Appooppanthaadi -23

October 1 is celebrated as the National Day in China.  National Day is celebrated to commomerate  the revolution that took place in China under the leadership of Mao Zedung. City roads and building were decorated with the red national flags.

" The PRC's National Day was declared at three o'clock on October 1, 1949, in front of 300,000 people during a ceremony in Tian'anmen Squeare. Chairman Mao declared the founding of the People's Republic and waved the first five-star PRC flag. "


To me, this national day also looked like our own independence day. A total holiday for the salaried class and schools. The school students, at least, go to school to attend the customary flag hoisting. Salaried class most probably spend an extend stay in their beds before wriggle out to reach out to the arm chair placed right in front of the television set.



Daily wage earners like Taxi drivers, sweepers, rikshaw riders  and other working class ( the prolitrait in technical parlance!) were on their job as in any other day. Rag pickers were seen going about their job.

As in any other day, there was regular stream of visitors to the trash cans that are placed all over the road sides. The visitors were in search of empty beer and water bottles. Worn out and old people make a living out of trash cans here too.


Having mentioned trash cans, I shall say a little more about them. Almost on every roads, trash cans are placed at regular intervals and people use it to deposite waste. Of course there are people who prefer to litter the walkways and roads, but their number is very less. The trash cans are cleared regularly and we can not find them over flowing. More surprisisngly, they remain in their place undamaged or overturned


The cleaning staff are always seen on the road and they go about their job sincerely. Most of the roads are regularly cleaned by mechanised vehicles and water is sprinkled on the roads using tankers. Not even a single drainage man hole or a slab is kept open anywhere in the cities of China.

China comes to a standstill on the first day of October and for the following one week, every factory and  office remains closed. This is the occassion, people of the country make customary visits to their friends and relatives. They travel a lot during this period. Railway stations and bus stations will be swarmed with sea of commuters during this time. There is no dearth of fliers too.


I had to take out a journey to another city on the National Day on an official job. All through the way to airport, I could spot a lot of processions of luxury cars mosly consisting of high end versions of Audi, BMW and Benz that were all flcoking together for marriages.

As the nation was in a holiday slumber, I too remain holed up in my room. After my return from the Shenyang city,  on the fourth day of the holidays, I got to go to the nearby Pizza Hut along with three of my Indian colleagues to have lunch. We ordered vegetable pizza along with onion rounds (like our own onion pakora). After a long wait, the pizza came to our table.



We four took one piece each. By this time I am an expert in using the fork and knife. With unusual ease, I cut a piece out the pizza with the knife and fork, gorged the piece with the fork and slipped it into my mouth. As I have been chewing it, the other man dropped a bombshell. He stumbled on a piece of meat. It was a pizza laced with pork or beef that was mistakenly served on our table. By this time, the piece had already made its way down my throat!

It is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain virginity as a strict vegetarian. Even in the canteens or restaurants, there is no concept of a pure vegetarian food. Even if we manage to get a strict vegetarian dish, there is no guarantee that they have not used animal fat! O, dear vegetarians, if you have any plans to come to China, be prepared to eat a little meat or else have fruits and raw vegetables. Alterately, try to bring ready to eat food items from India. Otherwise there is one more option -cook your food yourself.

For more phots, click :  Images from the road sides

Some news...some views....4

Nakushi is a Marathi word. It means unwanted (girl). The masculine gender of this word is nakusha. There are hundreds of girls living in Maharashtra bearing the name Nakushi. Yes, literally, they are unwanted to their parents. So, sad but in a society where girl children are considered a burden, it gives no shock to anyone.


Four prominant Indian states are ruled by women. India's most powerful person at present is a woman. Surprisingly, these ladies show more will power and guts than their male counterparts in other states. Look at Manorama Jerome of Manipur. No man can match her will power. Still, an ordinary woman has to remain in the shadow, literally becoming a nakushi in most of the cases.


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I learned a Hindi word after reaching China. Nalayak. The meaning of this word is - of no use- a term usually used to term a person good for nothing. Many of my Indian colleagues use this word while talking.


