I completed a month in the capital city of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland(London, in short) on May 10, Tuesday. By the 12th of May i moved into my place, which was long due, and as of today i am a legal tenant residing at 26, Offley Road, Oval, London. My land lady, who stays right above above is an Australian and is a graphic designer by profession. I was exhausted of a substantial amount of my time and energy in my efforts to find a place to stay. The question of "how" shall be answered in the paragraphs that follow.
I must accept that i am here(should be interpreted purely in a physical sense) right now (2005 may 16, 1632 hrs) solely due to one of the channels that the indian software industry has created for bright/block-headed engineers to travel abroad. Thank you. But, there are many other things that i am not in the least bit thankful about, an exposition of which i shall reserve for a later day. Somehow, for some questions the only answers we get are "as per company policy". So "as per company policy", i was entitled to only 5 days of stay in a hotel, (Apr 11-15 2005) after which i could either choose to live on the street for free or pay 1/4 th of my salary as weekly accomodation charges at the hotel. I guess it wouldn't matter if you were travelling either to another country, another planet or for that matter even another galaxy, you are entitled to only 5 days of accomodation at a hotel which would be reimbursed by the company. Company policies transgress countries and galaxies.
It took me 3 days to get acclimatized to the place, work , modes of travel and that left me with hardly 2 days to find my own accomodation. At the start it didnt seem all that hard; there were a few places to look for information(on the web, local newspapers), note prospective offers, pay a visit and finalise. But within the third day of looking i realised, that the people who placed the ads either didnt understand the meaning of terms such as "pleasant", "spacious", "clean", "tidy" or had quite the wrong impression about the place that they were willing to rent/share. I made no efforts to enlighten any of the above folks.
6 days and i still was pretty much homeless, i had already breached company policy and things weren't looking very bright. . 7th day, i set out on another expediton of house hunting. Sometime around the afternoon, i found myself in front of a pharmacy in Leytonstone, waiting for an individual by the name Victor. After a few minutes of pacing around, i noticed a short-built dark-haired Britisher walking towards me with the air of recognition (In retrospect, it seems quite obvious, since when we had spoken i had mentioned that i was indian, and on that afternoon, there was no one more indian than me anywhere near the vicinity of the pharmacy). It was Victor. We walked to the house where he had a room that he was willing to rent. It already had more than a couple of people staying there, a swedish couple, a German student, an australian traveller, and a British professional. I thought to myself, this place could be it, an Indian engineer would complete the global atmosphere of the house. The place looked good, the beer bottles strewn all over the place looked even better, they'd had a party the last night. I had finally found it, the abode i had been looking for all this while. After discussing all the formalities (which, i would realise later, wasn't complete enough) i headed back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and move in. I met a few friends on the way, shared the good news with them , we made merry and i proceeded. By the time i reached the hotel and checked out it had become quite late in the evening. I had to make a call to Victor before i moved so i called him informing him of my arrival. But just before placing the reciever it occured to me to ask him whether there was a minimum notice period i had to give before i left. To which he replied "3 months". I had foreseen my entire stay in London to be only for 3 months, which meant i would have to give him notice right away. I did, to which he very matter of factly replied that the indian engineer wouldn't be joining the global household.
I was quashed, here i was standing on a street, a mild rain pouring, with all my luggage around me, homeless. I had arrived , the refugee from India. If we had a photographer around, we would have had an entry into the Picture of the Year (POY) Awards. But all you sadist lovers of tragedies, it doesnt get any worse than this. It could have, but this story doesnt. Luckily i have a father, who thankfully has ample contacts in major cities of the world and london just happened to be one of them. A few minutes, and a few phone calls later, i had arranged stay for myself in Croydon. It was temporary, but it resolved all my problems for now.
For the next one month i had a warm room with a cosy bed, good malyalee/North indian/British food(Mrs. Nair is quite a good cook), hot tea soon as i get back from work,
Ah!......... the little joys in life. I had moved into a kind, loving household, elderly couple, old friends of Senior. Within a week i had found THE PLACE i intend to stay for all the time that i'm here, at the Oval, quite close to the cricket stadium. The tube station is just a stone's throw away, making life a bit easier. Its not one bit global, i share the house with another indian. We'll probably learn how to make sambar together, sorry mate don't see any Shepherd's Pie being baked here.
