Kami (God) by throwing a coin in the offertory box, they then bow and slowly clap twice  (they believe if the claps are fast then their prayers won’t be answered  by the Kami) ,  they then bow again. Once they are done praying, some of them buy wooden blocks and write their wishes on it and hang it to sacred tree.

Harajuku

Harajuku is one of the popular fashion and shopping area in Tokyo. We saw many Japanese young people and tourists from all over the world.  In Harajuku there is a variety of food items such as crape, takoyaki, candies and ice cream, etc.

entrance of shopping area in Harajuku

After shopping in Harajuku, we returned back to Waseda university.  We attended two lectures. First lecture was on ‘Movements in Japanese Intellectual History’ by professor Adrian Pinnington. He discusses about the main intellectual movements in modern Japan. Since the Meiji period Japanese intellectuals have devoted themselves both to introducing the thought of the West and to creating a Japanese identity in response to this thought. He emphasized in his course about the complicated interplay between Japanese traditions and modern Western thought.

Second lecture was ‘Introduction to business class’ by Professor Christopher Pokarier. This course first examined the basic nature of market systems, firms and their governance. The foundations of business entrepreneurship and creativity were then explored; followed by an examination of uncertainty, risk and information asymmetry as pervasive features of all economies. Key functional and strategic challenges in business were studied. It was a very interactive and interesting lecture and we managed to learn and understand a lot about business.

Altogether it was a very enjoyable, interesting and informative day.

India Day....!!! :D :D

The 12th of November was a very busy day for all of us it was the ICC night. The night that we all had been constantly preparing and waiting for. We woke up earlier then usual in the morning and headed towards Waseda University.We were taken to the Students Union Building where we were to attend Japanese dance classes. The dance is known as "SORAN BUSHI" which is a traditional dance form, from Hokkaido specifically known to be the fishermens dance. We all had an exciting time watching the students dance. Things got even more fun when we began to learn the dance ourselves. We enjoyed learning the dance with laughs and giggles and finally perfected almost half of the dance.

learning to dance SORAN BUSHI

 

  A small video of the fun we had while learning the dance, it sure requires alooot of energy...!!!

After this all of us proceeded to eat delicious Indian food that gave us the taste of home food even though we were miles away from home.

 Butter chicken, rice and Chicken tikka
 

Butter Chicken, Kheema, Naan and Curds

 

 

At the Indian restaurant "'CURRY and NAAN"

 

After this we headed for the preparation of India day. The day that all of us had been waiting for, so that we could put forth our culture and traditions from India, to the Japanese people. We were all nervous yet all sooo excited. We went to the ICC garden and began to help the organisers to decorate the hall. We put up colourful lanterns and checked all our work and the sequence of the programme. We arranged all the food stuff that we had brought from India like cashew nuts, bebinca, shev, bhakar vadi, melting moments cookies, chakli and farsan. We also lined up Indian spices on display so that the Japanese could view them. We changed into our costumes and began rehersaling for the programme.

 

 Fixing the Lanterns to decorate the hall for India Day

Snacks all the way from India

 

Rehearsals for Kunbi Dance

India day pics with 2 Indian students

 India day pic along with Yuto
 

As it was around 4.30, students and teachers began entering the hall for the programme. Inspite of it being monday, which is the busiest day of the week for the Japanese, there were many people who made it possible to attend the function. Kimberly and Roohi were the comperes of the day. The auditorium was full with people. It was great looking at everyone excited and waiting for the function to start. The function started by a short welcome speech by Vice-Principal, Dr. Nandkumar Sawant. After the speech the Master of Ceremony welcomed the guests. Then the programme began with an invocation song (by Ambika) to invoke blessings from The Almighty. Followed by that there was a presentation on India. We then began the 1st dance performance of the evening which was Lavni, (by Saurabhi, Ninoshka and Sonia) it was an energetic performance the whole crowd joined into clapping their hands and enjoyed. Then we had chanting of Ganesh Stotra in Sanskrit language and Indian Classical Vocal recital (by Ambika) followed by the cheerful Punjabi fusion dance performance (by Kimberly, Aishwarya, Rechal and Valerie). After that three of our  students  (Ninoshka, Dorothy and Kimberly) sang a Konkani song and brought a flavour of Goan music before the crowd.

 

After that there was a presentation on Classical Dances and folklore of India which was followed by a Bharatnatyam performance (by Sonia and Roohi).
Before we began with the Goan dances we put forth a video about Goa, which was then followed by the traditional Kunbi dance (by Valerie, Ninoshka, Dorothy, Saurabhi and Ambika), an English song (by Kimberly) and the Goan mando dance(by Ninoshka, Dorothy, Ambika and Saurabhi). As the programme was nearing its end the last performance of the evening was the Bollywood dance which was a fusion of two songs wherein the 2nd half was a National Integration dance to which all 10 of us performed and saluted the Indian flag followed by the singing of the National Anthem. Immediately after that Indian snacks were served. Everyone enjoyed the taste. At the same time we interacted with the Japanese students and we got to know that they loved Indian food. They were also surprised to know that we only practised for a short while for the dances, and yet each student managed to perform more then two dances each.

Then we began the dance session where in we along with all the Japanese students danced on Bollywood songs . It was a beautiful evening. Everyone enjoyed themselves and we were happy that our India Day, of the 1st Student Exchange programme to Japan was a grand success.

 

The entire student exchange group to Japan...!!! Cheers to all....!!! :D :D :D



 

11th November 2012- One of the best days!!!

