Two years have passed since I last heard that voice. I question my own existence without knowing about hers. Happiness has evaded me since. I feel like a body breathing without a soul. We promised each other to walk side by side in the journey of life. But now the memories have become the fuel for rest of the path I have to tread alone. Love was what had kept us together. But she fell out it just like the dead leaf parting from a tree in the autumn. I wonder what made her love me and I wonder what drove her away. Maybe the concept of 'us' had nothing more to offer.
Her face keeps fading from my head day by day. The voices that echoed in my head are long gone. But the laughs we shared are fresh like the morning dew. We were totally inseparable in our days. The morning wake up calls. The never ending day time banters. The night long romantic talks. She was the world to me. Since then, the book of my life has turned a blank page. While I was just a chapter in hers.
I wished to say a last goodbye when she parted ways. I was ready to give her anything and everything for a one last time. She just asked for freedom.
BUONGIORNO! Before I start ranting about the trip to Italy, I would like to bring into cognizance a round trip around the sun by Soliloquy. One complete year. It all began on a lonely night brimming with a tumult of emotions. From there on, there was no stop to this train of thoughts. My friends said the blog would die soon with me running out of blood ink and motivation to write. I seconded them. Ironically, Soliloquy is 20 posts old talking about 15 different labels from the macroscopic worldly realms of Travel, Photography, Politics, Wars, Sports, Education, Women Empowerment, Food, a Movie Review, the IIT phenomena to the delicate and subtle issues of Love, Break-ups, Humor and Sarcasm. I am no judge whether the journey has been a successful one, but certainly, it hasn't been a failure either.
The idea to fly away with friends all over the Alps from Brussels to Rome was built in a day to overcome the frustration of the badly done exams of my first semester in Ghent. Peers had warned about Italy being the hub of pick pockets and notorious small timers taking tourists for a ride. Keeping that in mind we simply took a cab to the hotel. The friendly driver suddenly got adamant for a petty absurd luggage charge after reaching the destination when all I had was a laptop backpack and a small handbag (Che Cazzo!). The expected welcome to Rome was indeed received and I was happy I made it to the hotel. With a good night's sleep I awaited what Roma had to offer.
Roma/Rome: We took off for the city center, Piazza Venezia (Hysterically, it sounds like Pizza but means Venice Square) after having an obvious breakfast of Pizza! Ancient Roman architecture all around.
''Tourist mode = ON''
Altare della Patria, Piazza Venezia
Beautiful sculptures with meticulously detailed carvings which only eyes can perceive. So many attractions in one square that in one whole day with the Colosseum just infront of us, but still we couldn't make it upto there. The Roman forum and the Colosseum are surely a Day 2 event when your blood and breath are filled up by Pizza's and Lasagna's, the only thing which you'll find on the streets.
Piazza Venezia as seen from the Roman Forum
Vatican as seen from Castel Sant'Angelo
VATICAN on Day 3! World's smallest enclave.
The state of the Bishop of Rome - The Pope.
We were lucky to be there on a Sunday noon and get a glimpse of the Pope addressing the crowd with a chapter from the Bible. To get into the Basilica was an endless queue of people. Took almost two hours to be in there but the view inside was absolutely breathtaking. Completely flawless, the interiors, the intricacies of the walls bedizened with marble sculptures and gold coatings, St. Peters Basilica is undoubtedly the most beautiful monument man built by the mankind, an epitome of craftsmanship. The Sistine Chapel and the Vatican museums are a must go irrespective of the heavy entry fees they charge. Indeed, Rome is much more than just the Colosseum and deserves all the hype that surrounds it. We were supposed to go to La Spezia next day but trusting a Bla-bla car driver stood us up. So, I would advocate pre-booking of travel if one wants to experience the high-speed and luxurious Frecce trains, otherwise, Regional and Intercity trains also serve the purpose.
Firenze/Florence:
City of Florence from Cathedral di Santa Maria
Surprisingly small as it is, this riverside city is like no other. Cradle of the Renaissance and of tourist masses that flock here to feast on world-class art, Florence in three words is magnetic, romantic and mellifluous. Perfect destination for a honeymoon, solo travelers can still find bliss in the gastronomy of the city. After surviving only on Pizza's and pastas for the 4 day stay in Rome, Florence came to rescue with a street full of Indian food joints. Taste buds tingled again with the authentic spices from back home. A visit to the Michelangelo square atop a hill south to the city center is recommended, both in daytime and night to appreciate the panoramic skyline of Florence.
