Asian Gypsy - All Things Mongolian

POSTPONEMENT OF ALTAN URAG CONCERT

2010-01-11T04:47:00.006+08:00

We regret to inform you that Altan Urag, for reasons beyond their control, will unfortunately be unable to perform at the concert scheduled in London for 13 January at The Relentless Garage. This concert will therefore be rescheduled for another date in 2010, and we shall keep you informed as soon as the new arrangements are made.

Altan Urag is very disappointed at not being able to meet their

fans as planned, and apologise unreservedly for the inconvenience this has caused. They are looking forward to seeing you as soon as possible.

Those who have already paid for tickets may either:

(1) keep the ticket and use it for admittance to the rescheduled concert (as mentioned above, we shall make sure to advise you)

OR

(2) get a refund.
If you would like a refund, please contact Unurmaa Janchiv of Art Cafe at Lingua Global, by email unurmaa@linguaglobal.org.uk or by phoning on 07888713429.

Organisers:

Lingua Global
www.linguaglobal.org.uk
The Mongolian Association in the UK
www.mongolchuud.co.uk
Altan Urag
www.myspace.com/altanurag

News Update: Freezing Cold in Mongolia

2010-01-07T23:56:00.000+08:00

It's freezing. Two days ago, I parked my car outside for 3 hours without starting it or heating it, and it turned into an ice box. Wouldn't start. I called the trusty 1950 and asked the operator to send someone over. A taxi drove up to the car after 5 minutes, and the driver spent the next 30 minutes doing his best to rescue my ice cube on wheels. Unfortunately, nothing worked. Even the good ole Mongolian method of grilling the engine bits and the spark plugs with a makeshift blowtorch failed to bring it back to life. After 20 mins standing outside, I could no longer feel my fingers and toes. It was and still is that cold. -36 degrees Celsius cold.

We are on the second of the nine nines, as Mongolians call it. These are the coldest 81 days of winter, that start around winter equinox. And until the first 4 or 5 nines are behind us, the weather doesn't look promising for cars, toes and fingers. The temperatures will, probably, get better after Tsagaan Sar, which is on the 14th of February this year, so far, though I'm fairly certain there will be disputes over the exact Tsagaan Sar date come February.

ALTAN URAG IN LONDON: 13 JANUARY 2010

2010-01-03T22:24:00.002+08:00

Famous for their soundtrack on the movie ‘Mongol’ directed by Sergei Bodrov,

the Mongolian ethnic folk rock band ALTAN URAG will perform LIVE

at The Relentless Garage ONLY ONCE on Wednesday, 13 January 2010 at 7PM.

Tickets only £15. Places limited to 150. Book and buy your tickets by phoning 07888713429 or via e-mail: info@linguaglobal.org.uk

STRICTLY OVER 14S, PHOTO ID, UNDER 16S TO BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT.

You will have an opportunity to buy their CD, get the band members’ autographs and have your photo taken with the band members.

Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, Babyshambles and many more have performed at The Relentless Garage. After Altan Urag’s performance, those who attend the concert will have the opportunity to move to the main hall of the club for FREE and continue clubbing until they close!!! Take an advantage of our ‘2 for 1’ offer and spend a night to remember at this famous venue!!!

Address: Upstairs at Garage

The Relentless Garage

20-22 Highbury Corner

London N5 1RD

Tube: Highbury & Islington, right opposite the tube station (close to Highbury & Islington Parks, where the Mongol Naadam is organised every summer)

Buses: 4, 19, 30, 43, 271, 393

Organisers:

Lingua Global Mongolian Accociation in UK Altan Urag

www.linguaglobal.org.uk www.mongolchuud.co.uk www.myspace.com/altanurag

Formed in 2002, ALTAN URAG is an ethnic folk rock band, whose music fuses traditional Mongolian sounds with contemporary influences.

The name Altan Urag can be loosely translated as “Kin of the Khan” or “Golden Lineage”, referring to Genghis Khan and his ancestors. The band’s vision is both to promote Mongolian culture to the world and to introduce traditional music to the young people of their country.

The band’s seven members are skilful players of traditional instruments: morin khuur (horse-head fiddle), ikh khuur (grand horse-head fiddle), bishguur (traditional horn) and yochin (hammered dulcimer) and percussion. The vocalists are exotic throat and long song singers, and have all been trained in traditional and classical Mongolian music.

