A day out.. On a Yacht

Was just reading my last post.. Nearly six months old. And apparently not more than one post in the entire year?? Why, I have no clue and no answer..And to think I came from hibernation at the time and was wondering why people go into hibernation? I guess, an answer I simply could not find, or I probably know, but not admitting it..

No point delving into the past, point is going ahead.. The fact that I have come back to writing, is initself a self good feeling factor to myself, that I am doing something other than the standard work routine.. Work, come home, work, and go back to work..

What became different? Well a simple change where a day out with the family on a Yacht.. What is so special about it? Nothing much one would say, but the simple fact that you stop every thing in the world, and take a day off for yourself, to enjoy the sun and the wind, the breeze flowing through your hair, the fact that you are in the middle of no where, at times, yet there, simply disconnecting from the world, leaving all your cares behind.. What more can one say?

Had the luxury to do it twice in less than a month, last week of the year in 2011, a few days off, not many, but still.. Off with the family, to a beach resort, doing nothing but sitting in the pool, in the sauna, on the beach, enjoying the sun and the sand.. Just leaving time behind, if only momentarily.

Moral of the story.. Time is indeed precious.. We all spend our lives working out for our bread and butter, and at some point, simply leave ourselves behind.. Though we come back to reality fast enough, but the momentary joy that one can attain by a simple act, of being with people one cares, people that one loves, sharing a light moment.. Simply priceless.. It is these memories that linger for long.. Not the project that you completed day and night..

India Treasure Troves

Often wondered at times, why people go into hibernation and then suddenly come out, from nowhere. What is it that ticks them to disappear, and what suddenly turns the nerve to come out all guns blazing.. My reason for the comment: I went through the same, stopping my notes for nearly six months, since my last comment, not writing and then suddenly an article that I read yesterday, stirring me up.

50k crores worth of treasure found in Kerala (video link), underneath the temple in Thiruvanthapuram. hidden in vaults that were closed for decades and centuries. What is amazing is not the quantum of wealth hidden, as the glory and grandeur of India is well known, but the fact that the vaults despite being in the temple, were never bothered to be opened. Either the temple authorities did not know, or were simply not interested.

As our famed Archealogical department now goes temple by temple, they probably will find a lot more such treasures, amounts running into Hundreds of thousands of crores, the question arises, what happens to this new found national treasure? Of course, there will be compilations, lists, assessments, then what?

Are we really going to preserve this, or is this treasure going to land up into Swiss Banks of the Mayawatis, the Gandhis, the Yadav's and not to forget, the Jaya Amma's? Is India really capable of understanding and managing it's history? Does India or for that matter the Average Indian really care about it's glorious past? Is it something that is just meant for history pages, that every one reads in the 8th - 10th Grade and not meant for future use?

I could be wrong. Maybe the treasure would be used properly, and show cased in museums, however we all know that this will never happen. India does not have the infrastructure, nor the interest to manage it's national treasures.. We may be a nuclear country, and we may possess the best brains, and half the world may be running on Indians (or Indian origin migrated expatriates), but the fact is that we are pathetic when it comes to managing our past and our glory. The only time it is highlighted is in the PM's annual speech on August 15 and Jan 26.

This treasure could just be a drop in the ocean and surely many more such findings would come out as there is so much more that probably may not even have been found.. What do we do with these.. Put these into safe lockers, hidden from the world (as are a lot of the treasures of the Nizam era) or will the state actually build a brand new musuem with the latest in security and guard this?

Or do we spend it on development? Of course, most of it would to to the minorities, the Muslims, the Christians, even though the treasure has been found from Hindu temples.. All in the name of secularism? And why would that be, because we Hindus would be busy fighting as to which caste and sect should be the beneficary of this money.

It is really unfortunate that despite the Kings and Queens of yore having gone long back, India and more so, Hindus, have not been able to come out of the caste bracket.. We are still high class brahmins and low caste Dalits. We have to survive this way to ensure that we get our pound of flesh, and all with the help of our leaders, who themselves ensure that this fire never dies down.

One fine day, we would find out that most if not all of our national treasures are gone, lying either in some offshore accounts of our saviours, our great party leaders, our politicians or even better, moved to another country in private mansions or even adoring musueums of coutnries, who have no link to our past? There will be a hue and cry in parliament, or maybe not at all, as most of them would have been part of it? A lot might be sold to our foreign buyers, of course, with our leaders being the sellers.

The question always does arise in my mind.. Should we be finding all these national treasures? Are we capable of living with our past and ensuring that the past is preserved and the future of our country taken care of? Or do we want to ensure that the past is where it should be, in paper, not really worth the effort to preserve this.

Or really, should some one have had the balls sixty years ago, to state that India is and will be a Hindu nation, so FU, MG..

A European Journey - 6 (July 16)

Venice over, next stop was Florence. A name associated with Florence of Nightingale, but more an Art capital of Italy. A place where the Renaissance began, and the start of a new era.

