La Italia – Balpaese
Chapter - 1
=========
21122007 :
Early morning 3 am – “why is it that this things is not fitting in – gosh I don’t believe this – we have to leave in another 1 hour and am still packing – these 2 gals are nicely sleeping – its only me who is obsessed with this packing and unpacking” – phew –
It’s been a long 5 months of time that I have come over here – I love this place – but of late all I have been wanting to do is just run away from here – someone has really said it very true – that after all “it’s not all the productivity or the profit that matters – it’s the job satisfaction that does at the end of the day” – well in my case – I am so satisfied with my job – that all my saturation levels have crossed” – the P2 that came in evening just before I was leaving office has given me this painful but very true realization – thanks to that I came home late – I had my dinner late and have started the packing late – and not to forget – am also packing this for 2 of my lovely roomies – surely without whom I would been dead by now –
Somehow having stayed away from home and having travelled so much – I have become so used to packing and unpacking that it comes naturally to me to raise my hands first whenever this comes up as a task – but today I don’t know why it’s taking longer than usual – “another 10 min and am off”
I finally had to sit over my box to close – nevertheless the turmoil is over – “mmmmmmmm mujhe booth neend aa rahi hain” – I wonder when will all the “booths” in this world stop happening with neenu – everything has to be in excess (booth) if it has to happen with neenu – whether its BOOTH sleep! – BOOTH hunger! – BOOTH work! – Her BOOTH tears! - Or for that matter her long and winding stories – sab kuch BOOTH hi hota hain usake saath –
“Abbey moti uth” – she is BANG awake with her already big eyes – even bigger – that can pop out any time – poor neenu – if ppl have doubts that if a mice can and has all the capabilities of scaring an elephant – then they should visit our home at 36 Fleetwood close – all their doubts shall vanish by looking at me and neenu – and there are no points for guessing who the mice is and who the elephant is!
Now – where’s deepthi – deeps is what I call her – her dark room is lit with the little light coming from her mobile – she is struggling under her duvet to find her ringing mobile – finally she has won the battle – she comes out – her small eyes – have become even more small – unlike neenu’s – she gives me a feeble smile – “main uth gayi” – as usual - she is a good gal – she woke up the moment I called her – in fact she is already dressing up – one thing I really like about her – she never disappoints!
Its 4 am – the roads here become so silent – in fact it gets so lonely – that even if we are together – the darkness makes u feel u r alone – we are running late – we have to catch a train to London Stansted airport its 1.5 hrs from here – we are breathless panting – neenu is half dead – I wonder if we can reach Italy running like this –
The wind blew fast away from me – suddenly I see a black thing running past me and jumping on the middle of the road! – THUMP! – What’s this??? – Its none other than neenu – she is waving fiercely at the bus that is coming from behind – again she manages to not only surprise me and deeps but also to shock us –
The bus drivers are soft and nice people here – cos when I think of their counterparts back home – I can only imagine neenu becoming a “paapad” by now – there is a warm smile on this old man’s face – it’s reassuring – as if he only is going to take us to Italy –
If not Italy we have at least reached our start point – the east Croydon station – its amazing to see this place so quite – there are people standing with their bags trucks etc – they too have a destination to reach – but they all r calm – as if someone has told them that they will be reaching their destination on time – why is it that its only me who is restless – it’s as if that P2 will re-appear this time as P1 and ask me not to go to Italy - am walking up and down right and left – there is no indicator – when will the train come – it’s so quite – where are these 2 ladies ??? – I find them sitting on the bench there – yeah – of Corse sleeping – J
It’s finally here – it’s such a joy – there are bags everywhere – ppl sleeping over each other – we somehow manage to find a place to sit – it’s so relaxing – the feeling of a vacation and a unknown adventure makes me feel ecstatic – I din know when I started dreaming and fell asleep –
Its Stansted station – there is no much difference in the ppl and the train – they are all waiting in a queue – we follow suit – we go down – there are 3 escalators – the indicator above says – towards bus station to Stansted airport –
