Hi, all...
First of all, I hope you are all OK.
It was a sad week for humanity. Trigger-happy murderers gunned down innocent lives and set out to destroy the spirit and reputation of Mumbai, my city. This city, which I call my home and love most dearly, has been the target of several such attacks in the recent past, that too with alarming frequency. The sequence of events is almost always the same... terror attack, loss of lives, destruction of property, slight upswing in vigilance, life back to normal, someone somewhere concocting another attack... and the vicious cycle continues.
This time, one was struck by the radical sight of the commandos dealing with the situation. It was somewhat reassuring to see that they were able to implement their rigourous training so appreciably. Politicians also got to show off their ample mud-slinging talents. It is a sad fact that incompetence and corruption are deeply entrenched in our political system and this is clearly why that vicious cycle of death and destruction will never see an end.
While this despicable series of events was playing itself out, my friend Reema (who lives in Vancouver) and I were hooked onto the news and despite the distance, strangely together, going through the same emotions of outrage and sadness for our city. She reminded me of some lines we'd read together and the more I absorb them, the more fitting they seem in the circumstances:
"The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible. Your defences must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the Arts you seek to undo."
- as said by the character of Severus Snape in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
"It is important to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated."
- as said by the character of Albus Dumbledore in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Despite all the pessimism I have expressed about the safety of my city and my country, I would like to end on a positive note and tell myself that no matter what, one can still imagine...
Imagine (John Lennon)
Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Tales from Oxford
Hi, all!
After a relatively sombre entry, I bring you bright tales from the crowning jewel of UK's education setup - Oxford...
After the euphoria of our stupendous London trip had quietened, I started to look forward to our next adventure destination, Oxford. The name of this city is hallowed in academic circles as it is home to the renowned Oxford University. I always knew that it was the kind of place that would charm me... and I was totally right.
Although Aparna and Abhilasha couldn't make the trip due to unforeseen academic commitments, I did have the company of my friends, Nadia and Nida. Nadia and I, in fact, even managed to do some map reading and draw up a rough plan of what our day could be like.
Thus, on a pleasant, clear mid-November morning, we, members of the Travelling Society, set out to explore the historic city of Oxford. Gregory, our Society president, drove us there, just as he had driven us to London.
We began our outing with a visit to the beautiful Ashmolean Museum. Given that we were on a time-leash with several places to cover, we breezed through all the sections and lingered in only some. Starting with the Roman and Greek statue collection, we proceeded to the expansive Ancient Egypt section. Then, after a quick look at British Porcelain, we walked through several painting galleries and rooms full of unique artifacts. Though we wrapped up the visit in quick time, it was time well spent.
We then made our way to Broad Street, where we booked ourselves places on the City and University Walking Tour at the Tourist Information Centre. After a look-see at the quaint impromptu French market there, we proceeded to our next stop, the Covered Market.
Covered Market is a cute little indoor market that sold all kinds of things... chocolates (see above picture), cakes, clothes, shoes, fashion jewellery... and so many other things. Here, I left Nadia and Nida to shop in peace and headed to Carfax Tower.
Already breathless from climbing the 99 spiral steps of the Carfax Tower, the magnificent view still managed to take my breath away. In every direction, I could see the spires of the several colleges that make up Oxford University. They are symbols of the students' dreams and aspirations and hence aptly named Oxford's "Dreaming Spires". I looked around and realised that though Oxford was a rather small city, it was absolutely beautiful. In the cool breeze, I had my sandwich lunch as I took in more of the view. I then took to the dizzying spiral stairs once more and took leave of Carfax Tower and its unforgettable view.
It was now time for the City and University Walking Tour where I was reunited with Nadia and Nida. Anyone who has ever done any sight-seeing will agree that walking is the best way to get to know a place. So it was even in this case. Our lovely tour guide (I'm embarrassed to say I've forgotten her name) took a bunch of us through Oxford's wonderful landmarks and colleges and brought it alive for us.
We started with Wadham College. Once inside, she explained to us that unlike other universities, Oxford Uni is a collection of 38 colleges, each operating independently. However, all students appear for centralised exams and the final degree awarded is that of Oxford Uni and not the specific college. Instead of lectures, every student has a one-on-one session with his/her tutor where they hand-in essays every week. Structurally, colleges here usually have a standard setup... a quadrangular lawn area, surrounded by study rooms, a common dining hall, student accommodation in the form of indoor townhouses and a chapel. While the dining hall was closed, we did have the opportunity to visit the Chapel. As always, the colourful stain glass work left me spellbound. We then walked around the campus for some time. Our guide also mentioned that Sir Christopher Wren, one of the greatest English architects in history, was an alumnus of this college.
We then walked by the old and new Bodleian Library buildings. This library, the second largest in the UK, is a Copyright library, which means that a copy of every book that is copyrighted has to be given to this library. Another cool fact: books are stored underground and the old (Claredon Building) and the new library buildings are linked by an underground tunnel through which books are passed on a conveyor belt!
Here, we also stopped to admire the Sheldonian Theatre. Famous as Sir Christopher Wren's second architectural endeavor, this building plays host to degree awarding ceremonies at Oxford Uni. These ceremonies were originally held at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin (not far away from this site). But authorities did not like the idea of students celebrating too hard and turning up drunk in the holy church. So, they requested Sir Wren (then new to the field and not yet knighted) to develop a secular building for this purpose. This building stands proof of his talent and vision. He, however, had nothing to do with the out-of-sync white cupola that was added later.
Next, we walked through Divinity School. I was thrilled to bits to know that some of the scenes from the Harry Potter movies have been filmed here.
Going past Divinity School, we arrived at Radcliffe Camera, a magnificent sight if there ever was one. Formerly the Radcliffe Science Library, this building is now part of the Bodleian Library. In fact, the underground book storage stretches all the way to this area.... that's way too many books! The building itself is a wonderful piece of architecture with a great sense of symmetry.
Our next destination was New College. Contrary to its name, this is one of the oldest colleges in Oxford. Set slightly apart from the other colleges, this one has a slightly bigger and greener campus. This, actor Hugh Grant's former college, has a small piece of infamy attached to it: it was built on a plague cemetery. But apart from that little gory detail, it is a gorgeous place, with lush lawns and beautiful buildings. In fact, it houses remains of the old city wall that surrounded Oxford centuries ago. Here, we did get to visit the dining hall. Scenes from the Harry Potter movies jumped right at me when I entered the hall, especially given the seating arrangements and the teachers' High Table. We also had a quick look at the calm oasis-like Cloister and its bell tower. On the way out, our guide showed us an alley that is a popular spot for filming old-world England as it is lined with the original soot-covered walls of Oxford.
Then, we proceeded to another interesting destination on the tour: the Bridge of Sighs.
The Bridge of Sighs is actually Hertford Bridge, linking the old and new sections of Hertford College over . Although it bears somewhat of a resemblance to its more famous Venetian namesake, the resemblance is not deliberate. That as it may be, it is an impressive piece of architecture and good fun to walk under!
We then made our way to beautiful campus of Exeter College. This college has a rather rich set of alumni, one of them being revered author, J.R.R. Tolkien. I found the autumn-coloured ivy-covered buildings rather lovely. We visited the Chapel here and it was absolutely spectacular. The mosaic floor and the embellished church organ were especially beautiful.
A famous British series, Inspector Morse, was shot in several places all over Oxford. A corner of the Exeter College quadrangle lawn is where the title character of Inspector Morse is shown to breathe his last. In fact, the series is so popular that they have walking tours dedicated to tracing places where the series was filmed.
While still at Exeter College, we arrived at a small area that gave us a lovely picture-perfect view of Radcliffe Camera. It was with this final, memorable sight that we wrapped up this entertaining and enlightening walk through Oxford.
Since we had some more time on our hands, we worked out, with some advice from our guide, that we could still make two more destinations before hitting the home track. So, we bade goodbye to our rather helpful guide and started off towards the Museum of Natural History.
After a relatively long, breathless walk to the Museum of Natural History, dinosaur footprints welcomed us in. Stepping inside, we entered a unique world... a ribbed high ceiling, dinosaur skeletons and so much more. While there was nothing particularly unique about the subjects of the displays here, the displays themselves were quite well done and attention-trapping. For example, in the picture above, I'm leading a parade of skeletons of all sorts of animals! Two other displays caught my attention, both with a common thread: Charles Lutwidge Dodgson aka Lewis Carroll. Having been a fan of 'Alice in Wonderland' all my life, I was all ears when our guide explained to us Dodgson's connection with Oxford. It was here that he had met the girl after whom he named his legendary character! The two displays I referred to earlier are both displays connected to elements from 'Alice in Wonderland'. One represents the remains of the Dodo bird and the other is a wonderful display of all the quirky animals described in 'Alice in Wonderland', such as the turtle, the flamingo, the hedgehog, the walrus, and of course, the rabbit. We didn't spend much time on the other displays and didn't even go up to the first floor. But we were content with what we did see and we came to the conclusion that choosing not to visit this museum would have rendered our visit to Oxford incomplete.
We then took off towards our last destination for the day: Christ Church College. Why this one, you ask? Our principal reason was Harry Potter. We were very much eager to visit the Dining Hall where dinner scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed. Even beyond that, this is quite a popular place to visit. It bears a rather regal and grand look which reflects the fact that it has been graced by illustrious alumni ranging from former British prime ministers to several noted personalities from the arts and sciences. At least on the outside, it seems like a college for the rich. Incidentally, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson studied and taught here.