Well, now that writing this blog has taken my entire afternoon, and i do not wish it to eat into my evening too, which seems quite pleasant outside. I think its time for me to take in some of the the English air with a pleasant stroll in Kennington park. Blogging ends here. To all those people out there, looking for a place to stay in London, you have my best wishes.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Thursday, April 14, 2005
London
My dear people,
First thing love you all. Second thing.....3 days and its been slightly hectic. Have had to juggle between work, finding a place to stay, figuring out the way Britishers live (daily travel, food, telecom). Sorry couldn't mail any of you as soon as i reached. Was able to wrap work by 6, so here i am knocking away at my keyboard.
So here's a gist of what's happened after i waved you guys goodbye at the airport.
10 APR
The two times that i turned around after checking in, i thought you guys would be looking at me and waving in manners that would appear sentimental, but on both occasions you were distracted. Fair enough, i shared the flight with Aditi Govitrikar and many other models. I guess they were all in club class, but there was one who was unlucky enough to be sitting in economy, behind me. well she kept moaning and groaning about wanting to change to club class but, hey lady, there wasn't any place there or anywhere, the flight was running full. I guess she soon realised that if the crew tried to move her, if not to club class, at least to any place near it, she 'd sitting on the wing. And that ain't that good a place to be seated. She made her peace for the rest of the flight.
Nothing eventful happened on the flight, had my dinner, had my thoughts and we landed at Mumbai.
The last i saw of the models was at baggage claim, and boy was baggage claim looking good or what. I missed my luggage three times on purpose, i wasn't the only one.
After landing, took the internal shuttle service to the international airport. Spoke to you guys then, Sindhu's number kept ringing. Embarkation and security checks afterwards, i was waiting at the lounge for the British Airways flight. Kader Kahn trvelled with me this time. The flight was late, was scheduled at 2, we left at 3.
I wanted a window seat, but instead got one by the isle. the seats were quite cool, the ones with tv screens in front. there were around 10 channels to watch. movies, discovery, music. watched School of rock, was ok.
Slept quite well.
11 APR
your watch starts at 4:00 am, you watch a 2 hour movie, and later you fall into a deep sleep. You wake up and hey its only 6:00 am, we switched time zones. Not all that bad, but i guess its worse for US travel. Wasn't too jet lagged. The plane landed at Heathrow, at 8:00 am. Walked out of the plane, entered the airport, took a minute by the side of a huge glass window ovelooking the runways and the planes, took out my passport and work permit and thought to myself................ "man, i've managed to tear my work permit into two". Well i tried to strike a very romantiv pose by the crystal clear glass with the beautiful background, but didnt realise that i was handling my WP a bit too hard. Told myself, they shouldnt be throwing me out of this country for tearing my WP, so dont worry.
Headed towards immigration, gave the passport and torn WP, the official didn't have a problem with it, but i guess somewhere in the corner of his mind he prayed for the company i was going to work for. I didnt have a chest XRAY, was asked to get one. The facility is right within the airport, a very beautiful lady stripped me half nude and had me standing with my bare chest against the cold XRAY machine. Oh! you perverts, stop thinking about the lady, she was at least 60 years old. XRAy done, i marched off to collect my baggage, picked it up much faster than the last time.
I had to wait in a long line to catch a cab, finally caught one to my destination, Premier Travel Inn, Yorkway. The car pulled out of the airport and onto the main road, and as we did so the sight that met the eye was quite beautiful. Lush green grass on either side of the road, plots separated by hedges, a shy sun peeping out of the clouds, high rises in the distance, and a couple of planes circling in the morning sky awaiting a chance to land at one of the busiest aiports in the world. Oh London, thats the only time i've embraced you.
