Taking the recent incidents like the voting against the Iran on the nuclear issue, everyone would have thought that India would be voting in favor of Iran. It is always good if we can support the constructive decisions of any sovereign nation, but supporting any destructive designs on the sole pretext of defying one stubborn dominant nation is just foolishness. The foreign policies of US deserves to be condemned, no one has right to disrespect the sovereignty of any nation. The time has changed, the world too is changing for good, and everything is attaining a humane touch. But then, never was the world so much dominated by a single power. This will naturally arouse a rebel inside any potentially developed nation.

The software development, research, fabrication and a lot more are seeking the Indian service, not because we produce the high quality service but we provide highly cheap service. This reality is fully accepted by the either side through which we have put a virtual barricade around the strengthening currency value. It is logical to argue on why I should buy from you when they are competing to sell that to me cheaper, and this will sustain only if we sell them cheaply, perpetually. It can be aptly said that India is a global service provider, very cool accolade. India is almost a developed country; I agree globalization weakens the countries hold on the industries, but just looking back it is clear that they have brought more benefits and lesser difficulties when compared to some sluggish government ventures.

Pre nuclear and post nuclear atmosphere has changed the façade of the nation; we are known to be a pacific non-aggressive state. And being a nuclear power we have acquired additional responsibility in maintaining peace in the sub-continent. It could be well laughed at; we are surrounded by fire of intolerance and rage. Maoist rebellion in Nepal, LTTE in Srilanka, border issue with China and Pakistan, fencing the Bangladeshi border additional to the terrorist activities from within; being a nuclear country is not at all enough.

Putting it straight, a kind and noble country is a Utopia. Sensible and straightforward foreign policy is an unstable tangent on a round globe, the reality is that kayookkullavan karyakkaran (supreme is the powerful). Repeating the ancient proverb “barking dog never bites”, what United Nations to me is just a barking dog!

Bangalore’s rocketing road traffic deadlock is one of the impacts of this development. As per the statistics around 60 vehicles are pumped into these roads daily. In this era or maybe only in these kind of cities, where time is equated with dollars and pounds, it becomes unaffordable for the industry to waste time in a deadlock. Electronic city is supposed to be the heart of IT industry in Bangalore, unfortunately the only viable connection it has with Bangalore is through the strip called Hosur road, I ought to put it a narrow strip with respect to the number of vehicles flowing per day. It’s probably the busiest National highway in India and being used for domestic conveyances more than any interstate transportation, it remains active 24×7.

The silk board flyover has helped in easing the traffic a lot, but the bottle neck has shifted to the Bommanahalli junction. Mostly industrial workers, bus drivers, etc. live in this place and for the same reason there will be people traveling to and from this place throughout. Correctly speaking, it is not a junction; there is a pocket road which connects to the Hosur road from west and the deadlock happens when the vehicles, coming from the city, have to cross over both the lanes of Hosur road to enter this road. A possible solution would be a subway connecting the two service roads running along the Hosur road.

Again the problem persist on how worse could the traffic turn when the roads get blocked for repair or construction. Currently a flyover, across Hosur road, is in progress connecting the Sarjapur road with the Mysore road as part of the South eastern corridor project of NHAI. The bannerghatta road can then be accessed without meddling through the Bommanahalli or Silk board junction so is the case with Sarjapur road, I guess. Being a frequent commuter through these roads, I can’t find this as a solution to the Hosur road jams. This being the project under the NHAI I am not sure to what extends the state can interfere in it, but if this plan is shifted a 5-6 kms North the Bommanahalli deadlock could be bypassed. Again I am not fully aware of the topography of the Bommanahalli, how much feasible this would be etc.

For some time there were some rumor floating around on the corporate plans to assist the widening of the Hosur road, wherein the IT union will finance one-third of the cost to get Hosur road a six lane road. This was decided during the SM Krishna government, as the government changed the corporate where gently pushed off from all the development works in Bangalore, as clearly seen in the case of Airport muddle.

But there are a lot of people for whom the time spent in the bus is the only leisure time. Especially in case of Softies engaged to P4 comps and Dell monitors, it is heaven. With a good novel or a radio or a medium-hard Sudoku in hand, I prefer to forget any Bommanahalli or any flyover.

In Hyde Park Speakers’ Corner is generally considered to be the paved area close to Marble Arch but legally it extends as far as the Reform Tree, and also covers a large area of the adjacent parade ground.