Florence at night
Cinque Terre (Five lands): The hidden paradise of Italy
Not to miss the beautiful La Spezia, we made a day trip from Florence (with a 30 minutes stop in Pisa for a wasteful selfie with the Leaning Tower) to Cinque Terre. Travelling amidst the lush green farms and the snow covered mountains in the back, the train ride was truly mesmerizing. Blazing through the tunnels in blinding darkness, the first sight of the mammoth blue sea was pure serendipity. Unequivocally ineffable, the view cannot be captured by any lens. My eyes were glued to the horizon embracing the sheer infinitude of the cerulean blue sky fusing with the fresh azure waters. Strolling on the beach savoring each moment this Earthly heaven had to offer, my whole life turned into a clear slate with all pain and sorrow fleeting in the sand washed away by the receding tides. Relinquishing all the fatigue and melancholy, it the was best birthday I ever had and could possibly dream of.
A journey along the ethereal spectrum of nature
Venice
Venezia/Venice:
Heading towards the final destination with lots of surprises at each venue, I thought the trip could not get any better until I stepped out of the station in Venice, a city floating in the Adriatic Sea, so enchanting, feels like God himself conspired with mankind to build such a World Heritage. The weather played spoilsport in exploring Venice. Nevertheless, we were hell bent on rattling ourselves, getting lost in the narrow streets of the island, each evoking a thousand tales. Despite freezing conditions, the cheap off-seasonal Gelato was the best ice-cream I had in Italy. As Venice Carnival was approaching, markets were in full zeal and zest, showcasing some of their best collections of Venetian masks, designer dresses and accessories. A visit to the Glass factory in Murano and a Gondola trip between the colourful houses in Burano still lingers on my bucket list. Foodie tip: While taking a train from Florence to Venice, a stop at Bologna for lunch is highly recommended for admiring their delicious pastas, specifically, the Spaghetti Bolognese.
Hitherto, these photo's I clicked and this blog-post is a futile attempt to portray the surreal beauty I witnessed. I await going back to Italy to reminisce those pleasing memories.
Thanks to a special friend to make me blog with such positive energy making me relive the awesome trip to Italy.
Ciao! Until next time.
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I had finally found some peace here. I thought the gloomy blogging days were over. But the fateful incident in Delhi on December 2012 has come back to haunt me and the billion more. Who's responsible this time? The people who raped, the people who made the documentary, the idiots starring in it or the victim herself?
Britishers have since long scarred India off it's glory and reputation. Not to be so generalized, I would correct myself to BBC. If you look at the articles BBC has to say about India since Independence, it is nothing but a satire meant to ridicule the people once ruled by the British. I don't even understand why BBC took the pains to travel to India when their country has a bigger problem of per capita rapes and Jihadists operating on their own soil.
Rape is a menace all over the world, but international media has made it a matter of propaganda against India. Yes, awareness is imperative but is it, at the cost of a single nation?
Constant efforts to render India as a banana republic, a nation of peasants and snake charmers. A shitty movie like Slumdog millionaire making it to the Academy awards was plainly unanticipated. Any reason for winning the Oscar? A first world perspective of the dirt and filth of third world. Mocking a country looted for hundreds of years and left in tatters?
But this time, let's own it. Let our heads go down in shame. Let's sit down once again and paint a broader picture of our nation, one viewed from their eyes.
Because defending our country by saying that we have a smaller per capita rape percentage compared to the developed countries is shameless and gross. A rape is a rape whether is happens in India or the west. Countries like USA, France, Australia, UK give explicit instructions to their citizens travelling to India are about rapes of foreign nationals, sexual harassment and the ways to avoid such incidents.
As an Indian living in Belgium, fraternizing amongst the locals and fellow international students with some beers always ends in lengthy parleys over rapes and the cry over beef consumption in India.
The only glamorous fact they find about India is the TAJ MAHAL!
And Yes, Hindus don't consume beef and Muslims don't consume pork.
March 8, The International Women's Day: Strategic release of the documentary before the big day when the world celebrates womanhood, India was blatantly put to shame.
Why wasn't the film aired until now? And most importantly why was it even aired so late? Are we really interested in the the demoralizing views of defence lawyers for rapists? How does the teacher of the victim know which movie the couple wanted to watch and where was he until now? Why isn't the only witness of the Gangrape featured if the documentary claims itself to be legitimate? And Most importantly, giving such a platform to a convicted rapist for his views is justified?