Half an hour later, i' d reached my hotel. Checked in, made a call to the project manager, informing him of my arrival. It was 10 by then an hour later a colleague of mine dropped in at the reception to take me to work, UBS at 10, Golden Lane, Barbican. We took the tube, as far as i can remember i think the first time i'm travelling in one.(Amma, if you're reading this, i have no memory of the first few years of my life).
Got to work. Got back from work
12 APR
Got to work. Got back from work
13 APR
Got to work. Will get back from work after i'm done with this travelogue.
Food:
For lunch, there's a place, rather a street near the workplace, where there are these small takeaway carts. They sell Thai food, its ok, never been too fussed about food anyway. Grab other meals near the hotel.
Stay:
Will be staying at the hotel for the rest of the week. Need to look at another place to live. Could move into the place where the INfy boys are staying, will have to camp in the living room. Am looking at other options too. Have many, there's a bunch of Aussies with a penguin for instance. Will have something worked out in a week or two.
Travel:
The tube is a real cool thing, i must say. Travel is so easy, its not one bit frustrating. Get into the train, get out at your station and walk to work. Its real good.
Weather:
They call it summer, its the coldest Bangalore gets during the winter. And this we're talking during the day. Winter must be real cold here.
Thats all there is for now, i am going to stop knocking on this keyboard soon. I really miss you guys. You know this place is good, the roads are clean, traffic is organised, an efficient transport sytem, good facilities, nice people, pleasant weather.
But all said and done I'm a hot blooded Indian, i miss my family and friends, and there's no place like home.
Love you all.
Pattu
First thing love you all. Second thing.....3 days and its been slightly hectic. Have had to juggle between work, finding a place to stay, figuring out the way Britishers live (daily travel, food, telecom). Sorry couldn't mail any of you as soon as i reached. Was able to wrap work by 6, so here i am knocking away at my keyboard.
So here's a gist of what's happened after i waved you guys goodbye at the airport.
10 APR
The two times that i turned around after checking in, i thought you guys would be looking at me and waving in manners that would appear sentimental, but on both occasions you were distracted. Fair enough, i shared the flight with Aditi Govitrikar and many other models. I guess they were all in club class, but there was one who was unlucky enough to be sitting in economy, behind me. well she kept moaning and groaning about wanting to change to club class but, hey lady, there wasn't any place there or anywhere, the flight was running full. I guess she soon realised that if the crew tried to move her, if not to club class, at least to any place near it, she 'd sitting on the wing. And that ain't that good a place to be seated. She made her peace for the rest of the flight.
Nothing eventful happened on the flight, had my dinner, had my thoughts and we landed at Mumbai.
The last i saw of the models was at baggage claim, and boy was baggage claim looking good or what. I missed my luggage three times on purpose, i wasn't the only one.
After landing, took the internal shuttle service to the international airport. Spoke to you guys then, Sindhu's number kept ringing. Embarkation and security checks afterwards, i was waiting at the lounge for the British Airways flight. Kader Kahn trvelled with me this time. The flight was late, was scheduled at 2, we left at 3.
I wanted a window seat, but instead got one by the isle. the seats were quite cool, the ones with tv screens in front. there were around 10 channels to watch. movies, discovery, music. watched School of rock, was ok.
Slept quite well.
11 APR
your watch starts at 4:00 am, you watch a 2 hour movie, and later you fall into a deep sleep. You wake up and hey its only 6:00 am, we switched time zones. Not all that bad, but i guess its worse for US travel. Wasn't too jet lagged. The plane landed at Heathrow, at 8:00 am. Walked out of the plane, entered the airport, took a minute by the side of a huge glass window ovelooking the runways and the planes, took out my passport and work permit and thought to myself................ "man, i've managed to tear my work permit into two". Well i tried to strike a very romantiv pose by the crystal clear glass with the beautiful background, but didnt realise that i was handling my WP a bit too hard. Told myself, they shouldnt be throwing me out of this country for tearing my WP, so dont worry.
Headed towards immigration, gave the passport and torn WP, the official didn't have a problem with it, but i guess somewhere in the corner of his mind he prayed for the company i was going to work for. I didnt have a chest XRAY, was asked to get one. The facility is right within the airport, a very beautiful lady stripped me half nude and had me standing with my bare chest against the cold XRAY machine. Oh! you perverts, stop thinking about the lady, she was at least 60 years old. XRAy done, i marched off to collect my baggage, picked it up much faster than the last time.
