Caribbean Blues

Actor Sharman Joshi talks about his offbeat Aruban holiday

Aruba boasts aninteresting mixof cultures.You'll findSpaniards,Venezuelans,Africans and even 10,000-odd Indians on this smallisland, located off the coastof Venezuela in SouthAmerica. The locallanguage, Papiamento, isalso a mélange of tongues.

The story goes that localscreated the language duringthe Spanish reign in the1800s, when most of themwere employed as slaves.The Spaniards left an indelibleimprint on the place, andthat's what makes it sospecial.

Raju Hirani, R Madhavanand I went there for aspecial screening of 3 Idiotsat the Aruba Film Festival,which was held from June 8to June 11. We spent twoevenings at the auditoriumand roamed around duringthe day.

Aruba is the quintessentialCaribbean beach city.It's got quiet sea shores, coolwaters and friendly locals.At the Palm Island, which isa hotspot for snorkelling, thewater is unusually calm.The beach by our hotel wasalso just as quiet. That'swhere I tried windsurfingand deep sea walking. I didn'tthink I'd adapt well, but Iwas quite good. When thewater is so still, you can'tresist jumping in!

For a small island that isjust about 40 km wide,Aruba has a whole lot ofcasinos that stay open allnight. We usually hung outthere when we felt like athree-card poker game orroulette. We had a good timeat the South Beach building,the entire ground floor ofwhich has theme bars, allwith a different ambienceand music playlist. That'swhere I tasted Balashi, thelocal beer. It's pretty good, astronger version ofKingfisher.

Unfortunately, they don'thave much of a street foodculture, but the continentaldishes are delectable. Wewent to a restaurant calledPinchos, which is held up bystilts right over theCaribbean Sea. A countrymusician kept us entertainedwith his tunes allevening. Since carnivals aresuch an important part oftheir culture, the organisersof the film festival chose tohave one just for us at theRenaissance Island.

Some of the local Indiansmoved there duringPartition. It is quite surprisingwhy they chose this of allplaces. Some told us thatthey were heading to NorthAmerica, but changed theirmind when they heard thatAruba's economy wouldboom in the 1950s. Sitting athome on a regular day Imight have wondered whythey chose Aruba, but afterhaving spent four days here,I think I know what heldthem back!

As told to Aalap Deboor

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