Hsinchu Titans Cricket Wins in Taiwan

          Vinay M. Shivanna saw my poetry posted on Facebook in 2017 and liked it;  I reached out to him when I was looking for a beta reader for one of my novels in December 2017. “It's 90,000 words, 240 pages. I can send you a standard beta checklist.” He said it would be okay and I sent him the PDF. Months passed. I thought I would never hear from him again, though I noticed he liked new poems I shared. At that time, I had no idea he lived in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and a mere fifty miles north of my home in Taichung; I thought, like many of my poetry readers he was writing from India.

On June 25, 2018, I posted a meme on Facebook to test the water about possibly throwing a party for my birthday in July. “Do I know enough people in Taiwan to make a birthday party for myself?” To my surprise, Vinay was one that responded. By then I realized he lived in Hsinchu, Taiwan, but I knew nothing about him.  I did a quick search of his Facebook home page and located his hometown in south-west India.

“Bengaluru is to the south of Mumbai, considered as Silicon Valley of India,” he texted when I suggested a 19 hour drive from Tiptur to Mumbai was a long ride; Mumbai is one of the only cities I knew of in India. “India is quite big. Bengaluru is the nearest metro city from my hometown, Bengaluru to Mumbai is a 1.5 hr. flight.”

I noticed a photo of the Bhagavad Gita on his page and assumed he was a Hindu. Some branches of Hinduism give the Bhagavad Gita the status of an Upanishad, and consider it to be a Śruti or "revealed text.” I asked if he was a vegetarian. “Yes sir, am a vegetarian but milk and its products, onion, garlic are all okay... No meat and pork oils.” I assured him there would be vegetarian food at my birthday party.

I told Vinay I would love to visit India one day but I wouldn’t know where to start. “You can consider travelling across India, selecting few prominent places from North to South.” I texted I wouldn’t dare go alone.  

“It isn't worst as hyped in the media and SM.” I admitted I was a victim of that negative hype, but the fact was, without a guide, I wouldn't know where to go.                                        “It's possible to find an Indian guide but will be restricted to a single state in India rather.”

There are around three thousand Indian nationals living in Taiwan under work permits and resident visas; the majority live in Taipei, with Hsinchu second with six hundred and Taichung the third main area of residence. It is a small percentage compared to the 500,000 foreign migrant workers, mainly from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. Most Indians love the weather and opportunity; Indians have been coming to Taiwan since the 1980's — mainly businessmen, jewelers, and scientists.

Through India’s "Look East" foreign policy, it has created ties with Taiwan in trade and investment as well as developing cooperation in science and technology. Indian culture shows itself through yoga, fashion and music. Ayurvedic spas and beauty salons are appearing as well as Indian restaurants. Diwali and Holi are celebrated by the Indian communities.

          At my birthday party, Vinay invited me to the cricket finals in Hsinchu to see his team play; he is on the Titans. While teaching in FDR High School in Brooklyn for twenty-five years, the increasing number of Pakistani and Bengali students formed cricket teams that played in Prospect Park but I didn’t avail myself of the opportunities to watch them play. I was looking forward to watching my first cricket match and told Vinay I would be delighted to go.

     On August 1^st, Vinay contacted me with details for the cricket final in Hsinchu that Sunday. I would take a Taiwan Railroad train from Taichung getting there in time for the four o’clock match, returning at ten o’clock after the Titan’s hopeful victory celebration at Chillies’ Indian restaurant, the club's sponsor.

On August 5^th, I got off the train in Hsinchu and walked to National Tsing Hua University baseball field where the final playoff match that day was being held. I met Vinay as I entered the campus. The match had not yet begun so we hung out on the bench during the first inning; there are two innings in cricket; all but two of the eleven players, the batters, were on the bench. The Formosa Cricket Club and the Titans went head to head in the final after six preliminary matches involving the Taipei Cricket Association (TCA) and the Badshaws.

     The game lasted over three hours. This cricket virgin sat in the dugout with the score keeper and Vinay and tried to figure things out. The Titans won 162 to 108 in 18 overs; Captain Vivek Nandkumar’s had 46 runs and Rachit Aggarwal 31 from 16 deliveries. Rachit took three wickets. Titan’s teammates Karuna Nidhi and Manikandan each made great catches.

