Iron addled my brains, in a good way....

The “Iron Curtain” was a figure of speech used by Winston Churchill (well, actually Joseph Goebbels, but let us not indulge in nitpicking), to describe the parting of ways between the communist bloc of eastern European nations from their western counterparts. Apart from the political and military differentiation, something else happened, something which has resulted in something good for all of us visiting Europe post the communist meltdown. These newly capitalist nations have developed slightly differently from their western buddies. They retain their mysticism, unlike the crass commercialization in France and Italy. Also, there is an aura attached to these nations, one of adventure, mainly because they were largely inaccessible to tourists only a decade and a half back. I, happened to visit a few of these countries and I was fascinated. The people are friendlier than the rest of Europe, and not nearly as anal.
The countries I toured were Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Poland… And of course, Berlin, from East Germany, formerly the GDR. Prague is by far the most beautiful city in the whole of Europe, Budapest the grimiest and liveliest, Bratislava the cheapest and quirkiest, Ljubljana the cutest, and Krakow and Zakopane with the most history and adventure in them, respectively. And of course, Berlin has its wickedness to cash for. The point is, each of these cities has a lot of character, and somehow are stuck between the principles of socialism, and the good life that the newly found capitalist way of life offers. Amazing experiences each one of them, including the road trip to Poland in an Opel Zafira, they have certainly modified my “30 things to do before 30”.

There is a voice ringing in my head right now…. “Must visit Russia, must visit Ukraine, must visit Belarus, must visit all the other SSR countries….”… should I? Or rather can I?

Getting Lost in Brussels...

From the time I landed in Brussels, I am in love with this city, and Europe in general. The weather is so awesome, the streets, well not so clean, the people so friendly....and the chicks!!! For the past three days, I have been roaming around Brussels, mostly on foot, and its been an amazing experience. We saw the Palais de Royale (Royal Palace), Grote Plce (Grand Place), Victory Gate/Triumphal Arch (which is right beside where we stay BTW), and the most impresive, the Atomium and Mini Europe. To the exchange students who wish to visit Brussels, here is an Itinerary i woud suggest,

• After getting down at Brussels Central Station (Gare Du Centraal), take the metro line 1A to Heyzel from Centraal Station. Atomium and Mini Europe are right by the Heyzel station. One trip ticket on the Metro costs 1/70. Mini Europe entry fee is 12/36 per peson, but do not miss it cuz of the high cost, its awesome. Atomium is impressive only from the outside. It is a relic of the 1958 world fair, and do not spend 9/00 going inside.
• Opposite the Atomium is the Belgique Congres (Seat of the Belgian Government). Its an impressive building with beautiful gardens.
• From there, take the metro back to Centraal Station, get out towards Hotel Le Meridien, cross the underpass, turn right and you are in the Grote Place MArket. Explore this area on foot. The De Villa Place (A pentagon surrounded by medieval buldings) is the most impressive sight here. Look for the Manneken Pis (Brussels' Icon), which is pretty small and hence tough to find. It is on the crossing between Rue de l'Étuve & Eikstraat. If you cant figure out, ask, everyone is more than willing to help out.
  
• On the diaonally opposite side of the grand place is the Jeanekke Pis, the female equivalent of Manneken Pis. Its tougher to find as it is less famous. It is on a blind alley to the north of Rue De Bouchers.
• The Palais Du Royale is a 20-25 minutes on foot from the Grand Place. It is the earstwhile residence of the Belgian Royal Family.
  
• After you are satisfied exploring the Grand Place, take the metro to Merode (this is where we stay). Immediately outside the station is the Triumphal Arch (very similar to the Bradenburg Gate in Berlin), also called Parc du Cinquantenaire. It is surrounded by the beautiful Jubilee Parc, and a couple of meuseums incuding Autoworld, Military Meuseum, Temple of Human Passions Etc.

And of course, do not forget to taste some of the famous Belgian Beer, waffles and of course the Pralines (Belgian Chocolates).
Am waiting for more people to fall in love with this beautiful city's character, where even the poshmost of cars stop and signal you to cross the road before they drive on!!!

This one, just cuz' you asked me too....

It was just another normal class, though not entirely at that. It was Prof Himanshu Rai's class, so something HAD to happen. He began auctioning a hundred rupee note, asking for bidders at various prices. THere were a lot of us, till he reched a price of Rs100. Even though, one of us persisted. In fact, he was ready to buy the note even at Rs 110. It was then that Prof Rai shot his now fammous one liners....
"Are you buying this at a high price just because it was touched by ME???"
And the worst wasn't over, it was then that Prof Rai turned to m and said, in the most mischievous of tones... "THis is another one for your blog, Abhinav."... referring to the guffaws post of mine earlier....
Well... this one is for you sir....

Random Ramblings of the Mad BullDog....

Sitting in the classroom, the AC not really cooling me, though the weather outside is not all that bad... I am listening (but not really paying attention) to the random ramblings of a professor who loves to call himself the "BullDog". The topics could potentially be interesting, but it would be against the BullDog's ego to make us understand even a sliver of anything that he considers is "tough". BTW, did I mention, that by no stretch of imagination does he look like a bulldog, more like a chipmunk actually. You know, the ones with a hint of hair growth on the upper lip, of which they are supremely proud. But a chipmunk will always remain a chipmunk, hiding nuts and cones in the deep crevices of a tree, more of a thief than a hunter, which the "BullDog" claims to be.
Did I mention, our new batch of juniors has arrived on campus, well atleast most of it. and voila, 90% of the batch are what we call "Daddus", guys with tonnes of work experience. Some guys have very interesting profiles, including a cancer biologist, a DRDO scientist, armymen, and apparently even a 1999 batch IAS!!!!! Good God Almighty...
I feel even I have started to ramble..... rather than writing something interesting... well, atleast i didn't write anything about the Noida murders, which seems to be the national pastime these days...
Cya folks....
~~Stay beautiful~~~

Hyderabad!!!!

