Up In The Air

Which can be a calmer place to write than 38127 ft above earth? Yes, I am writing this post on my way to Mumbai in the Jet airways flight. Its a direct flight from Brussels to Mumbai. So I don’t have to waste my time in getting down at some airport, waiting at the transit, again going through the security and once again waiting for the plane to take off. It’s my first direct flight and I am totally enjoying it.

I just finished watching Ishqiya and thought of starting Karthik Calling Karthik. But then I controlled myself. I am the worst movie buff one can ever find. In my last Emirates flight from Duesseldorf to Dubai, I watched three movies one after the other. By the time I reached Dubai, I had started convincing myself ‘No Gouri, its all in your mind. you are not gonna have the migraine. Try and divert your attention..’ But I couldn’t fool myself and bore the punishment of my stupidity. That was one of the most terrific flight experience I ever had. I couldn’t even eat the delicious food of Emirates. Ofcourse, as soon as I reached Mumbai I felt good and even better as I saw my Dad, sister and brother approaching me.

Although I have travelled quite a bit in last one and half year, I am not yet used to form an opinion about the airports. It was an exciting experience when I started it after marriage. I can never forget the journey to Germany, the Duesseldorf airport, Duesseldorf train station and finally the first time I saw that loveliest house in Oberhausen. Later, when I travelled back to India with Turkish airlines, it was an chaotic exoerience. First, the flight from Duesseldorf to Istanbul was pretty late. Then even the flight from Istanbul to Mumbai was extremely late. Even while coming back, it happened the same. When we reached the Istanbul airport, it was already the last call for the Duesseldorf flight. And like typical Indians we had loads of luggage in our hands (Don’t know when we Indians will learn the funda of ‘travelling light’). To top it, we had been to The Village the previous night and with the usual donno-when-will-I-get-it-again attitude I ate till I couldn’t eat more. Result…bad stomach…in the flight!!! Nothing can match that irritation and that embarrassment! And with all that heavy luggage and a disturbed stomach I had to sprint. Phew….what a worst flight experience it was. I truly wish, I never have to travel with Turkish airlines again.

Airports can be extremely boring, especially while travelling alone. My worst memory is of waiting at the Mumbai airport for the Emirates flight. To entertain(???) the waiting passengers there are TVS, which air news channels,  at all boarding gates of Mumbai airport. That day, to provide the worst experience, the Aaj Tak channel was on. Grrrr! What a bullshit channel it is. Either they think that, they can make good humour (which is an award winning overconfidence) or they just simply fool around. I want to salute the people who regularly watch that channel. What an incredible patience they do have! Coming back to the topic.. against my wish my mind was getting distracted to the news(?) again and again. Well, because they were broadcasting a very interesting news..how a MP (Member of Parliament) humiliated a government employee. He entered the office, called that employee in a very arrogant manner and slapped him. The news was limited to just three sentences. But come on…if it doesn’t sensationalise, it will not be Aaj Tak! They showed a camera recording of how that MP entered and the way he called that employee ‘E Kala Jacket…idhar aa.’. Showed once..twice..thirice…ok enough, I diverted my attention….’E Kala Jacket’….the loud voice again caught my attention and I again diverted my mind….’E Kala Jacket’…attention caught..mind diverted…’E Kala Jacket’…attention caught..mind diverted…’E Kala Jacket’…attention caught..mind diverted…aaaaaaaaaa….I was fuming. The way their repeating that scene was a bigger humiliation to that government employee than the actual incident!!

But I cannot deny the fact that, airport is one of the best places to observe people. At the European airports, normally the crowd is with light luggage, elegant handbags, comfortable travelling clothes. At Indian airports, the crowd is with a-little-bit-more-than-a-human-can-carry luggage, decked up women, big queues and so on. Once at the Goa airport, I went to the WC. There was one cleaning lady doing her usual work. While I was freshening up, there came a foreign lady. Suddenly this cleaning lady, who was quiet till now, started welcoming her and asked whether she can assist her in any way. I was shocked. This lady didn’t say a word to me,then why so much of a curtsy to a foreign national. I didn’t expect her to assist me, but this attitude of neglecting her own countrywomen and licking the shoes of a foreign woman was quiet disgusting. Probably her experience taught her the better chance of getting a tip from foreigners. So may be she was not totally wrong. But she was already getting a salary for her work, then she should have treated everyone equal.

So on and so forth..these air journeys are full of experiences. Although I can go on and on telling my experiences, I have to stop for the time being since my laptop is soon gonna sleep. I mean, the battery is almost finished. Three hours and one minute to reach…my dear Mumbai, I am coming!!

Brussels – Taking Good Memories Along

Today is my last day in Brussels. I never ever thought, I will feel bad while leaving this city. In my first visit, it didn’t appeal to me much. I was not very happy to shift here from Germany. Neither did I have any friends here nor did I know the languages to communicate with anyone. People thought, ‘Wow, lucky girl…she is getting to see two countries in such a short time span.’ But only I knew my struggle here. So I was rather happy to finally leave this city….till that moment.

