Those beautiful ones

Those big cities with eye blinding lights seduce me in a way I cant describe

Whenever I croos continents, I cant take my eyes off from sights of citis like this, in the night

"We are crossing Geneva", the announcement is made in the aircraft and like a sucker for beauty I hang onto my window, my co passenger eyeing me if s/he mistook me for an adult

I remember as a child, I would also look out for beauty...
-Of face, of body, of scenery, of words and of pure feelings

Beauty never threatened me, it just heightened my sense of everything within me, what I sought in this world...

I dont know why sometimes I stare in the horizon in twilight..when the sun has gone down and the moom has not come up as yet..a time of the day when all that is alive is part of me
Something scathing, unsatisfied..burning in that moment..the beauty of which bewitches me..my thirst for my life resurrects..and I wish to meet that person who holds the key to my being..in the meeting of dawn and dusk

It was beautiful..thats it..

..and nothing more I can say about the place, thats switzerland.

So words and even my pictures might not do justice to it. So,I wont go into explaining of how it was..and just leave a few pics and the stories behind them here.

The view from my balcony

Wine festival at Chardonne..and I got tipsy

"We must live in interesting times" - Chinese say it. Live band at wine festival and me and my niece danced to that

Finishing our glasses to get it refilled

Sunny and beautiful in Evian

 

Behind me is the place where the famous Evian water comes from

 

Thats 140 meters high fountain in Geneva

United nations and the big chair in front of it

New girl in Geneva old town, old towns are so charming

Thats my trip to Montreux all alone, the animated graffitis were cute. And thats my pink skirt with blue stilettos, suggested by my niece

 

On my way to Montreux in a Ship

The clock tower at Bern where every hour some figures come out and present a show, we missed it cos of the beer talks

 

The beer talks in Bern, what a pretty city

Thats the view from rose garden, I could stare and just dream

Switzerland it was!

I have been back from my trip long back, but a few things have gone topsy turvy at my end
So, I have been trying to handle them and my blogging has taken its toll

Just before I embarked on my journey, something went wrong. Yet, I tried eradicating it from my mind, cos one does not go to Switzerland every day. And if I could not enjoy it just cos of some malfunction in life, then I feel I could not deal with anything which goes amiss in my life

So, with that mindset, I spent my time at the ariport having beer my myself, reading "Love" by Toni Morrison(more on this on my blog later) and talking to people over phone, to let the storm in my mind pass

Ok, a bit about the journey itself.

I went to Zurich via Colombo and the airline had arranged for a 1 day stay in a beautiful 5 star hotel by sea side, which was a treat in itself. The only glitch is : Being all alone, one can not make much of all the beauty in the world.

My 10-11 hours journey from Colombo to Zurich was spent parts in puking(yeah my usual), parts in trying to evade conversation by the strange man sitting next to me, parts in "Love" and parts in watching movies on the inflight entertainment kit.

So this strange man sitting next to me, was a kannadiga Brahmin, who would offer a prayer before any meal.
The moment  I saw him, I had an unnerving feeling that he would try and talk to me. I tried burying myself in book , but he started off in that typical fake accent(very typical of people in south who have been abroad for a long time).
       Its like, mixing sambhar in pasta, if you know what I mean.
They would force a foreign accent, but right in the middle of a sentence, their "Hech" for "h" and "intilligint" for "intellignet" gives them away.(No offense meant to anyone here, we all have colloquial accents, specific to our region and nationality, but faking it makes it all the more hilarious).
He started off by asking me if I stay in Switzerland, from then on he went till my 10th standard results and mark-sheet and percentage and finally he told me I should do MBA.(I felt like I was speaking to my mother).
Then finally he expended all information about himself(maybe asking about me was a trick to actually speak about himself).
He teaches mathematics in Switzerland. But along with that, he kept mentioning how he is into too many things. Jewellery design, interior decorations etc etc. And that he has many "important conferences" coming up. How he has a mansion in most posh area in Mumbai, sea-link. It seems his house will be a place to visit, such is the interiors he is designing. "I am into too many things", was his reply for everything.
Then I saw him trying to chat up air-hostesses and asking them "Do you have time?", some of them gave him cold shoulder, some entertained with feigned politeness and camouflaged boredom. And all this while I tried hiding a smirk.
He would disappear for long hours from seat(maybe trying his luck with air hostesses at the back), which was a boon for me, as then I could extend my legs onto his seat and curl myself to sleep.