I had to wait in a long line to catch a cab, finally caught one to my destination, Premier Travel Inn, Yorkway. The car pulled out of the airport and onto the main road, and as we did so the sight that met the eye was quite beautiful. Lush green grass on either side of the road, plots separated by hedges, a shy sun peeping out of the clouds, high rises in the distance, and a couple of planes circling in the morning sky awaiting a chance to land at one of the busiest aiports in the world. Oh London, thats the only time i've embraced you.
Half an hour later, i' d reached my hotel. Checked in, made a call to the project manager, informing him of my arrival. It was 10 by then an hour later a colleague of mine dropped in at the reception to take me to work, UBS at 10, Golden Lane, Barbican. We took the tube, as far as i can remember i think the first time i'm travelling in one.(Amma, if you're reading this, i have no memory of the first few years of my life).
Got to work. Got back from work
12 APR
Got to work. Got back from work
13 APR
Got to work. Will get back from work after i'm done with this travelogue.
Food:
For lunch, there's a place, rather a street near the workplace, where there are these small takeaway carts. They sell Thai food, its ok, never been too fussed about food anyway. Grab other meals near the hotel.
Stay:
Will be staying at the hotel for the rest of the week. Need to look at another place to live. Could move into the place where the INfy boys are staying, will have to camp in the living room. Am looking at other options too. Have many, there's a bunch of Aussies with a penguin for instance. Will have something worked out in a week or two.
Travel:
The tube is a real cool thing, i must say. Travel is so easy, its not one bit frustrating. Get into the train, get out at your station and walk to work. Its real good.
Weather:
They call it summer, its the coldest Bangalore gets during the winter. And this we're talking during the day. Winter must be real cold here.
Thats all there is for now, i am going to stop knocking on this keyboard soon. I really miss you guys. You know this place is good, the roads are clean, traffic is organised, an efficient transport sytem, good facilities, nice people, pleasant weather.
But all said and done I'm a hot blooded Indian, i miss my family and friends, and there's no place like home.
Love you all.
Pattu
Monday, January 10, 2005
Waves of Destruction
Around 40 of us left to Nagapattinam, on New Year’s Eve on a trip that was to take us right to the place of destruction. We reached our destination, which was the relief operations centre of a particular organization, at close to 1:00 pm, Jan 1 2005. After a quick lunch and a couple of briefings on the situation we left to the site which had been affected the most. Without any doubt the extent of the damage that meets the eye is alarming. There were boats of all sizes strewn around all over the place like dismantled toys. There is the stench of death all over the place because of dead bodies concealed under the rubble of what was once a busy town. The survivors, now tired of weeping over the loss, stare into the emptiness without any hope. What was even more disappointing was, other than an active district collector, there was the conspicuous absence of any other government official at the site of the catastrophe. In the government’s favour, I am sure that the government feels crippled with extent of relief required stretching from Tiruvalur to Nagapattinam, around 400 km of Tamil Nadu’s coastal belt. With a sense of helplessness we left to return back to the operations centre, where the rest of the evening was spent unloading the relief supplies we had brought along with us.
The next day, 2 Jan 2005, we split ourselves into various groups, and spent the whole of it in medical camps, government hospitals and villages. Binod, Leo and I were part of a group that was doing a survey at a village called Seruthur, close to the holy site of Vailankanni. Seruthur is a fishing hamlet, with a population of approximately 4000 people comprising of around a 100 families. The loss of lives was around 300, the loss of property was close to 10 crore (excluding the damage done to the residences). The village had a total of 600 boats, each costing roughly around a lakh; not a single one of them remains fit to sail again. We had a chance to directly meet affected families, figure out their immediate as well as long tem requirements, and get an approximate amount of personal loss. The whole scene is extremely depressing to say the very least, children have been orphaned, parents have lost some or all of their children, women have been widowed, men have lost their means of livelihood. After spending the whole of the day at Seruthur, we returned back to Nagapattinam and after bidding our goodbyes to the relief workers we left behind, we were homebound by nightfall.
