It is S-san's last working day in the Singapore office. He will be returning to Tokyo in his new role as a Showa big shot. Very rarely does one have an opportunity to write a tribute to a colleague, so here goes.
The image of Japan that I had gathered from the media (including Haruki Murakami novels and Lost in Translation, the movie) was one of degenerate sex perverts, sake drunkards, maniacal workaholics and economic doomsayers. I won't venture to speculate on S-san's sexual exploits, but here is the person I got to know - a standard middle-aged gentleman who loved his cigarettes and Mother's Recipe Indian pickle.
Long walks to High Street Plaza for the weekly Indian meal at Jesal-sardar (so we called the joint). Souvenirs reliably brought from vacations on every tropical island paradise in the vicinity. A yearning to catch the Northern Lights in the Arctic (not yet) and to soar above Mount Everest (done). An almost-clerical diligence with numbers and rigorous analysis, without a hint of his serf-commanding bigwig status on his home turf. Yeses and nos which meant precisely that - yes and no. A pocket English-Japanese-English electronic dictionary that helped zoom past every barrier of tongue and thought. A child-like curiosity at the delights of Pat-Phong. An impeccable devotion to his son's soccer matches and swimming lessons. An understanding smile every time I pointed out another collapse in the Dow or the Nikkei. Stories about late night drinking bouts with Japanese colleagues, where the quality of the Powerpoint production was directly related to the quantity of booze in the gut. And, the awesome Red Bean Kit Kat bar.
Traveller. Aficionado. Gourmand. Father.
I remember his simple pledge to go from 10 to 4 cigarettes a day in line with a company wellness programme. One wonders if that applies in Tokyo.
I hope he liked the Images of Singapore from the Japanese Perspective 1868-1941 - A collection of photographs, postcards and documents.
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