Well,he did help me in the end, by telling me as to where to take the train to Laussane. My final destination was Vevey and I was getting picked up at Laussane by my brother in law.

It was a short trip, just 6 days(mis-management) yet I ca not write the zist of it in 1 post.
But, for sure, much remains to be explored(as Italy is still a dream).
I realized that this place is not meant to be visited with sister, brother in law and 2 kids. Its difficult to manage all that I aspired for, in 6 days, with kids falling ill and the general lethargy which is akin to carrying kids around in prams.
Its a place to be explored with someone who has the same madness and rush and lack of time.

But let me just tell you how all of it still appears in my head, in a jiffy.

The magnificent hill and lake which I could see daily from balcony, the wine festival where live music and dance kept me in high spirits, me and my niece playing songs and dancing in the balcony in late evening.
That was just B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. The growing dusk, the hill in front, my kind of music and some memories flashing in my mind while I danced with this sweet little thing who is growing up into a pretty girl. Can't believe 8 years back I was teaching her how to say "Tea"  & "Topsy" & "Teddy"(She caught all words starting with "T" as early as 11 months), and today she is telling me which colour sandle should I wear with my pink skirt.
"Blue goes with pink Sumi Mausi, so wear Mamma's blue stilettos". The way memories get created in cocoons of your heart

The days were so long, they lapped up the night in their over-bearance. And the night came tip toeing around day, as if intimidated by it, and disappeared before I could bury myself in its mysteries.
My glowing tan, in just 2 outdoors. Running to switch trains which are just 5 minutes apart, One reaching at 9.38 and another leaving at 9.43. And dot 9.43 it would be, you could probably adjust your watch to match the trains arrival and departures, its was amazing!

Going to Montreux all alone, sitting and having beer with sister at Bern, talking as usual of old times and things hinting that it might lead to a fight. But maybe the beer or age kept us mellow.Walking up to rose garden and the splendid view of the city from there, P.R.I.C.E.L.E.S.S

All that will follow in other posts, but let me substantiate this post with few pictures

Me and my sis, on my first day at Vevey, at beer festival

 Me and my Aduli - my niece and my friend

Thats me and her 8 years back, time ran out on us

We girls, when we landed at Evian(France)

It's a man's world

Yes it is!
In-spite of all the efforts, all feminism, all this sho-sha about women being equal..there are numerous ways and things in our system which ultimately make you feel so.

I have been planning for a trip abroad. When I applied for VISA, I got a checklist of things to be submitted. One of which said:
   - An NOC(No objection certificate) from husband, if married.
That irked me, but since I dint need to bother about it, I went ahead and provided NOC from my company.

The travel agent lady who was arranging for my VISA, went thru all my documents and sheepishly said: "Can you arrange an NOC from your father also, since you are a single female?"
I frowned and asked "But I have given you from my company, and I am not a minor"
To that she said "We dont want to take chances and sometimes VISA people might ask for it"
I further asked, with chagrin "And if I were a single male, that would not have been necessary?"

She promptly replied "No. no..not for males"
I stared at her in disbelieve and must have borne the most hideous expression, since she just smiled at me in exasperation(with a look saying, this is how the system goes)

I mean, what kind of crap is this? I am a full blown adult, who has been providing for my parents too, in small ways..yet I need to provide all that cos I am a single woman?

What if I am a tyrant and ask my husband on gun point to give me NOC, or torture my father to provide me an NOC? How the hell will they validate?

