India - a land of diverse culture, colorful dresses, shiny jewellery, climatic variaions across th length and breadth of the geography, varied beliefs, immutable festivals, unresolvable problems and cynicism which cuts across all physical and metaphysical barriers. Cleanliness is advocated but never adhered to, brightly colored houses with peeling with decay, hot food and hot tempers, intricate handiwork and intense prejudice, its the land of sundry and all... It is also my homeland..
home is a place close to the heart and despite her faults India and more still hot and steamy Chennai have warm spots in my large heart.. Going to England, a country whose climatic disposition is at odds with the movement of the sun its stays light for 18 hours a day!!! with temperatures falling to 11 degrees- for a warm blooded female from chennai such adverse conditions are less than conducive to stir up my spirits. arriving at 8:30 I was more than shocked to see a glorious golden hued tear-drop sunset with ruby light shining through an avenue of emerald promenades and glittering grey pavements. the chillwasn't helping but the effect was rather endearing.
A cheery english "hello" which was ignored by me for the first two times because people i know normally are cheerful only when they are on a call!!! There was a cb driver ready to take me to my hotel- the Holiay Inn on Stoke. It was vintage English country with freeways lines by savanna style grasslands shaded with the entire range of green (dark green highlighted with brown or flourescent shrubs...), woolly sheep and black and white cows dotted the landscape at regular intervals- no smoky buildings, no industrial estates- just you, light blue haven of a sky and a never-ending smooth patch of road (made in heaven)...
The roads are as smooth as a baby's bottom- a miracle in real-life for an Indian.. it taught me to believe in such a thing as a pavement where pedestrians do walk and sleek cars all racing away in a land where the word "bump" does not refer to anything on the road!!!
the second shock came from the English attitude- always a smile and a good day or hello to each and everyone. In India, you avoid any eye contact with anyone and normally eavesdrop on foreign conversations. Here people love to smile at strangers with an implicit trust- my first taste of the generous English hospitality- they were liable to drop into any conversation i would be having with my colleagues and join in just as if they were part of the group giving suggestions on what to order an India's culture and mores...
Another aspect of the UK culture which floored me was the pastries- having fed on Enid Blyton school tales all my life- it was amazing to discover the tatse of a crumpet, the satiation derived from a warm cinammon bun, the happiness in devouring a croissant and all the joys of an English tea accompaniments were revealed to me at the breakfast table each day...
Bearing the withering cold and the dry chappy skin conditions that follow m verdict for UK is a double thumbs up... lovely trees, light blue skies, friendly people and best of all a most brilliant array of baked goods that fills a veggie amidst the bacon, ham and eggs...
As the english say - Cheers Mate!!
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1 comment:
its a good post! chking your blog after quite sometime.
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