MERA BHARAT KHARACH MAHAN

Glass is probably cheap in this country and widely used. Or maybe it is just a way of showing how transparent they are or want to be.. The Bus Stops are too made of glass and have a Time Table stuck on them. 7.34, 7.41 aagdi aaplya local trains saarcha. The buses are on time most of the time. They are long and look like small caterpillars. The bus driver is driver cum conductor who also issues tickets. But nothing to beat our “ticket, ticket” karnara best conductor. Most passengers greet him and he too reciprocates. He has a panel of buttons and switches, one of which he uses to operates the doors and the heaters. What he does with the rest only he knows. I think it is he who also makes announcements about the various bus stops. The bus has several red buttons all over the bus, on handles and bars which one can press to indicate that you wish to get down. Sometimes if there is nobody waiting at the bus stop to board the bus, the driver may not stop unless someone has pressed that red button. There is special place for people on wheel chair, for parents with prams and people with dogs. But the seats are few. Not like our 2x2 or 3x3 buses. Only few can sit. Baki sagle standing. I am reminded of the bestcha Ltd. buses. Even they don’t take more than 22 standees. But here, people and their pets rahtat aaplya sarkhech ekmekaanna chictoon ubhe. The buses have enormous windows, pan kay upayog?? Ek pan meli open hot nahin. Aata -13 madhe ekwel theek aahe but summer madhe kay?? Baahercha “atmosphere” aat yeyla nako? I remember travelling to Nasik by the State Transport bus once. I kept fretting over the fact that window next to my seat was jammed. Finally I got the conductor to open it for me. Khidki openach pahije ki nahi??

Buses are also equipped with glass breakers in case of any eventualities…Unfortunately they have no ice breakers… People wear cold looks all the time. Blame it on the weather. Smile is very expensive in this country. Everyone looks at everyone but never in the eye. It is either ignorance or suspision. This is an ageing country, certainly not a child booming or even children friendly. We experience this often and so do our German friends. Even slightly noisy children get very cold stares and sometimes their parents are told so. Even while choosing a tenant the preference is a childless couple. We just lost an apartment to a gay couple. Back home people generally rent out their flats to Phamily wali loka. Ithe pets are welcome everywhere( which is good), not children.

Travelogue 9

Back home I have felt frustrated with our customer service many a time and yet ithe aalyawar watt ta India is such a service oriented country. Speed here, is limited to the F1 and cars racing on an autobahn for the adrenalin rush. Otherwise konala kaslich ghaee nahi. Hile dule nuste!!. We had to wait at a Childrens Hospital for 2 hours before the doctor saw Anoushka who had a urinary tract infection. And by the way “Number” navhte. Aamhi ektech hoto. We spent almost 4 hours there. I think these people will get kicked if they ever dare to work in aapla Udipi restaurant. Ithe Punyachi aathwan hote… Except for bakeries no shops open up before 9 or 10 am. And at 6pm, bakeries close. So no bread later. And by 8pm everything else does including the Apothekes(pharmacy). One Apotheke is open in 5km radius. Thanyala amcha chemist raatri 11.30 paryant asto. Customer Service just not known here!! What to do I have been almost thrown out of Tchibo( a chain of shops owned by Beiersdorf) at 7.58pm. On Sunday everything is closed but a few restaurants here and there. The city almost wears a deserted look on this day.

Travelogue 8

Chandane Shimpit jashi….I always go humming to Anoushka’s bus stop. Sometimes really singing to myself loudly! Konala kay kaltay mhana and who knows me? Many a times I’ve been confused about her bus stop. You see, when she goes to school, its the bus stop on the one side of the street & on her way back it’s the one exactly across. I often check if I’m standing at the right bus stop. Sometimes with all the multi tasking, I have also often wondered ,”Did I just drop Anu to the bus stop or what?”... I stood in the cold, shivering..…. it was black n white all around. The Snow Queen was showering her blessings in abundance and the leafless trees stood lifeless. The air was damp and it was dark and gloomy. The cars sped by and I looked at the road….It was grey sprayed with tiny white chips…chandane shimpit jaashi.. May be I was feeling the same that day. I read a story once…. The moon was very hungry and asked his mother for some popcorn. She gave him a huge bowlful and just as he was munching them, the bowl slipped from his hands and all the popcorn was scattered in the sky. It is this that we attempt to count, look up in awe at, and romantisize. Mein tumhare liye tare tod ke laaoonga…. Thousands of beautiful sparkling solitaires that the flamboyant night often wears with her black satin robe…