Of Altan Urag’s music Sergei Bodrov says “… their distinctive vocal rhythms lend a sense of otherworldly strength to several scenes … I just fell in love with them. They have an amazing energy.” (Bodrov, www.mongolmovie.com)

2009

2009-12-30T20:33:00.001+08:00

So it's already the 30th of December and my how time flies. Everyone's coming up with their list of 2009 notable events and such. And I thought about doing it, but I haven't really had much time to think about these sort of things lately. December 2009 has been a crazy busy month with no posts on this blog until today. Curfew November ended, and the dams burst. For a little while.

Due to the economic recession, the public sector holiday budget has been cut, resulting in fewer parties and/or public servants paying out of their own pockets to fund their NY celebrations. The private sector has been active NY-wise, but generally there's very little in terms of festive mood. It snowed yesterday, but not in a festive snowman-making way, more in a only enough to cover your car in snow and ice-glue your windshield wipers to the window kind of way.

So back to my list, if I had a list, I suppose OT agreement going through should top it, mainly due to the hype surrounding it. I, on my part, have not read the agreement, so I can't yet decide if I should be worried for the environmental doom and water shortage we're headed towards or excited for the glorious economic prosperity coal and copper could bring. Perhaps it's both. Ts.Elbegdorj became the President, the first Democratic president since democracy came marching in, and has subsequently been named the Man of the Year by some paper or another, resulting in another deja-vu of Obama's change-campaign and a nomination of a similar kind, albeit on a macro level. PM S.Bayar resigned, becoming the first PM to voluntarily step down from the post.

Speaking of Obama, while going through JibJab's playlist, I found this hilarious video, which has nothing to do with 2009 list but here it is:

Then there's H1N1, which everyone stopped caring about soon as the curfew was lifted. Everything was back to normal. The newspapers suddenly stopped their daily front-page coverage of the swine flu, and stopped ridiculing the Health Minister in their cartoon sections.

While the government's decided not to hold any official fireworks on the Square, they informed citizens that they were free to gather at the Square on NYE. To do exactly what, I am not sure, considering unofficial / private fireworks we could buy for 10,000 Tugriks last year are now banned (if I heard correctly). I'm for the ban really, considering the number of people who get their fingers blown off every year. Now for some cool, Starbucks put together a video of "All you need is love", performed by folks from 156 countries at the same time, to launch their campaign against AIDS in Africa. We are at 2m11s mark just between Palau and Rwanda, with a morin huurch playing a couple of connecting riffs.

You can watch the entire Mongolia video on Starbucks Love project site, with the musician Khishigtsogt performing the whole song on a morin huur, with some khuumii thrown in. Here's the link.

On that note, Happy New Year!

Curfew November

2009-11-20T10:22:00.000+08:00

It's been a month of 9pm curfews. Eventful to say the least. Police raids on hotels busting groggy guests squinting into the camera light and raids on the little corner shops caught selling beverages at 3am all on the evening news. I am not even sure if busting hotel guests for simply having a small party of their own is legal, considering they've paid for the privacy. Unless the hotel staff or fellow occupants complain to the police due to excessive noise or unruly behaviour. And isn't consent required to film them?

It's very reminiscent of the good ole commie days, when we had these public walls of shame where "special" people would have their photos and a detailed explanation of how that they've lost their socialist ideals displayed for everyone to see. There even used to be a special weekly newspaper called "Woodpecker" or Tonshuul, if my memory serves me, dedicated to shaming people. Them's were the days. And old habits die hard, because it is not just the media and the police using this method. Private lenders put up newspapers ads with photos of their debtors when they're behind payments.

Yesterday, the government's decided to extend the curfew by another 14 days.

Due to the quarantine at schools, they have been holding televised lessons for students on several TV channels. The secondary and high schools will resume classes from next week.

The infection rate of H1N1 is slowing down, reports say, with 1015 cases and 16 deaths so far.

GIA Director nominated as the next Foreign Minister

2009-11-04T14:29:00.000+08:00

R.Bold, director of the General Intelligence Agency, has been nominated by PM S.Batbold to take over the PM's previous position as the Foreign Minister. Before being appointed the head of the GIA, he served as Mongolia's ambassador to the US during 2003-2007.

