Into the Dutch Terretory…

Someone please show me some more people on the streets….

Shocked! In every sense of the word. I would never have thought myself in a world, so desperately devoid of people. No buzzing of horns, no groups of people haggling around on a tea stall, no tea stalls for that matter! Oh surely! I am surely not in India!

 

Instead I am in a land of absolute beauty. It seems as if each pebble in the city has been planned for its position. Dirty Streets? do they even exist? And sun; does it ever set? (well, we have already talked about it…, so not again). And above all, the people: This is what you call self discipline. Faces which smile as they look at you…maybe even say a Goedmorgen sometimes… Oh yes! this is a dreamland. Hats off to the Dutch for creating a small, wonderful land of theirs.

 

I must admit, it was me who stood in awe most of the times, understanding and appreciating this absolutely foreign culture; however it was interesting to see them fascinated about Indian terrains like Himalayas, Indian Mythology like the Ramayana and curiously enough, the Indian Marriage system. 🙂

 

It has been almost a week since I arrived here. I am still under a significant workload, so have not got a chance to visit Amsterdam or other parts of the Netherlands. Not much regrets for that as of now because I am still rejoicing the beauty of this super-organised world. More on the trips and experience in later posts. For the time being I leave you with the following snaps I took on the way from the University my the place of residence at Nijmegen.

 

 

 

 

Ya… the monotonicity of the colour of the houses confuses me a lot…

It has been the fourth time in six days today that is have entered the wrong building assuming it to be mine…

 

 

 

And yes, it rains too frequently here… (just wanted to share it as a fact)

Special No More

There were times with glitter and glory

People with pride narrated your story

You were too good to do a wrong

Flamboyant your flight; a flawless song

What happened to eyes which never looked back

Adoring your past, you lost your track?

Forgotten like an old folklore

How does it feel to be special no more?

Clipped are the wings, sky seems too high

Song missed its beat, have you wondered why?

Why is your smile shadowed with fear?

Do you fear the goals which don’t seem too clear?

Solitude from which great thoughts once rose

Why is it the same which rinses this prose?

Where gone is the cheer, the elation, the adore?

Have they disappeared as you are special no more?

Off to the Lowlands!

I am shocked; terribly shocked! I know, I was not expected to be so, but this factor just seemed to slip off my mind. Living in a tropical country like India, one merely gets the feeling of the days getting longer in the summers and shorter in the winters. However yesterday I incidentally had a look on the sunrise and sunset times in Netherlands and I was astonished. “How on earth can sun set at 10:00 PM at a place?” was the reaction. I am still unable to digest the fact that this can happen. Now you may call me stupid as I knew (since ages) that the poles have 6 months each of day and night; and this ‘change’ should not happen suddenly; but ya…my brain didn’t take that into account somehow. (By the way, now I can appreciate why Norway is called ‘the land of midnight sun’ 🙂 )

Anyways, I am off to Netherlands in a couple of days for a summer internship (for two months). So, most probably, next post will be from the land of men who conquered the sea. The budget is extremely tight but let us see what is in store there… Lots of work I guess…

Any suggestions for a first time abroad visitor?