With very little time left in hand, we raced towards the Dining Hall. Although there was no element of surprise, we loved just being there. We also managed to pay a quick visit to the magnificent Christ Church Cathedral. Though it was a brisk and rushed visit, it still fulfilled our purpose and we enjoyed every moment of it.
Darkness was starting to fall and our day was inching to a close. We summoned the little strength we had left and walked back to the Ashmolean Museum, where Gregory picked us up and drove us back to the university.
Despite the exhaustion pulsing through me that night, I was completely content. I had just collected for myself, pleasant memories of yet another wonderful city of the world and my life was a little richer because of it.
After a relatively sombre entry, I bring you bright tales from the crowning jewel of UK's education setup - Oxford...
After the euphoria of our stupendous London trip had quietened, I started to look forward to our next adventure destination, Oxford. The name of this city is hallowed in academic circles as it is home to the renowned Oxford University. I always knew that it was the kind of place that would charm me... and I was totally right.
Although Aparna and Abhilasha couldn't make the trip due to unforeseen academic commitments, I did have the company of my friends, Nadia and Nida. Nadia and I, in fact, even managed to do some map reading and draw up a rough plan of what our day could be like.
Thus, on a pleasant, clear mid-November morning, we, members of the Travelling Society, set out to explore the historic city of Oxford. Gregory, our Society president, drove us there, just as he had driven us to London.
We began our outing with a visit to the beautiful Ashmolean Museum. Given that we were on a time-leash with several places to cover, we breezed through all the sections and lingered in only some. Starting with the Roman and Greek statue collection, we proceeded to the expansive Ancient Egypt section. Then, after a quick look at British Porcelain, we walked through several painting galleries and rooms full of unique artifacts. Though we wrapped up the visit in quick time, it was time well spent.
We then made our way to Broad Street, where we booked ourselves places on the City and University Walking Tour at the Tourist Information Centre. After a look-see at the quaint impromptu French market there, we proceeded to our next stop, the Covered Market.
Covered Market is a cute little indoor market that sold all kinds of things... chocolates (see above picture), cakes, clothes, shoes, fashion jewellery... and so many other things. Here, I left Nadia and Nida to shop in peace and headed to Carfax Tower.
Already breathless from climbing the 99 spiral steps of the Carfax Tower, the magnificent view still managed to take my breath away. In every direction, I could see the spires of the several colleges that make up Oxford University. They are symbols of the students' dreams and aspirations and hence aptly named Oxford's "Dreaming Spires". I looked around and realised that though Oxford was a rather small city, it was absolutely beautiful. In the cool breeze, I had my sandwich lunch as I took in more of the view. I then took to the dizzying spiral stairs once more and took leave of Carfax Tower and its unforgettable view.It was now time for the City and University Walking Tour where I was reunited with Nadia and Nida. Anyone who has ever done any sight-seeing will agree that walking is the best way to get to know a place. So it was even in this case. Our lovely tour guide (I'm embarrassed to say I've forgotten her name) took a bunch of us through Oxford's wonderful landmarks and colleges and brought it alive for us.
We started with Wadham College. Once inside, she explained to us that unlike other universities, Oxford Uni is a collection of 38 colleges, each operating independently. However, all students appear for centralised exams and the final degree awarded is that of Oxford Uni and not the specific college. Instead of lectures, every student has a one-on-one session with his/her tutor where they hand-in essays every week. Structurally, colleges here usually have a standard setup... a quadrangular lawn area, surrounded by study rooms, a common dining hall, student accommodation in the form of indoor townhouses and a chapel. While the dining hall was closed, we did have the opportunity to visit the Chapel. As always, the colourful stain glass work left me spellbound. We then walked around the campus for some time. Our guide also mentioned that Sir Christopher Wren, one of the greatest English architects in history, was an alumnus of this college.
We then walked by the old and new Bodleian Library buildings. This library, the second largest in the UK, is a Copyright library, which means that a copy of every book that is copyrighted has to be given to this library. Another cool fact: books are stored underground and the old (Claredon Building) and the new library buildings are linked by an underground tunnel through which books are passed on a conveyor belt!Here, we also stopped to admire the Sheldonian Theatre. Famous as Sir Christopher Wren's second architectural endeavor, this building plays host to degree awarding ceremonies at Oxford Uni. These ceremonies were originally held at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin (not far away from this site). But authorities did not like the idea of students celebrating too hard and turning up drunk in the holy church. So, they requested Sir Wren (then new to the field and not yet knighted) to develop a secular building for this purpose. This building stands proof of his talent and vision. He, however, had nothing to do with the out-of-sync white cupola that was added later.
Next, we walked through Divinity School. I was thrilled to bits to know that some of the scenes from the Harry Potter movies have been filmed here.Going past Divinity School, we arrived at Radcliffe Camera, a magnificent sight if there ever was one. Formerly the Radcliffe Science Library, this building is now part of the Bodleian Library. In fact, the underground book storage stretches all the way to this area.... that's way too many books! The building itself is a wonderful piece of architecture with a great sense of symmetry.
Our next destination was New College. Contrary to its name, this is one of the oldest colleges in Oxford. Set slightly apart from the other colleges, this one has a slightly bigger and greener campus. This, actor Hugh Grant's former college, has a small piece of infamy attached to it: it was built on a plague cemetery. But apart from that little gory detail, it is a gorgeous place, with lush lawns and beautiful buildings. In fact, it houses remains of the old city wall that surrounded Oxford centuries ago. Here, we did get to visit the dining hall. Scenes from the Harry Potter movies jumped right at me when I entered the hall, especially given the seating arrangements and the teachers' High Table. We also had a quick look at the calm oasis-like Cloister and its bell tower. On the way out, our guide showed us an alley that is a popular spot for filming old-world England as it is lined with the original soot-covered walls of Oxford.
Then, we proceeded to another interesting destination on the tour: the Bridge of Sighs.
The Bridge of Sighs is actually Hertford Bridge, linking the old and new sections of Hertford College over . Although it bears somewhat of a resemblance to its more famous Venetian namesake, the resemblance is not deliberate. That as it may be, it is an impressive piece of architecture and good fun to walk under!We then made our way to beautiful campus of Exeter College. This college has a rather rich set of alumni, one of them being revered author, J.R.R. Tolkien. I found the autumn-coloured ivy-covered buildings rather lovely. We visited the Chapel here and it was absolutely spectacular. The mosaic floor and the embellished church organ were especially beautiful.
A famous British series, Inspector Morse, was shot in several places all over Oxford. A corner of the Exeter College quadrangle lawn is where the title character of Inspector Morse is shown to breathe his last. In fact, the series is so popular that they have walking tours dedicated to tracing places where the series was filmed.While still at Exeter College, we arrived at a small area that gave us a lovely picture-perfect view of Radcliffe Camera. It was with this final, memorable sight that we wrapped up this entertaining and enlightening walk through Oxford.
Since we had some more time on our hands, we worked out, with some advice from our guide, that we could still make two more destinations before hitting the home track. So, we bade goodbye to our rather helpful guide and started off towards the Museum of Natural History.
After a relatively long, breathless walk to the Museum of Natural History, dinosaur footprints welcomed us in. Stepping inside, we entered a unique world... a ribbed high ceiling, dinosaur skeletons and so much more. While there was nothing particularly unique about the subjects of the displays here, the displays themselves were quite well done and attention-trapping. For example, in the picture above, I'm leading a parade of skeletons of all sorts of animals! Two other displays caught my attention, both with a common thread: Charles Lutwidge Dodgson aka Lewis Carroll. Having been a fan of 'Alice in Wonderland' all my life, I was all ears when our guide explained to us Dodgson's connection with Oxford. It was here that he had met the girl after whom he named his legendary character! The two displays I referred to earlier are both displays connected to elements from 'Alice in Wonderland'. One represents the remains of the Dodo bird and the other is a wonderful display of all the quirky animals described in 'Alice in Wonderland', such as the turtle, the flamingo, the hedgehog, the walrus, and of course, the rabbit. We didn't spend much time on the other displays and didn't even go up to the first floor. But we were content with what we did see and we came to the conclusion that choosing not to visit this museum would have rendered our visit to Oxford incomplete.We then took off towards our last destination for the day: Christ Church College. Why this one, you ask? Our principal reason was Harry Potter. We were very much eager to visit the Dining Hall where dinner scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed. Even beyond that, this is quite a popular place to visit. It bears a rather regal and grand look which reflects the fact that it has been graced by illustrious alumni ranging from former British prime ministers to several noted personalities from the arts and sciences. At least on the outside, it seems like a college for the rich. Incidentally, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson studied and taught here.
With very little time left in hand, we raced towards the Dining Hall. Although there was no element of surprise, we loved just being there. We also managed to pay a quick visit to the magnificent Christ Church Cathedral. Though it was a brisk and rushed visit, it still fulfilled our purpose and we enjoyed every moment of it.
Darkness was starting to fall and our day was inching to a close. We summoned the little strength we had left and walked back to the Ashmolean Museum, where Gregory picked us up and drove us back to the university.Despite the exhaustion pulsing through me that night, I was completely content. I had just collected for myself, pleasant memories of yet another wonderful city of the world and my life was a little richer because of it.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
London
Hi, all!