The answers may differ for every eye going through these questions and I am not debating on who's right or wrong!
Rape will be a problem and will remain a problem as long as we try to cover it up. Are girls any safer on our streets now? Does your sister, mother or daughter feel comfortable going out at night wearing whatever she likes? Have you been abroad? Have you noticed the difference when you talk to girls here? Do you even find so many girls/women on street or in a working atmosphere (even driving a bus, operating a restaurant in India?). One doesn't see seats reserved for women in buses or a full coach reserved in train anywhere except India. Why do we need to provide such special services if we talk about gender equality? Fact is, we are nowhere close to that standard when it comes to safety for women!
Must Read: Recently, a friend of mine introduced me to an article, India’s Daughter and BBC – Belgian Professor speaks out., written by a Professor of India studies at Ghent University, Belgium. I recall meeting him at India platform dinner in the University hall here. Back then, the platform discussed issues on Education, Waste management and problems faced in Europe and India requiring a collective effort to find it's solution. I was elated to learn about his liberalized ideas and philosophies about India as opposed to one German professor who rejected a male applicant citing 'Rape Problem'.
It has been just 3 months for me since I moved out of India, but it seems like forever since I savored these delicacies from back home. So, here I am again, sharing what I dearly miss from my country the most and it's nothing else than just food!
Made with fried Indian bread, spiced water and tamarind chutney this was the first thing that I was warned of not finding in Europe. Indeed the worst of my fears materialized and I am still hell bent on trying to get my hands on these tangy lip smackers .
Moving onto to the specialties of North India, this is the ultimate signature dish of Punjabi Cuisine. With variants in different parts of the country this dish boasts of a huge international acclaim. Marinated fried/roasted chicken cooked in tomato-onion gravy with a plethora of spices, my taste-buds yearn for this delicacy since the day I stepped here. There might be some wannabe 'Indian Restaurants' in the US and Europe serving it but the original taste can be experienced in India only.
From the most exotic time-consuming preparations to these simple 2 minute Maggi noodles. Although, presently battling allegations of lead contaminants in it, the plasticy Chinese noodles available in markets here sans the spices mix (Maggi masala) are no match for delicious Maggi.
Chai
Hitting a more simpler note, the famous Cut Chai (tea) is THE official hangout drink for the average Indian. Americans/Europeans may call it Tea Latte, Russians call it Chai itself, Indians certainly indigenized the British culture of drinking tea by adding Cardamom/Cinnamon and/or Ginger/Cloves with half portion of sweetened milk.
Amul- The Taste of India
I realize the value of this tagline after coming to Belgium. No matter what you cook, Aloo Parathas, Butter Chicken or any simple curry the taste is incomplete and never the same without this salted butter found exclusively in India. This is the one thing apart from drugs/explosives that is not allowed in International travel otherwise I would love to load my bag with a couple of these packs.
Born and brought up in Central part of India, I find this blog about Indian food getting biased towards North Indian cuisines. Restoring the balance is the staple food of South India, Dosa/ Rice Pancakes (as my International friend said while I was trying to make them here!). Served with Coconut chutney, Sambhar and Potatoes this would be the penultimate desire to fulfill once I am back home.
Well, this is a sentiment only my fellow Indoreans (from city of Indore) can comprehend. Batata Poha/ Poha Usal/ Poha Jalebi with Sev being the staple breakfast for children's school tiffins, the morning walkers and the office workers, I miss waking upto a plate of this sumptuous ricemeal.
Chewing the mixture of areca nut and betel leaf is a tradition, custom or ritual which dates back thousands of years from India to the Pacific. Paan is chewed and finally spat out or swallowed, the main reason we find sidewalls in shady buildings and government establishments painted red! Mainly acts as a mouth freshener after meals if taken without tobacco. Available throughout India in small roadside shops selling cigarettes and tobacco but impossible to find outside the South Asian subcontinent.
To sum up, writing this blog turned out to be a masochistic task rather than a mild remembrance. Left totally mouth watered and famished searching for the appropriate pictures and making correct descriptions. I have also added links to the preparations in the caption of the photos.