Public riots broke out in the park in 1855, in protest over the Sunday Trading Bill – which forbade buying and selling on a Sunday which was – at that time – the only day working people had off. These riots were eagerly described by Karl Marx as the beginning of the English revolution.

The Chartist movement used Hyde Park as a point of assembly for workers’ protests but no permanent speaking location was established. The Reform League organised massive and violent protests in 1866 and 1867 which compelled the government to extend the franchise to include most working class men.

The riots and agitation for democratic reform encouraged some to force issue of the “right to speak” in Hyde Park. In 1872 the Royal Parks and Garden’s Act delegated the issue of permitting public meetings to the Park Authorities (rather than central government). Contrary to popular belief it does not confer a statutory basis for the right to speak at Speakers’ Corner. Parliamentary debates on the act illustrate that a general principle of being able to meet and speak was not the intention, but that some areas would be permitted to be used for that purpose.

Since that time it has become a traditional site for public speeches and debate as well as the main site of protest and assembly in Britain. There are some who contend that the tradition has a connection with the older Tyburn hanging gallows where the condemned man was allowed to speak his last words.

Although many of its regular speakers are distinctly non-mainstream, it has been frequented by such people as Karl Marx, Lenin, George Orwell and William Morris. Its existence is frequently upheld as a demonstration of the principle of free speech, as anyone can turn up unannounced and talk on almost any subject, though they are likely to be heckled by regulars.

The existence of a specific location where free speech is permitted is used as an excuse by the authorities to prohibit free speech in most public spaces in London, including the rest of Hyde Park and all other Royal Parks, where free speech is explicitly forbidden in written by-laws. In the late 19th century, for instance, a combination of park by-laws, use of the Highways Acts and abuse of venue licensing powers of the London County Council made it one of the few places where socialist speakers could meet and debate.

In 2003, the Park authorities, probably with the support of the Government, tried to ban a demonstration set for February 15 to stop the war in Iraq. This caused general uproar and forced a climb down; the demonstration was the largest in British history, with over 1 million people attending.

The nearest tube station is Marble Arch.

Paris nightlife is incomplete without a visit to the ‘historic’ Moulin Rouge. It’s a cabaret started in 1889 and still thriving. The entry will cost at least 100 Euros (about 6000INR), but we were ready for that. It was because of some confusion that we missed it the previous night and when we visited in the noon, Moulin Rouge was sleeping after a long night!

Adieu Paris

We walked through Champs Elysees to Arc de Triumphe again, but this time in Sun light rather than the glittering night light of Paris a few hours before. There are shops in the street that is open 24×7. We went inside one such perfume shop where security was tighter than that in a bank. The minimum price tag of 50 Euros (about INR 3000) for a small bottle obviously demands such security!

Without straining our pockets we continued to the Arc. This was to be the last spiral climbing we were to do that day in Paris. Climbing about 300 steps we reached on top of the 50-mtr high monument commissioned by Emperor Napoleon commemorating his victories. The Arc is situated in the middle of a junction of 12 roads and its view from Eiffel Tower was awesome.

Viewing the city from Eiffel is wonderful, but we were waiting for a view of Eiffel from a high point. Arc de Triumphe didn’t disappoint us!

Thus our tour was coming to an end at the Arc de Triumphe, like the world’s most famous cycling championship, Tour de France. We stayed for some time at the place best suited to bid adieu to the beautiful city of Paris and its landmark: Eiffel Tower.

Back to the nest

We reached Gare du Nord for our return Eurostar train to London. It amazing how easy its to travel from one country to another in Europe. If you have proper documents, formalities are a matter of minutes. We visited a few duty free shops before boarding the train, shelling a few Euros on two things that France is most famous for: Perfumes and Champagne!

This time Eurostar was flawless. We reached London perfectly in time and we took local trains back home, preparing for another week ahead and waiting for another weekend!

penned by Vineeth

Lending ourselves a bit more relaxation, we got up an hour later than planned and got ready for the first destination of the last day of our tour.

By 10:00 we reached one of the most beautiful churches we have seen, Basilica de Sacre Coeur. Situated on top of the hill Montemarte, Sacre Coeur is one of the highest points in the city landscape. The structure so white and serene caught our eyes so easily, but more was in store for us there.