When I call a person nalayak, i must keep in my mind that he/she is more good for nothing than me. In otherwords, it can be merely a perception originating from an illusionary self esteem. In any case nalayak can be kept in the vacabulary list, but better we do not use it against our fellow human beings.


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The prime minister salutes Anna Hazare in Parliament. His party leaders go to town and abuses Anna. They say he is an RSS agent. Let there be RSS support to the anti corruption movement. Anna should welcome the support. Anna should accept support even from Al Qieda for a good cause like this. Anna should call upon all the PM’s party leaders to support his movement. He need not be apologetic about the suport he gets from anyone



As a person who sat on a full day fast during Anna’s fast, I felt so sad at the vilification campaign against the anti corruption struggle. There are concerted efforts by some politicians, party sponsored intelluctuals, pen pushers and even media. After all in our country, we can never find angels. Moreover, angels can not come to earth and lead such agitations too. So, let us accept Anna as someone resembling an angel and support him in his struggle.



However any amount of chest thumping or sitting hungry for ten or fifteen days will not bring about Anna's Lokpal Bill. If the Madame desires so, within the next few minutes everything will fall in line. Janlokpal will take no time to become law once Madame nods in the affirmitive


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It is sad to see Kanimozhi cooling her heals in jail for such a long time. Though the investigating agency did not object her bail application in court, she has not been granted bail. The mind set that "an accused is guilty unless proven innocent" needs to be changed. In the same breath, I should say that no one has any sympathy for her and everyone is convinced that she is stewing in her own juice


There are thousands of accused languishing in our jails without even knowing what are the charges against them. They are from the marginalised society who cannot afford to hire an advocate and put his/her case in the court. If the fate of one of the most influencial women like Kanimozhi is this, then the ordinary people can never think of any reprieve from any quarter. All the accused will remain gulity for ever inside the prisons. We can only count on our stars for not finding ourselves accused....

Some News....Some Views....3

The happiest news is coming from Sudan. After bloody violence that lasted decades, the people of Sudan have started tasting peace. Sudan is now two countries. South Sudan and Sudan. Recently the leaders of both the countries sat across the table and decided to sort out all the contentious issues through dialogues.


The heartening thing is that they no longer believe that violence can solve any issues. Any thing that brings about peace in Africa must be received with both hands. It is always a pain to see images of suffering people of the Dark Continent.


"After decades of fighting for independence from the north, southern Sudan seceded on July 9, 2011 and became the Republic of South Sudan.

In June 2011, Sudanese Army and its allied militias began an unsparing rampage to crush rebel fighters in the Nuba Mountains of central Sudan, bombing thatch-roofed villages, executing elders, burning churches and pitching another region of the country into crisis, according to United Nations officials and villagers who have escaped..............."


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This is certainly not the death this man deserved...so sad

Muammur Gaddaffi is dead. Though he was reckless in his actions, it was so saddening to see him dying like a mad dog. He was a good friend of India and we all know him from our childhood.

It is highly unbecoming of a military ruler, who made Libya his personal fiefdom with all might for 42 long years,  to run away and hide like a coward in a drainage pipe. He should have died an honourus death eaither by shooting himelf or getting killed in a battle. Even an ordinary warrior loves to die this way if cornered. This is extremely shameful for a dictator like Gaddaffi.


 He was pulled out of a hole by the rebels. Saddam Hussain was also hiding in a hole. I could not watch fully the disturbing footage of his final moments. How cruel men can become!

As the strongman till the otheday was being lynched, the assilants were heard shouting God's name several times. I wonder why they invoked God's name while snubbing out a life that was created by the God Himself.


(If God created man or man created God is still a subject matter of dicussions. Though I am a big fan of God, given a chance, I love to believe that man created God!!)

If Gaddaffi's killers were so fond of God, they would have allowed God to do what He wanted to do with Gaddaffi. People all over the world, irrespective of religion, use God's name to justfy whatever sins they do. God is made a mere spectator in all their deeds. What can He do, when He Himslef needs protection from His followers?

Killing a person is not so uncommon in the modern age. Just like sipping a cup of coffee, people kill fellow human beings. But, if anyone has any respect for the God, never use His name while dispensing instant justice on others. No God will like killing for sure



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The baby shower is over. The most beautiful woman of the world is about to deliver a baby soon. Let us wish her good luck. It is heartening to see that the Bachan family is maintaining strict privacy around the pregnancy and a thick veil over the baby bump.