Swine flu update

2009-11-02T15:50:00.000+08:00

The total number of confirmed cases of H1N1 has reached 632 as of Sunday, of whom 514 are in UB city. There have been 7 deaths so far. Health Minister S.Lambaa has been criticized by the media for not taking preventive measures soon enough and for downplaying the rate at which the infection was spreading. During his recent meeting with WHO officials, he admitted that the swine flu cases may reach epidemic proportion. Mongolia received 45,000 tamiflu vaccines recently from WHO.

Su. Batbold instated as the 26th Prime Minister of Mongolia

2009-10-30T13:24:00.002+08:00

"You've no idea how hard it is to hold on to this thing"
President Elbegdorj (centre) gazes on thoughtfully as Su.Batbold (left) is handed
the PM's seal of office by the Deputy PM, N.Altankhyag (right).

The Parliament convened yesterday to ratify the nomination of Su. Batbold, MPRP's candidate to take over the Premier's seat. With 93.9% of the MPs voting in approval of his nomination, he was instated as the 26th Prime Minister of Mongolia in an official ceremony yesterday. He gave up his position as the Foreign Minister after a somewhat confused debate amongst the MP's on whether the PM could hold a concurrent post as the Foreign Minister. So the obvious next question is, who will be the next Foreign Minister?

More on Louis Vuitton

2009-10-29T14:52:00.002+08:00

LV promo shot. Photo source

Came across an article on Louis Vuitton Mongolia here. The article includes a set of promo photos with herders and LV bags. Interesting and exotic to those who know nothing about Mongolia perhaps. Absolutely ridiculous to us who live here. Why the kid (meaning the baby goat)? Herders with LV bags that are probably more expensive than their entire herd? If this is an attempt at photographic surrealism and a social commentary on the absurdity of consumerism, it does its job very well. But I doubt that is the case here.

Visit the article source for more fun photos.

Su.Batbold nominated by MPRP for the PM's seat

2009-10-29T14:32:00.000+08:00

Su.Batbold, the PM nominee. Photo from News.mn

MPRP's party conference on Wednesday evening unanimously voted for Su.Batbold, the Minister for Foreign Relations and Trade, to take S.Bayar's place as the Premier. Su.Batbold's name has been presented to the President for his seal of approval today.

While S.Bayar will step down as the PM, he has expressed his intention to retain his party chairman position. If the MPRP governing board approves of his decision, perhaps it will be one way for S.Bayar to ensure that everything he has worked hard to accomplish isn't undone by his successor. At the same, this move is greeted with some hesitation by members of the press, as it may lead to power struggles and internal party politicking.

The Foreign Minister Su.Batbold is a diplomat and the former CEO of Altai Trading Co.Ltd, a conglomerate that owns Altai Cashmere and Chinggis Khaan hotel. He started his political career in 2000 as the deputy minister of Foreign Relations and has been in Parliament since 2004.

PM Bayar to resign

2009-10-27T11:22:00.004+08:00

PM S.Bayar made an official request yesterday morning to resign from his post as the Prime Minister, citing health reasons. The MPRP governing body received his request, and will present it to the Parliament during its next session. The MPRP will also nominate a candidate for the Premier's seat during their next party session on Wednesday, and present the nominee to the President. The newspapers have been speculating on the possible candidates, including M.Enkhbold, former PM and current Deputy PM, who lost his position as the PM in 2007 to S.Bayar when MPRP removed M.Enkhbold from his party chairman post.

Hardly an ideal situation for Mongolia, as for me personally, S.Bayar is a better PM than many of the possible candidates mentioned in the press. Bayar's resignation may also bring into question the stability of the coalition government. While the MPRP and DP sides both agree that the coalition government should remain, MPRP's choice for a PM candidate will be the deciding factor for its future.

MPRP wins Chingeltei by-election

2009-10-20T11:44:00.000+08:00

According to news.mn, MPRP candidate and the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, D.Zorigt took 60% of the votes in Sunday's Chingeltei district by-election and has been handed his temporary MP status. In second place was the head of "Electors' Education" NGO, R. Burmaa with 30% of the votes. On a side note, Javkhlan, the boyish folk-singer, got 3.8%.

Swine Flu in Mongolia

2009-10-15T12:36:00.001+08:00

As of today, there are 12 people diagnosed with the swine flu in UB. Countrywide, the number is 17, including the 12 UB cases and other suspected cases. Since the first UB cases were reported on Tuesday, various H1N1 warnings and health advisory emails, messages and news reports have been published. Walking down the street this morning, I saw a lot of young people wearing their fashionably black face masks.

