Travel Shot: The Bored Woman of Gloucester Cathedral

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August 1, 2009: The Bored Woman of Gloucester Cathedral

The trip to Gloucester Cathedral happened by chance. Our tour group was on its way to Wales from London and Gloucester was a pit stop for the bus driver to have a smoke and stretch his legs. Since we had made good time, our tour guide generously allowed us an hour in Gloucester and suggested either exploring the Gloucester docks, or visiting the Cathedral. I opted for the latter.

A 15 minute walk and a fast trot later I was at the beautiful Gloucester Cathedral admiring its beautiful architecture, graceful columns and stunning stained glass windows, Then suddenly the above relief caught my eye. I had a tough time controlling my laughter. In a place where one comes across expressions of piety, even severity, this bored “whatever” expression was a real eye-catcher ! The inscription for this rather quirky relief was in Latin, a language I do not know. All I could figure out was that it was a memorial for a person named “Margerie” who died in April 1623.

I tried to find out more about the “bored woman” on the Cathedral website, but not find anything there. In case you do come across any information on her, you will let me know, won’t you?

The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival: A metaphor for Mumbai

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Tomorrow is the last day of Mumbai’s much-loved and much awaited annual Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF). The Festival is organised by the Kala Ghoda Association, a not-for-profit organisation, with the aim of “physically upgrading the Kala Ghoda sub-precinct and making it the Art District of Mumbai”. All events of the KGAF are held within a one kilometre radius of the Kala Ghoda area in South Mumbai.

The KGAF makes space for all kinds of arts and through its various components ensures participation of a very large cross-section of the population. According to the Festival’s website,

The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is an expression of the inclusiveness of art where all gather in a joyous spirit of celebration of the finest talents producing momentous and uplifting work.

In its 13th year now, the KGAF 2011 had children’s events, workshops, literary events, heritage walks, film screenings, theatre, music, and dance performances, and a street festival as well. In addition to all these events, artists from across the country set up stalls to showcase and sell their products.

An art installation of a cow depicting scenes from “A Day in the Life of India”

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Learning Arabic

Posted on by sudhagee

I love languages. I love everything about them—their sound, grammar, script, variations across regions, its provenance, accents, colloquial usage, swear words… everything (and no, SMS language is not included here!). It’s no surprise then that languages were my favourite subjects in school.

My fascination with languages continues even today long after I have finished school and college. But somehow I did not attempt to enroll for any language course, Indian or foreign, after my formal education. There were a couple of failed, informal attempts to learn Urdu, but they never really took off.

Arabic Calligraphy on an artefact in the Islāmic Room of the British Museum in London

Around the time I started working, I got interested in calligraphy art and through that I got introduced to the beautiful Arabic script. Its flowing script, the fluid patterns it made, not to mention that it was written from right to left only fuelled my fascination for and the desire to learn the language. My attempts at trying to find an Arabic teacher in Mumbai were not really successful, in the sense that I did find teachers willing to teach me Classical Arabic (which would have helped me read the Qur’an), but not Standard Arabic (that is everyday Arabic), which is what I wanted to learn.

Then one day, in August 2008, the opportunity to learn Arabic literally arrived at my doorstep, or to be more specific in my inbox. I won a scholarship to do a Master’s programme in a London-based university. Among the various information packs that I was bombarded with received from the university, before I left for London in September 2008, was one on studying a foreign language there. And guess, which was one of the languages being offered? ARABIC:-)

After I had registered for the Arabic language course and on the eve of my first class, the long-awaited anticipation of learning Arabic wavered due to some serious doubts about my own ability and expectations. Learning a language as a child and learning it as an adult are two entirely different processes. Would I be able to manage? Would I have a good teacher? Would I enjoy learning Arabic? What if I hated it?…

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Tears of joy and sorrow in Milan: All in a day’s trip

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This post won the Indiblogger Cleartrip “My Purpose” Contest. 🙂

It is 5.20 am on a rainy May morning in 2009 and I am at Geneva Railway Station. My train to Milan is due in 10 minutes, and with me is Karim, a friend and my travel companion for the trip. I am so full of anticipation and barely suppressed excitement that I pace the platform and check the station clock every 15 seconds or so. As the clock strikes 5.30, our train rumbles into the station with legendary Swiss precision. We get into our compartment, find our pre-booked seats, settle down with wide grins at each other, and then we’re off.