A dirty picture is evolving in Bollywood. It is a movie based on the life of the earstwhile actor Silk Smitha. Vidya Balan exposes everything in this movie. The trailors of the movie sugget this. Do we need such dirty pictures in our society? Better we ignore them instead of fretting and fuming at such stereo typed vulgar display of flesh.


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How many of us know that there is a massive protest going on in USA named Occuppy Wall Street? People are protesting against economic inequalities in America.


Though the goings on in one of the most democratic countries is not extensively covered by the media, even in India, this event is being celebrated by the Chinese media. The government controlled English News channel gives so much of insight into the happenings there.



(Of late, it is increasingly clear that media in democratic countries are becomiing more and more obedient to the ruling class either for their business benefit or personl beneit of certain persons. Paid news is not a rare event in this age where people of so many countries are craving for a ray of independence)


"Occupy Wall Street, a cause that began as a small band of protesters in Zuccotti Park, has gained international recognition with protests spreading to London and an Egyptian activist addressing the crowd in New York Saturday. " ...............


"..........Since starting Sept. 17, Occupy Wall Street has gained endorsements from major unions and progressive leaders as well as prominent politicians. The group is growing so quickly that protesters marched to Washington Square Park Saturday to discuss expanding to other sites. It has survived police crackdowns in Seattle and mass arrests in New York. Within a few short weeks, it has come to resemble a movement, with more than 900 meetups in 900 cities across the country. 'Occupiers' have erected tent cities in town squares and held rallies in front of city halls........."

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Appooppanthaadi - 22

One of the Discotheques

Sound of drum beats from the nearby Discotheque is still heard in my room. It even makes reverberations in the widowpanes of my room. Sitting in the 6^th floor room of my hotel, I can hear songs to the tunes of the drums. Interestingly, in China the floor numbering starts at 1.The ground floor is called first floor.


Boys and Girls are still enjoying their night out in the neighboring discotheque. Time here at present is thirty minutes past mid night. There are a number of disco parlors dotting this city like any other cities in this country. Even in towns, discotheques are a rage.That is the charm of living in China.

The romance on the sidelines

Freedom. Freedom to enjoy life the way we want to. Freedom to choose between pizza and burger.  Freedom to wear skirt or jeans. Freedom to buy vhisky or beer. Freedom to go to a mall or a park. Freedom to go around on the streets or in the parks with a girl friend or a boy friend. Kiss or hug him/her whenever or wherever he/she wants to do. No moral policing.


The otherday, right in front of my hotel, I saw a boy and girl hugging each other and locking their lips so intensly for a long time.  Here, in China kissing as welll as pissing in public is allowed! Gender equality is achieved to a great extent here. Forget about freedom of expression or right to information. Where do we get this free of cost? (But, still, it is always better live in a free and democratic society than in a heavily watched and controlled society.)

(Any provision shop or a departmental store can sell liquor. From Chivas Regal to the low alchoholic Beer is available in any of these shops. Still, we cannot find anyone lying on the footpaths or in the drainage in inebriated condition. In Harbin, beer is very cheap. A 580ml beer of 4% alchohol costs just 2.5 yuans, ie equivanlent to around 20 rupees. )

Girls enjoy equal rights as boys do, well, this is what we get to decipher from what we see on the streets. Girls can sit or stand on the roads alone- without attracting thousand eyes scanning them!  She can take a break from the work pressure and smoke a cigarette in public. She can freely walk into any shop and buy a cigarette. (Unlike in our country and like in Europe, cigarette is sold  only as packets. They are not sold as single pieces) She can drive city buses or taxis without attracting chauvinistic taunts or vulgur physical overtures.

In China, the modern day boys and girls marry each other after they become ‘friends’. They ‘love’ for years together and at last they decide if they have to marry. Once they decided, parents step in and the deal is done. Girl will never marry a boy unless he has a house.


