“When I see a monument, I go into its grain,
A place visited with its history brought to the fore again
and again;
A culture experienced with its fabric felt with a soft
touch,
Establish rapport expelling borders lurking in the lurch;
Exploring my mind and beyond,
To do justice to my existence in this world;
Bringing a smile on my face,
And those with whom I interface;
My inner core, my mind and my lens,
Take wings, explore and go up the levels”.
… Satya
Sista
The excitement of the ride from
LHR to North Greenwich was still fresh in my mind, when we set upon going for a
walk. Did I know at that point of time that walking is going to be the force
behind the chronicles? No. It is good that I did not know, lest the excitement
of exploring the “familiarly unfamiliar” would have been lost.
Greenwich Peninsula! The
name Greenwich itself ringing lot of bells in my mind, the word “Thames” added
some more. As my son took us onto the “Thames Path” (herein after referred to
as “path”) a name which will figure very often as we walk along the path called
chronicles, my excitement knew no bounds.
It was getting dark; a nip in the
air of the winter evening caressed my face giving a glimpse of what is to come.
I filled my lungs with the fresh and pure air to my heart’s content and was
reminded of my numerous trips the hills in India. After crossing the road and
various buildings, we stepped on to the “path” and it was a wonderful experience.
Confluence of all modes of
transport! To say that it was straight out of post card will be an
understatement. The “path” was divided into two; one for the pedestrians and
the other for cyclists. There was a stream of cyclists of all ages, clad in
such an outfit fit for Olympics, safety lights going off and on, as silently as
a the batting of an eyelid and face intent on the track. Yes! There were many
joggers and pedestrians too; all going about their task silently with due
concern to the people and environment around.
On one side of the path was Thames
jetting into the land, visible from “Thames Barrier” to the “Tower Bridge” and
beyond. Various docks which once were the hub of London’s life are now the
abode of its teeming millions housed in apartments. Many cruise boats, trawlers
and yachts were sailing merrily on its waters. Above, in the sky were a number
of aircrafts either taking off or landing using various airports of London. Unmanned, short DLR (Dock
Light Railway) trains in bright red colour were running up and down as if the
entire dock belonged to them.
The skyline! The skyline
on the other side was bedecked with towering buildings and the consoles of rope
way going from one bank to the other were giving the tourists a treat of the
fully lighted landscape.
A treat to the connoisseur!
It seemed as if all my senses were fully satisfied of what I saw on the first
day of my tour to London and I was rearing to go home and start penning down
what I heard, saw, felt , analysed and experienced.
“Let me put on a different Lens,
to bring fruition to all my plans”
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