At the Milan Centrale Stazione

This is to be a day trip to Milan, with both of us returning to Geneva that evening itself. Considering that we have only a few hours in Milan, my focus and purpose for the trip is to see the Milan Cathedral, and to view da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” in its original form. Anything else that we see would be a bonus.

The train ride from Geneva to Milan is very picturesque on both the Italian and Swiss sides, and we pass through some of the most beautiful and colourful towns and cities that I have seen. It is raining throughout our journey, but our enthusiasm at the prospect of a day in Milan is unaffected by such mundane things. 😉

It is 9.30 am when we get off the train at the Milano Centrale Stazione. We quickly orient ourselves with a map and decide to head to the Piazza del Duomo, where the Milan Cathedral is located. All major sights are within walking distance from the Piazza, including that of  “The Last Supper”. After a 15-minute metro rail ride from Centrale Stazione,  we are at the Piazza del Duomo.

It is 10 am when we get off the metro. As I climb the stairs to exit the station and enter the Piazza, the Cathedral comes into view little by little. With each step that I climb, a little more of the Cathedral is revealed. This unveiling of the Duomo di Milano or the Milan Cathedral is something that will stay with me for ever.

The front façade of the Milan Cathedral as viewed from the subway exit

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A walk in the sky – 1: Bandra Skywalk

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Over the last 2 years or so, elevated pedestrian walkways connecting suburban railway stations to nearby commercial areas have been sprouting all over Mumbai. Known as skywalks, the first one was inaugurated at the Kalanagar junction of the Western Express Highway in 2008. Today, many more are functional all over Mumbai. Somehow, I never got a chance to take a walk in one of these till last Saturday. I was on my way from Vashi to Borivali via Bandra.

It was 9.30 in the morning when my bus from Vashi deposited me near the Hill Road exit of the Bandra Skywalk. I had to walk up to Bandra Station to take a train to Borivali. From where I stood on the road, the skywalk was lit up by the mellow January morning sun making it irresistibly welcoming. Not to mention the fact I would encounter no traffic at all on the skywalk!

Walking on a skywalk is actually quite surreal. It is quite unlike travelling on a flyover or an elevated road in a fast-moving vehicle, while the world around you appears to be stationary. The skywalk’s experience is quite the opposite with you being stationary with the world rushing by. I could get a bird’s-eye view of the Bandra Talao as well as a peek into the BEST Bus depot—places that one would not get to see with such a perspective. I felt like I was suspended somewhere up in the sky, not altogether an unpleasant feeling. Thankfully, the skywalk did not pass near residences or I would have felt like a voyeur, the way I do whenever I travel on the JJ flyover or the Sion flyover in Mumbai!

So, what are you waiting for? Come, take a walk with me in the sky at Bandra 🙂

Bandra Skywalk from Hill Road to Bandra Station

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My ‘now’ song: Phir wohi raaste

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Do you ever have a song, an idea, a storyline, or an image stuck in your head? And it just refuses to go away? For some time at least. I have this with music—it could be a song, an instrumental piece, a jingle, etc. This becomes my ‘now’ song, and the ‘nowness’  (pardon my English here) could be for any length of time.

 My ‘now’ song is Phir wohi raaste sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali from the film Ramchand Pakistani.

I first heard this song on a cold, cold day in December 2008 in London. I was surfing YouTube when I came across the title of the film. That immediately caught my attention and on exploring further, I came across this song. When I heard the flawless rendition by the incomparable Shafqat Amanat Ali, I was hooked. Every part of the song appealed to me—the lyrics by Anwar Maqsood, the music by Surya Mitra, and of course the way it was sung. Since then, Shafqat Amanat Ali has become one of my favourite singers.

At that time, the appeal in this song lay in its ability to connect with my homesickness. Today, I am back home and I am not homesick. Yet, the appeal of this song endures in a way that I cannot explain or describe here. All I can say is that if you have heard this song before, why don’t you listen to it once again here? If you haven’t, then experience this song right here.

Enjoy 🙂