One of the most unfortunate things about this disaster is the number of children who have lost their lives. Unofficial figures state that close to half of the recovered bodies were those of minors, a couple of which we had the opportunity to see ourselves. The sea rushed in with such speed that let alone children, even adults didn’t have time to react. The large scale devastation was caused not by the waters alone, the speeding waters acted as carriers of destruction bringing along with them boats weighing in ranges of a tonne to many. The resulting momentum that was built up by this combination of sea and wood was so huge, that it smashed everything that was in its path. We have had the chance to view the catastrophe first hand and as is known Indonesia and Sri Lanka are affected even worse, the extent of the damage is inconceivable.
Help is pouring in, but it may not be enough and whatever is available may not be utilized effectively. These are finally our own people, we share a country with them, we share an identity with them. And they need us. Please spread the word around, try and do your bit. And let me warn you, please do not donate blindly. Sadly there are quite a few unscrupulous people trying to make a fast buck out of this calamity. Also, sometimes, merely good intentions aren’t enough to do good. Money is being wasted in relief items that are no longer required. People out there want to return to their means of livelihood, want to start their daily lives again, they need utensils, stoves, boats. Please make donations to organizations that allow you to track your contribution. Or better, gather a few like minded people; figure out what you think would be possible for you to donate. Procure the items and ship them to relief organizations.
The only thing that these people are left with is a faith in miracles, a faith in the extraordinary, and a faith in Providence. That is belief. Reality is the rest of this country needs to make it happen.
Suneel
The next day, 2 Jan 2005, we split ourselves into various groups, and spent the whole of it in medical camps, government hospitals and villages. Binod, Leo and I were part of a group that was doing a survey at a village called Seruthur, close to the holy site of Vailankanni. Seruthur is a fishing hamlet, with a population of approximately 4000 people comprising of around a 100 families. The loss of lives was around 300, the loss of property was close to 10 crore (excluding the damage done to the residences). The village had a total of 600 boats, each costing roughly around a lakh; not a single one of them remains fit to sail again. We had a chance to directly meet affected families, figure out their immediate as well as long tem requirements, and get an approximate amount of personal loss. The whole scene is extremely depressing to say the very least, children have been orphaned, parents have lost some or all of their children, women have been widowed, men have lost their means of livelihood. After spending the whole of the day at Seruthur, we returned back to Nagapattinam and after bidding our goodbyes to the relief workers we left behind, we were homebound by nightfall.
One of the most unfortunate things about this disaster is the number of children who have lost their lives. Unofficial figures state that close to half of the recovered bodies were those of minors, a couple of which we had the opportunity to see ourselves. The sea rushed in with such speed that let alone children, even adults didn’t have time to react. The large scale devastation was caused not by the waters alone, the speeding waters acted as carriers of destruction bringing along with them boats weighing in ranges of a tonne to many. The resulting momentum that was built up by this combination of sea and wood was so huge, that it smashed everything that was in its path. We have had the chance to view the catastrophe first hand and as is known Indonesia and Sri Lanka are affected even worse, the extent of the damage is inconceivable.
Help is pouring in, but it may not be enough and whatever is available may not be utilized effectively. These are finally our own people, we share a country with them, we share an identity with them. And they need us. Please spread the word around, try and do your bit. And let me warn you, please do not donate blindly. Sadly there are quite a few unscrupulous people trying to make a fast buck out of this calamity. Also, sometimes, merely good intentions aren’t enough to do good. Money is being wasted in relief items that are no longer required. People out there want to return to their means of livelihood, want to start their daily lives again, they need utensils, stoves, boats. Please make donations to organizations that allow you to track your contribution. Or better, gather a few like minded people; figure out what you think would be possible for you to donate. Procure the items and ship them to relief organizations.
The only thing that these people are left with is a faith in miracles, a faith in the extraordinary, and a faith in Providence. That is belief. Reality is the rest of this country needs to make it happen.
Suneel
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