The planning and implementation of this aristocratic country amazes me – how things are so organized – u just join the Q and get into the next bus that comes – this makes me think of the blue bus in harry potter – minus the hustle bustle and madness of that bus –
We are finally in the Q – there is nothing much to do – but to wait for the next bus – I move around while my friends wait in the Q – the blue eyes are big – the eye balls so round and sparkling – the iris so black – as if oozing out of its surrounding blueness – he eyes me as I stare at his read candy – its one huge candy I have seen – red – it’s as red as his cheeks – red – cos he does not like me looking at his candy – let see if I smile – he smirks – turns around and runs to his mommy - well – he does not like my smile also – hmm this 10 year sure does have some attitude –
“visit London” – is what this pamphlet says – in bold white letters – as I start going across the museums – parks and places to visit in London – I happen to get distracted by some one’s sweet chuckle – when I raise my eyes – her hair is flowing in the cold breeze that has spread this part of the London – her nice round warm hat prevents it from spreading all over her face – “visit London” she too is holding the same pamphlet – but she isn’t reading it – her gaze is fixed – as if she is in a trance – as she looks over she smiles in between - her cheeks go red when she does that – as I follow her gaze – I too go into a similar trance – there he is – a soft oval face – blue eyes – messy hair – a white loose t-shirt and a loose fitting 3-4ths – tall and broad shoulders - he occasionally looks at her and says something which makes her all red – he has his hands in his pockets – his expression is that of calm comfort – suddenly a cold wind blows past all of us – she is so cold – moves close to him and hugs him – he does not remove his hands from his pocket to hug her – but his shoulders stoop and he bends down – he places his cheeks over her head and closes his eyes – as if saying – “am there for u don’t worry” –
For a moment I am mesmerized by this couple – the image of them standing cozy with in each other’s comfort makes me re-think on my ideas of the whole concept of love and relationships – for a person like me who believes falling in love is synonyms with a paranoid state of mind where ppl lose their mind and brains – this is a state of madness which most ppl lovingly want to fall in – while I keep running away from the same – but there is something about this pair – something divine serene and touching – for a moment – I actually make a wish for them that they stay together like this forever ….
“pom – pom” – says the bus – I pick up my bag as deeps and neenu are calling my name “swat” – I hurry but turn around to look for that couple - but there are so many ppl out here I can’t find them – “swat” – I hear again - and I drop the pamphlet back to the rack from where I took it – cos its time to say bye bye London – and “visit Italy”.
Chapter 2 -
=========
21042010:
London Stansted Airport - happens to be Britain’s 3rd busiest Airport – sure it does seem so – cos most low cost airlines have made this its base – one of the other things that interest me about this airport is its architecture – an oblong glass building – in fact at the entrance – if look above at the ceiling you can see the sky – its drizzling outside – so the ceiling has gone wet - anywhere my eyes go – I see only white beams and glass – plain glass – it’s marvelous!
Its 6 am now – our flight is in another hour – but we have time to halt and have some breakfast – cos if there is one thing that we 3 unanimously believe in then - it’s FOOD! – Seriously – I have been lucky in this matter – that all my friends and roomies have always shared my passion for food – so are deeps and neenu – thanks to this – we have explored some of the best places for some delicious food in London! In spite of the long queue and being short of time we manage to grab our cup of steaming hot starbucks coffee and muffins – the muffins are so large they barely fit into my arms – I have to hold it in both my arms – but yeah these are yummy – swear! - in India I have always had only cup cakes – it was only here that I discovered the difference between the 2 – but I enjoy both of them equally - it’s all thanks to café joints like starbucks – nero and etc that we have continued drinking coffee in this country otherwise the coffee that the ppl here, drink is no less than a molten tar – the one used to polish our Indian roads – both in looks - smell and probably also the taste!