Its my Third week in Hyderabad, and I am already wondering as to why I had not visited this beautiful city earlier. Even though it has the usual pitfalls of an up-and-coming city, with traffic snarls, bad roads et al, it still manages to capture one's imagination in a way that few other cities can. The Hussain Sagar is very pretty, but only till you are a safe distance, get closer and your nostrils will face a volley of smells ugly enough to remind you of Yamuna. The people here are very helpful and simple, but then one does not get to see the opposite sex in a way one would do in Delhi or Mumbai. BTW, I have seen more cricketers in my hotel during the past two weeks than I have my entire life. And we are going to watch the IPL game between Hyderabad and Delhi later tonight, should be fun.
I have been enjoying work immensly, details of which I cannot disclose here because of McKinsey confidentiality policies. My team is an awesome amount of fun, totally disfunctional :D . I guess the next month and a half should be fun!!!! Will get back to posting....

Atithi Devo Bhavah????

The Goa debate seems to be moving away from the basic fact that Scarlett Keeling has been murdered. There is no way you can wish away the body and the report of the medical examination, which says that the teenager was raped before being killed. There is neither any evidence to link this murder to the beach resort's drug trade. Keeling's possible involvement with narcotic substance offenders and their clandestine business has nothing to do with the savagery inflicted upon her. In the end, it was more a crime of lust.

Let us not be led astray by the ongoing debate in Britain that Scarlett might have been the promiscuous daughter of a bohemian mother who lives life according to her own hippie norms. We have no right to sit on judgment on Fiona Mackowen especially when it makes us digress from the real issue in hand. The perpetrators of the heinous murder desired the fifteen-year-old because they had assumed she was unchaste and, therefore, sexually available. Probably, the motive was that if her boyfriend Julio Lobo could enjoy her physical company, why should others be deprived of Scarlett's feminine bounty.

This is the larger question which petty souls like home minister Ravi Naik don't want to answer. Goa has long been an international tourist destination but has still not been able to reconcile itself to either bohemianism or promiscuity. Goa's burgeoning hospitality trade can entice affluent customers with marijuana and barbiturates or even with expensive brown sugar. But when it comes to sensitivity to apparently deviant behaviour, even the average Goan with his long experience of hosting foreigners gropes in the dark. It is easy for the shack-owners in Anjuna or Baga beaches to use Caucasian white females, especially those from East European countries, as drug conduits or call girls. It is difficult for them to relate to their unpredictable nature, mood swings, their sexual candour with a few and refusal to sleep with the others.

Why blame Goa when Indian prudery has always misconstrued promiscuity as an invitation or a willingness to be an easy sexual prey? Scarlett's confused adolescent soul comes through in the pages of her diary. Neither she nor her mother is the epitome of immorality which the Indian establishment would rather have us believe. The family definitely subscribes to an experimental lifestyle but that doesn't mean they forego their individual right to choose their own partners. Being the daughter of a mother who has married five times does not automatically mean that the 15-year-old girl is obvious game for the male predator.

But such simplistic assumptions overpower the Indian subconscious. The maladjusted and the deviant are necessarily bad. We make moral inferences based on our own insular comprehension of life as we experience it within the boundaries of the subcontinent. That explains why tourists are sexually attacked so frequently in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and even Maharashtra. That explains why the absconding Biti Mohanty misreads a German acquaintance's apparent proximity as sexual consent. Our own repressed perspectives get entwined with our coloured views of Western customs and habits. The end result is a heinous crime like rape.

We have no idea that while we may still consider words like freethinker or libertine derogatory in nature but a forgiving West has long moved on and accepted nonconformists like hippies, cultists, beatniks, New Agers, commune inhabitants and flower children as part of the mainstream. What we deride as promiscuity is not looked down upon in the same way either in North America or Europe. To them, unabashed fulfillment of biological needs does not necessarily imply that a woman can be dismissed as a whore. Our xenophobic tendencies prevent us from rightly interpreting changing sexual mores in nations abroad.

Scarlett Keeling has been made to pay a heavy price not for her mother's past sins or recklessness in leaving her alone in a strange paradise. She has died because we aren't liberal enough, nor are we willing to change ourselves. Great tourist destinations are accommodative of global perceptions. We have miles to go before we acquire a transnational sensibility. Even a tiny Mauritius or Maldives has a broader perception of international tourist behaviour. Thailand is leagues ahead. So is China.

Keeling's death nailed a great lie that we try to perpetuate. Indians may flatter themselves into believing they are generous hosts but they actually aren't. The much-touted principle of Athithi devo bhava applies only to domestic tourists, not to eccentric foreigners. Otherwise, Japanese tourists would not have complained of being harassed by a guide at the Sun Temple in Konark. Otherwise non-resident Indians would not have felt like running away from the clutches of greedy pujaris at Kalighat in Kolkata.

Tourism is about opening up your own culture with due tolerance and utmost respect for the culture of the visitors. Indians are too immersed in their medieval ethos to understand the worldwide cultural crosscurrents of the twenty-first century. There's an old Chinese adage that says a closed mind is like a closed book, just a block of wood. We are indeed the wooden people.