First stop was the Duomo, a simple church built centuries ago, and yet retaining its elegance. There was nothing magical about the Church, a simple place to pray, no grand tours, no huge lanes going around in circles, as most churches that we had visited had.. This simply had a grand empty place (obviously, during prayer times at main events, the pews are put in place), but the simplicity was just the artwork.

The external was as simple and yet as grand and the internal was as simple but elegant. The Artwork, though not out of the world, was as stunnig as had been at the other Churches that we had been to.. The work of the Masters was there for all to see, inscribed on every wall, every ceiling, for posterity.. One could only continue to gape at the amazing work that had been done centuries ago, and yet looked fresh, as if done just recently. The carvings on the Duomo was mind boggling, every piece showing an element of the era that was, and at the same time, a facet of Christianity, that being the religion of Europe. Every Disciple, every God, every Angel, were in some ways inscribed on to each of the monuments that were built so painstakingly beautifully, never knowing that these works of Art would be the beginning of a new era.

Post the Duomo visit, we headed off to the Signoria Square, another square, that simply had breathtaking artwork built all around. One could simply lose oneself in the atomosphere for hours, where time simply stood still. Did the people who ever built these monuments, ever think of tourism, or was it simply their devotion to Art, that made them come out with the best of their times..

Creativity knew no bounds and I guess, that is where the Renaissance flourished, had there been curbs in terms of expressions, oh what an era would have been lost. Art as one would say, in its very naked form. Men, women, children, all reflected in their true sense of their being, and that is what gave credence to creativity.

Statuettes of Amerigo Vespuci, Michael Angelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Dante, all were present overlooking the square.. It was a credit to their talents and their genius, that a lot of the cultures that exist today, owe their very existence to them. The added difference is that they get their due..

Journey over, an eventful day, headed off to Rome, the capital city of Italy, which was ofcourse the center of it all.. After all, the saying did say.. All roads lead to Rome.. A sleep over there and then off to the Vatican...

A European Journey - 5 (July 15)

Leaving Austria, the next stop was Venice.. Viva La Italia.. The country of the Pizzas, The Land of the Gondolas, the city in the middle of the sea, a city surrounded by water all across.. Venice, oh Venice, who had not heard about Venice in their life.. Something that we all grew up in life with through history books.. The Merchant of Venice, Shylock, comes to mind.

Good day or bad, not sure what it was, but it turned out to be a scorcher.. Austria was nice, pleasant and cool . Italy, just turned out to be the opposite.. We were starting to understand, how the Italians got tanned. Austria to Italy was one long drive.. nothing much of worth in the morning, we headed off straight to Lunch.. A restaurant named Maharani.. Could never fathom the reason for such names, would they bring in more rich people?? Anyways, lunch being lunch, we headed off to Venice.

Accessible by boat, we headed off to the point where the boat would take us across the river or sea to the city surrounded by water. One would think, how is tha possible, however it seemingly was and is. A city built over a conglomerate of 100+ islands and interlinked via canals, one would imagine that they would die out.. But no, this was one thriving place, filled with people from all corners of life. Said to have been populated by people who fled to avoid invasions by the Huns and also as people wanted to avoid paying Roman Taxes.

A short trip later, we were in Venice. Right in the middle of the sea.. The first view was of awe, as to how this was built and surviving, of course, one would think of it as an island in the sea. Wonderfully built, and with the sun out in full swing, it was a rocker.



At St. Marks Square

First stop, St. Marks Square, arguably the most photographed square in the world. What would you find there, one would ask, and I would simply say, people.. The Basilica of St. Mark, one of the apostles of Jesus, the square was simply breathtaking. One cannot describe the place, one has to be there to soak the ambience, the soul, the feel of the place. No one knew anyone yet every one knew every one.. It was simply speaking, being with yourself.


A short brief here, we went off to the Murano Glass Factory, where they have been making Glass for more years, than many of us were old enough to be.. A wonderful art, simply managed out of a piece of glass, that gets moulded into shapes, ranging from small boats, to large colourful eagles. An art that has spanned since centuries, handed down generation by generation, requring a lot of patience, deft hands and simply, a lot of imagination.

Glass factory over, we were more or less on our own for a few hours.. Just walk around and enjoy the place. That we did, of course not by playing any games, but just being at the Square.. A walk down the lanes to see the Gondolas, and how they maneouvered through the canals.. Of course, we wanted to see if there was any music playing around, as we had so very often seen in the movies.. But Alas... The canals were no doubt very dirty, the Gondolas no doubt well maintained, but for some reason, the excitement lost. Is it not better to simply live off memories at times, and not see reality?

A good few hours later, we headed back home, back through the sea looking back on the city in the sea. Landing back to the ground of course felt happier as we headed back to our hotel (which in fact was one of the good hotels that we stayed in), as we set ourselves for the evening and the next day journey to Florence, one did wonder, would you stay there..

Once you reach a place, one feels, yes, this is where I belong, and I guess, a lot of us must be going through it at times, however, I also believe most of these are good for visits. Would I stay in Venice, given a chance.. A chance to be at the square, the Gondolas, the orchestra's, the Ta... hmmm.. food for thought.. probably post retirement with a million bucks???