This is an unwritten pre-requisite for the marriage. Boyfriend or girlfried visits each other's homes even before the marry.Girls clearly have advantage. She insists on the boy to have a secure life before enreting into a wedlock. Girls need not have even a job.

 In Chiense societies, girls have clear advantage. Boy has to worry about a good job and then a house before marriage. Eeven in villages, girl's parents demand 'dowry' from boy's parents. By the time boys reach teen age, they must be a worried lot.


He has to find a beautiful girl as friend first. Then he has to get a good job and then a house. If the boy's parents are rich enough, he need not worry much. Since, China has a strict single child norm, whatever parents earn goes to the child. Boy's parents have to worry a lot about securing a house for him. Sounds so funny!!

Decorations in front of the marriage halls

Autumn is a big season for marriages. As much as I saw, Chinese marriages are a mixture of traditions and western styles. In the morning of the wedding day, the groom in a BMW or an Audi or a Benz car sets out to the brides home.


A large posse of  luxury cars accompany him. From her home, he takes her to his home.  Brides relatives and friends accompany in another fleet of cars. For a procession of such big cars, the boy's and the girl's family spend huge amounts running into several thousands of yuans


The bride usually dons western style flowing wedding gown and the groom invariably wears suite. The big convoy reaches groom's home where the bride calls her mother –in -law “mom” for the first time. For the remaining part of her life, the mom may have to remain mum, in a way!!

Then over to the marriage hall. Usually they use hotel halls for the rest of the functions. In the marriage hall they exchange rings.  Then ensues a grand feast. Group smoking and drinking mark the celebration. Bride and the groom serve liquor to the  guests. They all have a sumptuous feast. Marriage is then registered officially. They live together happily thereafter….The sad part for the invitees is that they have to part with a minimum of 500 yuans as gift!

Harbin is the place where the Siberian Tiger Park is located. A few hundreds of tigers are living in a vast expanse of land well within the city limits. These tigers walk, sleep,  stare to infinity and simply roam around inside this park.


Visitors are taken around in caged buses. The common feeling about these tigers is that, such an aggressive animal look so passive in their actions inside this park. They behave like people under the influence of drugs. Perhaps, they are drugged to keep them passive. Who knows?

Eating a chicken after 'hunting'

Harbin’s Siberian Tiger Park is an exclusive tiger sanctuary were tigers roam around like cattle. They are fed with live preys. Tigers kill them in full public view and eat them. Visitors can buy animals and let them loose in the midst of the tigers.


 I could see live chickens thrown to the tigers even as the chickens were making beleaguered cries. The end of a little life was greeted with excited cheers by the onlookers. Sad,  but that’s often the reality here.

Visitors even sponsor cattle which the park authority takes to the park and let loose. Curious onlookers get ‘nice’ photo-ops as the frightened  animal battles for its life. In this tiger park, we can come across a ligar. It is a cross breed of Lion and Tiger.

for more photos : Images from China

Of a love song

In our films, the charectors sing when they are romantic, happy, sad or angry. People all around the world must be wondering this phenomenon. Though all sorts of emotions were/are subject of songs in Indian cinemas, love always comes first in the list. Love could never be expressed in films without songs

Romance between a man and woman in its most charming ways are depicted in most of the old Indian movie songs. They were just not songs, but poems. The practice of making tunes first and then lining up some words to the tunes were not in vogue those days.

 A romantic song in its enchanting best is pictured in a Hindi film. The song :

Bahaaron Phool Barasaao,
Meraa Mehaboob Aayaa Hai
Meraa Mehaboob Aayaa Hai
Hawaao Raaganee Gaao,
Meraa Mehaboob Aayaa Hai
Meraa Mehaboob Aayaa Hai…

can be considered  one among the best romantic songs Indian films had ever made. The song is beautifully sung by Mohammed Rafi.

Listen to the song : http://www.radioreloaded.com/tracks/?6413

The love struck man wants the plants to shower flowers and the wind to sing songs for his sweetheart. An absolute mood swinger.  Music has mesmerizing power, we have to agree. This song  is a perfect tribute to love.  The writer of the song narrates the feelings of a man and a woman who are in love.

