Sunday 31 August 2008

flugafens, bahnofs and die posts

That will be the Swiss version of the title for the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles :)

Yes Flugafen is swiss for Airport, Bahnof is swiss for Railway station and Die Post is the bus stop. These were the first things to strike me when I entered Switzerland. Immigration control at the airport was the shortest I have ever experienced. Railway network is superb to say the least. Punctual and well connected , though a bit expensive.

Five days were not sufficient is what I felt after the tour ended. We visited the typical tourist attractions and each of them exceeded our expectations. The landscape , natural beauty is bountiful. The number of pictures I have clicked of the same place is a proof of the beauty of the place. No matter how much I convinced myself that I have taken sufficient pictures of a place , I couldnt stop myself from jumping out of the seat and taking a couple more.

Other thing I liked about the place was the eagerness of the residents to help out in case you are lost and searching for information. You just have to look confused , to get people helping you out. No need to ask even. They want to make sure one enjoys the stay as much as possible.

I would recommend a visit to swiss as a must in one's lifetime.

Tuesday 19 August 2008

One more dream coming true

Yes, I am going to Switzerland tommorrow. Can't believe it still.
Hopefully will have a couple of blog worth of material on my return.

Signing off with my answers to Questionnaire. I got this as a Tag from a (new) friend of mine. I get to tag 3 more people at the end of this. I am going to tag only one though :)

Where is your cell phone? In my pocket!
Your hair? Growing Thin
Your favorite thing? Movies/Music
One thing you hate Boredom
Your dream last night? Tomorrows Swiss trip
Your favorite drink? Filter Coffee
What you’re not? Focused
Where you grew up? India
The last thing you did? Corrected spelling of my blog
What are you wearing? Business Casual
Your mood? Excited
Missing someone? Home
Something you’re not wearing? Cant think of anything
Favorite store? I give up ( after a long search )
Like someone? Hmmmmm
Your favorite color? Dont have one !
One word you overuse - Yeah
Wrap gifts? or Gift Bags? - Wrap

I tag : Krupa

Friday 15 August 2008

Abhinav Abhinandan

I have no words to explain my emotion while watching Abhinav collecting his Gold medal. The best part for me came when after all the medals were handed out , came the moment of flag raising and then National Anthem rendition. My eyes swelled with pride.

I have been a big sports fan since my childhood and have been following Olympics for a long time. Medal award ceremony and subsequent Flag raising and National Anthem renditions have always been my favourites. I believe that moment is the pinacle for every sportsperson. I was always wishing one day I will get to listen Indian National Anthem. So I grabbed the opportunity immediately ( with the help of YouTube ofcourse ) to watch that moment.

Thank You Abhinav for giving that moment of celebration for us Indians. What struck me most is the calm and composure nature of Abhinav. I am sure there would have been millions of emotions running through him, but he was taking it all in and not showing much outside. The chinese guy next to him was crying his heart out, while Abhinav was dignity personified.

Unfortunately for us, all this hype and hooplah will last for another week or more. Abhinav will be felicitated and re felicitated by all and sundry. And then we will all forget about it pretty soon. I do not know what more our athletes need to do to get constant , unbriddled support. I am hoping against hope that Abhinav's victory does not go waste.

Abinandan Abhinav,
Jai Hind

Saturday 9 August 2008

India@61

It is that time of the year.All websites will be full of articles about progress made by India in various fields, problems that still exist etc etc.

Yes , its Independence day. August 15th for us expats will come and go like another day. Some of us will remember it, some dont.

For me, this day starts with choosing a patriotic wallpaper, then listening to some deshbhakthi geets, wishing all my colleagues and then carrying on with work as usual.
I always feel I should do more than just the above, but do not exactly know what to do. I am sure a lot of us will be going through the same feeling , where we want to do something for the country.

I still remember excitement with which we use to look forward for this day during school days. A month before rehearsals would start for the Swantrata Diwas parade.
On the day itself , I would wakeup early in the morning, ware the special decorative accessories required for the parade and rush to school. The parade itself was great fun , what with competitions going on between schools and everybody trying to win the coveted prize (the rolling sheild for the school and couple of chocolates for us). It was no less than a big festival. I miss those days very badly.

This time atleast I will try to do a bit more than usual things. May be we will all get together , sing the national anthem and salute the motherland. Yes I think I will try to do that atleast.

Jai Hind