Yesterday, I went to the Grand Place for some last moment shopping. This was one rare place where I liked to be whenever I wanted to roam around. First the huge appearance of La Bourse and then the incredibly elegant square of Grand Place. At any time in the day, there were large number tourists photographing the fab architectures around. I too loved clicking my camera here so much. Yesterday, lost in my own thoughts about the packing left , I walked fast to complete my shopping as soon as possible. But when I entered the Grand place square, unknowingly I slowed down. I had loved this place so much. As usual many tourists were there. Most of them photographing their partners with the background of Grand Place. And that was the moment….I halted for a fraction of second and looked around…Grand Place, one of the world heritage sites…appeared absolutely outstanding with all the flower decorated windows and pillars. I sighed… ‘will I miss this place?’…a small tear popped up in my eyes…and that’s it. It was only for that moment, I felt bad. 

So much I wanted to write about Brussels. I had even started a series of articles on my blog. But writing reflects moods. Because of some sour experiences here, I totally lost the motivation to write. But definitely, I cannot deny the fact that, it was here I got some of the best experiences in my life. Like on that evening…

I was coming back home after a heavy workout in the Friskis&Svettis. I took a tram till Montgomery metro station and then came out on the Montgomery Square to catch another tram to my home. I could see the imposing Cinquantenaire Triumphal Arch from here. I always loved the feeling of staying near this incredible architecture. Every time I travelled to my home from Montgomery, the tram took a turn in front of these arches and I got to see a wonderful view. The beauty of these arches is not only in its grand architecture, but also in it’s huge back ground of Sky. As the shades of sky change, the gate looks different.

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That day, as I observed these arches from Montgomery tram stop, they looked nice as usual. It took me some time to recognise the setting Sun at its left side.

But as I saw, inadvertently I started walking towards the arches. Neither my vocabulary is enough to describe the spectacular scene nor my N73 camera was enough to capture the beauty. But as I approached the arches, I couldn’t stop clicking. As the Sun set, first it appeared prominently on the top..

…then it touched the left corner of the arches..

..then appeared in the first arch..

..then in the second…

..and finally it set

 

That was one unforgettable experience for me!!!!! I had already reached next tram stop, Merode, and my tram was gone. There was no point waiting for the next one and I walked the distance of 1.5 km to my house. Any other time, I would not have even thought about it..especially after the workout. But that evening was surely different!!

Then came the experience of Tervuren, about which I have already written in A Wet Green Birthday. Tervuren and Grand Place were the two places I loved going to. Grand Place, when I needed crowd around and Tervuren, when I wished to spend time with myself.

One more very interesting site in Brussels is the place of Atomium, Mini-Europe, The Village, Brupark and Kinepolis multiplex. These all are at a walking distance from each other. Kinepolis is the largest multiplex in Brussels. The Village is set up like a traditional Belgian village with many restaurants. Brupark is a amusement park. However, Atomium and Mini-Europe are most interesting among these. Atomium is a monument with 9 steel spheres connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Mini-Europe is the collection of miniatures of all the important monuments in European Union.

The view of Brussels from the top sphere of the Atomium is indeed great

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But what one should not miss is the view of Mini-Europe from the top sphere of Atomium 

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And then the Atomium from Mini Europe. The exciting part is that, one can capture many great European monuments with the background of Atomium

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I even had picturesque city views from my house..of the snowfall…of the sunsets..of the traditional as well as modern buildings in Brussels

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Even the metro stations of Brussels are unique. Every station has got its own identity, own character. Some stations with a cave like appearance, some with designs of mehandi, some with floral designs and so an.

I stayed here for pretty 8 months. But still I wonder, I have not seen Brussels totally. The typical tourist attractions in Brussels are many. But one has to stay here for a long time to really see this city. Apart from the great places, its also a heaven for chocolate lovers. The fresh Belgian chocolates are absolutely yummy and uncomparable. And the Flemish lacework…oh my my!!! Yesterday if I had all my investments in the form of cash, I would have gone bankrupt. The lace work and handicraft here can make women go shopaholic. The only unappealable thing sometimes is the unfriendliness of the sales women. Their attitude reminds me the Pune shopkeepers….’we have best of the things…take it or leave’!

I also had a very good time in Friskis&Svettis. It was some different concept than the conventional gyms. There were different kinds of sessions from strength building to dance forms. Every session had one instructor. She stood in the middle and we all circled around her and did the exercises. It was a fun time. I was surprised to see very old people doing all the exercises (sometimes even better than me!!).

And finally, as I said in my first post about Brussels is all about it’s experiences. Today, when I am wrapping up my good memories in Brussels, I made a new friend here. She lives just one floor above me, but I didn’t meet her in last 8 months.  And today, on the last day, I met her coincidently! While talking she mentioned her son’s hobby of collecting coins. So I gave her a Rs. 2 coin and Rs. 10 note and with a exchange of emails we decided to stay in touch. Brussels had decided to give me this gift of one more good memory, so that I do not complain about not having friends here.