As the sound waves enter our ears, they quickly transform into a cold soothing breeze. It then enters the heart to give a comforting feeling. It takes the soul to eternal joy. Heart sheds tons of its weight. It is a delightful experience.

Marriage is not a word, it is a sentence. We can enjoy this statement as a joke. But being loved is an experience, and one has to be in wedlock to enjoy this. Marriage is not a word, it a beautiful song written in colourful lyrics and composed in scintillating tunes. Enjoy it. It will let everyone live for hundred years.

I must add this too: in the history of the mankind, only one perfect marriage took place. That was between Lord Ram and Sita. The match between the man and woman was a perfect ten. There was no scope for any flaws.They had everything to make their life a bed of roses all through their life. Still, the couple could not live happily. That is life.


Plants may shower flowers and the wind may sing the most romantic songs, but still pinpricks and setbacks in a married life is  unavoidable.

May the husband and wife quarrel each other day in and day out. Let them fight, fume and shout at each other. But never allow the contract to break up. It is the solemn relation that must flourish and exist in the world for ever. A man or a woman can never be complete without the other half joined to him/her. This is a fact and any number of jokes about the married life will have to remain just as jokes. 

It is quiet surprising to see not even a single love struck couple sing a song and go around the trees in a park. In the real life such acts may attract thousand eyes staring at them.  As the prejudices and inhibitions of the society towards love  and the love marriage  wanes, we can expect that in real life too, boys and girls run around trees in the Indian parks and gardens to express their hearts’ feelings. Let there be love and another thousand love songs bloom…

Appooppanthaadi-21

12.10.2011

Tonight the dinner had an additional dish to devour. The mouth watering Thengachammandi ( Coconut chutney). Coconut chutney always makes me immensly nostalgic. It takes me to the sweet memories of my grandma. All that she made for us tasted the best as she mixed limitless love, affection and commitment in them

Walia saab, that is how we all call this well built earstwhile sportsman and a septuagenarian now, brought curry leaves from India. Coconut with curry leaves, tamarind, chilly powder, ginger and salt: grind it in a mixie. This turns out to be one of the tastiest chutneys we can ever have. Try this recipe. But remember, it has patent rights. Before venturing into churning out this magical dish, do not forget to pay the royalty.

Our dinner is invariably based on vegetables everyday. A daily dose of rotis, rice, daal and many times sambar and a vegetable 'sabji' makes our dinner here- a sumptuous one by any standard. The ingredients except wheat flour and daal are available in the Chinese market. We get the wheat flour and various types of daal from Indian shops in Bejing or Shanghai.



The Puttu maker

So, how can we say that food is a great concern in China? I eat dosa and even wadas whenever I feel like to eat. We get sunflower oil in plenty. Daal wada with the coconut chutney...one may have to travel all the way to Harbin to enjoy the taste!

Walia saab brought the idly maker too. Idly days are beckoning. Coming days will be more brightened by lovable idlis, sambar and chutney. Still, happier days are yet to arrive. As the  'puttu' maker is expected to land in Harbin shortly, China's first ever "puttu" will be created in Harbin.  . All are welcome to be a part of the history...


Appoppanthaadi- 20

Haven’t you pulled your socks up yet? If not, look at the picture below. No one can lay back and relax anymore. The writing on the wall or rather on this plaque is very clear. China is not only invading India territorially but economically also. The entire corridor of the large office building of this Generator Turbine manufacturing unit in Harbin city of China has several plaques like this. Most of the personnel manning this office are exclusively looking after the ever expanding Indian power sector market.

There are vice directors, general managers and managers who look after only Indian customers. Indian Electric Power manufacturers make a bee-line to buy China made Generators, Turbines and Boilers. The manufacturing facilities in India that can cater to the huge volume of demand for large capacity equipment like Alternators, Boilers and Turbine are very limited. The major player in this sector is BHEL and they are flooded with huge orders. So, the private power manufacturing firms are forced to look toward China. There is more convincing reason for the look towards China- the cost!

In China, Indian power merchants get these equipment at a cheaper rate and within a lesser time frame. Suppliers from western countries demand higher prices and the delivery schedule for them will be too long. These factors leave customers from countries like India with no other choice.