“What you played that day was 20-20?” I later texted Vinay, proud that I had boned up on some cricket history and rule changes.

“18-18,” he said. “Time limitations and too humid weather resulted in breaks between games. We wanted to do 20-20.But customized to 18-18.”

‘”That kind of cricket has only been around since 2003,” I texted smartly.

“Exactly. The first world cup of 20-20 was only in 2007. It's the newest form in cricket.” I could understand 75% of how runs were scored or why they weren't. As a baseball fan, I chuckled at the chance in baseball of having all foul balls good for runs as they are in cricket, and having a bat with flat surface area which seemed easier to hit the larger ball with. The softer ball seems easier to catch without a glove, but what do I know? Only the speed and catching skills of the “outfielders” and catching the ball before a four-run ground ball out-of-bounds or six run “home runs” seemed similar to baseball rules. I still don’t understand why the bowler has to make such a big deal of running up and throwing the ball when he can get as much velocity and curve by standing and going into a wind-up. From wicket to wicket, the batters didn’t have to slide; only touch their bats to the line; no wonder their uniforms were so clean and neat at the end of the match!

After the victory, I was honored to make a little speech and present the trophy to the Formosa Cricket Club with the Titans HT's trophy Captain Vivek Chakankar presented by Duane Christie and Jayesh Sharma. FCC Captain Arun Parappagoudar received the Runners Trophy. But after the ceremony there was no talk of going to sponsor Chillies’ Indian Restaurant; everyone was too excited so, with more than an hour before the last train south, I was directed by Vinay to a taxi shared with the primary sponsor. Through the campus gate to Guang Fu Road Section 2 where, across the busy thoroughfare, I took the #1 bus back to the train station, a bus that seemed to take longer to the front of the station than it had taken me to walk from the back to the University.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Titan player Joyal Francis asked to friend me on Facebook; Joyal had taken three wickets apiece as Formosa were bowled out. “You must be happy you won.”

“Yes! Of course! We've beaten number one of this island.”

“How long have you played cricket?

“When I was in my childhood, I started to play. Professionally it was a perfect cricket,” Joyal texted, “and perfect ground  under the rules... but not for money, for pride. In Taiwan we try to implement the natural game... it's always learning.... learning..."

“Where did you practice when you were a kid back home?” I asked.

“High school and universities and some different private cricket clubs in India. To become a cricketer, one should learn game from proper coach and some good clubs.”

Vinay and I texted again. “Here is the page for our cricket club patrons

https://www.facebook.com/Titans-Cricket-201805863936750/. This is the group for patrons." Vinay expressed his gratitude to Mr. Thomas Xavier, Chairman, Hsinchu Titans Cricket Club and Mr. Ramakrishna Krishnan ("they call him 'Ramki'")-Vice Chairman and Finance Secretary, Hsinchu Titans Cricket Club "...for leading the club despite all the odds with the great and consistent support from Mr. Nitesh Gupta and Mr. Manikandan Arumugam."

Vinay continued, “They are the ones keeping the club alive and make cricket tournaments happen. Funds, cricket gears, practice sessions, practice matches with other teams, organizing tournaments they do all of it. For the game of cricket, they are doing everything they can. . He also remembered the founding members of the Hsinchu Titans- Mr. Sham Chabukswar and Mr. Tathagath Bhowmick.

     "Hsinchu Titans Cricket Club whole-heartedly express their appreciation to Mr. Minesh Valand, Chillies Indian Restaurant for his great support to Chillies Titans Cup-2018, Hsinchu Titans Cricket Club and thank him for his passion for the game of cricket," Vinay concluded, then he changed the subject.  "You are taking out time for a write up, am indebted for that.”

“Thanks for the great experience,” I replied.

“It was indeed our pleasure. The team was really happy to meet you."

“You opened up a new browser for me in cricket and for that I am grateful.” I have been watching all the cricket YouTube videos I can since that match. “Glad you won, but I'm sure you would have been happy if you hadn't.”

“No no; we wanted to win for sure, particularly if you are the host team, you must win considering its your home ground; you're familiar with the conditions here, and you know how the ball behaves after pitching better than the guest team,” Vinay responded.

