It was light but really steady drizzle as I stepped out of office for my usual 40 minute walk back to the hotel. As I strode through Leaden Hall Road and Fenchurch Street, where my offices are located, you could see an array of umbrella’s, different sizes, shapes and colours. But that’s not the experience am speaking about. I just stood back for a second to look at all the sky scrapers in the vicinity and to my amusement; all of them were visible to their half only, as the rest were covered by a misty whiteness which had engulfed them. It was a sight not to be missed. As I enjoyed the view, it was time to move on, because you never know how the English weather would change. It could just turn into a downpour and I would be stranded in the middle of no where.
As I strode through the usual route, the walk towards Tower Hill Underground station and past it onto the Tower Bridge, I felt the same experience of that of Mumbai. The Londoners were striding at their usual pace, irrespective of the rain. Trust me; these guys walk really fast, compared to me. By the time I reached the tower bridge, my pant’s were beginning to get wet from the bottom and my suit was wet from behind already. Luckily because of the suit, I was still not feeling the real chill.
The walk on the tower bridge is awesome. On a normal day, you could see loads of people from different countries, background, ethnicity, colour etc. standing on it, admiring the Thames, clicking pictures, hugging each other, kissing and you can really feel a sense of romance and unconditional love around you. A feeling of being human and for a few minutes not worrying about the world you need to get back into, would clearly hit you when you focus on how these people relate to the others with them or the environment around them is at that very point. But today as it was raining, the normal bustle was missing and it was only the commuters trying to get back from work.
As I was walking, I looked at the Thames, it was truly a grand spectacle, that only nature can throw up at you. Half of the river was covered by mist, a light mixture of white and grey carpeting the Cruise Lines and HMS Belfast the World War II ship anchored on the river. The buildings in the background and London Bridge felt a mere existence to what nature had portrayed on the canvas called the ‘River Thames’. It’s one of those memories that would last for long in my mind and probably a story to tell my Grand children – that if I remember it till then. This picturesque visual attracts you to just stand there and keep admiring it, but when there are a few more heavy drops on your umbrella, you have to get of this wonder view, which certainly is dreamlike to proceed my walk to the hotel.
As all good things have to come to an end, so does my walk in the rain, only to settle in the warmth of my hotel room.
Truly a WOW experience.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A walk in the rain – What an experience!! – Part 1
It’s been raining the last three days in London and it’s that type of English rain, a relentless drizzle. While walking back home it just struck me, that I really have not enjoyed rain, nature at one of its best. Its not nature’s fury but one of those beautiful little things that nature offer’s you and we being so caught up in our lives don’t even have the slightest inclination to see it, leave alone, enjoying it. As this thought occurred to me, I started relating to the experience of how it feels being in the rain.
I ran the tortoise mosquito coil, to rewind my years in life to check within me, whether I have really experienced rain and it really hit me then, to notice that the answer was a definite NO. It really was reality check of sorts.
When I was young, rain meant, no school and sitting at home and that was the delight rain bought me. Probably I would have ventured a few times, to try a paper boat on the flowing water on the roads, or loved to kick the water out of the balcony in my house. We used to live on the first floor of a house and when it would rain, water would get accumulated in the balcony and you had to push it down to the ground floor to clear the balcony and I remember having fun kicking the water down. Another clear remembrance is how the rain would play spoil sport during Diwali. As a kid, I would have begged for a few tens or hundreds of Rupees from my parents to buy those crackers for diwali and exactly on diwali it would pour, just to sour your childishness, that of bursting crackers.
The next thought of rain surely is college days and in those 3 years there was more rain than I have experienced in Chennai. As guys we would love to go to college during those days, because we knew enough water would have entered the college gates for them to declare the evening off (I was in evening college). Then it would be party time, having that wonderful masala vada and chai at Nair’s tea shop near college or going to Besant Nagar beach in the rain and waiting for it to stop to eat really hot fried rice on the road side. Wow!, those days were great, it was the Summer of 96. By end of this fantastic experience you would be soaking wet, even if you were wearing a duckbag rain coat.
The other only experience of rain was when I was in Mumbai and I was startled and amazed as how the city continued to move on, in its own rapid speed irrespective of the mighty Mumbai monsoon. One certain experience was of getting a Dominos Pizza delivered in pouring rain in less than an hour, that too from Malad to Goregoan. But all these experiences were not life altering till the one I experienced last evening.
To be continued in part two.
I ran the tortoise mosquito coil, to rewind my years in life to check within me, whether I have really experienced rain and it really hit me then, to notice that the answer was a definite NO. It really was reality check of sorts.