Hope you enjoyed reminiscing the food heritage of India with me :)
The past sticks to you like rust to a metal. I try to scrape it off and move on but the foggy road ahead just makes me go round in circles. Every day feels like it was only till yesterday I was caressing her hair, breathing the scent off her neck. The mornings begin with the realization of her absence from my life. Waking up next to her was a total bliss. The curly strands of her hair falling off her shoulders, her mesmerizing eyes gazing upon me drowning me in it's infinitude, her naughty luscious smile made a Utopian world for me. Us wrapped around in those white sheets, her sparkling eyes were the morning sun for me. The gentleness of her ample breasts resting upon me, I could feel her heart beat with every breath of mine. Her whispering in my ears to wake me up was sweeter than best of the nature's melodies.
The day was spent thinking about these moments looking forward to seeing her again. The food fights over dinner, those irrelevant disagreements over the bills, the midnight walks, the late night coffee hangouts and the night long banters in the bed were the most beautiful days of my life. Not a day goes by that the memories of being with her don't cross my mind.
That surreal feeling of completeness never to be witnessed again. I am convinced I shall never feel the same way consciously, again. The mere thought of reliving those moments gives me goosebumps. Well, they say love can strike you several times. But for me, it was a knockout punch. After all, true love is felt only once. I had my moments of truth. She went searching for hers. Who says true love lasts forever? You know it's true only when it's gone. I wish I can redeem myself from this melancholy of emotions. I wish I could relive the old days. Where I was me and she was her!
But all that is not far away. All I need is to close my eyes and she is there for me, forever...
Finally, I get to do the one cool thing I can do with my knowledge in Physics. A movie review. And why not, it's Nolan who deserves it all!
Yes, I am real kiddish when it comes to movies like The Prestige, Inception , Memento and The Dark Knight trilogy.
The film has a slow beginning with Cooper (Matthew McConnaughey) wandering in his farms with his kids Tom and Murph. Being a pilot and an engineer, the idea of farming bores him the most. Murph is always on the lookout for something unusual and mysterious and keeps asking questions to Cooper regarding Science and ghosts and the resemblance of her name to Murphy's Law (Anything that can go wrong, will.) to which he gives a very optimistic response.
They live in a world of drought and famine where military is non-existent. As humanity is facing extinction, they find a mysterious wormhole near Saturn from where they need to explore possibilities of human survival in other solar systems.
The plot develops from this point on-wards and Coop is set for a space-time odyssey into the unknown where he is constantly at war with the ideas of returning back to his children as promised or keep searching for systems that can harbor humans.
Blackholes, wormholes, relativity!! Well, the movie describes them both theoretically and physically in a much more beautiful way than I could express or even the great Stephen Hawking could mention in his book "A Brief History of Time". The very fact that team Interstellar went to the lengths of publishing scientific papers for a physical description of a wormhole and a blackhole is astounding. One may imagine Christopher Nolan's dedication and sincerity in writing and directing a sci-fi movie when world renowned theorist and astro-physicist Kip Thorne is seen as an executive producer and scientific consultant for the movie! Initially, the script was written by Jonathan Nolan and Steven Spielberg was supposed to direct it, but he dropped out, only to our amusement of finding the movie in Chris's basket. There was no going back from then.
Nolan's favourite set of actors are to be seen, as always, in their best of-course. The wits and annotations of the eccentric Michael Caine (as Professor Brand) perfectly complement the background score of the ingenious Hans Zimmer (who provided music for Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Rush and so on). The Devil wears Prada famed actress Anne Hathaway does not disappoint at all for her first sci-fi movie and Matthew McConnaughey with all his brilliance totally justifies his previous Academy Award over Leonardo DiCaprio for the Dallas buyer's club with his immaculate and exceptional role as a son, a father, an astronaut in the movie. Human emotions and the knowledge of pragmatism are always at war separated by a thin line without one clouding the other.
Nolan perfectly uses the concepts of wormholes (space-time warping), space travel (time dilation due to relativity) without compromising on any laws of Physics and exploits the mystery behind the black holes to give a wild dramatical twist to the plot, opening a gate for debate and cynicism. Some online news agencies and numbnuts may argue it is a long shot for the human race and a plain 3 hours long advertisement for the NASA for whom I have simply two words, "F Y".
In a nutshell, the 169 minutes long movie has much more to offer than the three trailers showed to you and is worth every penny you would spend in Dollars, Euros or Rupees. Rush to a Dolby-Digital theater near you ASAP and grab the complete package of a wild journey in space with creativity and emotions running amok!! And definitely this is not a movie where couples should go to satisfy their physical needs, because Nolan and Physics enthusiasts would not tolerate that!!