The steps leading to the church was occupied with listeners and one musician was playing soothing tunes on his Harp. The musician in front of us, the valley behind us, the weather so soothing and climate so cool…it was really a picturesque view and a pleasent feeling. Small children were swaying and dancing, to the tune, around him.

We sat there hearing almost 4 or 5 songs, with Paris city in our eyes (set in Wide-Angle!) and nothing but the music in our ears. As we continued to the church, the first thing we did was to buy both the music CDs he had for sale.

As we entered, the whole church was standing for the Sunday Mass. The music played there was one of the most beautiful I have ever heard. The massive structure of the Basilica was creating an excellent atmosphere for the music. It brought the Salisbury Cathredal into my mind, which has similar acoustic effects and music.

We climbed on top of the Basilica, which gave us a great view of Paris City. By then we had become quite acquainted with the city landscape that we could pin point many of the city’s landmarks. Climbing spiral stairs had been one of the major activities for us in Paris…Notre Dames, Sacre Coeur and more climbing was waiting for us at Arc de Triumphe.

We climbed down Sacre Coeur and had our lunch in an Indian restaurant. Leaving Paris without tasting French wine was impossible. So we ordered a bottle of French White wine. Even the ‘Amul Babies’ in the team tasted it!

We headed towards our final destination of climbing Arc de Triumphe, but there was some thing on the way that we didn’t want to miss…

penned by Vineeth

Like most of the cities in Europe, Paris also developed in the banks of a beautiful river Siene. With Eiffel towering behind us, we boarded a boat for the well-known Siene Cruise.

Sun was setting quickly behind Eiffel and moon was catching up with the tower, setting the perfect background for our cruise. As it became darker, we now knew why Paris is called the City of Lights. It was literally glittering in light.

French passion for art is incomparable. The number of museums and art galleries emphasise this. Even some ordinary bridges across Siene have been made so beautifully that they no longer remain ordinary. Another interesting work of art is how Parisians have designed the gates of Tube stations. Of course you have to give some consideration to artists, who call their work: modern art.

One unique sight along the cruise was a gathering on the banks of Siene where musicians were playing with their instruments and couples were dancing to the tune. It’s nice to see how Europeans enjoy a relaxed life, particularly in the summer weekends. This is particularly so with French. I heard that they are thinking of shifting to a 4 working-day-a-week schedule!

Avenue de Champs Elysees (Avenue of the Champions)

We got down from the cruise at Port de Champs Elysees to make our way to the most famous road in the city Champs Elysees.

The 2KM straight road connects Place de la Concorde near the Louvre museum to Arc de Triumphe and is the largest shopping area in the city. We reached Arc de Triumphe hoping to see the city in lights from the 50-mtr high structure commissioned by Emperor Napoleon. But it was late by then. Not strange as it was midnight already, but the city was still throbbing with life.

We ordered our dinner at a shop, later to find that it was a take away shop. Thus we had our dinner on the street benches of the glittering Champs Elysees, a befitting end to the day on which we walked about 20kms. We slowly turned back to our cemetery…oops hotel!

penned by Vineeth

The bus ride was interesting, especially when it took the turns, we thought we were going to barge in on some vehicles, since in France it was left-hand drive. Throughout the ride we had arguments whether we were going forward in the correct direction or tracing back to the Louvre. But that was soon discharged because the imposing figure of the Eiffel Tower loomed large before us. Miraculously, when set down at the Champs du Mars bus stop, the rain had stopped and the clouds were clearing.

Champs du Mars, was a garden in front of the Eiffel Tower, and provided a perfect ambience to the steel giant. Champs du Mars also provided a great view of the tower. The sun hadn’t come out completely so the lighting was not there to capture Eiffel in its true beauty, but we were grateful that it was not raining. After a round of photography using 4 different cameras, it was time to scale the tower.

Paris is a city with a blend of History and Modernity, Religion and Science. Elegant examples of both existed in this wonderful city. But what we often miss out is that, very often they co-exist within the same monument. Eiffel was an exception though, in that it was completely dedicated to science. The first floor of the tower has the names of famous scientists of that era written on the sides of it. The structure itself was a exceptional piece of architecture, the number of trusses and riveting that must have gone into its construction is mind boggling. Although Eiffel is the youngest of the monuments in Paris, at a little more than 120 years, it does have a some piece of history attached with it. During the 2nd world war Paris was captured by the Axis powers led by Germany. In late 1941, when the Allied forces led by USA drove the axis powers out of Paris, they established a communication tower on top of the Eiffel tower to announce to the world that Paris was free once again.