“Okay, so you're real,” I chided. “I think of Krishna heading into battle. He stopped to wonder why he was fighting and was reassured he was put in the world for that purpose.”

“Ha-ha...What amazes me is, your knowledge about Krishna and Mahabharata. I am sure many Indians aren't familiar with it as much as you are.”

“Don't flatter me. That's all I recall; perhaps the rest will come back to me soon.”  That reminds me of the only rock ‘n’ roll song I know of, by The Kinks, about Cricket:  Watch "Cricket" performed by the Spivs here.

Some people say that life is a game, well if this is so

I'd like to know the rules on which this game of life is based

I know of no game more fitting than the age old game of cricket

It has honour, it has character and it's British

Now God laid down the rules of life when he wrote those Ten Commandments

And to cricket those ten same rules shall apply

Show compassion and self-righteousness and be honest above all

And come to God's call with bat and ball

Now the Devil has a player and he's called the Demon Bowler

He's shrewd, he's rude and he's wicked

He is sent by Sinful Satan and he's out to take your wicket

And you know that that's not cricket

He'll baffle you with googlies with leg breaks and offspin

But keep a level head and don't let that demon in

So keep a straight bat at all times, let the Bible be your guide

And you'll get by, yes you'll get by

All through your life he'll try to bowl you out

Beware the Demon bowler

He's crafty and deceitful and he'll try to L.B.W.

And bowl a maiden over

The Devil takes the weak in spirit and so we must always be courageous

And remember that God is on your side

So keep old Satan in your sights and play the straight and narrow line

And you'll get by, yes you'll get by

板球基本規則

The basics of the game of cricket explained in Chinese, filmed during the match between Hsinchu Titans Cricket Club and Taiwan Daredevils Cricket Club held in Chiayi City, Taiwan on Sunday October 4th, 2015. With hardcoded Chinese and English Subtitles.

Watch "Cricket explained in Mandarin" here,

www.readingsandridings.jimdo.com

Buy "Unnatural Beauty; Poems from the Han Riverside" Here
 Copyright © 2018 by David Barry Temple. All rights reserved.

Celine Dion in Taipei Neon

    On July 9, 2018, a typhoon was headed to Taipei. It was expected to make landfall late Tuesday  afternoon. The HSR from Taichung might be affected, the Celine Dion concert on Wednesday evening might be affected, and since we had tickets to see her at The Little Dome, we might have been affected, too. But on that Monday, the air was dry with a slightly cooler breeze. The clouds were  drifting from the northwest; no longer southeast from the tail of the typhoon that missed Taiwan and devastated the west coast of Japan heading through the East Sea between Korea and Japan, killing 120 people displacing more than a million. The HSR was running. The concert was on!

     We had bough tickets to the concert in March, four months in advance, as soon as it was posted. Celine Dion was supposed to play in Taiwan four years ago until her late husband took ill and she cancelled. Everyone who loved her was anxious to see her this time, then, in April, she announced that she was having surgery done on her ear. Again, her fans sat on the edge of their seats; would she have to cancel again? This time she made it! She would do two more shows, one added, before she left Taiwan to complete her Asian Tour

     We spent our day in Taipei around the main station, having lunch in Q Plaza and walking through the underground City Mall  to our hotel just outside exit 13. We rested up and munched on the barrel-roasted meat buns we had reserved from a vendor outside. The weather was fine; cool and dry, unusual for Taipei in mid-July. We walked to the MRT through the underground and headed to the Little Dome which was built on old badminton courts across from where another dome had caught fire and was demolished years ago. My old neighborhood had changed a lot since 1984; the biggest change being the MRT. It would have taken us almost an hour back then on bus route 23; instead it took fifteen minutes. When we got outside we were shocked. 

     The lines outside the Celine Dion concert were chaotic; no one knew which line was which; there were no banisters and only a few ushers with megaphones; it felt like a Midway Fairground. Despite the absence of ropes, most Taiwanese didn't cut into lines; they just cut through them to get to the other side. It was wild for fifteen minutes but, finally, we found the right place, not that the other places were wrong, mind you, but we felt confident this line would get us inside.

     We took our seats just as the warm-up act, a Canadian singer impersonator, Veronic DeCaire,  came on stage. She did great versions of popular artists like Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga, but we were raring to see the real thing; an icon: Celine Dion in the flesh.