Travelogue 7

Today we went to the Hamburg Dungeon. It is a place, which has a 3 hr scary show with Blood sucking vampires and ghosts straight from the Dracula and scaryface. Pammy darling had booked the tickets online for all of us. Later however a lot of people told us that it is not meant for Anoushka. Nevertheless, we felt that if they are selling tickets for Children online, the show will be appropriate for Anoushka. So midst snowfall, which had stopped all these days we went to the Dungeon for the 2 p.m show. One bus and then a wrong one and finally a taxi took us there. On reaching, we realised that it is certainly not for children below 10. So we spoke to the Duty manager, who helped us sell off 2 of our adult tickets and argued with him that if only the net had said so, we wouldn’t have got Anoushka. Realising their folly, he offered us two more adult tickets instead of the one child ticket (for free) Apan Indians smart. Punha kon yenaar, bhoot bangla bagayla. Amhi tee don tickets, lagech vikoon takli and mokley jhalo. Ofcourse, those tickets were at a discounted price, so we lost an opportunity to make some cool profit J But that was never the aim. We were happy that we did not have to bear a loss of 53 € (The cost of our tickets) On our way back home, we ate the famous Kumpir and I had a lovely local beer ‘The Alster’ (that is also the name of the local lake here) It is beer mixed with Sprite and to my surprise it was yummy, for I don’t otherwise like Cocktails.

We have made friends with a Punju, who owns a very famous American Restaurant named ‘Doris Diner’ just next door. We went to meet him yesterday, with some Tilgul. It is so amazing, that this Punju guys brother came to Hamburg 25 yrs ago, worked in the kitchen of a restaurant, got his brothers and cousins and relatives to work with him and today they run a very successful restaurant, which is always so full of people. And mind you, it is an American Restaurant and it sells the best ‘Steaks’ in Hamburg. Yes, they are number 1 in Hamburg for American food and the Chef is apna Punju bhai. Really, how enterprising can these people be ! I’ve never heard such a tale about a Maharashtrain. Wonder why ? Are we less enterprising, less adventurous or simply very middle class, no risk taking people. Apli naukri bhali.

I plan to go to the Gurudwara next weekend. There is also a Mandir, supposedly built by some Hindu’s from Afghanistan. And I was under the impression that Afghanistan only produces Taliban ! Let’s see if we can make it next weekend.

Travelogue 5

Anoushka’s school opened on the 14^th and I accompanied her on her first day. What an unearthly hour (8.30 a.m) for a school to begin in biting cold. The children were gathered in an auditorium along with their parents for the Assembly. While the children sat noisily, the parents had to stand for derth of chairs. The Junior School Director, Mr. Nick Ronai, addressed the assembly welcoming all and apologising for the “Savlo Gondhal’. The school has just shifted to a new location and they are still settling down. Anu’s class looked really nice and it was fun to see little children hang their jackets on pegs with their names. Anu’s teacher Mrs Inga Smith is a nice lady (She better be, nahitar tila mich nahi ka inga dakhavnar!) . I took some pictures of Anoushka with her class mates and off I went to the office to pay 25 € for classroom material like pencils, erasers… Aaplya Indian Shaalanna hasayla nako. Ithe suddha jyala tyala paise magtat.. If you want your child to be given milk at school tyache 20 € extra. Shivai school busche 80 € aahetach…I hope they don’t ask for Jacketcha hangerche rent and so on…

Before I left the school Mr Ronai la Bajaoon aale. There was no Chaperon (as promised) to guide Anu to her class once she gets off the bus. Vashu Maushichi Aathvan aali.. Bajavlyavina kaahi hot nahin!!

Travelogue 6

It is very strange, that ever since I’ve landed in Hamburg I’ve been humming all B & C grade movie songs. Hmmmm…..Probably snow muley, thand jhale… Just as any other child I too was fascinated by Snow and the Six sided, Flurries (Snow flakes) In school, when I learnt about areas with heavy snowfall and snow throughout the year, like the Tundra region I was so intrigued. I had this secret desire of wanting to visit an Eskimo and live in one of the Igloos. I also remember being mesmerised watching Ice skating on Doordarshan, I think it is called Figure skating. That was all the ice that I ever saw, until ofcourse a couple of years ago, we visited Kashmir and travelled some extra miles to get just a glimse of Snow !!

