Fresh air and Hrundi V Bakshi

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago in our garden. It has been about a year since moved in to this flat but we have only had the opportunity to take advantage of the garden in the past few weeks. The weather wasn't very good last summer; for the early part of this one, it was pretty wet and cold.

Happily, a few days of sunshine and serious heat finally appeared in June and we have been getting outside as much as possible, in the garden, the parks or the playground. The big reason, of course, is Kirin. However much we adults yearn for a little bit of outdoor space, it must be even nicer for a little person to be able to crawl around, touch the grass and get some fresh air on his skin (as fresh as it can be in a megacity like London). The first time was back in April when we went to Italy and hopefully the weather will be good in Canada, too.

Kirin's latest trick is to turn over on to his tummy when you are trying to change his nappy. It's a bit like that moment in The Party, the movie where Peter Sellers plays Hrundi V Bakshi, a hapless Indian who causes a lot of mayhem at a glamorous Hollywood party. Bakshi unwittingly gets drunk and dives into the pool. The other guests try to help him by finding a set of dry clothes, but when the western star Wyoming Bill Kelso tells him to get out of his wet ones, Bakshi replies in his strong Indian accent, "You take your clothes off, naughty man!", proceeds to squirm out of Kelso's grip and then starts bouncing up and down on the bed. Well, that's pretty much what Kirin does these days, so you have to be quick.

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On another note, Uncle Sameer has helpfully offered a short history of the word Kirin. We included a short description of the Indian origins in the original post of this blog and here is the cross-border, international version.

As a regular reader of your blog, Sir, I feel that there has been precious little attempt to give some Kirin context... I am hereby attempting to redress that balance.

Wikipedia on Kirin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirin

Which leads us to Wikipedia on Qilin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qilin

Here's where the Giraffe Theory gets a proper airing, and we find out, for one, that:

"The Qilin is the lord of all beasts or hairy creatures"

Which is no news to Ravi at 5am.

Then we find out that Kirin is actually Manchuria:

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9117324

or is it Mishra?

http://www.saraswatiriveryoga.com/kirinbiopage.htm

The Canadians won't be left out:

http://www.kirin-studio.com/

But surely the most unexpected connection is:
Norwegian Kirin
William Copeland, credited as the founder of Japan's first beer brewery Kirin Breweries, was a Norwegian.

01/05/2006 :: The Spring Valley Brewery, forerunner to the now famous Kirin Brewery, was founded in 1870. Foreign immigrant William Copeland had discovered a spring in the hillsides over Yokohama and quickly recognised its potential. Japan had only just opened its borders to the outside world, and though the country already had a beer brewery, it was not doing well. The existing brewery was also foreign run but Copeland realised that bitter western beer needed attuning to Japanese palates, and his product was an instant hit.
Copeland was a registered American citizen, but had in fact emigrated from Norway as an adult. His birth name was Johan Martinius Thoresen, born 1834 in Aust Agder. Before leaving his home country, he received practical training at Arendal Bryggeri, experience that proved handy in his later life.

There have been speculations about the Kirin name, some claiming it is a spin-off on the common Norwegian female name Karin. Karin was supposedly a close acquaintance of Copeland. However, due to various reasons Copeland went bankrupt in 1884, leaving him in personal financial ruin. Japan Brewery Company purchased Spring Valley, and it was Japan Brewery Company that later changed its name to Kirin. Nonetheless, Kirin still credits Copeland as company founder and the father of Japanese beer. A memorial to the Norwegian adventurer stands on the original factory grounds, and an annual remembrance day is held in his honour.

And finally, more Kiriniana: http://www.googlism.com/index.htm?ism=kirin&type=1