After much awe of the tower, we decided let’s stand in the queue for the tickets lest we miss the sight from the top of Eiffel also. By this time the sun was definitely out and we were all ready to bask in the sunlight – atop the Eiffel. After standing in the queue for about 1/2 an hour we boarded the lift which will take us to the top. We got down at the 2nd floor. My oh.. my, at 2nd floor itself we were feeling as tough we were with the clouds, and we were just half way up. Another round of photography ensued, every one of us marvelling at the sight before. Paris looked bathed in sunlight. After spending about 1/2 an hour at the second floor, we headed upwards – to the destination which appealed to us the most, to the destination which was one of the sole causes we embarked upon this, to the top of Eiffel tower.

When we got down at the top floor, we were in for a rude shock. The place where we set down was like a glass cage. We didn’t travel this far to see the city from a glass cage!!. Our hopes were restored when we saw the steps upward on top of this room, all of us heaved a sigh of relief. Finally we climbed up – to the top of Eiffel tower. Truly the feeling was like standing on top of the world. I think that feeling says it all about the experience there. We were running around the top in circles, taking snaps from every possible angle. And by the time we had a look at our watches, it was already an hour on top. It was like that time had flown.

We wanted to get a glimpse of the Paris in night lights from the Eiffel, but Sun had no intention of going back home! So we obliged and started climbing down, lest we miss the chance to feel the vibe of the city……

penned by loch

After a truly memorable visit to Musee du Louvre and a rendezvous with the works of the who’s who in the arts and culture world, it was time for a reality check. After dragging ourselves and our minds out of the treasure-trove that was Louvre, we were drenched in the reality of this harsh world – literally!. It was raining in Paris.

Determined not to let the damp outside dampen our spirits, we set off to the next destination in our itinerary – La Cathedral de Notre Dame. Yes, the very same cathedral immortalised by the novel and the movie – Hunchback of Notre Dame. The cathedral was built over a 1000 years ago and is situated at the eastern corner of an island on the river Siene, overlooking the Louvre. It had to be said that even in the pouring rain the majesty and grandeur of the cathedral was on full display. The imposing structure consisted of two giant cuboidal columns having a girth of around 40 metres and a height of 50-60 metres. Behind the two giant columns, almost hidden from the view stood a spire of the same height. If the cathedral was so striking in the rain, we could only imagine how it would have looked in the sun.

After seeing the view from the outside, we were even more surprised to witness the calm and placid interiors. The decorations inside were of typical medieval French flavour, complete with intricate stained glass works to the pre-renaissance sculptures (after all, a visit to the Louvre had made us all art experts). Like many of the churches here in this part of the world, there were no artificial lighting in the middle aisle of the church. The side walkways were glowing bright with the candles lit by the thousands of devotees who visit this church everyday. Though it has to be said that the sanctity of the church was under threat with the continuos onslaught of tourists. After a memorable walk within the church raising our spirits, we decided it was time to go one level up.

Although, Notre Dame is one of the most famous cathedrals in France and also the world, only a few know that for very many years it was the tallest man made structure in Paris. From the top of the columns it provided a very good vantage point. The climb to the top of the columns was a strenuous one, through a dingy and narrow spiral staircase. It would have been a wonderful sight had it been sunny outside, but alas it was pouring outside and the visibility was very poor. We somehow managed to climb the creaky wooden steps to the bell tower. Inside was a huge bell, by far the biggest we have ever seen in our lives, weighing several tonnes. It was simply mind boggling to imagine how on earth did people a 1000 years ago managed to lift a thing so heavy so high up. This apart, the view from the top was by no means even close to what it could have been. It was definitely the ‘lowest’ point in our trip and we had missed a wonderful experience. The walk down was slow, all of us discontent for missing the superb view. It was time to depart from The Notre dame.

Our next stop – The monument that makes Paris – Paris. The Eiffel Tower. We decided to walk to Eiffel Tower from the Notre Dame, hoping to catch a firsthand glimpse of the Parisian life. Though we had to brave the rain, which had reduced to a drizzle, the walk along the banks of Seine was enjoyable. After walking for about a mile we decided to experience the Paris Bus ride.

penned by Loch