     When Celine came out to sing, 12,000 fans erupted. Celine went right into the show, and then commented on the typhoon that had passed to Taiwan’s north; how it didn’t seem to affect us because we were all present, but she didn’t comment on the chaos outside the arena; she didn’t know and no one told her. There would be chaos at Friday and Saturday's concerts, too.  

       I think Celine paid too much attention to crediting others’ material and did not do enough of her own. I’m glad she did the acoustic medley with the background singers and guitarist, “At Seventeen” (which, it seems, only I  knew) “Touched by an Angel”, and “We are Family” paying credence to the Taiwanese born acoustic bass playing chick and kissing the African American tenor; it was all very “inclusive” and the audience loved it, but she didn’t have to pay a tribute to Prince or name drop Pink to thank her for writing a song for her when her husband passed away. Eric Carmen's "All By Myself" was also a tribute but without giving him  equal credit; she had covered it on an album. Also, she spent too much time plugging the new "Deadpool II"action hero movie that she was asked to sing the theme song for. She stopped the show five minutes to tell the story that accompanied the MTV video, as opposed to being a show-stopper. 
     At least she spoke slowly so the mostly non-English speaking crowd could understand. Other songs she sang "meant so much to [her]" that it was more overkill than Deadpool. Though most of her songs are covers, she could have given a shout out to all the writers she's had instead of the select few. 

     The neon light show and orchestral background  were the best parts of the Celine Dion experience. Musically, the best part was a violin center stage with her “To Love You More.” The disco medley, including"Sex Machine" by James Brown, got us on our feet during one of her four or five wardrobe changes, but it would have been  better as part of the warm-up; we wanted to hear more of her hits, not other's. The disco song was out of character and awkward to returned to our seats when she came back finishing the song down-tempo. I guess we couldn't jump around too much in the fragile Little Dome so neighbors wouldn't be complaining.

     The most outrageous aspect of the show was the price. We could have bought the nose-bleed seats in the upper deck for 800 NT-$26 but they sold out fast, way before the third show was added in Taipei. Instead we bought the 10,800 NT-$350 seats. Even in Las Vegas her seats go for $200 tops; they were way over-priced. Granted she had a orchestra of twelve behind her and three background singers, even a male dancer who came out to accompany her as she sang.  The problem is, Taiwan is not Japan and most pop stars from the west pass us by. It is either Brittney Spears, Air Supply, or a washed up Bob Dylan whose English can't even be understood by childhood friends. And we spent $200, half of it to a scalper, just to see a bloated Axel Rose in November rain; at least Slash will be back on guitar.  

     Celine Dion is an amazing singer. Few divas are worth the price of seeing them live; Celine is the one. Bravo! 

Set List

Part 1

Musical Intro

The Power of Love (Jennifer Rush cover)

That's the Way It Is

I'm Alive

Because You Loved Me

Part 2

Toccata 2.4 (Musical Interlude)

It's All Coming Back to Me Now (Pandora's Box cover)

Beauty and the Beast (Alan Menken cover)

Ashes

Think Twice

Part 3

Rising Outta Me (Musical Interlude)

Falling into You (Marie-Claire D’Ubaldo cover)

The Reason (Carole King cover)

Pour que tu m'aimes encore

Recovering

All by Myself (Eric Carmen cover)

Part 4

Musical Interlude

Acoustic Medley: At Seventeen / A New Day Has Come / Unison

To Love You More

Part 5

Uptown Funk/Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough/We are Family/Groove is in the Heart/Sex Machine

(by backup singers)

Kiss / Purple Rain (Prince cover)

Love Can Move Mountains

River Deep, Mountain High (Ike & Tina Turner cover)

My Heart Will Go On

www.readingsandridings.jimdo.com
Buy "Unnatural Beauty; Poems from the Han Riverside" Here
 Copyright © 2018 by David Barry Temple. All rights reserved.