Recently, as I was browsing through Kesari Tours brochure, I came across the exclusive Antartica Trip that they offer. Wow !! I thought. But now here in Hamburg, with -17 deg C, I want the snow to stop falling, the Sun to rise and bring in warmth.

There is such a vast difference in the life styles of us and these people here in the West. Once I had seen a documentary on Nat Geo, about the amount of garbage that Americans generate…The Cola cans, the diapers, Tissues and toilet rolls….And now, I’m actually seeing it for myself. I still can’t help feel guilty when I allow Anoushka to take a tub bath. It pains me coz I know about the Water crisis faced world over. People are fighting over Krishna’s and Cauvery’s walking miles, struggling to fill in one can of water, while thousands of others are just letting the water down the drain. I often lament over such things. The amount of electricity consumed to heat the heaters here will be sufficient to light the whole of rural India (and I mean like Vegas !) Daddy used to say “Toilet madhe sudha pankha hava” Ithe toilet madhye heaters astath and there is hot water in all taps. I wonder why then, did they not feel like installing a Hot water jet for the WC :-)

Travelogue 4

Turkey! The capital of which is Ankara ( Not the one that is had for Christmas) I wonder if the two are linked in some way and one has got the name because of the other. Anyway, when we landed in Istanbul on our way to Hamburg, couldn’t help thinking of Gurukant Desai, (from Mani Ratnam’s movie GURU), who went to Istanbul to work with an oil company. The interiors of the lounge at the Istanbul airport transported me to the sand dunes, moonlight and music of the romantic Arabian Nights…..

For me, Turkey has always meant Surahis, Bakhlava and Belly dancing. One day I am going to buy one of those beautiful Surahis to adorn some corner of my house. Bakhlava , I had the opportunity to gorge on right here in Hamburg( it is like a dryfruit stuffed Khari biscuit dipped in sugar syrup) and as far as Belly dancing is concerned, I am just fine with Mallika Sherawat in “Mayya”.

Travelogue 3

Today we did a daring thing, Pam had his First Aid certification class from 1 p.m till 7.30 p.m. This is mandatory for getting a driving licence, or else who would have attended such a thing on a Sunday. So Anoushka and I ventured on our own. Which of the above was more daring, I leave it you. Aso !!

Anoushka and I braved the continuous snow fall to go to the Skating rink, at the Planten und Bloomen garden. We took a bus to Damtour and another one to Stephenplatz which was actually the next stop and walked through the snow for 2 ½ km’s. The whole garden was nothing but a vast snow land. Snow below and snow above. I always thought rain was god’s way, of giving the earth a nice rinse. And snow…..a blanket thrown by Him to cover the evil. All that is evil must end. And so did our treacherous journey to the ice rink. Anoushka was quite comfortable in his skates and for the next ½ hr she thoroughly enjoyed trying to skate over the ice. Our journey back home was very tiring for my feet were very cold and numb. We weren’t wearing the right kind of footwear and we couldn’t find the a back home. Tari, I’ve kept the Indian tradition alive of asking, asking and finding my way J. We had to walk all the way back to Stephanplatz and take a bus. This was one of our longest walks ever in snow. Anoushka was tired. Our feet and hand had become sore. The snowfall was unsympathetic. Our faces were red from the cold. We finally warmth in the bus and then in the café where we had our 1^st Kumpir…One big potato and when I say BIG, the size of an elephant foot, baked and cut open to be filled with beans, corn, olive and dressing. What a meal we had !! Our apartment was just next door and the moment we went in we soaked the tired parts of our body in the hot water tub.

An eventful day that ended “jivache Hamburg karoon”

Travelogue 2

The new house, the new kitchen looked newer today. We had our 1^st break fast then, Tea, Coffee and Toast. (Yes, we had already bought groceries the previous evening. You see, we have a Plus (to be pronounced as “Ploos”) vanyache dukaan just next door) We had also bought some vegetables and I made a potato / Tomato onion rassa bhaji. Now I have to admit that cutting these with a knife was a task for me… No, don’t get wrong ideas… I’m not a witch with a magic wand which I wave to get things done. It’s just that I’m used to cutting vegetables with a FANTASTIC gadget called just that, back home. Also I should confess about something that happened to me at the Ploos vanyache dukaan. When I went there for the 1^st time @ the fruit and vegetable section, I felt like a two year old who was learning to identify fruits and vegetables. What I first thought was a raw papaya turned out to be a raw mango. I couldn’t tell a lemon from a sweet lime, Cherries and tomatoes looked the same and the Cabbage was so huge…I held it in both my hands and turned it around several times and stuck my nose to it to make sure that it was “apli kobi” I didn’t dare buy it for I was sure it would last me for 6 months even if I had every single day…Potatoes and carrots were the most easy to identify. Everything from Yoghurt to Zucker (Sugar) that I bought that day was checked over and over again to ensure it was what I thought it to be. With my trolley full, I went to the Kase (cash counter) where I realised that I also would be charged for the plastic bags in which my groceries were to be stuffed.. Hey, zara atich hote, as if the 1 € for the trolley was not enough. Though I got the 1 € back, after I put back the trolley. To paryant, heart nusta var khali hoth hota..