When I was young, rain meant, no school and sitting at home and that was the delight rain bought me. Probably I would have ventured a few times, to try a paper boat on the flowing water on the roads, or loved to kick the water out of the balcony in my house. We used to live on the first floor of a house and when it would rain, water would get accumulated in the balcony and you had to push it down to the ground floor to clear the balcony and I remember having fun kicking the water down. Another clear remembrance is how the rain would play spoil sport during Diwali. As a kid, I would have begged for a few tens or hundreds of Rupees from my parents to buy those crackers for diwali and exactly on diwali it would pour, just to sour your childishness, that of bursting crackers.
The next thought of rain surely is college days and in those 3 years there was more rain than I have experienced in Chennai. As guys we would love to go to college during those days, because we knew enough water would have entered the college gates for them to declare the evening off (I was in evening college). Then it would be party time, having that wonderful masala vada and chai at Nair’s tea shop near college or going to Besant Nagar beach in the rain and waiting for it to stop to eat really hot fried rice on the road side. Wow!, those days were great, it was the Summer of 96. By end of this fantastic experience you would be soaking wet, even if you were wearing a duckbag rain coat.
The other only experience of rain was when I was in Mumbai and I was startled and amazed as how the city continued to move on, in its own rapid speed irrespective of the mighty Mumbai monsoon. One certain experience was of getting a Dominos Pizza delivered in pouring rain in less than an hour, that too from Malad to Goregoan. But all these experiences were not life altering till the one I experienced last evening.
To be continued in part two.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Hotel NAV RANG – Kenton, North London
The last week, as me and my brother had decided to go the Swami Narayan Temple, we decided to wet our tongues to some Gujarati cuisine and hence called a Gujurati friend seeking advice on a good Gujurati outlet, matching our wallet. She then guided us to NAV RANG in Kenton.
As we finished our visit to the temple, we had to take the tube to Kenton and walk a mile to reach this place. We reached there about quarter past seven and they closed down at half eight, you are welcomed to very homely looking joint and a Gujurati girl welcomed us, of course in Gujurati and asked us what we would like to eat. We saw a poster saying unlimited thali for £3.50 and enquired what we would get of it, and she replied everything was unlimited and our eyes lit up to glory of eating some gujju food unlimited reminiscent to Hotel Saravana Bhavan or Mansukh in Chennai. As we sat on the table and she came with our plates, she gave us the first heart break or stomach break to say, only three roti’s the rest were unlimited. Now you have begun your dinner, travelled all the way, damn hungry and could not cancel and we said to ourselves, so be it.
As we waited for the roti’s, I tried the rice and dal, only to find it, out rightly cold and was truly disappointed by now. The roti’s arrived, atleast hot and melting with ghee. The first indulge of the roti with the curry, and surprise, surprise, the curry was cold as well. It felt as if, except the roti, the rest were made earlier, how early, your guess is as good as mine. It was a big let down, but then we were hungry and I asked for extra rice and dal, only to find the rice, dry – like if you cook rice and leave and re heat it, you find some of the rice dry, it was the same.
The next thing that came to my mind was the dialogue from the movie ‘Salaam Namaste’, where Saif, the Head Chef asks one of his cooks, ‘Doesn’t the food look homely and the cook replies, yes boss. For which Saif says, you eat at home itself if the food is so homely and they do not need to some to his restaurant to eat’. This was the case, it was so homely that god knows when it was made?
NAVRANG, became NEVER AGAIN. As the Brits say – ‘what a shame?’
As we finished our visit to the temple, we had to take the tube to Kenton and walk a mile to reach this place. We reached there about quarter past seven and they closed down at half eight, you are welcomed to very homely looking joint and a Gujurati girl welcomed us, of course in Gujurati and asked us what we would like to eat. We saw a poster saying unlimited thali for £3.50 and enquired what we would get of it, and she replied everything was unlimited and our eyes lit up to glory of eating some gujju food unlimited reminiscent to Hotel Saravana Bhavan or Mansukh in Chennai. As we sat on the table and she came with our plates, she gave us the first heart break or stomach break to say, only three roti’s the rest were unlimited. Now you have begun your dinner, travelled all the way, damn hungry and could not cancel and we said to ourselves, so be it.
As we waited for the roti’s, I tried the rice and dal, only to find it, out rightly cold and was truly disappointed by now. The roti’s arrived, atleast hot and melting with ghee. The first indulge of the roti with the curry, and surprise, surprise, the curry was cold as well. It felt as if, except the roti, the rest were made earlier, how early, your guess is as good as mine. It was a big let down, but then we were hungry and I asked for extra rice and dal, only to find the rice, dry – like if you cook rice and leave and re heat it, you find some of the rice dry, it was the same.
The next thing that came to my mind was the dialogue from the movie ‘Salaam Namaste’, where Saif, the Head Chef asks one of his cooks, ‘Doesn’t the food look homely and the cook replies, yes boss. For which Saif says, you eat at home itself if the food is so homely and they do not need to some to his restaurant to eat’. This was the case, it was so homely that god knows when it was made?