For almost a month now, I have been itching to write to you all about my day-trip to London. But it so happened that I was buried under a mountain of assignment work that I only just did away with. So, here is how my London trip went...
Eight years ago, I spent a day in London and left with no special memories. Whatever I saw, I saw in a great big rush... it was all a blur. The weather had been gloomy and the city did not endear itself to me in any way. I was eager to see how and if at all my impressions of London would change this time around. And I assure you, they absolutely, incontrovertibly did.
On a fine Saturday morning in October, we (my friends Aparna, Abhilasha and I) set off along with other members of the Travelling Society for a day-long trip to the world-famous city of London. Gregory, the president of the Travelling Society, would drive us there and back. The journey itself was pleasant. Drops of rain welcomed us into London but thankfully parted company soon. We eventually arrived close to Liverpool Street Station and parked near it. Gregory walked us to the station, showed us our pick-up spot and bade adieu for the day.
We had already planned our day out. We had picked out four places we wanted to visit, looked them up on the map and identified the stations on the London Underground that would get us there. We had also packed sandwiches and some other goodies to last us the day.
As per the plan, we bought day passes on the Underground and took the yellow "Circle" Line to Tower Hill. Our first destination was Tower Bridge.
The moment we stepped out of Tower Hill Station, we saw the London Wall and the Tower of London right in front of us. Two minutes into our adventure and we were already floored. We then made our way to the magnificent Tower Bridge.
"Simply splendid" is what we thought of the Tower Bridge. Our day got infinitely better when they raised it to let a barge through!!!
Once we got over the thrill of the Tower Bridge experience, we took in some more of the view across River Thames. But for the shortage of time, we would have visited the HMS Belfast warship and explored the Tower of London as well. But instead, we headed back to Tower Hill Station and onwards to our next destination, Westminster, where another beauty of a sight awaited our arrival.
Ah, Big Ben! Needless to say, we were instantly enamoured with this beautiful structure... how could one not be! Photographs and pictures do not do it justice. One seldom gets the opportunity to revisit a landmark such as this. On my first trip, I had only vague memories of it, which is why it really made me count my blessings to be able to come back here and truly appreciate the magnificence of this beloved clock tower. The Houses of Parliament (which I always mistook to be Westminster Abbey) were quite spectacular as well, eerily quiet but dazzling all the same. We also caught a quick glimpse of the actual Westminster Abbey and then headed on along Westminster Bridge, laughing away at our hair being whipped up by the suddenly fierce winds. On the other side of the bridge was another London hotspot... London Eye.
My parents loved it... my friend Reema loved it... and God knows who else... we knew we just HAD to ride the London Eye. We had already decided that it would be the only place we would spend our precious money. In fact, we'd already bought tickets online. Closer and closer we went, it looked more and more awesome. We made ourselves comfortable at the foot of the LE and had our sandwiches and cola. After that excellent and hearty lunch, we queued up. Within minutes, we were within one of the capsules, serenely ascending over mighty, magical London.
We were on the highest observation wheel in the world and the view was beyond heavenly! London and more gorgeous London as far as the eye could see... River Thames with its many uniquely pretty bridges, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, the "Gherkin", Charring Cross Station, Waterloo Station, Wembley Stadium... and so much more! To put it simply, London took our breath away.
We descended with heavy hearts... it was not easy letting go of that killer view. But we cheered ourselves up by indulging (economically) in some souvenirs. We walked along the banks of the Thames for some time, popping peanuts and amusing ourselves with the colourful characters around.
We then went back to Westminster Station, but only after we gulped in some more of the Big Ben's breathtaking splendour. Our next destination was St. James Park. Once there, we put our map-reading skills to test as we made our way to yet another landmark... Buckingham Palace.
During my last visit to London, while we drove past several London landmarks, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace were the only places where we stepped out of the bus. The only memories I had from that visit to the palace were the colour of courtyard and the fact that the sun being at an odd angle made all my photographs come out pink. This time around, I quite loved Buckingham Palace. It may not be the sort to have an extravagant exterior, but just being in such close proximity to real royalty gives it an edge that few places in the world have. We were also full of admiration for the rather grand statue of Queen Victoria as also the impressive gilded gates.
Some extra time in hand led to a brief period of indecision about whether or not to go to Piccadilly Circus. But we decided to wind up the day early and head back to St. James Park Station instead. Along the way, we noticed (just as we had done all day long) that London had several exquisite buildings. One could spend an entire day just walking around admiring the architecture here. Anyway, We took the train back to Liverpool Street Station, bringing our day out in London to a close. As a celebratory drink, we got ourselves some nice hot chocolate and I got myself some Millie's cookies (super-duper delicious milk chocolate cookies... best I've ever tasted!!!). Soon, we met up with the rest of the group and Gregory drove us all back to the university.
It had been a long day... we were completely exhausted, but also utterly satisfied with how the day had gone. As much as I enjoyed discovering London, I think the day was made more memorable by the company of my friends. They have not only made my life here easier to live, but with this trip, they have helped me make a day to remember... a day I can look back on and know that it will always make me smile : )
Signing off,
Kay
For almost a month now, I have been itching to write to you all about my day-trip to London. But it so happened that I was buried under a mountain of assignment work that I only just did away with. So, here is how my London trip went...
Eight years ago, I spent a day in London and left with no special memories. Whatever I saw, I saw in a great big rush... it was all a blur. The weather had been gloomy and the city did not endear itself to me in any way. I was eager to see how and if at all my impressions of London would change this time around. And I assure you, they absolutely, incontrovertibly did.
On a fine Saturday morning in October, we (my friends Aparna, Abhilasha and I) set off along with other members of the Travelling Society for a day-long trip to the world-famous city of London. Gregory, the president of the Travelling Society, would drive us there and back. The journey itself was pleasant. Drops of rain welcomed us into London but thankfully parted company soon. We eventually arrived close to Liverpool Street Station and parked near it. Gregory walked us to the station, showed us our pick-up spot and bade adieu for the day.
We had already planned our day out. We had picked out four places we wanted to visit, looked them up on the map and identified the stations on the London Underground that would get us there. We had also packed sandwiches and some other goodies to last us the day.
As per the plan, we bought day passes on the Underground and took the yellow "Circle" Line to Tower Hill. Our first destination was Tower Bridge.
The moment we stepped out of Tower Hill Station, we saw the London Wall and the Tower of London right in front of us. Two minutes into our adventure and we were already floored. We then made our way to the magnificent Tower Bridge.
"Simply splendid" is what we thought of the Tower Bridge. Our day got infinitely better when they raised it to let a barge through!!!
Once we got over the thrill of the Tower Bridge experience, we took in some more of the view across River Thames. But for the shortage of time, we would have visited the HMS Belfast warship and explored the Tower of London as well. But instead, we headed back to Tower Hill Station and onwards to our next destination, Westminster, where another beauty of a sight awaited our arrival.
Ah, Big Ben! Needless to say, we were instantly enamoured with this beautiful structure... how could one not be! Photographs and pictures do not do it justice. One seldom gets the opportunity to revisit a landmark such as this. On my first trip, I had only vague memories of it, which is why it really made me count my blessings to be able to come back here and truly appreciate the magnificence of this beloved clock tower. The Houses of Parliament (which I always mistook to be Westminster Abbey) were quite spectacular as well, eerily quiet but dazzling all the same. We also caught a quick glimpse of the actual Westminster Abbey and then headed on along Westminster Bridge, laughing away at our hair being whipped up by the suddenly fierce winds. On the other side of the bridge was another London hotspot... London Eye.
My parents loved it... my friend Reema loved it... and God knows who else... we knew we just HAD to ride the London Eye. We had already decided that it would be the only place we would spend our precious money. In fact, we'd already bought tickets online. Closer and closer we went, it looked more and more awesome. We made ourselves comfortable at the foot of the LE and had our sandwiches and cola. After that excellent and hearty lunch, we queued up. Within minutes, we were within one of the capsules, serenely ascending over mighty, magical London.
We were on the highest observation wheel in the world and the view was beyond heavenly! London and more gorgeous London as far as the eye could see... River Thames with its many uniquely pretty bridges, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, the "Gherkin", Charring Cross Station, Waterloo Station, Wembley Stadium... and so much more! To put it simply, London took our breath away.
We descended with heavy hearts... it was not easy letting go of that killer view. But we cheered ourselves up by indulging (economically) in some souvenirs. We walked along the banks of the Thames for some time, popping peanuts and amusing ourselves with the colourful characters around.
We then went back to Westminster Station, but only after we gulped in some more of the Big Ben's breathtaking splendour. Our next destination was St. James Park. Once there, we put our map-reading skills to test as we made our way to yet another landmark... Buckingham Palace.
During my last visit to London, while we drove past several London landmarks, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace were the only places where we stepped out of the bus. The only memories I had from that visit to the palace were the colour of courtyard and the fact that the sun being at an odd angle made all my photographs come out pink. This time around, I quite loved Buckingham Palace. It may not be the sort to have an extravagant exterior, but just being in such close proximity to real royalty gives it an edge that few places in the world have. We were also full of admiration for the rather grand statue of Queen Victoria as also the impressive gilded gates.