Harbin Electric Machinery Company, Harbin Turbine company and Harbin Boiler Company are the three major manufacturing units in this city. All these three large scale industries are owned by the government of China. At present Indian power manufactures like Essar, Lanco, Moser Baer and Madhucon have large orders placed on these units.

There are so many engineers from India posted in China to carry out inspections on these products and also to expedite the manufacturing and delivery process. These Indian engineers are drawing high salaries. Anything upwards of 12 to 14 Thousand USD for an engineer with a minimum of 15 to20 years experience in power sector is very common here. A five years experienced engineer can easily draw a salary in the range of 5000 USDs. The hiring company provides even family accommdation too. So, dear friends, stop looking towards Gulf and USA. Train your eyes to China. Make hay while the sun shines. In a hushed voice I say this much too : China Government is impossing tax on income upto 30 per cent.

China is a place where the line between tradition and alien culture virtually does not exist. Well, this is just a wild aligation in many ways. Like the westerners, a majority of the people do not follow any religion. They too eat beef and pork and drink a lot of beer like the westerners do. They smoke a lot. Cigarette wielding men and to some extend, women are a common sight here. 

They wear all western cloths. Men, like in our country, always wear pants/jeans and shirts/tees. Women, unlike their Indian counterparts, are more westernized. In summer most of the women wear mini -skirts, tight T-shirts and high heeled shoes. The length of the skirts these girls wear made one of my colleagues caustically comment that his underwear is longer than these skirts!

But the comparison with western culture ends there, almost. They eat food with chop sticks. They pick every food item with two tiny sticks. Even rice they eat with sticks! They look after their old ones well. We can see old and infirm chinese men and women being escorted by younger ones with good care. They observe their special days in traditional ways. Just last month, they celebrated moon day. On that occassion they eat Moon Cake.


They have a week long National Day holidays. Then during spring, they observe a week's spring festival and new year day. The Chinese New Year day is welcomed with day long fire works. Fire crackers and sperklers go up in flame for the entire day and night. The entire localityt will look like the 'poora parambu' in Thrissur. They decorate their houses with red coloured papers and flowers to welcome new year.

While talking about China we have to first talk about food. As we all commonly believe, they eat meat a lot. Perhaps meat of every living thing including, snakes worms and grass hoppers. They eat monkeys, crocodiles and dogs . Even then, the main meat they eat is that of pork and beef besides chicken. Once, while walking along a busy market place, I could see a few dead snakes kept on the roadside for sale. I wanted to take a photograph with the seller’s permission, but he refused it. Snake is considered to be a good delicacy but is expensive.

Almost all vegetables are available in the market. Tomattos, Onions, Pumpkins, potatos, palak… what not? Except Ladies’ finger and drum stick, I could see every vegetables here. There are so many wayside markets all over the city. People shop in these market like we do in our country. Though the market place looks similar to ours, here they do not throw thrash carelessly and allow it to stink. The garbage clearing system is very efficient here, rather we should say, people who are assigned to this job, do their job.

Though it is very difficult to have food from restaurants for the vegetarians, it is easy for the non vegetarians. Chinese food is made using less oil and masala. They use more sausages than masalas and oil. Instead of frying vegetables and meat, they cook them either in water or direct over the fire. Non vegetarians may never find it difficult as chinese food items are not so bad in taste. Though i do not eat meat based food, this is what I could infer from my 'carnivorous' colleagues here.

This is supposedly made for vegetarians!

For vegetarians, food is a major concern if they do not cook their own food. Many times I ended up gulping pieces of prawn and chicken mistaking them as vegetables! Though it tasted well, I never wanted to eat meat knowingly. Selecting an exclusive vegetable based dish in China is extremely difficult. Even if we seek help from the waiters to help find a purely vegetarian food, it is of no use.



They think even fish and egg are vegetables! We have to specifically ask for a dish that contains No Meat, No Fish and No Egg. By the time we pronounced our demand, the face becomes pale. They may simply smile in confusion. They may be trying to figure out what type of a dish it will be that contains none of the above!