By the time we have finished with our breakfast – a usual thing happens – the realization that we are late – being late anywhere and everywhere has become a norm – a tradition – that we unknowingly but religiously follow – SO! - again – we are off with are bags running towards the security check in – by the time we are out of this and running towards gate no 6 – the announcement for the last passengers is already going on – never has any gate seemed so far – this is like a huge tunnel – has no end – while me and deeps are struggling to move ahead – I see neenu – ZOOM! - passing us and heading towards the end of the tunnel – as if this is the relay race of Olympics 2007 and neenu is the undefeated winner – AND - sure she is – cos by the time we reach the end of Gate number 6 – they have already put on the barricades – both flight attendants have their arms raised and are ordering us to stop – cos if they don’t neenu will definitely jump this barricade and reach our plane :-) - hahha – but no worries all they want to do is check our passports –
The runway is so huge – our plane – white with an orange tail – which says “Ryanair” is almost ready to take-off – it’s EUPHORIC! – “ITALY ITALY!!” - When we step inside it – it’s a big relief – PHEW! – inside there is no seat numbers u sit wherever u find place to sit – but it seems all the seats are already taken – we somehow manage to find seats and have fastened our seat belts – with all the Olympics race, night out and the burst of excitement taking toll over me – I am fast asleep - :-)
Chapter - 1
=========
21122007 :
Early morning 3 am – “why is it that this things is not fitting in – gosh I don’t believe this – we have to leave in another 1 hour and am still packing – these 2 gals are nicely sleeping – its only me who is obsessed with this packing and unpacking” – phew –
It’s been a long 5 months of time that I have come over here – I love this place – but of late all I have been wanting to do is just run away from here – someone has really said it very true – that after all “it’s not all the productivity or the profit that matters – it’s the job satisfaction that does at the end of the day” – well in my case – I am so satisfied with my job – that all my saturation levels have crossed” – the P2 that came in evening just before I was leaving office has given me this painful but very true realization – thanks to that I came home late – I had my dinner late and have started the packing late – and not to forget – am also packing this for 2 of my lovely roomies – surely without whom I would been dead by now –
Somehow having stayed away from home and having travelled so much – I have become so used to packing and unpacking that it comes naturally to me to raise my hands first whenever this comes up as a task – but today I don’t know why it’s taking longer than usual – “another 10 min and am off”
I finally had to sit over my box to close – nevertheless the turmoil is over – “mmmmmmmm mujhe booth neend aa rahi hain” – I wonder when will all the “booths” in this world stop happening with neenu – everything has to be in excess (booth) if it has to happen with neenu – whether its BOOTH sleep! – BOOTH hunger! – BOOTH work! – Her BOOTH tears! - Or for that matter her long and winding stories – sab kuch BOOTH hi hota hain usake saath –
“Abbey moti uth” – she is BANG awake with her already big eyes – even bigger – that can pop out any time – poor neenu – if ppl have doubts that if a mice can and has all the capabilities of scaring an elephant – then they should visit our home at 36 Fleetwood close – all their doubts shall vanish by looking at me and neenu – and there are no points for guessing who the mice is and who the elephant is!
Now – where’s deepthi – deeps is what I call her – her dark room is lit with the little light coming from her mobile – she is struggling under her duvet to find her ringing mobile – finally she has won the battle – she comes out – her small eyes – have become even more small – unlike neenu’s – she gives me a feeble smile – “main uth gayi” – as usual - she is a good gal – she woke up the moment I called her – in fact she is already dressing up – one thing I really like about her – she never disappoints!
Its 4 am – the roads here become so silent – in fact it gets so lonely – that even if we are together – the darkness makes u feel u r alone – we are running late – we have to catch a train to London Stansted airport its 1.5 hrs from here – we are breathless panting – neenu is half dead – I wonder if we can reach Italy running like this –
The wind blew fast away from me – suddenly I see a black thing running past me and jumping on the middle of the road! – THUMP! – What’s this??? – Its none other than neenu – she is waving fiercely at the bus that is coming from behind – again she manages to not only surprise me and deeps but also to shock us –
The bus drivers are soft and nice people here – cos when I think of their counterparts back home – I can only imagine neenu becoming a “paapad” by now – there is a warm smile on this old man’s face – it’s reassuring – as if he only is going to take us to Italy –
If not Italy we have at least reached our start point – the east Croydon station – its amazing to see this place so quite – there are people standing with their bags trucks etc – they too have a destination to reach – but they all r calm – as if someone has told them that they will be reaching their destination on time – why is it that its only me who is restless – it’s as if that P2 will re-appear this time as P1 and ask me not to go to Italy - am walking up and down right and left – there is no indicator – when will the train come – it’s so quite – where are these 2 ladies ??? – I find them sitting on the bench there – yeah – of Corse sleeping – J
It’s finally here – it’s such a joy – there are bags everywhere – ppl sleeping over each other – we somehow manage to find a place to sit – it’s so relaxing – the feeling of a vacation and a unknown adventure makes me feel ecstatic – I din know when I started dreaming and fell asleep –
Its Stansted station – there is no much difference in the ppl and the train – they are all waiting in a queue – we follow suit – we go down – there are 3 escalators – the indicator above says – towards bus station to Stansted airport –