NAVRANG, became NEVER AGAIN. As the Brits say – ‘what a shame?’
Swami Narayan Temple – Wembley, North London
It’s been more than 6 weeks since I have been in London, and even before I left the divine shores of India, I was asked to visit this temple by my dad. The time had come to visit the temple the weekend that went by. In my mind it was just another temple and I believed it was a temple of Lord Narayana, till I reached the holy place, only to be flabbergasted by the grandeur.
It is good one hour plus journey from central London where I am put up currently, by tube or London underground and then by bus from the stone bridge underground station. As I got off the bus, I was visually stunned to look at a beautiful temple built by the Hindus for the Hindus in London. As expected you head first to cloak room, which reside opposite the entrance of the temple to leave your bag, camera etc and are allowed to carry only your wallet and switched of mobile phone. Then you walk across to enter the temple premise.
If you have ever gone to the ISCON temple in Bangalore, you would start to relate to it for its whiteness, thanks to 5000 tonnes of Italian Marble used to build this temple. Once you enter the premises, you go through an airport type security check. Then for men you turn left to leave your footwear and jackets, before you proceed in to the sanctum sanctorum. Opposite the entrance is the souvenir shop for you to purchase, incense sticks etc.
As you enter the sanctum sanctorum, you find an 3 feet idol of the sage Swami Narayan, and that’s were I realised the temple is about a sage who propagated Hinduism and that it is a sect followed religiously by the Gujarati community and not another temple or Lord Vishnu, where they conduct special puja’s and abhisekham’s. After having a glimpse of the idol, I felt – is that all, till you climb about 20 steps to the first floor to visit the great hall, brilliantly built with marble, fantastically lit and find murti’s of different god. You begin with Lord Ganesha, then Rama, then the different guru’s of the sect, Swami Narayan himself, Lord Shiva and Parvathi. Lord Krishna and end with Lord Hanuman.
As you sit in the hall, you begin to feel the silence in you and once you begin to meditate, you start to touch the soul within you thanks to the calm surrounding. Things seem to come to a stand still, till you feel you have finished with your routine at the temple. As you climb down, you enter a museum kind place for insights on Hinduism. You pay a couple of pounds and have a tour of the same.
As you finish your tour and the around the temple and you walk out to collect your belongings, right round the corner, you can find a Gujarati restaurant and an Indian supermarket run by the trust. It had already been a long afternoon and it was time to indulge into the great India Samosa and some batata vada.
As we walked around this great monument in North London towards the bus stand, you feel privileged about being a Hindu. I would say a must see for all in London.
This place gives you so much inner peace when compared to fast paced life of London.
It is good one hour plus journey from central London where I am put up currently, by tube or London underground and then by bus from the stone bridge underground station. As I got off the bus, I was visually stunned to look at a beautiful temple built by the Hindus for the Hindus in London. As expected you head first to cloak room, which reside opposite the entrance of the temple to leave your bag, camera etc and are allowed to carry only your wallet and switched of mobile phone. Then you walk across to enter the temple premise.
If you have ever gone to the ISCON temple in Bangalore, you would start to relate to it for its whiteness, thanks to 5000 tonnes of Italian Marble used to build this temple. Once you enter the premises, you go through an airport type security check. Then for men you turn left to leave your footwear and jackets, before you proceed in to the sanctum sanctorum. Opposite the entrance is the souvenir shop for you to purchase, incense sticks etc.
As you enter the sanctum sanctorum, you find an 3 feet idol of the sage Swami Narayan, and that’s were I realised the temple is about a sage who propagated Hinduism and that it is a sect followed religiously by the Gujarati community and not another temple or Lord Vishnu, where they conduct special puja’s and abhisekham’s. After having a glimpse of the idol, I felt – is that all, till you climb about 20 steps to the first floor to visit the great hall, brilliantly built with marble, fantastically lit and find murti’s of different god. You begin with Lord Ganesha, then Rama, then the different guru’s of the sect, Swami Narayan himself, Lord Shiva and Parvathi. Lord Krishna and end with Lord Hanuman.
As you sit in the hall, you begin to feel the silence in you and once you begin to meditate, you start to touch the soul within you thanks to the calm surrounding. Things seem to come to a stand still, till you feel you have finished with your routine at the temple. As you climb down, you enter a museum kind place for insights on Hinduism. You pay a couple of pounds and have a tour of the same.
As you finish your tour and the around the temple and you walk out to collect your belongings, right round the corner, you can find a Gujarati restaurant and an Indian supermarket run by the trust. It had already been a long afternoon and it was time to indulge into the great India Samosa and some batata vada.
As we walked around this great monument in North London towards the bus stand, you feel privileged about being a Hindu. I would say a must see for all in London.
This place gives you so much inner peace when compared to fast paced life of London.
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