Even if we manage to find out a pure vegetarian dish, in all probablity this dish would have been mixed with animal fat. No escape, dear 'herbivorous' friends, eat raw vegetables in China to be on the sage side

Here are a few more photos of the road side views in Harbin : https://picasaweb.google.com/116557619258339510895/ImagesFromTheRoadSides?authkey=Gv1sRgCK-c3o2F7Y_ziAE&feat=email

All in a row...

Chinese cities and towns are dotted with several KFCs, MC Donalds and Pizza Huts. In Mc Donalds there is one pure Vegetable Burger available and in Pizza Hut we get one pure vegetable Pizza. Though these names along with Coca Cola and Pepsi are the relics from the imperialist facist ideologies, the food they serve tastes nice!!

Let us not tell this matter to our hardcore desi Mao Followers. Let us not disturb them. They are very busy distroying primary health centers and Primary Schools in those God foresaken villages of Chattisgarh....

Natesan

Appoppanthaadi- 19

A first class coach of German High speed train

The return from Amsterdam to Frankfurt was by the High Speed Train. The train started at 10 in the morning from Centraal Station. It was filled to the capacity. The man who sat in the next seat to me was a Dutch travelling to Frankfurt. He had been taking out his thermal container and drinking coffee intermittently.




After some time, he started a conversation with me. He told me if I were interested he could offer a cup of coffee. First talked in German and when I blinked he switched over to English. Though people in Europe do not prefer to talk in English, they do not mind using the foreign language except some countries like France.

I politely declined the offer by my co-passenger. In the course of his coffee breaks, I did have a glance of the thing he sips. A pitch dark coloured liiuid- they call it coffee! They take sugarless and cold coffee that tastes too bitter. No milk is added to coffee. I rarely tried to drink a coffee in Europe.

This man was travelling to Frankfurt to buy a German Car for his father. A BMW car of around 25 years old. He will drive it back to Amsterdam. Germans dispose of their old cars to their neighbouring countries. There is a heavy demand for German cars in other European countries. People from Poland are major customers of the German cars. For the neighbouring countries like Poland and Holland buying cars in German Market costs much less than they do in their own countries.

As we were chatting, he told that he lives alone as he divorced wife. At one point of time he referred to two children as his wife’s children. It is very common here. We shall not be taken aback if a man or a woman introduces a child as his/her wife’s/husband’s son/daughter. But it may not sound very strange to us as the unstopped stream of sops on our televisions in our country are mainly rooted in extra-marital relations

As the train picked up a speed of 325Km per hour, I called his attention to the monitor at the end of the coach. He was quiet surprised to see such a high speed. He told, this is the first time he saw a train running at such a high speed.

On week days all trains here run partly filled but on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, all run to their full capacity. On a few occasions, I was the only passenger on a first class compartment! As is Bahn Rail’s (German Rail) wont, this train also did not take me to the destination. The train’s final destination was Frankfurt Am Main Railway Station. On the way, we were informed that due to some technical problems this train could not run up to the Main station. Instead it will be terminated at Frankfurt Airport Station.

Frankfurt that is popularly known as the commercial capital of Germany has a more specific name – Frankfurt Am Main. This means Frankfurt on the Main. Main is the river that flows across Frankfurt city. There is another Frankfurt in Germany though it is little known to the outer world.

When I stepped out of the train at Frankfurt, there stood a young man. He approached me and started talking in chaste English. He said he was hungry and needed some coins. I took a few coins from my pocket and gave him. It must be around 1.5 Euros. He felt so happy and told me that he is waiting for a visa to travel to US. Once he went there, he would have lot of money. I wished him good luck.

On another occasion, as I have been walking out of the Frankfurt Airport towards the airport railway station, an Italian followed me. He too spoke very good English. He told he fell short of 8 euros to fly to Milano. He asked at least twenty five people but no one helped. I told him, 8 euros for Indians is a big amount. I also told in my mind that I would not have given even a rupee coin to a beggar on Indian streets. Still, looking at his old age and the helplessness, I gave away 10 euros. I only wished he was not cheating me.