The planning and implementation of this aristocratic country amazes me – how things are so organized – u just join the Q and get into the next bus that comes – this makes me think of the blue bus in harry potter – minus the hustle bustle and madness of that bus –
We are finally in the Q – there is nothing much to do – but to wait for the next bus – I move around while my friends wait in the Q – the blue eyes are big – the eye balls so round and sparkling – the iris so black – as if oozing out of its surrounding blueness – he eyes me as I stare at his read candy – its one huge candy I have seen – red – it’s as red as his cheeks – red – cos he does not like me looking at his candy – let see if I smile – he smirks – turns around and runs to his mommy - well – he does not like my smile also – hmm this 10 year sure does have some attitude –
“visit London” – is what this pamphlet says – in bold white letters – as I start going across the museums – parks and places to visit in London – I happen to get distracted by some one’s sweet chuckle – when I raise my eyes – her hair is flowing in the cold breeze that has spread this part of the London – her nice round warm hat prevents it from spreading all over her face – “visit London” she too is holding the same pamphlet – but she isn’t reading it – her gaze is fixed – as if she is in a trance – as she looks over she smiles in between - her cheeks go red when she does that – as I follow her gaze – I too go into a similar trance – there he is – a soft oval face – blue eyes – messy hair – a white loose t-shirt and a loose fitting 3-4ths – tall and broad shoulders - he occasionally looks at her and says something which makes her all red – he has his hands in his pockets – his expression is that of calm comfort – suddenly a cold wind blows past all of us – she is so cold – moves close to him and hugs him – he does not remove his hands from his pocket to hug her – but his shoulders stoop and he bends down – he places his cheeks over her head and closes his eyes – as if saying – “am there for u don’t worry” –
For a moment I am mesmerized by this couple – the image of them standing cozy with in each other’s comfort makes me re-think on my ideas of the whole concept of love and relationships – for a person like me who believes falling in love is synonyms with a paranoid state of mind where ppl lose their mind and brains – this is a state of madness which most ppl lovingly want to fall in – while I keep running away from the same – but there is something about this pair – something divine serene and touching – for a moment – I actually make a wish for them that they stay together like this forever ….
“pom – pom” – says the bus – I pick up my bag as deeps and neenu are calling my name “swat” – I hurry but turn around to look for that couple - but there are so many ppl out here I can’t find them – “swat” – I hear again - and I drop the pamphlet back to the rack from where I took it – cos its time to say bye bye London – and “visit Italy”.
Chapter 2 -
=========
21042010:
London Stansted Airport - happens to be Britain’s 3rd busiest Airport – sure it does seem so – cos most low cost airlines have made this its base – one of the other things that interest me about this airport is its architecture – an oblong glass building – in fact at the entrance – if look above at the ceiling you can see the sky – its drizzling outside – so the ceiling has gone wet - anywhere my eyes go – I see only white beams and glass – plain glass – it’s marvelous!
Its 6 am now – our flight is in another hour – but we have time to halt and have some breakfast – cos if there is one thing that we 3 unanimously believe in then - it’s FOOD! – Seriously – I have been lucky in this matter – that all my friends and roomies have always shared my passion for food – so are deeps and neenu – thanks to this – we have explored some of the best places for some delicious food in London! In spite of the long queue and being short of time we manage to grab our cup of steaming hot starbucks coffee and muffins – the muffins are so large they barely fit into my arms – I have to hold it in both my arms – but yeah these are yummy – swear! - in India I have always had only cup cakes – it was only here that I discovered the difference between the 2 – but I enjoy both of them equally - it’s all thanks to café joints like starbucks – nero and etc that we have continued drinking coffee in this country otherwise the coffee that the ppl here, drink is no less than a molten tar – the one used to polish our Indian roads – both in looks - smell and probably also the taste!
By the time we have finished with our breakfast – a usual thing happens – the realization that we are late – being late anywhere and everywhere has become a norm – a tradition – that we unknowingly but religiously follow – SO! - again – we are off with are bags running towards the security check in – by the time we are out of this and running towards gate no 6 – the announcement for the last passengers is already going on – never has any gate seemed so far – this is like a huge tunnel – has no end – while me and deeps are struggling to move ahead – I see neenu – ZOOM! - passing us and heading towards the end of the tunnel – as if this is the relay race of Olympics 2007 and neenu is the undefeated winner – AND - sure she is – cos by the time we reach the end of Gate number 6 – they have already put on the barricades – both flight attendants have their arms raised and are ordering us to stop – cos if they don’t neenu will definitely jump this barricade and reach our plane :-) - hahha – but no worries all they want to do is check our passports –
The runway is so huge – our plane – white with an orange tail – which says “Ryanair” is almost ready to take-off – it’s EUPHORIC! – “ITALY ITALY!!” - When we step inside it – it’s a big relief – PHEW! – inside there is no seat numbers u sit wherever u find place to sit – but it seems all the seats are already taken – we somehow manage to find seats and have fastened our seat belts – with all the Olympics race, night out and the burst of excitement taking toll over me – I am fast asleep - :-)
