England – Page 3 – My Favourite Things

Travel Shot: Graduation day

Posted on May 10, 2011March 24, 2012 by sudhagee

I love seeing students in their graduation/convocation gowns, robes, cloaks, shawls, what-have-yous that makes me go all part-sentimental, part envious. That’s because I never got to attend either of my two post-graduate convocation ceremonies—the first because the University only invited the prize winners and I wasn’t one; and the second was a degree awarded by a London-based university, and I had already returned to India by then.

So it’s no wonder then, that 3 of my favourite photographs from my collection are around the theme of graduation day in Cambridge, when I visited this University town in April 2009. Cambridge was buzzing with excited and serious students, proud and happy parents, beaming teachers, and in the midst of all this bewildered tourists arriving by the busload every minute.

I was all set to hit the “sights” of Cambridge when I came across the graduates, dressed in their robes. And I slowed down immediately just to watch them. And yes, photograph them, too, from the ground and from the air. 😀

Red, Blue and White — Graduating students in different coloured robes. Wonder what level of qualification each colour represents

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The golden city of Bath

Posted on March 28, 2011June 5, 2014 by sudhagee

Bath is a rather funny name for a city, isn’t it? I first came across the city of Bath in Charles Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers, and later in Jane Austen’s novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Over the years I “visited Bath” through other stories, essays, films, paintings and photographs, and discovered a deliciously decadent life of leisure and luxury, fashion, intrigue, matchmaking, music, dance, poetry… I further discovered Bath’s history of healing and curing through its mineral rich, hot water springs. In fact, archaeological evidence exists of the waters of Bath being used for healing purposes since pre-Roman times. In 1987, Bath was declared a UNESCO Word Heritage Site.

When I spent a year in London in 2008-2009, Bath was on my list of “must see places before return to India”. And on one beautiful July day in 2009, I set off for a day trip to Bath, organised by London Walks. It was a day that the English, rather mistakenly, call an Indian summer’s day—pleasantly sunny with a cool breeze and intermittent light showers. A lovely day to travel and ~~have a bath in~~ walk around Bath. 🙂

Located in the green and gold Somerset countryside of England, my first impression of Bath, or Bath Spa as the city is called now, was that it did not look or feel like England at all—it had a very European air about the place. The River Avon flows through Bath and it is the first thing that you see when you come out of the station.

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Travel Shot: The red line

Posted on January 13, 2011March 24, 2012 by sudhagee

I saw this row of red buses all lined up at a signal at Trafalgar Square, while I was waiting for a bus on the opposite side to take me to Baker’s Street. The buses contrasted beautifully with the grey of the buildings, Nelson’s column and the road, as well as the cloudy blue sky.

And before I knew it, I was digging into my backpack for the camera. 🙂

A special friend

Posted on July 31, 2010December 5, 2011 by sudhagee

Sometimes, in this journey called life, one meets people who are there with you for only a short while, almost as if they were on a specific purpose—that of making a positive difference to your life. I met one such person in the very first week of a year-long stay in London—Mohand.

But before I tell you more about Mohand, a little background information…

The year in London is, perhaps, the most memorable year of my life, in more ways than one. And one of them was searching for affordable, vegetarian food that I could manage within my limited scholarship allowance. I could have cooked in the communal kitchen in the place where I stayed, but I could not stomach the sight and smell of meat, chicken, fish, etc.

Rajshri, a friend & colleague from work, was already in London on a short-term visit when I arrived. A vegetarian herself, she had done quite a bit of research on vegetarian food joints in Central London and introduced me to some of them. The Cafe le Midi, on 23 Warren Street, was one such place, and we would meet up for lunch on Saturdays there. Rajshri soon returned to India, but I continued going to the Cafe every Saturday for lunch.

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