(Once, in Paris, as I was walking from the Eiffel Tower to the Arc de Triumph,which is situated nearby Eiffel Tower, another Italian cornered me. He was in his car. He stopped nearby me and started talking in English. He gave his business card and then informed that he came to Paris for a visit and lost all his money in a casino. Now he did not have money to fill fuel in his car. He showed two brand new suites in his car. It was really a good  stuff as I felt its lusture.  He offered me these suites for free but I had to pay him for fuel. I told I do not need them, he pressed me further. Then I asked how much he needed. He wanted 150 Euros. I told I had much less money in my pocket. He then took back the business card from me and drove away)

Second time when I returned from Amsterdam, it was an ice cold night. I got an Indian businessman as companion. He had two big suite cases with him. Though I had a reservation, I did not go to my seat. The train was almost empty. We sat together on the train. He was a regular visitor to European countries to promote his cloth business. The two boxes were full of cloth samples to be shown to traders in Europe. We got down at Dusseldorf where we parted our ways. I had to change my train there to reach Mannheim, Germany. He caught another train to some other destination.



The ice covered land

I felt travelling by train in Europe is much more comfortable and enjoyable than by any means of transportation. Once I travelled from Mannheim, Germany to Wroclaw, Poland by train only to enjoy the journey. I got ticket in the first class compartment as there was some discount on that day’s journey. 


Bahn Rail always offers discounted tickets that may have an offer of free food too. A ten hour journey had involved changing trains at Sturtgart and then  atDrenden in Germany. It was really a good experience. I could see a number of villages and vast areas of land covered with snow all over. https://picasaweb.google.com/116557619258339510895/TheIceCoveredLandsOnWayFromGermanyToPoland?authkey=Gv1sRgCOqnvOPRvPacfg&feat=email

Return from Wroclaw was also by train. This time I travelled to Zurich via Frankfurt. I could take breakfast in Poland and by the lunch time I was in Sturtgart, Germany. As I reached Zurich, Switzerland it was ten in the night. I walked into a Mc Donalds at the Zurich HB railway station and had Cheese pizza and coca cola for dinner.

With great excitation I travelled to Poland. Whenever we think of Poland we must remember Lech Valesa. It was his Solidaity Movement that paved way for the exit of autocratic rule in Poland.The trade union leader who shook the Communist rule in Poland is now living an obscure life. I do not think anyone in the new generation knows him.

Though I could not spend much time there, the city of Wroclaw, looked similar to a small city in Germany or France. Big malls, Hotels, wide roads, trams…everything resembled a European city, though not in such high standards.


During the interaction with a few people in Wroclaw however gave me an impression that there are still a lot to be desired in the prosperity levels and bringing up the life to European standards.

Employees there get much lesser salaries than their counterparts in Germany , Swizerland or France do. They have not yet changed their currency to Euro. They still use Polish zloty that is equivalent to approximately 0.34 US Dollar. There was a big Christmas market doing brisk business at that time. The most attractive thing I came across there was Amithabh Bachan’s life size photograph in front of a restaurant. It was not an Indian Restaurant however.

 Have glimpses of the Wroclaw city : https://picasaweb.google.com/116557619258339510895/WroclawPoland?authkey=Gv1sRgCKi508-Y_c-xywE&feat=email

As in many European cities, here too a river flows – River Oder. On the banks of the river, we can see so many old buildings. The Wroclaw Cathedral also is situated on the banks of river Oder.



The dwarf

Wroclaw has another interesting entity to boast of. The Dwarf. There are so many stories about the origin of The Dwarf. However Dwarfs were shot into fame when their images were used by the “Orange Alternatives” to fight communism in Poland. 


Orange Alternative was an organization formed by anti communist groups that saw through the ouster of communist regime in Poland in 1989. We can come across a number of tiny statues of dwarfs all over Wroclaw. I bough a model of dwarf from a curio shop as a memento of my Poland visit.

Vienna was another city I visited. A well arranged city with abundance of greenery, trams, underground metro rail….what not? It is a magnificient city by any standards.Perhaps this is the most attractive city I saw among all the cities I visited so far. I could just go around the city center and click a few photographs. It was so nice to be there in Vienna. Take a photo tour here : https://picasaweb.google.com/ppnatesan/Vienna?authkey=Gv1sRgCI2Xp8n5t6DqUg&feat=email

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