Rainy Penghu South

                              

     I'm in the Business Center of the Yaling Hotel in Magong, Penghu, Taiwan where we just spent two nights. We haven't gone far from the hotel today venturing only to new Pier 3 mall a block away to see a movie called "Oceans Nine" (nothing about oceans) and behind the hotel for a so-so  seafood lunch as the rain poured down.
      Our three day trip was spent dancing around the rain;  boat rides  to two of our main trip attractions were cancelled due to choppy seas. Furthermore, a great looking outdoor pool at the hotel and the pristine sand and blue water at Chili Beach were at your own risk; in fact some careless soul let his family down by being washed out to sea nearby. We were making the best of a rainy time. The hotel bed was comfortable; great to sleep in, anyway, though the room was cold. The hotel breakfast was mediocre, especially the western side, and the Taiwanese guests were typically noisy and inconsiderate; there were seven kids making a racket running around the echo-laden lobby unattended and undeterred as I wrote this. They were  so noisy in fact that we chose to be picked up and brought to the airport at 2 pm for our 5:50 flight back to Taichung. Despite what my wife heard about the chaos at the airport due to travelers whose ship rides back to Taiwan were cancelled, anything was better than the hotel lobby.

     Our flight out of Taichung was on a brand new ATR prop; the half hour ride almost as expensive as the half hour taxi from our home in Beitun. The tour package was inexpensive but the taxi ride was not. We will have to wait a few years before the just approved subway to the outer limits of Taiwan's largest air force base hosting a tiny airport is built; it takes a plane forever to taxi to the runway. Taichung is now the only international airport without an MRT hook-up. We must also remember to bring our own lunch to Taichung International Airport because there is one Taiwanese style restaurant outside check-in. Inside, there are two or three chintzy tourist traps and a few small duty free shops. 

  From our hotel room, we could see the harbor full of anchored fishing boats. The empty lots nearby were where proponents were hoping to build casinos; they lost by 80% on the second try. At least Penghu gets to keep its quaint small island feel,  traffic-less streets, and local downtown Magong businesses, a fifteen minute walk from the harbor. The South Sea Visitor Center, where we were to get tickets for our island hopping, was a five minute walk near the berths and a  shopping  mall. It turned out to be a  perfect configuration for what would turn out to be three days of intermittent rain and high winds. Forlorn, I looked out our window again down at two inviting outdoor pools over our lobby. It was where I had planned to do laps. This trip was a total washout for swimming.

      By far, the most fun we had was taking a flat-bottomed boat with glass-  windows below deck out of which one saw nothing in the murky water. The boats were attached to the privately owned Hai-Yang Mu-Chang oyster enterprise and their eating platform over the bed  not far outside the harbor. We were brought there for an all-you-can-eat fresh oyster feast by a guide that wouldn't clam up for a moment. I had my fill of him and three trays of oysters that my wife baked over bamboo coal until they opened, some of them, anyway; some had been taken directly from Davy Jones locker. Once opened, I dipped the salty meat nuggets into a greenish wasabi paste in soy sauce and downed them with a bowl of thin rice gruel and cans of authentic Taiwan beer. The rain didn’t stop but we were high and dry on the slow boat in the replica of China to the platform in the harbor protected from the open seas.       Rough seas in Penghu South ,Taiwan

     The trips to Blue Cave (Tsau-lang) on Xijiyu Island and Qimei's Twin Hearts Stone Weir (surely you've seen the photos) were cancelled because of the 29 nautical mile rough seas. We did get our money back from EZ Travel, the agency that made all our plans; I highly recommend them. We didn’t go to Chimei but we did berth on the nearby Wang-an, both a safer 18 nautical miles from port. We took advantage of a lull in the rain and rode a scooter past the indoor Green Turtle Conservation Center to check out  Huazhai Ancient

Residences; a few blocks of mostly un-reclaimed coral and shell mortar structures; the Erkan Ancient Residences on Xiyu island accessible by road on the main island that we visited a few years ago were more extensive and preserved

     When the rain started again, we jumped on the scooter and rode back to see the turtles. I was excited when the guide that met us at the door told us how lucky we were to be there just in time before the turtles were returned to the sea. We raced through the exhibits about sea turtles to catch a glimpse of the orphans before we had to return to the ship.

 We looked everywhere and only saw a small pool behind glass with three turtles and a few fish swimming around. I had expected to see more than three small live turtles. The gift shop had  pictures of turtles on hats and shirts but all generic; nothing to tell the world I had visited the sanctuary and these three orphans on this outpost in the Taiwan Strait. 