Some extra time in hand led to a brief period of indecision about whether or not to go to Piccadilly Circus. But we decided to wind up the day early and head back to St. James Park Station instead. Along the way, we noticed (just as we had done all day long) that London had several exquisite buildings. One could spend an entire day just walking around admiring the architecture here. Anyway, We took the train back to Liverpool Street Station, bringing our day out in London to a close. As a celebratory drink, we got ourselves some nice hot chocolate and I got myself some Millie's cookies (super-duper delicious milk chocolate cookies... best I've ever tasted!!!). Soon, we met up with the rest of the group and Gregory drove us all back to the university.It had been a long day... we were completely exhausted, but also utterly satisfied with how the day had gone. As much as I enjoyed discovering London, I think the day was made more memorable by the company of my friends. They have not only made my life here easier to live, but with this trip, they have helped me make a day to remember... a day I can look back on and know that it will always make me smile : )
Signing off,
Kay
Friday, October 24, 2008
24
Hi, all!
Welcome to Birthday Week!
My second week here was better than my first one by a long shot. For one thing, I turned 24! When I was younger, my parents used to throw me rocking birthday parties. In the recent years, things quietened down and we (the three of us) now mutually prefer to spend birthdays simply, without fanfare as such. In any case, I was a bit worried when "Birthday Week" dawned that I would perhaps feel their absence more distinctly on that day... which of course I did... but even so, the week unfolded rather unexpectedly for me.
One thing new this week was ... lectures! Our academic semester officially kicked off that Monday. Our very first lecture, E-Commerce Programming, was a brilliant one. Taught by Prof. Richard Williams, it was everything I had expected it to be and I felt rather content at the end of it. The lab session that followed was not such a pleasant experience to begin with. But I got over it pretty quickly given that programming is my bread and butter.
Tuesday morning, I naturally woke up with a smile on my face. My 24th birthday had arrived. Starting with my parents, pretty much all the people important to me managed to wish me in one way or another... phone, text messages, emails... so except for the distance, nothing really felt different. The day was choc-a-block with lectures. In the evening, I took my friends out to dinner at a Pizza place on campus, Mondo's. They even got me a gift and chocolates! We spent a really nice evening together and then headed home. Yes, I was finally starting to call my room "home" and that was as good as it got... or so I thought!
At Mondo's (Clockwise: Aparna, Ritu, Me, Abhilasha)
Wednesday and Thursday are the light days with not too many lectures. So, that week, I made ambitious plans to visit Anu maushi and Siddharth dada in Orpington. It was a long way away and a rather complex travel plan had to be conjured for this. I was fairly confident about the whole travel, having gotten all the instructions from Siddharth dada. Here's how the journey panned out: I bought a straight return ticket to Orpington, started from the University at 11.15am, took a bus to Colchester North Station, took a train to Stratford, changed over to the London Underground system, took a train to London Bridge, changed over to the South Eastern Line, took a train to Orpington, finally took a bus to Wellbrook Drive and finally reached their house at nearly 3.30pm. Gosh! It was a long 4 hour journey... but a pleasant, comfortable and educational one.
Anu maushi greeted me warmly and made my day even better with a lovely lunch spread full of my favourite things. We spent the evening chatting about this and that, life here, life back home... our conversations flowed so naturally, it was hard for us to believe we had only met once before. Siddharth dada, whom I was meeting for the first time, joined us soon and we celebrated the evening with some wine and beer and then went out to an Indian restaurant, "Tamasha", for dinner. For someone who likes cars (not claiming to be an expert, I just think they are eye-candy :D), it was a special thrill to sit in their lovely grey Mercedes on the way to dinner and back. The dinner itself was quite delicious and was exactly the kind of flavour I was sorely missing. Between dinner and dessert, something unexpected happened... suddenly, I heard birthday music playing in the restaurant. I started to look around to see whose birthday it was, when I realised that it was playing for ME! The servers gathered around and even sang for me and served a special fireworks-laden kulfi complete with candles to blow out... I was taken totally by surprise, giddy with happiness, and completely overwhelmed. We wound up the evening with a delicious orange rind-laced coffee that was their in-house special. As if that wasn't enough wonderfulness, Siddharth dada gave me a little spin around the block in his... wait for it... awesomely spectacular blue sports Mercedes... with the top down even!!! Having revered cars of this sort, being inside one gave me infinite pleasure. I will forever be thankful to him for that. So many memorable moments rolled into one evening!
At Tamasha - Birthday Girl having a blast
I did return back the next evening and somehow, the loneliness of the first few days caught hold of me again. The fantastic time I had spent with Anu maushi and Siddharth dada reminded me of all that I had left behind. It made me sad again. But thankfully, the sadness faded away by morning and life was OK again.
Saturday, Aparna and I went into Colchester and did some winter shopping (because it was on sale). That Sunday was the first day I spent indoors. When I woke up in the morning, I looked outside my window and saw nothing but thick white fog. I found the sight quite unique, almost like looking out at endless sky! By mid-morning, the immediate surroundings cleared up and by late afternoon, so did the beyond. In all of this fog business, I also achieved the great feat of studying! Well, at least beginning to study. In any case, it was a pleasant and productive day.
All in all, in fact, it was a pleasant week.... a great week... and a memorable one!
Welcome to Birthday Week!
My second week here was better than my first one by a long shot. For one thing, I turned 24! When I was younger, my parents used to throw me rocking birthday parties. In the recent years, things quietened down and we (the three of us) now mutually prefer to spend birthdays simply, without fanfare as such. In any case, I was a bit worried when "Birthday Week" dawned that I would perhaps feel their absence more distinctly on that day... which of course I did... but even so, the week unfolded rather unexpectedly for me.
One thing new this week was ... lectures! Our academic semester officially kicked off that Monday. Our very first lecture, E-Commerce Programming, was a brilliant one. Taught by Prof. Richard Williams, it was everything I had expected it to be and I felt rather content at the end of it. The lab session that followed was not such a pleasant experience to begin with. But I got over it pretty quickly given that programming is my bread and butter.
Tuesday morning, I naturally woke up with a smile on my face. My 24th birthday had arrived. Starting with my parents, pretty much all the people important to me managed to wish me in one way or another... phone, text messages, emails... so except for the distance, nothing really felt different. The day was choc-a-block with lectures. In the evening, I took my friends out to dinner at a Pizza place on campus, Mondo's. They even got me a gift and chocolates! We spent a really nice evening together and then headed home. Yes, I was finally starting to call my room "home" and that was as good as it got... or so I thought!
At Mondo's (Clockwise: Aparna, Ritu, Me, Abhilasha)Wednesday and Thursday are the light days with not too many lectures. So, that week, I made ambitious plans to visit Anu maushi and Siddharth dada in Orpington. It was a long way away and a rather complex travel plan had to be conjured for this. I was fairly confident about the whole travel, having gotten all the instructions from Siddharth dada. Here's how the journey panned out: I bought a straight return ticket to Orpington, started from the University at 11.15am, took a bus to Colchester North Station, took a train to Stratford, changed over to the London Underground system, took a train to London Bridge, changed over to the South Eastern Line, took a train to Orpington, finally took a bus to Wellbrook Drive and finally reached their house at nearly 3.30pm. Gosh! It was a long 4 hour journey... but a pleasant, comfortable and educational one.
Anu maushi greeted me warmly and made my day even better with a lovely lunch spread full of my favourite things. We spent the evening chatting about this and that, life here, life back home... our conversations flowed so naturally, it was hard for us to believe we had only met once before. Siddharth dada, whom I was meeting for the first time, joined us soon and we celebrated the evening with some wine and beer and then went out to an Indian restaurant, "Tamasha", for dinner. For someone who likes cars (not claiming to be an expert, I just think they are eye-candy :D), it was a special thrill to sit in their lovely grey Mercedes on the way to dinner and back. The dinner itself was quite delicious and was exactly the kind of flavour I was sorely missing. Between dinner and dessert, something unexpected happened... suddenly, I heard birthday music playing in the restaurant. I started to look around to see whose birthday it was, when I realised that it was playing for ME! The servers gathered around and even sang for me and served a special fireworks-laden kulfi complete with candles to blow out... I was taken totally by surprise, giddy with happiness, and completely overwhelmed. We wound up the evening with a delicious orange rind-laced coffee that was their in-house special. As if that wasn't enough wonderfulness, Siddharth dada gave me a little spin around the block in his... wait for it... awesomely spectacular blue sports Mercedes... with the top down even!!! Having revered cars of this sort, being inside one gave me infinite pleasure. I will forever be thankful to him for that. So many memorable moments rolled into one evening!
At Tamasha - Birthday Girl having a blast
Ah, eye candy!
I did return back the next evening and somehow, the loneliness of the first few days caught hold of me again. The fantastic time I had spent with Anu maushi and Siddharth dada reminded me of all that I had left behind. It made me sad again. But thankfully, the sadness faded away by morning and life was OK again.
Saturday, Aparna and I went into Colchester and did some winter shopping (because it was on sale). That Sunday was the first day I spent indoors. When I woke up in the morning, I looked outside my window and saw nothing but thick white fog. I found the sight quite unique, almost like looking out at endless sky! By mid-morning, the immediate surroundings cleared up and by late afternoon, so did the beyond. In all of this fog business, I also achieved the great feat of studying! Well, at least beginning to study. In any case, it was a pleasant and productive day.
All in all, in fact, it was a pleasant week.... a great week... and a memorable one!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Darkness and Rainbow
Hi, all!
