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 :-)