A week of bright summery
London days melted my pre-conceived images of London..toppled my ‘highbrowed’
disgust for ‘typical touristy London’…and definitely brought out the sunshine
in me!
London city wooed me like
an Englishman..with its airs, its style, its traditionalism, its English
manners and of course its old time charm! There is something about the summery
sunny days of London which doesn’t set till the wee hours of the ‘Indian night
time. Within a day of landing – I purchased the one thing that you can’t do
without in London – the ‘tube’ pass and with the power of a tube pass in-hand,
I conquered the city with the ‘thirst of the Empire’J!The
city is beautifully connected - it’s road, rail network’s tentacles reaching the
far and farther and the wide and the wider corners of London and its suburbs!
You do not need more than a few minutes to figure out the ‘tube layout’ and
then you are on a joyride- hopping-on and hopping-off the trains and exploring
the beauty and myriad streets of the city.
My first haunt was the
sleepy town of Greenwich…made famous by the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) that we
all follow..I took the customary snap at the ‘grand GMT median’ which defines
time and tide for all global citizens! But what I loved more was the astounding
view from the observatory…autumn coloured paths and pastures..pretty British
structures and amazing skylines! And I rambled along the quaint little streets
and passed by the little ‘fish and chips’ shops and antiques, aimless and
content. A stroll around the signature ‘Cutty Sark’ ship and an indigo sunset
view of the skyline was worth the long walk. And when I thought I had seen it
all, I stumbled upon an old run-down antique bookshop that caught my
imagination…the musty smell of hardbound books intoxicated me and I ended up
buying a vintage Pride & Prejudice copy to carry home!
Another week of work and
commute took me through the ‘glassy’ ‘Wall Streety’ views of Canary Wharf where
sky scrapers were in perfect harmony with the waters and the docks! The weekend
was well spent in ticking off the various touristy items on the ‘must-do London
map’..but the sights of Big Ben, London Eye etc. had been so seen before…so
many Bollywood dames have romanced and danced through the landmarks that it
didn’t yield the kind of awe that probably should have been felt. But those
landmarks apart, I cherished the moments spent exploring Covent Garden and its
numerous local markets…digging into a ‘Jacket Potato’ while tiny shows and
performances entertained the summer crowds and where pigeons flitted and landed
on the cobbled streets of London.
The one last item on my
wish list was accomplished before the evening of my departure – a live
performance at her Majesty’s theater of the Phantom of the Opera…a true
performance that captures the spirit of London Theater and combines musical
ecstasy with theatrical extravagance and tops it off with solid performances that
stimulated my senses. Work and pleasure
completed – I was off to India when I had a quick stop at my dear old
Muscat..the Muscat of my childhood and adolescent days! Whilst all passengers
fretted about the small airport and the long wait for their outbound flights, I
merrily experienced the familiar sights of ‘Sultan Qaboos’, ‘Nido’ tins, ‘Oman
chips’ packets…the aromatic smells of dates and incense..my entire Omani
childhood memories came alive and I crushed into an emotional bundle as the
flight purred and roared away from the desert city of Muscat!
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