It's now time to look back on my first week here:
Those who've read Harry Potter will be familiar with the concept of Dementors sucking happiness and warmth out of the air around you and leaving you feeling nothing but hopelessness and despair... like you can never be happy again... like nothing will ever be right again. To begin with, that was exactly how I felt.
I spent my first three mornings crying on the phone to my parents, begging them to allow me to come back home, to leave the pool of misery that I found myself in. A million worries clouded my tired mind... the pressure of fending for myself, the impending burden of studies, no reassuring familiar faces around... I had probably never felt worse. Thankfully, my parents did not take pity on me and relent. They (gently) reminded me why I was where I was and that I had put in all this hard work for a reason - for a better future. They made perfect sense. I had no choice but to trudge on.
There seemed to be a permanent chill in the air. Up on the 12th floor, the view from my room windows was to die for. But I had no desire to appreciate this gift. The beautiful green university campus looked up at me invitingly. But I felt no attraction to it. There was so much to explore, to learn, to see, to do. But my heart and head felt heavy... like I could burst into tears any moment. I somehow managed to get through the formalities, one by one... attending induction talks, accommodation talks, workshops, opening a bank account, an English Language Assessment Test and most importantly, registration.
My days would thankfully be spent in the company of my new friends, Abhilasha and Aparna. Evenings, it was just me and my loneliness.
On the fourth morning, I woke up with a thought in my head: I should take some photographs. Those who know me well know that I'm a travel photography freak. I take and take and take photographs tirelessly. Given my state of mind, I had refused to absorb my surroundings so far. So it was a slight improvement for me to want to take photographs. I, therefore, pulled out my camera from the drawer and stood by my window. The most amazing thing happened that very moment. There were grey clouds in the sky... and suddenly, straight ahead, was a giant rainbow!!!! I couldn't believe my eyes. A rainbow was precisely what I needed.
That evening, after a final crying session with Mamma (who rightly told me off this time), I made my mind up that I would be stronger. I would be as strong as I had already proven myself capable to be. I would do this right. I would do this.
The Campus Tour was a great idea to discover exactly how wonderful this campus was. The Colchester Town Tour was an even better idea... its such a cute and colourful town! It really upped my spirits.
I also had a rather nice and calming conversation with Anu Maushi, a close family friend of ours, who is in the UK visiting her son, Dr. Siddharth. But more on that in another post.
I also finally managed to get my Internet up and running and resumed to some extent my correspondence with "my" world and opened doors to my new world. This went a long, long way in bringing a semblance of normalcy to my life (and the speed here is wicked fast!!!).
Friday, I also had some opportunity to meet people, students and staff, from my own department. We also visited some classrooms and labs. This added somewhat to my sense of belonging. I even did my laundry that evening! The pieces of the jigsaw were slowly falling into place.
Life became even better that Saturday. My friends and I went grocery shopping at Tesco supermarket. I took comfort from the fact that this place had pretty much all that I needed to sustain myself here. Then, we had a great time at the Freshers' Fair where I signed up for the Travel Society, Computer Society, French Connection Society and the Film Society. We went to Colchester that evening to meet Vinaya, a friend of Aparna's, who took us to another giant supermarket, Asda, where we shopped some more and saved a whole lot.
Sunday dawned on us with typically British weather... rainy and gloomy. We had lofty plans of going to London to acquaint ourselves with the place and also help Aparna buy a laptop. But alas, that was not to be... We improvised and decided to go to somewhere closer by, Tollgate, which also had places to buy electronics from, such as PC World and Curry's. That turned out to be an accurate decision. Not only did Aparna get her laptop, but I got my printer as well. The rain faded by the time we headed home. The trip turned out to be a great bonding experience and its only gotten better for us since then.
Thus ended my first week here. Lots of tears. Lots of new experiences. But more importantly, lots of new beginnings.
It's now time to look back on my first week here:
Those who've read Harry Potter will be familiar with the concept of Dementors sucking happiness and warmth out of the air around you and leaving you feeling nothing but hopelessness and despair... like you can never be happy again... like nothing will ever be right again. To begin with, that was exactly how I felt.
I spent my first three mornings crying on the phone to my parents, begging them to allow me to come back home, to leave the pool of misery that I found myself in. A million worries clouded my tired mind... the pressure of fending for myself, the impending burden of studies, no reassuring familiar faces around... I had probably never felt worse. Thankfully, my parents did not take pity on me and relent. They (gently) reminded me why I was where I was and that I had put in all this hard work for a reason - for a better future. They made perfect sense. I had no choice but to trudge on.
There seemed to be a permanent chill in the air. Up on the 12th floor, the view from my room windows was to die for. But I had no desire to appreciate this gift. The beautiful green university campus looked up at me invitingly. But I felt no attraction to it. There was so much to explore, to learn, to see, to do. But my heart and head felt heavy... like I could burst into tears any moment. I somehow managed to get through the formalities, one by one... attending induction talks, accommodation talks, workshops, opening a bank account, an English Language Assessment Test and most importantly, registration.
My days would thankfully be spent in the company of my new friends, Abhilasha and Aparna. Evenings, it was just me and my loneliness.
On the fourth morning, I woke up with a thought in my head: I should take some photographs. Those who know me well know that I'm a travel photography freak. I take and take and take photographs tirelessly. Given my state of mind, I had refused to absorb my surroundings so far. So it was a slight improvement for me to want to take photographs. I, therefore, pulled out my camera from the drawer and stood by my window. The most amazing thing happened that very moment. There were grey clouds in the sky... and suddenly, straight ahead, was a giant rainbow!!!! I couldn't believe my eyes. A rainbow was precisely what I needed.
That evening, after a final crying session with Mamma (who rightly told me off this time), I made my mind up that I would be stronger. I would be as strong as I had already proven myself capable to be. I would do this right. I would do this.
The Campus Tour was a great idea to discover exactly how wonderful this campus was. The Colchester Town Tour was an even better idea... its such a cute and colourful town! It really upped my spirits.
I also had a rather nice and calming conversation with Anu Maushi, a close family friend of ours, who is in the UK visiting her son, Dr. Siddharth. But more on that in another post.
I also finally managed to get my Internet up and running and resumed to some extent my correspondence with "my" world and opened doors to my new world. This went a long, long way in bringing a semblance of normalcy to my life (and the speed here is wicked fast!!!).
Friday, I also had some opportunity to meet people, students and staff, from my own department. We also visited some classrooms and labs. This added somewhat to my sense of belonging. I even did my laundry that evening! The pieces of the jigsaw were slowly falling into place.
Life became even better that Saturday. My friends and I went grocery shopping at Tesco supermarket. I took comfort from the fact that this place had pretty much all that I needed to sustain myself here. Then, we had a great time at the Freshers' Fair where I signed up for the Travel Society, Computer Society, French Connection Society and the Film Society. We went to Colchester that evening to meet Vinaya, a friend of Aparna's, who took us to another giant supermarket, Asda, where we shopped some more and saved a whole lot.
Sunday dawned on us with typically British weather... rainy and gloomy. We had lofty plans of going to London to acquaint ourselves with the place and also help Aparna buy a laptop. But alas, that was not to be... We improvised and decided to go to somewhere closer by, Tollgate, which also had places to buy electronics from, such as PC World and Curry's. That turned out to be an accurate decision. Not only did Aparna get her laptop, but I got my printer as well. The rain faded by the time we headed home. The trip turned out to be a great bonding experience and its only gotten better for us since then.
Thus ended my first week here. Lots of tears. Lots of new experiences. But more importantly, lots of new beginnings.
Darkness
Hi, all!
My first day here was so eventfull that it deserves its own blog post:
8.30am. So here I was at Heathrow Airport, passing formality after formality. The final step was to go find the group meeting point where I would meet a representative of University of Essex. It so happened that this meeting point was at Terminal 3 and I was at Terminal 5. These terminals at Heathrow are infamously far away from each other. When I was on my way to the intra-airport shuttle train that runs between terminals, I found Aparna, who went on to become one of my two closest friends here. Both of us, new Uni of Essex students, began to make our way to Terminal 5.
Too soon, we hit a roadblock... the first of a long series that would follow during the course of the day. Luggage trolleys were not allowed on airport shuttles! So we had to haul our collective seven pieces of very heavy luggage into and out of the shuttle trains. When we managed to find new trolleys, they were the worst possible ones. We put all our focus and energies into exiting the shuttle station and locating the meeting point. Once we found it, there was no one there!!! Thankfully, we did locate them in some time. We were both on the 1pm bus and we requested to be put onto the 11am one. Big mistake!
The 11am bus was finally ready, they told us at 11.45. Just as we were about to enter, roadblock no. 2 came along and they announced that the bus had broken down. Back we went, into the airport, frustrated and low on energy.
An hour and a half later, they told us our replacement bus was here. Great! we thought. Luggage loaded, we sat comfortably in good seats on the upper of the double-decker. Another 20 minutes later, we were on our way. Just when we were ready to say 'Thank goodness!' and start enjoying the scenery, roadblock no. 3 showed up to add to our overflowing misery. Half way through, the bus got a FLAT TIRE!!!!!!!!!!!! In the middle of nowhere, for nearly two hours, we sometimes stood, sometimes sat on the insect-filled grass of the English countryside in chilly English weather, wondering what on earth we had done to deserve this fate. The only plus from this outing was that here I made another friend who also went on to become one of my closest friends, Abhilasha. In the meantime, they managed to call a professional tyre change mechanic to do what turned out to be quite a complex job. Finally, we hauled our exhausted bodies back into the bus. I slept soundly through the next hour or so. Finally, at nearly 4.30, we arrived at University of Essex.