The worst part of our soggy excursion
 was to neighboring Jiangjun-anyu, an alternative to the basalt island Hujingyu, closer to Magong but too dangerous to dock upon in rough seas. Instead, we spent time on an island with the meaningless distinction of being the spot where tropical-and sub-tropical lines divide the world; a spot designated by two obelisks wide enough to block the horizontal rain and wind on the barren hill where the obedient mini-bus driver dropped us off, SOP, to pick up other soaking wet tourists before retrieving us on the rebound. I should have refused to get off the mini-bus but my wife made me. On the same island, mostly military base with a public school for six children of the three hundred residents left from the original three thousand islanders. Stalls sold kaoliang liquor that had one long sea centipede inside each, presumably deceased before being placed; you couldn’t even eat them like agave worms in mescal; they were just there to gross you out.

On Monday evening, the
 night of the summer solstice, the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, and Fathers’ Day in the U.S.A., we thought it would be a fat chance of having the last fireworks show of the season under Xi-ying Rainbow Bridge near Relativity Park (don’t ask me why they don’t last through the summer) because of the wind and rain all day but, amazingly, the rain stopped and the winds died down for the thousands who congregated for the music show and all. We walked cross Magong island the twenty minutes from our four-star hotel near the South Sea Visitor Center, had some ices in one shop, a tea egg from the herb shop near Four-Eyed Well, and made it over to Hyacinth Coffee Shop, a classic café so out of place with the schmaltzy deep-fried dives around it, to have iced delights and fine company for an hour with the lady barista there these sixteen years, and then we strolled over to the 9:30 fireworks; the best in Taiwan.

   We cooled our heels for an hour before the miraculous clearing of rain and wind for the fireworks display. When we are downtown in Magong, we never forget to bring home the brown sugar sponge cake and peanut candy; local specialties. 

         When we got back to Taichung, on time, the 400 NT taxi fare greeted us; There are a few lots across the street from the airport that charge 70-80 NT a day; we will look into it on our next flight out of Taichung. I felt badly for the stranded people, especially when I heard the authorities sweep them out in the evening. There were a lot of people, whole families, on stand-by. One family of nine paid 14,000 NT for plane tickets because no ships were sailing back to Taiwan, and the flight they got was to Taipei so they still had to detour  their way back to Kaohsiung. 

     Thank Goodness for Pier 3; it sheltered us from the storm, had an American-style fast food restaurant with fried chicken and hamburgers, and a gourmet ice cream stand. My wife got a designer leather handbag and  I got swimming goggles (just in case it stopped raining; it didn't), had duty free shops, a movie theater, and even a whiskey museum. Most important, it was dry and not crowded. For all the alternate plans we had to make because of the rain in Penghu, it was more fun than staying home in the rain in Taichung. If you don't play, it will be taken from you in other ways. 

Cafe Des Artistes In Taichung Near Chung-Yo

With my wife still at the beautician, I left "5 Music" (the best selections of CD's in Taichung!) on San-Min Road Sec. 3, across from Chung-Yo Department Store, and turned left to find a place to sit and wait, have coffee, and look at my CD’s. Up the alley to the left I walked spotting a café called Café Des Artistes. 
 It was after lunch hour and the place was empty. I took a seat and the barista turned the air con on for me. I had just ordered coffee when my wife sent a text message that she was “here” at 5 Music. I texted her to come by and gave her the address of this mini art gallery. There are different rooms for private parties; even a room for electronic darts.

Cafe Des Artistes proprietor, a displaced Hong Konger and painter, soon arrived on the scene to welcome us. It turned out the café had been featured on TV for the  display of his playful large-eyed cartoonish paintings mimicking famous art, all subjects with a menu item such as sausages, on a stick held by Napoleon on a horse leading a charge of KMT soldiers. We chatted and were gave a tour of his four floor café/gallery with a glow-in-the-dark bathroom that revealed a secret under the clothes-clad characters when the light was out, and his rooftop art studio. 
     If you're in the neighborhood of Yi-Song Street or Taichung Park and want something more creative to be in than a hot line for overpriced coffee, check them out. I was so amused I purchased the mug of Napoleon riding a horse holding his sword high with a sausage on the tip.