Some basic notes and videos for those oblivious to the terms like singularity, relativity, wormholes, black-holes and higher dimensions:
Singularity is a theoretical concept where the general laws of nature (Newton's laws and relativity) and matter cease to exist. What happens inside is still unknown.
Apart from the three physical dimensions that human brain can perceive, time is considered a fourth dimension where 3-D objects like us move linearly. The curving of 4th dimension or moving non-linearly in time is taken to be fifth dimension which is the concept of a wormhole, where the space time is curved. Or simply imagine a 1-D wire that is bent to form a 2-D ring. That is just adding an dimension. Wormholes are actually 3-D holes (spheres) that connect different points in space-time. (Analogous to crossing a tunnel made in a mountain, serving as a shortcut, instead of going around the mountain or over it!) It is tough for us to digest this fact because our brain is limited to see and perceive three dimensions. But just because an ant can't fly or move in more than 2-dimensions at the same time, doesn't mean that birds cannot fly and move around in 3-dimensions.
Black hole is a region in space-time from which nothing can escape, even light! Therefore the name. It is the ultimate stage in the lifetime of a star having enormous mass and gravitational forces. Various scientists have given theoretical proofs of singularity in black holes but after all it's all on the paper. As it cannot be seen, the only way to detect a black hole in space is by it's gravitational effects. Stars revolving around a point mysteriously are considered revolving round a black hole.
Time dilation curve
Another non-trivial fact that one would need in comprehending space travel is time dilation. Time does not work at same pace for different points in space simultaneously. Time is relative after all. This can be understood by a equation from special theory of relativity as time in a reference frame moving at some velocity 'v' with respect to a fixed frame. In simple words, passage of time for a moving object slows down as it approaches the speed of light.
Below I have added a video to understand the higher dimensions and the second one is about the scientific research undergone in making of the movie. Enjoy!
***I would recommend not reading the comments/discussions unless one has seen the movie***
Women, in India and all over the world have long fought for their identity and dignity in the social scenario. With relentless media coverage and outspoken social websites, attention has finally shifted to the other half in an otherwise male dominated society. Hollywood and Bollywood, which have been largely responsible for portraying women as mere sex objects and crowd pullers are now routing to show them on a higher pedestal; a place of respect, a place where they have roles more than just a helpless homemaker, a servile mother or an eye candy in a useless item song! Recently, I saw the movie Mardaani featuring Rani Mukherjee as a brave IPS officer who fights against child trafficking and the prejudice of women being the weaker sex. On the likes of Bollywood films like 'No one killed Jessica', 'Chak De' and the upcoming Mary Kom biopic, various roles of women have been displayed which aim at overthrowing the orthodoxy of India's patriarchal culture.
In reference to my article on Gang rapes, we have observed that when women start making a mark in the society, it is envied by many and the male ego's first stance is to suppress their voice. When that practice fails they try to express their superiority by taunting and harassment. Although attempts like reservation of office posts to maintain gender ratio and bring out equality are made, gender bias, unfortunately is still seen in many corporate and government offices. Unequal wages, bias in promotions, lack of recognition to the female staff and much more.
This is not problem of a single country or a certain class and not just a fight of the women. These thoughts were reflected in the speech by the Harry Potter fame Emma Watson at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, "If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won’t feel compelled to be submissive. If men don’t have to control, women won’t have to be controlled. Feminism does not equal man-hating. It stands for equality It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes."
A daily news reader must have surely come across the much debated Deepika Padukone -Times of India conflict. I respect Deepika for taking a stand against the print daily for publishing sleazy candid pictures as entertainment. Surely, the paper had no business focusing into a celebrity's cleavage and making a headline out of it. But at the same time the hypocrisy of the actor comes into question. Promoting her new film Happy New Year with Shahrukh Khan, in which she plays a bar dancer, voluntarily being half-naked, I was amazed as to why an year old headline itched her so much. It's a different story from a different perspective. What I personally feel is that celebrated actors like her need not go flaunting their bodies for box-office collections and crowd pulling. Doing this in reel life maybe justified for them, but in reality it's blatant objectification of women.
This problem can only be solved by a collective effort. Blaming males for being aggressive or females for their dressing style is just circling around. Men need to start respecting a woman's freedom and women too need to practice healthy feminism. After all, Men aren't from Mars neither the Women from Venus. We were born together on this very planet and must learn to embrace each other!