Once we had picked up our keys, we began the arduous task of getting our bags into our rooms. Abhilasha and I were located in the North Towers, she in Rayleigh and I in Tawney while Aparna was to be in Harwich Court. Before parting, we decided to meet to grab a bite. I finally made it to my tower and then to my flat on the 12th floor. When I entered my room, roadblock no. 4, the most evil of them all, came at me so unexpectedly that it knocked me off my feet: loneliness.
I managed to hold my nerve till I told my father that I had reached my room safely. Then I broke down. Regret flooded me. I cursed myself for doing what I had just done. I had left behind a perfectly happy, cozy life full of people I loved for a life full of nothing but responsibility and despair, to be spent alone in a tiny room which I had to take care of singlehandedly, in a flat shared with strangers. I wanted to run. I wanted to go back.
I met Abhilasha for dinner. It was 7.30pm and a Sunday. Just the one restaurant was open: Happy Days Diner. I wasn't even hungry, which was lucky for me since there wasn't much I could eat there anyways. I used my food coupon to get a free coffee. We sat down and talked for a while, the exhaustion apparent on our faces and in our voices. I couldn't get myself to finish my coffee and she couldn't get through any more that half her hotdog. We soon said goodnight in the hope that we would bump into each other somewhere the next day.
I went back to my room half-heartedly, dreading the emptiness and the pressing silence. I steeled myself a bit and decided to unpack. Despite being bone-tired, I unpacked every single bag before I went to bed. Sleep, at least, was kind to me and came upon me quickly to relieve me of the horror of having to think any more about what had been, probably, one of the darkest days of my life.
My first day here was so eventfull that it deserves its own blog post:
8.30am. So here I was at Heathrow Airport, passing formality after formality. The final step was to go find the group meeting point where I would meet a representative of University of Essex. It so happened that this meeting point was at Terminal 3 and I was at Terminal 5. These terminals at Heathrow are infamously far away from each other. When I was on my way to the intra-airport shuttle train that runs between terminals, I found Aparna, who went on to become one of my two closest friends here. Both of us, new Uni of Essex students, began to make our way to Terminal 5.
Too soon, we hit a roadblock... the first of a long series that would follow during the course of the day. Luggage trolleys were not allowed on airport shuttles! So we had to haul our collective seven pieces of very heavy luggage into and out of the shuttle trains. When we managed to find new trolleys, they were the worst possible ones. We put all our focus and energies into exiting the shuttle station and locating the meeting point. Once we found it, there was no one there!!! Thankfully, we did locate them in some time. We were both on the 1pm bus and we requested to be put onto the 11am one. Big mistake!
The 11am bus was finally ready, they told us at 11.45. Just as we were about to enter, roadblock no. 2 came along and they announced that the bus had broken down. Back we went, into the airport, frustrated and low on energy.
An hour and a half later, they told us our replacement bus was here. Great! we thought. Luggage loaded, we sat comfortably in good seats on the upper of the double-decker. Another 20 minutes later, we were on our way. Just when we were ready to say 'Thank goodness!' and start enjoying the scenery, roadblock no. 3 showed up to add to our overflowing misery. Half way through, the bus got a FLAT TIRE!!!!!!!!!!!! In the middle of nowhere, for nearly two hours, we sometimes stood, sometimes sat on the insect-filled grass of the English countryside in chilly English weather, wondering what on earth we had done to deserve this fate. The only plus from this outing was that here I made another friend who also went on to become one of my closest friends, Abhilasha. In the meantime, they managed to call a professional tyre change mechanic to do what turned out to be quite a complex job. Finally, we hauled our exhausted bodies back into the bus. I slept soundly through the next hour or so. Finally, at nearly 4.30, we arrived at University of Essex.
Once we had picked up our keys, we began the arduous task of getting our bags into our rooms. Abhilasha and I were located in the North Towers, she in Rayleigh and I in Tawney while Aparna was to be in Harwich Court. Before parting, we decided to meet to grab a bite. I finally made it to my tower and then to my flat on the 12th floor. When I entered my room, roadblock no. 4, the most evil of them all, came at me so unexpectedly that it knocked me off my feet: loneliness.
I managed to hold my nerve till I told my father that I had reached my room safely. Then I broke down. Regret flooded me. I cursed myself for doing what I had just done. I had left behind a perfectly happy, cozy life full of people I loved for a life full of nothing but responsibility and despair, to be spent alone in a tiny room which I had to take care of singlehandedly, in a flat shared with strangers. I wanted to run. I wanted to go back.
I met Abhilasha for dinner. It was 7.30pm and a Sunday. Just the one restaurant was open: Happy Days Diner. I wasn't even hungry, which was lucky for me since there wasn't much I could eat there anyways. I used my food coupon to get a free coffee. We sat down and talked for a while, the exhaustion apparent on our faces and in our voices. I couldn't get myself to finish my coffee and she couldn't get through any more that half her hotdog. We soon said goodnight in the hope that we would bump into each other somewhere the next day.
I went back to my room half-heartedly, dreading the emptiness and the pressing silence. I steeled myself a bit and decided to unpack. Despite being bone-tired, I unpacked every single bag before I went to bed. Sleep, at least, was kind to me and came upon me quickly to relieve me of the horror of having to think any more about what had been, probably, one of the darkest days of my life.
Say Goodbye
Hi, All!
First of all, a roundup of the day I departed:
I woke up on the morning of the 27th pretty much packed and ready, anxious and yet coolly confident that I could and would pull this off. Like a good and seasoned traveller, I had left little to do on this day except little things here and there, meeting family and friends and most importantly, staying calm. The house was full of people all day long... the arrival of my 3-year-old niece Madhushri made the atmosphere even more cheerful and lively.
My friends joined us in the evening and then nearly twenty of us set off for the airport. It was like a cavalcade and they sure made me feel like a celebrity! Having reached early at the airport, we took a gazillion photographs (which, by the way, no one, except Prashant, has sent me yet!!!). Before I knew it, it was time to go. Tears suddenly welled up inside me. But I had promised Mamma that I would not cry and to keep that promise, I dashed off inside in a hurry, leaving behind my family, friends and life as I knew it.
Trupta, my bestest friend, works for Jet Airways and was able to accompany me into the airport. This was a huge relief as she made matters much simpler for me once inside. But even this seemingly long distance between entering the airport and clearing immigration disappeared in a flash. All this while, some of my cousins and friends were still tracking me through the windows and waving at me frantically every time I looked at them. Now, there was no more window left. I said good bye to Trupta and wished her all the very best for her own cool new life (she is getting married in April). Finally, I was on my own.
Despite an hour and a half delay, I felt fine. I enjoyed my flight, just as I always do, lack of consistent sleep notwithstanding. London arrived soon... I even caught glimpses of the Tower Bridge, London Eye, the Houses of Parliament and even a football stadium or two! Finally, early Sunday morning, with a big bag full of all your blessings and best wishes and four bags full of my stuff, I landed into my "cool" new life.
First of all, a roundup of the day I departed:
I woke up on the morning of the 27th pretty much packed and ready, anxious and yet coolly confident that I could and would pull this off. Like a good and seasoned traveller, I had left little to do on this day except little things here and there, meeting family and friends and most importantly, staying calm. The house was full of people all day long... the arrival of my 3-year-old niece Madhushri made the atmosphere even more cheerful and lively.
My friends joined us in the evening and then nearly twenty of us set off for the airport. It was like a cavalcade and they sure made me feel like a celebrity! Having reached early at the airport, we took a gazillion photographs (which, by the way, no one, except Prashant, has sent me yet!!!). Before I knew it, it was time to go. Tears suddenly welled up inside me. But I had promised Mamma that I would not cry and to keep that promise, I dashed off inside in a hurry, leaving behind my family, friends and life as I knew it.
Trupta, my bestest friend, works for Jet Airways and was able to accompany me into the airport. This was a huge relief as she made matters much simpler for me once inside. But even this seemingly long distance between entering the airport and clearing immigration disappeared in a flash. All this while, some of my cousins and friends were still tracking me through the windows and waving at me frantically every time I looked at them. Now, there was no more window left. I said good bye to Trupta and wished her all the very best for her own cool new life (she is getting married in April). Finally, I was on my own.
Despite an hour and a half delay, I felt fine. I enjoyed my flight, just as I always do, lack of consistent sleep notwithstanding. London arrived soon... I even caught glimpses of the Tower Bridge, London Eye, the Houses of Parliament and even a football stadium or two! Finally, early Sunday morning, with a big bag full of all your blessings and best wishes and four bags full of my stuff, I landed into my "cool" new life.
Breaking the silence
Hi, all!
My apologies for the month-long silence. I should have broken it sooner.
You have all been tremendously supportive and kind to me and I thank you once again for that.
My time here has been interesting to say the least. My first week, particularly, was not one of my best. Things got a little better in the second week. The third week has somewhat gotten me back on track.
To do justice to my "cool" new life, I will talk of each week separately in different posts so as to give you a better picture of my life here.
Ok then... I better start blogging... before memories fall out of my head! : )
Signing off,
Kay
My apologies for the month-long silence. I should have broken it sooner.
You have all been tremendously supportive and kind to me and I thank you once again for that.