I must also mention, that when I came back with the Groceries, I checked who our neighbours were. Our immediate neighbour was one Mr. Vogel Bau. I secretly had hoped that he would be Basu. Not that I ever got to see what this Bau Kau looked like. For the next day we changed our apt. Yes !! We changed two apt’s in two days. If you remember I had mentioned earlier, that our apt was tiny for us, and we were very fortunate to have a larger one just next door. So packed up all that we had just unpacked and moved into our new apt to re-unpack. Out of the three of us, Anoushka was most happy, comfortable and “Fresh” always. It was amazing how she had adapted to a new country, new home and lifestyle, and new food habits. She never expressed displeasure or showed any signs of anxiety and edginess. We could all learn a thing or two from her.

Yesterday we had a visit from our re-location agent. She had fixed up an appointment with the Deutsche bank and Pam, Anoushka and I accompanied her. We were greeted at the door of the bank, by an executive named Lars Krauel, who also showed us to a small conference room, where he intended to complete the formalities of opening a bank account. What happened next was something for which Lars will remember “Mr. Iyer” for the rest of his life. He had offered us Coffee and Juice and I was impressed with the Bank’s hospitality. Just as I took the 1^st sip of my “Apfelsaft”, Mr. Iyer with some documents in hand aimed for his large glass of Latte Machiato. There was coffee all over – the table, the documents, files, the Carpet below…..Our passports were saved in nick of time, but still continue to smell of Fresh Italian coffee as must have the Conf room of Mr. Krauel. I don’t think I have ever said “Tut mir Leid” (I’m sorry) so many times to anybody but Lars. However, I’m sure that Pam will give me ample opportunities in future. What I admired the most, was Lars’ courage to ask Pam, if he wanted another Latte !!

Travelogue 1

The flight was late and that meant some more time to sleep. We left home at around 3.30 – 4’ish. Lots of bags and all of us (Sanju Mama, Mami, Aai…) At the airport, we went in quickly saying our byes. As we were checking in, we realised that Pam’s bag was too heavy to be accepted. So we had to buy a new one and transfer some of his stuff. Phew !! After emptying our pockets for that cheap quality bag, we went straight to the business lounge (Advantages of flying business class) There we had breakfast and a lot of time to spare.

Around me were people. All trying to look very important. Some tired faces were watching Kareena Kapoor on Channel V, in an attempt to keep themselves awake. Whenever I come to the airport, I see the same set of people all around. Some teary eyed ones saying good bye to their loved ones, some grinning to have arrived back home, some anxious about the whole flying experience, some so confident as if they have flown the plane so many times…Been there and done that attitude…Hmmm…Okay !! So now it was time for us to board the Turkish Airlines (Turk Hava Yollari) plane. The Flight to Istanbul was sleepy, what with almost flat recliners. Didn’t feel as pampered as I felt in Jet Airways business class, still this wasn’t so bad and trust me, once you fly Business you never want to fly Economy. But Economical people like us, you know what the choice has to be !

After almost 8 hrs we landed in Istanbul (Temp -3 ^o C) Went to the lounge and had breakfast and went to board our flight for Hamburg (another 3 hrs) The only special thing about this flight was the lovely aromatic rice served in our special asian meal. The sad thing was that this lovely aromatic rice was only 3 ½ teaspoon fulls. Some more sleep on this flight and we felt fresher on landing in Hamburg. Took a taxi and went straight to Grindelhof (where our apartment was) In that bitter cold (Temp -8 ^o C) we pulled and pushed our luggage around till we finally found our tiny little apartment. We gorged on the home made parathas for dinner which we were carrying with us from India….and crashed. I’m sure I must have dreamt of a lot of things that night….We woke up very tired the next day