Brussels…I do not know, whether I will miss you. But I whenever I will remember you, I will only remember the good memories..

My First Portraits

Making portraits has always appealed to me quite a lot . I like observing the people around while travelling. People with different expressions, different attitudes. Its very interesting to capture the moods in lenses. Long I wished to shoot a proper portfolio of someone.  Though this wish is not fulfilled yet, last week I got two beautiful models for my clicks.

My sisters, Shivangi and Aditi. They were here on a Europe tour and I grabbed this opportunity to click them as much as possible to make wonderful portraits. None could have offered me more picturesque moods than these two bubbly girls! Later I thought, why not make videos with some music which will suit their personalities. After a lot of patience and efforts, I really loved the work I did.

For Shivangi, I needed some soft music. Aicha (English version) is one of my most favourite songs. I thought it would perfectly suit Shivangi’s shy and sweet personality. So I started putting her photos to the tune of Aicha. Oh my my….as I finished, I felt as if that song was written only for her…

So sweet, so beautiful
Everyday like a queen on her throne
Don't nobody knows how she feels…..that’s perfectly Shivangi!!!!

For Aditi, I needed a rocking music. Because when she is around, life feels happening. She has her own opinions..she is rebellious.. and she is a tough girl!!!  Yet she is witty…very adorable… and extremely naughty. In short, she is a complete RoCk StAr!!!! And so is Alizee. I have been a huge fan of Alizee since long. It’s not only her voice that is incredible, but also her liveliness and spirit. And hence, I thought her song is a perfect suit for Aditi!! Undoubtedly, she gave me best of the poses to make a wonderful portrait.

Though, not all the photos in these videos are taken by me, most of them are. What I enjoyed the most was tuning their moods to the music. At the end, I was very happy with my work and ofcourse with my models.

Thank you girls for the lovely portraits!!!

A Wet Green Birthday

It was my birthday and I had decided to give myself a treat. A treat in my own way. An unforgettable experience. What could have been better for me than a day spent with nature..

That day it was raining like cats and dogs in Brussels. I just wondered, how the route of tram 44 might be looking in that beautiful rain. I had always loved travelling on that route. Tram 44 took us through nice avenues with beautiful houses and trees on both the sides, then alongside a calm lake, then through a dense forest and finally to its last stop, Tervuren, totally surrounded by greenery . It was indeed a treat to my eyes. I thought, I will just travel till the Tervuren and take the same tram back. I took my camera and proceeded to my treat.

As the tram started from Montgomery, I could sense the pleasant climate all around. Umm..I was absolutely loving that feeling. My favourite route was totally wet and looking all the more beautiful. I tried taking some photos, but could only capture rain drops running on the tram windows. So I just decided to rest my head on the windows and enjoy the outstanding wet scenery. 

As I got down on Tervuren, the astonishing surroundings literally took my breath away. It was a charismatic feel. In a magnetic influence, I came out of the tram stop and started walking ahead. Within 5 minutes I reached the huge big gate of African Museum. I had always seen this museum and the French garden around from outside, but never went in. That day when I entered there, I felt as if I was in a different world. Because unbelievably, in that huge garden there was hardly anyone else except me. It was only me and the greenery!

I started walking in and one after other, breathtaking views unfolded to my eyes. I couldn't stop capturing every single view in my camera. The huge architecture of African Museum was looking all the more grand and French Garden was spreading glorious lush beauty all around. I passed through a small lake and a tiny bridge. The more I went in, the more breathtaking views I saw. There were beautiful birds all around. As I approached them, they jumped in water. I absolutely loved their chirping. 

I saw a cute small bird and was trying to secretly capture him/her in my lenses, when suddenly my phone rang.  It was my Mom, wishing me a happy birthday. I was too happy to receive her call at that place. I felt as if she was there with me. As I was talking to her, suddenly I big bird came and fearlessly stood in front of me. What a curvy bird it was! Oh my my!! With mobile in left hand, I had to capture his/her movements only with right hand. S/he was beautiful, unafraid, and charismatic! After some time his/her partner approached and as they took leap towards the sky, his/her legs splashed the water. I really wish I could capture that scene.

Then I went towards the other side of the bridge. It was a beautiful path surrounded by dense forest of green trees on one side and maroon trees alongside the lake on the other. The trees alongside the lake bent down so much that they almost touched the water. Then I don't remember how much I walked and when I came back. It was indeed a magnetic experience. 

When I came back home and saw the photos on big screen, I was happy that it was indeed an unforgettable birthday! 

It was really a different day. Because later, I went there again so many times. But it was never so lonely. Of course the beauty was still astonishing, but the feeling of being alone at that place was uncomparable. Then I made this video to cherish my wonderful memories...the first ever collage of my photos and I absolutely love it!!