My time here has been interesting to say the least. My first week, particularly, was not one of my best. Things got a little better in the second week. The third week has somewhat gotten me back on track.
To do justice to my "cool" new life, I will talk of each week separately in different posts so as to give you a better picture of my life here.
Ok then... I better start blogging... before memories fall out of my head! : )
Signing off,
Kay
Friday, September 26, 2008
Essex Calling!
Essex Calling!
The countdown is now down to hours. Usually, when I’m leaving on an international tour (yes, I have had the privilege multiple times…), I’m buzzing with excitement and unusually low on anxiety. This time though, the magnanimity of the situation has dawned on me and I am as anxious as I am excited. I’m almost entirely packed. Now, its just a matter of holding my nerve.
My dad said something rather surprising to me recently. He told me I was taking 5 bags not 4. When I asked him how that could possibly be true, he replied that there was a fifth invisible bag going with me, full of all the good wishes and blessings I have received from all quarters. I couldn’t agree more!
On a parting note, here are lines from a French song I hold very dear, “Au Revoir”:
Au revoir… Mais rien ne s’arrête
Au revoir… Mais ne m’oublie jamais
Au revoir…
À une autre vie pour le meilleur
Où je sais que l’on s’aimerait… que l’on s’aimerait…
[Good bye… But nothing ever stops]
[Good bye… But don’t ever forget me]
[Good bye]
[To another life for the better]
[Where I know that we will still love each other... that we will still love each other]
Signing off from India : )
Kay
The countdown is now down to hours. Usually, when I’m leaving on an international tour (yes, I have had the privilege multiple times…), I’m buzzing with excitement and unusually low on anxiety. This time though, the magnanimity of the situation has dawned on me and I am as anxious as I am excited. I’m almost entirely packed. Now, its just a matter of holding my nerve.
My dad said something rather surprising to me recently. He told me I was taking 5 bags not 4. When I asked him how that could possibly be true, he replied that there was a fifth invisible bag going with me, full of all the good wishes and blessings I have received from all quarters. I couldn’t agree more!
On a parting note, here are lines from a French song I hold very dear, “Au Revoir”:
Au revoir… Mais rien ne s’arrête
Au revoir… Mais ne m’oublie jamais
Au revoir…
À une autre vie pour le meilleur
Où je sais que l’on s’aimerait… que l’on s’aimerait…
[Good bye… But nothing ever stops]
[Good bye… But don’t ever forget me]
[Good bye]
[To another life for the better]
[Where I know that we will still love each other... that we will still love each other]
Signing off from India : )
Kay
Sunday, September 21, 2008
A Fitting Farewell!
Hi, All!
Thank you for all the appreciation you have given me for this blog. I'm truly grateful.
***
My feedback on your feedback:
Reema was the first to read my blog and for that she has earned herself a place of honour on it. Despite the many miles that separate us, she has really been with me on every step of this arduous journey. Here's hoping that her life unfolds for her the way she wants it to!
Malvika echoed my exact sentiments for creating this blog: enabling people that matter to me to be involved in this new phase of my life.
Dhara brought another aspect to my attention... something I had done unintentionally. I was quite pleasantly surprised to discover there was indeed a conversational feel to the blog. It fulfils my purpose even more as it then allows me to remain in conversation with everyone without having to say a word!
Krupa, whom I have always believed to be artistically inclined, appreciated my writing. Not only that, she even bookmarked my blog!!!! Such an honour!
The fact that Sumedh commented on my blog was a most pleasant shock for me. For diverse reasons, he somehow managed not to be part of the Internet revolution that gripped the world years ago and is hence only now learning the ropes. It made me very proud to see him visit a blog without any hassles and even leave a comment on it!
Yadnya reminded me of just how far and close I was to my departure, a concept that made me deliriously happy and quite so sad all at the same time.
Last but not the least, my dear aunt Neetuki... she has been through hell and back in the last few months but that has not deterred her from giving me every kind of encouragement possible. For that I salute her! She's an angel in my life and her blessings count for extra ;-)
***
A roundup of the week that was:
Way back in August (it really seems like such a long time ago!), my parents and I had planned a trip to Ganpati Pule, one of my most favourite places on the planet. My visa situation until very recently has been so uncertain that I was wondering if my parents would have to go on without me. Thankfully, the arrival of my visa and the happy cascade of events that followed simplified everything for me. We not only went, but had an absolutely splendid little trip. It gave the three of us precious time to spend together and boy! did we make the most of it!
Everything seemed nicer somehow... I suppose, I was just in that sort of frame of mind. We came across such breathtaking scenery. In my mind's eye, I can still picture those rain-drenched (and at times pothole-filled) meandering roads, those lush green hills and those most spectacular waterfalls all over.
Another highlight of this trip was meeting Mr. Deepak Gadre and his wife Mrs. Meena. Mr. Gadre runs a huge company that processes fish and manufactures a variety of unique edible fish products. I had the privilege of visiting his processing units and I was left totally impressed with just how efficiently and systematically everything was being done. Hats off to this man who is in total command of his empire and is yet one of the most humble and socially responsible people I have come to know.
---
On our way back, we visited our dear family friends, Mokashikaku, Charumaushi and their family in Pune. I also unexpectedly had some fun with her very cute year-old grandson Kabir. This small set of people has a unique place in my life, just as unique as their love and concern for me. The little time I spent with them and the poignant parting moments gave me more memories to carry with me...
---
The very evening we returned to Mumbai, I met my dear friends Sushant and Sumedh over dinner. As usual, we had a rather enjoyable time. Despite crazy rumours flying around and frantic phone calls coming in, we managed to have quite a lot of fun and laughs : ) They both gave me an evening to remember.
---
For a couple of days, I also helped out my friend Gitanjali with her applications for medical residency in the US. She is not only one of the most intelligent people I know, but also one of the most sincere and hardworking. Having seen her meticulously go about her business, I hope from the bottom of my heart that everything works out for her and that she is able to fulfil all her aspirations.
---
I have always admired my father and his small group of friends for keeping in touch across so many decades. I was therefore extremely happy to attend a dinner party organised by one of his friends, Kishorekaka, as a farewell to me. I was touched that all his friends made time for me and their blessings and the happiness they felt for me was overwhelmed.
---
Yesterday evening, I hung out with another dear friend of mine, Prashant. As usual we exchanged music, movies, books etc. and had a memorable, delectable dinner - Chinese - prepared singlehandedly from scratch by my mother. The choice of cuisine was Prashant's and for that I thank him as it gave me the opportunity to enjoy this relatively rare facet of my mother's incomparable cooking.
Through magical scenery, so many blessings, good wishes and good times, it has been a fitting farewell!
***
All important things are now taken care of, so also, most of the shopping. Packing is now the biggest challenge that remains. Saturday night, I depart en famille for the airport and then, in the wee-hours of Sunday, I take off into "my cool new life"...
The countdown begins...
Signing off,
Kay
Thank you for all the appreciation you have given me for this blog. I'm truly grateful.
***
My feedback on your feedback:
Reema was the first to read my blog and for that she has earned herself a place of honour on it. Despite the many miles that separate us, she has really been with me on every step of this arduous journey. Here's hoping that her life unfolds for her the way she wants it to!
Malvika echoed my exact sentiments for creating this blog: enabling people that matter to me to be involved in this new phase of my life.
Dhara brought another aspect to my attention... something I had done unintentionally. I was quite pleasantly surprised to discover there was indeed a conversational feel to the blog. It fulfils my purpose even more as it then allows me to remain in conversation with everyone without having to say a word!
Krupa, whom I have always believed to be artistically inclined, appreciated my writing. Not only that, she even bookmarked my blog!!!! Such an honour!
The fact that Sumedh commented on my blog was a most pleasant shock for me. For diverse reasons, he somehow managed not to be part of the Internet revolution that gripped the world years ago and is hence only now learning the ropes. It made me very proud to see him visit a blog without any hassles and even leave a comment on it!
Yadnya reminded me of just how far and close I was to my departure, a concept that made me deliriously happy and quite so sad all at the same time.
Last but not the least, my dear aunt Neetuki... she has been through hell and back in the last few months but that has not deterred her from giving me every kind of encouragement possible. For that I salute her! She's an angel in my life and her blessings count for extra ;-)
***
A roundup of the week that was:
Way back in August (it really seems like such a long time ago!), my parents and I had planned a trip to Ganpati Pule, one of my most favourite places on the planet. My visa situation until very recently has been so uncertain that I was wondering if my parents would have to go on without me. Thankfully, the arrival of my visa and the happy cascade of events that followed simplified everything for me. We not only went, but had an absolutely splendid little trip. It gave the three of us precious time to spend together and boy! did we make the most of it!
Everything seemed nicer somehow... I suppose, I was just in that sort of frame of mind. We came across such breathtaking scenery. In my mind's eye, I can still picture those rain-drenched (and at times pothole-filled) meandering roads, those lush green hills and those most spectacular waterfalls all over.
Another highlight of this trip was meeting Mr. Deepak Gadre and his wife Mrs. Meena. Mr. Gadre runs a huge company that processes fish and manufactures a variety of unique edible fish products. I had the privilege of visiting his processing units and I was left totally impressed with just how efficiently and systematically everything was being done. Hats off to this man who is in total command of his empire and is yet one of the most humble and socially responsible people I have come to know.