Luxury Brand Explosion in Mongolia

2009-10-13T11:41:00.000+08:00

If you live in UB, you must've seen the gigantic Sean Connery Louis Vuitton ad plastered across the wall of the Shangri-La / Central Tower building facing Sukhbaatar square. The makeshift banner-wall is now down, and the LV shop facade has emerged ready for its grand opening soon. Yves Carcelle, chief executive of LV, had this to say:

“Sometimes in our industry there is a tendency to follow your ego and sometimes open stores where you don’t have the market, or stores too big for your potential -- we never do that,” Carcelle said. “When we open a big store, we know that there is a market, we know the financials. So we never have to close a store for economic reasons.” [Source]

A bold statement to make. I have to admit at the same time, I have little knowledge of the luxury goods market in Mongolia. I do know that those who can afford and do purchase branded items are also those who can afford to fly to Europe or Beijing to purchase them. It is just as much about the purchasing experience as it is about the brand.

Interesting fact about LV is that it is one of the most pirated brands in the world, which is why LV only markets its products through its brand stores and not dealers.

In other news, Salvatore Ferragamo is also looking into opening a branch in Mongolia.

2010 will also see the opening of other luxury brand stores, including Hugo Boss, Ermenegildo Zegna, Emporio Armani and Versace. Gucci has already started advertising its new scent on TV, so perhaps they're not too far in line.

While these brands have very different target consumers in their more developed markets, here in Mongolia, they may have to compete for the same 300 or so customers who can afford their products and are brand-conscious enough to purchase them.

Related article on Mongolia Web News here.

Oyu-Tolgoi deal to be signed on the auspicious double-Nyam day

2009-10-05T12:23:00.001+08:00

The government is going to sign the $4 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine agreement tomorrow at 11am.

Mongolia’s government may approach international financial Institutions, including the World Bank, to help it raise the $820 million needed to maintain a 34 percent equity stake in the project, Montsame said, citing the parliamentary economic committee Chairman T. Bayarsaikhan.

The government missed a Sept. 30 dateline for signing the accord because of a need to translate the agreement into English to avoid interpretation issues, Bayarsaikhan said, the news agency reported. [Source]

All fine and dandy. Except for their choice of October 6th for the signing of the agreement. This day is when Baljinnyam and Dashnyam days coincide in the Buddhist calendar. It apparently happens once a year, and it is on this particular day you might find couples queuing outside the wedding palace from 4am to get married and hopefully be blessed with the double-nyam auspiciousness. The ceremonies are held every 30 minutes at the Wedding palace, so you can imagine the insanity that goes on there on this particular day. Kwik-e-wedding-day. Nobody's yet to carry out a statistical survey to see if marriages officiated on this particular day have higher success rates.

I have not been able to find any references to these days in the Tibetan buddhist / astrology websites I hastily googled. Never mind the fact that the government is given to observing religiously auspicious days, it would be funny if they'd deliberately been delaying the signing of the agreement just for this reason. Of course, not something they should ever admit.

If anybody knows why the -nyam days are all that well and can point me to a reliable source, I would really appreciate it.

Update: Thanks to jngl of Mongolian Music blog, here's an explanation of the double-Nyam concept posted in Mongolia Web News.

In Mongolian Buddhism several deities are worshipped and regarded as divine beings. Each one is in charge of specific issues relevant to human beings. According to the Mongolian Buddhist mythology, two of these deities, the god of "wealth and prosperity" (Baljinnyam), and his partner the god of "cheerfulness and energy" (Dashnyam), meet twelve times a year on specific dates. Each meeting has its agenda of subjects which they will discuss.

Only one specific meeting date once a year, has an agenda which is completely favorable to humanity. The subjects they will discuss on this date are happiness, prosperity, good health and the wealth of humanity. This year the lucky date is the 17th day of the middle month of Autumn according to the Mongolian Buddhist calendar (October 6, 2009) and it is therefore a very special day for Mongolian Buddhism and for the Mongolian people. [Source]

Pop star Bold to play in Sydney

2009-10-02T16:34:00.002+08:00

I never have much to report on Asian Gypsy from Sydney, but maybe this could pass as news for now.

