A Tryst with England : part 1
THE TRYST WITH ENGLAND : PART 1
We were on our way to an Empire which had spread across the globe and where the Sun never set , about half a century ago. Having born after independence and tutored well about Indian history ,that spanned few centuries since the establishment of the East India company , I have had a mixed feeling of love and hate about the British. The hate obviously was due to the excesses like the Jallianwala and the probable disdain they had of Indians in general. The admiration was due to their immense administrative abilities, the establishment of marvels like the Indian railway, the beautiful structures they built and in making a nation out of us.
Literature , science and the arts , that one was exposed to, had a predominant British slant to it and hence the overwhelming anticipation of being able to witness ,in person , some of the places and monuments , so far experienced only through books, was understandable. Here was one place that I had longed to see.
The high speed Eurostar train from Paris to London takes about two hours plus , mostly across the French country side. We boarded the train in the early morning. The immigration formalities was over in a jiffy and we boarded a train which had seen its heydays long ago. Yet it was better than an Indian long distance train. We watched, as the French country side, with its agriculture land lined with cute cottages , pass by in an otherwise uninteresting journey. The journey is through the tunnel under the English channel but one does not realise that, part of the journey, is through a tunnel built under the sea! Flashing across my eyes was Dover and Calais and there stood the Scarlet Pimpernel muttering " God save the King" as he manages to save the aristocracy during the French revolution.
The London St Pancras station appeared quite suddenly and there we were in the United Kingdom!
London too turned out to be shivering cold at about 8 degrees.
Having gained expertise of the Paris metro, we boldly located the nearest metro and ran across to the map of the network displayed in numerous places. The London rail network is a labyrinthine network that has the Underground tube, National rail and the DLR(Dockland light railway) linking up seamlessly , as it were, to take you to any location in the city and suburb. It may be daunting to begin with but if you patiently study and understand the way it is networked by the routes like Jubilee, District, National and DLR etc , color coded as they are, you can manage it well.
Our detour to collect the bus and metro/ Underground (Oyster) pass along with the entry rights for over 60 odd places and monuments across London, for a tidy fee, took us to Charing Pass . The famous Trafalgar square was nearby so was Leicester square and Piccadilly , both entertainment hubs. I stood near the Strand theatre and watched while my son went to collect the passes. My eyes lit up as I glanced upon an Indian eatery, obviously , named as Tandoor. The concierge ,standing in front of the theatre, was dressed in a long black coat with brass buttons and leather gloves. He noticed me standing nearby and wished me a good morning and a " how are you today, sir" I responded saying I am fine but for the cold. He soon ushered in a gentleman and a lovely lady into the theatre g while taking their coats and hats. In that few minutes I was witness , thus, to what was one of fine English etiquette.
Changing two stations in the London Underground tube and then on to the DLR , swiping entry and exits at each, we reached our hotel .
Grabbing some sandwiches and Americano for lunch we returned to the tube . We were on our way to the London Tower ( a unique bridge with a life and story of its own) and the good old London Bridge . Chosen , as these two, covers over two thousand years of British history. More of these two bridges later( to do justice to the two would need another narration ,maybe , part 3). The experience of being with the numerous English kings, Romans, traitors and murderers, not to forget, bridge designs, surely breathed life to the history pages. We had tickets for the Thames river cruise and managed to get onto the same just in time. It was nearing dusk and the the London city soon was lit and shown in all splendour. A glance at a few of London' s sights while traversing the Thames had one mesmerised during the entire journey. A regret that it ended at all!
We gathered courage and in the biting cold of a London night, decided to return to Leicester square . It meant going in another direction all the way to the west of London. In the tube. The reward : dinner at Tandoor and a look see of the various entertainment stuff at the square. The stewardess at the Tandoor , a L shaped Indian eatery which displayed its menu( and princely tariff) up in the front, bluntly told my son that she cannot offer a seat without a reservation.
I then told her to make a reservation for later in the evening ( or night really!) ,to which she responded to by saying she will try and give us a place later after couple of hours.
We then went to the square and witnessed a largish crowd assembled in various groups at different corners and blocks , all fully clothed up in woollens. A lady here and a African there with their musical instruments kept a few spellbound. Yet another group watched some amazing gymnastics by a bunch of young guys. A group of young ladies were so thrilled by their acts , they planted a few kisses on their cheeks . Across and at one end of the square was a casino with a long queue of people waiting to get inside. The place, in general , had people from across the world, multitude of dialects spoken, and all having a jolly good time. This truly is an International city!
We were in luck that night. Right next to the Tandoor was the Lotus. It too had Indian food in its menu. More importantly we were offered a nice cosy table for two. Chicken cooked in tandoor served with boiled tomatoes and some coke was my sons choice while I ordered lots of Indian bread , couple of curries and Papadams(of all things!) which was washed down by gin and tonic. The place was full of English men and women and a few Europeans. An elderly couple apart from us were the only Indians, I guess.
As I went to bed accompanied by the thoughts of medevial England and its protagonists , sleep took over the journey.