---
On our way back, we visited our dear family friends, Mokashikaku, Charumaushi and their family in Pune. I also unexpectedly had some fun with her very cute year-old grandson Kabir. This small set of people has a unique place in my life, just as unique as their love and concern for me. The little time I spent with them and the poignant parting moments gave me more memories to carry with me...
---
The very evening we returned to Mumbai, I met my dear friends Sushant and Sumedh over dinner. As usual, we had a rather enjoyable time. Despite crazy rumours flying around and frantic phone calls coming in, we managed to have quite a lot of fun and laughs : ) They both gave me an evening to remember.
---
For a couple of days, I also helped out my friend Gitanjali with her applications for medical residency in the US. She is not only one of the most intelligent people I know, but also one of the most sincere and hardworking. Having seen her meticulously go about her business, I hope from the bottom of my heart that everything works out for her and that she is able to fulfil all her aspirations.
---
I have always admired my father and his small group of friends for keeping in touch across so many decades. I was therefore extremely happy to attend a dinner party organised by one of his friends, Kishorekaka, as a farewell to me. I was touched that all his friends made time for me and their blessings and the happiness they felt for me was overwhelmed.
---
Yesterday evening, I hung out with another dear friend of mine, Prashant. As usual we exchanged music, movies, books etc. and had a memorable, delectable dinner - Chinese - prepared singlehandedly from scratch by my mother. The choice of cuisine was Prashant's and for that I thank him as it gave me the opportunity to enjoy this relatively rare facet of my mother's incomparable cooking.
Through magical scenery, so many blessings, good wishes and good times, it has been a fitting farewell!
***
All important things are now taken care of, so also, most of the shopping. Packing is now the biggest challenge that remains. Saturday night, I depart en famille for the airport and then, in the wee-hours of Sunday, I take off into "my cool new life"...
The countdown begins...
Signing off,
Kay
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Finally!
And so it begins...
[Note: I tend to make long-winding sentences. I hope you will bear with me : )]
Hi All!
Since a couple of months, I have been dreaming of this very moment: blogging about the new adventure that is my post-graduation in the UK. I remember wondering whether it would ever come to pass, what with the seemingly endless list of things that needed to fall into place. As with all such situations, the journey was hardly smooth sailing. It was however immensely fulfilling. Hey! Wait... I'm talking as if the journey is over! Not quite... I would say the prelude to the journey is over, yes... but the journey itself has only just begun!
Let me take you back in time... The day was 7th October, 1984... the wonderful day when I was born... whoa, I think I've gone way back... OK, fast-forward to earlier this year. Someone (who I do not wish to name in this blog) gave me the idea of doing post-graduation in the UK. Studying abroad is something to which I had already given considerable thought and some action. This time, although I dismissed the idea at first, certain changes in my life motivated me to give it another, more concrete shot. After considerable deliberation, my parents and I came to the conclusion that it was the right time for this to happen. A couple of sessions with Anita, my wonderful UK counsellor at Edwise International (Consultants for Studies Abroad), were enough for me to work out what I wanted to do. So, from then on, I put all my energy into turning this idea into reality.
A quick time-line of how it all happened:
End-June: I submitted my application to the University of Essex through Edwise
End-July: I was accepted at the University of Essex [soon after, I confirmed my admission]
Mid-August: I confirmed my accommodation at the University of Essex campus
End-August: I submitted my loan application [My goodness, how fussy they were about the docs! and worse, it all came to nothing!]
Early Sept: My loan was rejected [That big blow was somewhat blunted by the fact that my parents and I had already worked out that we could self-fund this project of ours]
5th Sept: I submitted my Visa application [One of the most challenging things I have ever done; submitting all my originals was rather nerve-wracking]
.
.
.
A week long super-nervous wait...
.
.
.
12th Sept: I received all my docs back with my passport stamped with a glorious student visa!!!!
While I was waiting for all of this to come together, I was pretty much bleeding time. With an end-Sept deadline hanging over my head, I see-sawed between images of me having made it in time and me facing the horror of having all my hard work come crashing down with no backup plan in sight.
I believe in Providence. I believe that there is a God-force in the universe that connects everything in subtle and obvious ways. There is sometimes a domino effect, positive or negative, wherein there is a cascade of events, one leading to another. For example, once my visa came, my confirmed ticket followed, as did my international cost-effective mobile connection... all in a few hours from each other! It has been a pretty remarkable turnaround for me to say the least!
Having poured my sweat and blood (metaphorically, of course!) into making this happen, the relief I now feel is heavenly. Tremendously excited, I've gone from "Oh no! Only 2 weeks left!!!" to "Oh no! 2 weeks STILL left!!!" : ) And such is life...
I'm sorry if I've left you thinking you could have used the time you spent reading this blog doing something not so pointless. But, I would only like to say three things to wind up:
1) My parents have demonstrated time and time again, just how brilliant they are as parents and as human beings. I owe EVERYTHING to them and I am beyond grateful.
2) Since you are reading this blog, you must either be someone I care about, or someone who cares about me, or both : ) In any case, your good wishes have definitely contributed in bringing me this far and for that I would like to say "Thanks" : )
3) The whole point of this blog is for me to post bits and pieces about my life at Essex. To just start out, I found some pics of Essex online... just so that you know where I'm going...
FYI, the Department of Computing and Electronic Systems is located in Square Two and I'll be staying at Tawney Tower (second bldg from right). I, of course, plan to put in my own pics as and when I get there.
OK then, this is me signing off...
Love,
Kay [i.e. Kshitija Rane]
PS: In case you'd rather be spared of reading this blog, please let me know... I promise I wont hold it against you [and even if I do, I promise you wont know about it ;-)]
[Note: I tend to make long-winding sentences. I hope you will bear with me : )]
Hi All!
Since a couple of months, I have been dreaming of this very moment: blogging about the new adventure that is my post-graduation in the UK. I remember wondering whether it would ever come to pass, what with the seemingly endless list of things that needed to fall into place. As with all such situations, the journey was hardly smooth sailing. It was however immensely fulfilling. Hey! Wait... I'm talking as if the journey is over! Not quite... I would say the prelude to the journey is over, yes... but the journey itself has only just begun!
Let me take you back in time... The day was 7th October, 1984... the wonderful day when I was born... whoa, I think I've gone way back... OK, fast-forward to earlier this year. Someone (who I do not wish to name in this blog) gave me the idea of doing post-graduation in the UK. Studying abroad is something to which I had already given considerable thought and some action. This time, although I dismissed the idea at first, certain changes in my life motivated me to give it another, more concrete shot. After considerable deliberation, my parents and I came to the conclusion that it was the right time for this to happen. A couple of sessions with Anita, my wonderful UK counsellor at Edwise International (Consultants for Studies Abroad), were enough for me to work out what I wanted to do. So, from then on, I put all my energy into turning this idea into reality.
A quick time-line of how it all happened:
End-June: I submitted my application to the University of Essex through Edwise
End-July: I was accepted at the University of Essex [soon after, I confirmed my admission]
Mid-August: I confirmed my accommodation at the University of Essex campus
End-August: I submitted my loan application [My goodness, how fussy they were about the docs! and worse, it all came to nothing!]
Early Sept: My loan was rejected [That big blow was somewhat blunted by the fact that my parents and I had already worked out that we could self-fund this project of ours]
5th Sept: I submitted my Visa application [One of the most challenging things I have ever done; submitting all my originals was rather nerve-wracking]
.
.
.
A week long super-nervous wait...
.
.
.
12th Sept: I received all my docs back with my passport stamped with a glorious student visa!!!!
While I was waiting for all of this to come together, I was pretty much bleeding time. With an end-Sept deadline hanging over my head, I see-sawed between images of me having made it in time and me facing the horror of having all my hard work come crashing down with no backup plan in sight.
I believe in Providence. I believe that there is a God-force in the universe that connects everything in subtle and obvious ways. There is sometimes a domino effect, positive or negative, wherein there is a cascade of events, one leading to another. For example, once my visa came, my confirmed ticket followed, as did my international cost-effective mobile connection... all in a few hours from each other! It has been a pretty remarkable turnaround for me to say the least!
Having poured my sweat and blood (metaphorically, of course!) into making this happen, the relief I now feel is heavenly. Tremendously excited, I've gone from "Oh no! Only 2 weeks left!!!" to "Oh no! 2 weeks STILL left!!!" : ) And such is life...
I'm sorry if I've left you thinking you could have used the time you spent reading this blog doing something not so pointless. But, I would only like to say three things to wind up:
1) My parents have demonstrated time and time again, just how brilliant they are as parents and as human beings. I owe EVERYTHING to them and I am beyond grateful.
2) Since you are reading this blog, you must either be someone I care about, or someone who cares about me, or both : ) In any case, your good wishes have definitely contributed in bringing me this far and for that I would like to say "Thanks" : )
3) The whole point of this blog is for me to post bits and pieces about my life at Essex. To just start out, I found some pics of Essex online... just so that you know where I'm going...
FYI, the Department of Computing and Electronic Systems is located in Square Two and I'll be staying at Tawney Tower (second bldg from right). I, of course, plan to put in my own pics as and when I get there.OK then, this is me signing off...
Love,
Kay [i.e. Kshitija Rane]
PS: In case you'd rather be spared of reading this blog, please let me know... I promise I wont hold it against you [and even if I do, I promise you wont know about it ;-)]
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