According to Gegeen.com, Mongolian pop star Bold will be coming to Sydney on 29th of November for a one off performance. Apparently, it's been organised by Association of Mongolian Students Studying in Australia and New Zealand (a mouthful, I know. Couldn't find a link or any info about them). They will also premier Bi Chamd Hairtai 2, a recent blockbuster in Mongolia. The tickets are 50 AUD for concession, and whopping 80 AUD for non-concession, plus 20 AUD for the movie. I read some complaints already regarding the ticket price, comparing it to Britney and Beoynce tickets which apparently got for no less than 50 bucks (I have no idea personally).

Mongolia Town in S.Korea

2009-09-29T12:20:00.000+08:00

JoongAng Daily ran an article on the Mongolian town in the Central Asia street in Seoul, South Korea. A number of Mongolians run small businesses and stores catering to the needs of their compatriots, there to seek their fortunes. Excerpts:

One big business impediment is the Korean government’s crackdown on illegal aliens, the anonymous shop-owner said. “Every time there’s a government inspection, sales take a dive,” she complained.

“The government came around without any warning, and I saw several customers running away in the middle of their dinner,” Cho said.

People on the street and in Mongolian Town appear cautious and aware of newcomers. And they seem to take particular note of people hauling around large digital cameras.

Read the full article here.

Enkhbayar to run for Parliament?

2009-09-24T11:50:00.001+08:00

It looks likely that N.Enkhbayar, former President of Mongolia, will be named the MPRP nominated candidate to run in the up-coming Chingeltei district by-election. Many saw Enkhbayar's candidacy in the by-election as inevitable, while others may have seen it as below him, having served as the President of Mongolia for 4 years. Nowhere to go in politics from there but down. Speculations abound. What will happen if he wins, which looks likely if one were to believe the rumours of a deal between the DP and MPRP.

Update: Enkhbayar's pulled out of the race. D.Zorigt looks likely to be his replacement in the upcoming by-election.

Khusugtun: Central Asian blues

2009-09-17T15:32:00.000+08:00

Through the always interesting Mongolian Music blog, I discovered Khusugtun.
This one's a bluesy number called "Khusugtun"

Old Photos: Marshal Choibalsan and others

2009-09-17T13:33:00.000+08:00

Marshal Choibalsan

Inter-city transport, perhaps?

From flickr user "the new trail of tears" set: Old Mongolian Cars

Musical awesomeness

2009-07-01T13:18:00.000+08:00

This here is Ch. Munkh-Erdene, an accomplished board harp (or Yatga / Ятга) player, performing a piece by a renowned Mongolian composer B.Sharav.

Bloomberg Interview with Ts. Elbegdorj

2009-06-23T10:28:00.000+08:00

Bloomberg interview with Elbegdorj on the Rio Tinto mining agreement

3 Hazara students selected for the Tsahim Urtuu scholarship

2009-06-05T09:29:00.000+08:00

Further to my post in April about Tsahim Urtuu scholarships for Hazara Mongol students, 3 students have been selected for the 5-year scholarship from the Hazara community in Afghanistan to study in Mongolia. Further details are available on their website.

Wiretapping to be discussed

2009-05-26T12:18:00.000+08:00

News.mn reports that 4 of the Great Khural standing committees will convene today to discuss the state budget for 2010-2012. What drew my interest and concern was a bit about the Internal Security, Foreign Policy Committee meeting. The committee members will meet to discuss possible changes to the Communications law, which includes legalizing wiretapping of mobile communication for law enforcement purposes.

No information at the moment is available on the committee's section of the Parliament website, which is regularly updated with transcripts of meetings and other documents. The proposal, prepared by the Government, may be rejected by the Parliament according to news.mn. While the news article doesn't go into further detail, it sounds like warrantless surveillance to me. More details to come as and when available following the standing committee's meeting.

DP Victory celebration

2009-05-26T09:56:00.000+08:00

DP supporters gathered at Sukhbaatar square with the party flags yesterday afternoon around 3 to celebrate Ts.Elbegdorj's victory over N.Enkhbayar. Unfortunately, from up here, this is the closest I could zoom in to Elbegdorj's triumphant hands-in-the-air. He's the lone person coming down the stairs from the Chinggis statue towards the crowd. If you zoom in, you'll get this:

The speeches ended after about an hour and the crowd dispersed quietly.