This stupid system we are in & this stupid country(or maybe its the same everywhere)

Anyways, all that bullshit had to be borne by me and had to provide everything, for all the pleasure that awaits me

So Yes, I am off

To a place with mountains

Where the smell of cheese and chocolates is in the air

And intoxication of wine pervades the nights

I hope to find a lost piece of my heart there

Bye and laterz.. with pics and details of the trip(Just wish that weather remains as good as it is right now, and no rains)

She sells sea shells at the sea shore

"Have we got all the stuff for making sandwiches for tomorrow morning?"

"Should I take 5 dresses for a this 3 days trip?You never know how things go?"

"God am tired of matching accessories with clothes, so I will take all of them and see what goes with what later.."

"Lets carry some booze for the journey, makes the journey easier..how many beers for you?"

How I love such frenzied talks, the night before we embark on a journey..and each time we make the same mistake of over-carrying..but do it again and again..

So I finally did my Pondicherry trip, I have been aiming at, for so many years

I want to store glimpses of it on the blog:

The Stay
I had an amazing sea view room, which would always surprise me when I went to the balcony..to have a view of it while I had tea or breezer:
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Strolling around the beach road is delightful, just by itself..doing nothing..

As I watched the sea waves breaking at the rocky shore, it made me feel as if sea is a passionate lover of the shore
It would come and break itself at the stoic shore, which would stand at its place unmoved
The sea would retreat, only to come back with the same vigor and be broken again...in its steadfast effort to woo the shore

During the day, sea's tranquility would make me feel as if its telling the shore:
"Pleas love me now, I will show you the real me in the night"..and so it does

Maybe its for the shore, or maybe moon is its secret lover...sea never tells
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French Colony
One of my main fascination for this place was its french colony. I found it intriguing that french people stay there as normal residents. I wonder why they chose to, after in 1954 Pondicherry was handed over to India.
Pondicherry is also know as "The French Riviera of the East" (La Côte d'Azur de l'Est).Pondicherry was designed based on the French (originally Dutch) grid pattern and features neat sectors and perpendicular streets. The town is divided into two sections: the French Quarter (Ville Blanche or 'White town') and the Indian quarter (Ville Noire or 'Black Town'). Many streets still retain their French names, and French style villas are a common sight. In the French quarter, the buildings are typically colonial style with long compounds and stately walls

I took pictures of these people, roaming around in bikes, very cool
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Shopping
There is this really pretty store, inside auro ville, for hand printed clothes and home stuff, called "Mira Boutique", where I went little overboard with shopping. It has amazing collection of finest cotton and silk, in both indian and western style, all hand printed. And compared to similar store like "Fabindia", its quite reasonable:
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Eat Outs
I went to a place called "Sat sanga", which people at hotel suggested, for its authentic french food. Apart from me, there was only one another indian crowd. The whole place was full of french people otherwise.
It was fun hearing all that "Je", "Si" around me.

This place had bad service. Was told upfront that we can get a seat, but it wont be before 45 minutes that I can expect food to be served.
Where we sat, the table spread was dirty with food, I asked the waiter to change it. He said there is no change for that, just took that dirty table cloth, threw food aside and put it back, the other way.
Well, if not for all the pain I took in walking from hotel to this place, I would have walked off
But the food compensated for it. Very tasty and very reasonable, at least compared to Bangalore.

There was another place I went to, the next evening, called "Le Club". Very nice ambiance, full of life and service much better
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Aurobindo Asharm
The only word to describe this place is serene. I marvelled at the quiet maintained by one and all inside.
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Cute ones
The paradise beach is the only sand beach in Pondicherry, so people who expect goa kind of experience at the beach, will be disappointed. Dont go to pondicherry for the beach experience.

And there are boats which go to paradise, which closes by 4.30. And back from there by 6. They have just one shack there, with limited variety of food and drinks.
Most placed in Pondicherry close entrance by 4.30, even auro village.

Found some cute kids with me at the beach shack, one of the girls used to beat her chest whenever she cried. I could not help laughing at that..












I loved the other name of Pondicherry, which is Puducherry(It was renamed in 2006). I would chant it many times as it sounds very cute "Puducherry..Puducherry.."

So people, I have achieved at least one of my new year resolves. Please judge yourslef as to how have you guys fared, compared to me :P

Cheers to that..



Lost this anklet to the sea..