We were on our way to an Empire which had spread across the globe and where the Sun never set , about half a century ago. Having born after independence and tutored well about Indian history ,that spanned few centuries since the establishment of the East India company , I have had a mixed feeling of love and hate about the British. The hate obviously was due to the excesses like the Jallianwala and the probable disdain they had of Indians in general. The admiration was due to their immense administrative abilities, the establishment of marvels like the Indian railway, the beautiful structures they built and in making a nation out of us.
Literature , science and the arts , that one was exposed to, had a predominant British slant to it and hence the overwhelming anticipation of being able to witness ,in person , some of the places and monuments , so far experienced only through books, was understandable. Here was one place that I had longed to see.
The high speed Eurostar train from Paris to London takes about two hours plus , mostly across the French country side. We boarded the train in the early morning. The immigration formalities was over in a jiffy and we boarded a train which had seen its heydays long ago. Yet it was better than an Indian long distance train. We watched, as the French country side, with its agriculture land lined with cute cottages , pass by in an otherwise uninteresting journey. The journey is through the tunnel under the English channel but one does not realise that, part of the journey, is through a tunnel built under the sea! Flashing across my eyes was Dover and Calais and there stood the Scarlet Pimpernel muttering " God save the King" as he manages to save the aristocracy during the French revolution.
The London St Pancras station appeared quite suddenly and there we were in the United Kingdom!
London too turned out to be shivering cold at about 8 degrees.
Having gained expertise of the Paris metro, we boldly located the nearest metro and ran across to the map of the network displayed in numerous places. The London rail network is a labyrinthine network that has the Underground tube, National rail and the DLR(Dockland light railway) linking up seamlessly , as it were, to take you to any location in the city and suburb. It may be daunting to begin with but if you patiently study and understand the way it is networked by the routes like Jubilee, District, National and DLR etc , color coded as they are, you can manage it well.
Our detour to collect the bus and metro/ Underground (Oyster) pass along with the entry rights for over 60 odd places and monuments across London, for a tidy fee, took us to Charing Pass . The famous Trafalgar square was nearby so was Leicester square and Piccadilly , both entertainment hubs. I stood near the Strand theatre and watched while my son went to collect the passes. My eyes lit up as I glanced upon an Indian eatery, obviously , named as Tandoor. The concierge ,standing in front of the theatre, was dressed in a long black coat with brass buttons and leather gloves. He noticed me standing nearby and wished me a good morning and a " how are you today, sir" I responded saying I am fine but for the cold. He soon ushered in a gentleman and a lovely lady into the theatre g while taking their coats and hats. In that few minutes I was witness , thus, to what was one of fine English etiquette.
Changing two stations in the London Underground tube and then on to the DLR , swiping entry and exits at each, we reached our hotel .
Grabbing some sandwiches and Americano for lunch we returned to the tube . We were on our way to the London Tower ( a unique bridge with a life and story of its own) and the good old London Bridge . Chosen , as these two, covers over two thousand years of British history. More of these two bridges later( to do justice to the two would need another narration ,maybe , part 3). The experience of being with the numerous English kings, Romans, traitors and murderers, not to forget, bridge designs, surely breathed life to the history pages. We had tickets for the Thames river cruise and managed to get onto the same just in time. It was nearing dusk and the the London city soon was lit and shown in all splendour. A glance at a few of London' s sights while traversing the Thames had one mesmerised during the entire journey. A regret that it ended at all!
We gathered courage and in the biting cold of a London night, decided to return to Leicester square . It meant going in another direction all the way to the west of London. In the tube. The reward : dinner at Tandoor and a look see of the various entertainment stuff at the square. The stewardess at the Tandoor , a L shaped Indian eatery which displayed its menu( and princely tariff) up in the front, bluntly told my son that she cannot offer a seat without a reservation.
I then told her to make a reservation for later in the evening ( or night really!) ,to which she responded to by saying she will try and give us a place later after couple of hours.
We then went to the square and witnessed a largish crowd assembled in various groups at different corners and blocks , all fully clothed up in woollens. A lady here and a African there with their musical instruments kept a few spellbound. Yet another group watched some amazing gymnastics by a bunch of young guys. A group of young ladies were so thrilled by their acts , they planted a few kisses on their cheeks . Across and at one end of the square was a casino with a long queue of people waiting to get inside. The place, in general , had people from across the world, multitude of dialects spoken, and all having a jolly good time. This truly is an International city!
We were in luck that night. Right next to the Tandoor was the Lotus. It too had Indian food in its menu. More importantly we were offered a nice cosy table for two. Chicken cooked in tandoor served with boiled tomatoes and some coke was my sons choice while I ordered lots of Indian bread , couple of curries and Papadams(of all things!) which was washed down by gin and tonic. The place was full of English men and women and a few Europeans. An elderly couple apart from us were the only Indians, I guess.
As I went to bed accompanied by the thoughts of medevial England and its protagonists , sleep took over the journey.
Very well written.
ReplyDeleteVery well written.
ReplyDeleteGracia!
ReplyDelete