Different varieties of Sushi

All the students along with Ms. Sadoshima's students

Dining with Ms. Sadoshima

Preparing sushi at Ms. Sadoshima's home

It was one of the most hospitable and memorable days in Japan \m/
The day began with a trip to the Yokohama stadium where in Big Bears; the Waseda American Football Team was playing against the students from Kyio University. Most of us were unaware about the rules of the game, therefore one day in advance we were given handouts, explaining about the game. Before going to the stadium we stopped by one of the convenient stores in order to pick up some lunch which we could enjoy while watching the match.
Since the Waseda cheerleaders couldn’t make it that day for the match due to the distance, we prepared a routine on the spot and cheered for them till the end of the match. We were so felicitous when the Big Bears won the match. All the Waseda supporters appreciated our efforts immensely.
After the amazing first time experience of watching an American Football match, we caught a train to visit one of our most loved professors, Ms. Saori Sadoshima. Her beautiful and comfortable house is situated by the country side. Normally Japanese rarely invite people over to their houses but we were extremely fortunate to get a chance to visit her home. Some of her students which we had interacted with before at one of the seminars in Waseda were also present at her home that day.
 
Ms. Sadoshima and her students escorted us to the dining table where we were served Green tea. Her prime goal was to teach us to prepare sushi. So after drinking the tea we went to the kitchen in order to make an attempt to master the techniques of preparing sushi. We learnt how to marinade the rice that is used for sushi as well as what all ingredients are used for the filling. So we were all taught the tedious technique of making perfect sushi using sticky rice, tuna, mayonnaise, salmon, cucumber and some pickles. Basically the part wherein you have to roll the sushi is the most difficult but somehow all of us successfully managed to prepare 'almost' perfect sushi :D 
  
 Ms. Sadoshima then served us all the different types of sushi including the ones we had prepared. Most of us actually waited for this day to try out sushi. It was indeed an amazing experience to taste a variety of sushi for the first time. After we were done with the sushi, she served us traditional Japanese sponge cake along with whipped cream and strawberries. It was one of the most delicious meals we had till date.
After our meal we played a small game of bingo, every winner was allowed to pick up a gift of his/her choice. There was a variety of pretty gifts such as cute Japanese bookmarks, photo frames, cards, origami, a couple of Waseda gift items like folders, pencils, key chains, etc. It was a very exciting game altogether.

After such a wonderful experience the time finally came to bid adieu but none of us wanted to leave because we all felt so welcomed and homely. Ms. Sadoshima was indeed so hospitable and loving. It was a day never to forget. We then finally left and enjoyed the rain happily singing our way back to the hostel :)

Kamakura : Tranquil moments spent experiencing Japanese religion

After a  busy week in Japan, we had a free day on 10th November. All of us decided to spend it by exploring different places not in the decided itinerary. Some of us went to Odaiba to entertain themselves with famous video games  and amusement park. Whereas I being interested in history and religion decided to go to Kamakura .

I was fortunate to have the company of Yamaguchi sir  (Hiroyuki Yamaguchi ), who agreed to guide me after requesting  at the last moment. We were also joined by Tamaki Nogawa, Yamaguchi sir's friend.

We started at 8:30 in the morning by taking a train to Shinjuku, followed by a travel in the famous small train of Enoshima known as the Enoden.

Then began the visit to a  series of temples, starting with the Kotokuin temple also known as the temple of great Buddha or Daibutsu. This statue of Buddha is huge and an interesting fact about it is that you can climb up into the statue as, it is hollow from within and is  an evidence  of  great skills of the sculptors .

Second temple that we visited was  the Hasedera temple. It is the temple of the Kannon (Kannon means bodhisattva who hears the thoughts and wishes of people ). It has the biggest wooden sculpture of Japan with eleven faces.

(Pictures of interiors of the temples cannot be uploaded due to temple policies.)

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu the temple of the guardian god of the samurais, was the third spot we went to. This was followed by lunch.

In the later part of the day, we  continued the tour with visits to Hokokuji, the Bamboo temple and Kenchoji temple, where we practiced Zen meditation for one hour. It was a purifying spiritual experience with the sonorous rhythm of bells and fragrance of incense.

I and Tamaki san also tried our hands at calligraphy by tracing a sutra written in Kanji. It was a "dream come true" for me as  I had been waiting for long to visit atleast one Japanese temple.  I encountered a  lot of similarities in the religious and social practices  followed in Indian and Japanese temples like washing hands with water as a sign of purification, ringing the bell to get the attention of deity, , lucky charms for prosperity, fortune telling in the temple premises etc. 

  Environment harmony and Tea!

9th November 2012

Japan may be the most industrially and technology driven nation, but their concern for the environment and harmony with the nature is appreciable. Professor Takeshi Hara highlighted the role of religion and environment. The shrines of the Shinto religion are basically surrounded by the trees, very much like the “Devrai” in Goa, signifying the ecological sustenance. Further, a lot of importance is given to water. The natural flowing bodies are well protected and densely forested, especially in the highland areas. One of the most interesting thing that is visible in the country side in Japan is the highlands are undisturbed and maintained in their pristine state.

The “Tea Ceremony” stands unique to the Japanese culture. The tea ceremony was hosted by the Tea Ceremony Student’s Study Group of the Waseda University. (The university has various students’ clubs, enabling the student to engage themselves in any cultural activity)The Japanese tea ceremony, called Chanoyu, Sado or simply Ocha in Japanese is a ritual of preparing and serving Japanese green tea, called Matcha, together with traditional Japanese sweets to balance with the bitter taste of the tea. Preparing tea in this ceremony means pouring all one's attention into the predefined movements. The host of the ceremony always considers the guests with every movement and gesture. Even the placement of the tea utensils is considered from the guests view point (angle), especially the main guests called the Shokyaku.

By Rachel Coelho do Amaral