“Water, the Life Sustainer”! Water is a sign of life, tranquility,
peace, harmony, sustenance, reverence and a cause of destruction when in fury.
I get connected to water as easily as my thoughts to expression and the bird
within me takes flight. On seeing water, my thoughts wander into that era,
where civilizations were built around sources of water, great empires took
birth, generations prospered, art and culture flourished, trade and commerce expanded,
transport to visit and conquer distant lands was devised and so on.
05 Oct 2014; The day when we went on “Thames Cruise”. We boarded bus No
129 from North Greenwich and travelled to Greenwich, where “Cutty Sark”, the
last tea clipper is on display. The area
was marked by numerous tourists and they were having a good time in the market,
pier, The Royal Observatory, The Royal Naval College and
Greenwich University. We walked straight to the pier and boarded the cruise.
While we waited for the cruise to start, my thoughts centered
on the importance of water to the human beings. They, whose body is filled with maximum percentage of water, use this God given gift for a myriad of purposes and ceremonies. Water
has a special significance at the time when they are ushered into this world
and bid goodbye to it. Water, which is one of the five elements of nature, is
an inseparable part of human life.
Probably that is the
reason for my looking at this cruise through a different lens!
The cruise started and live commentary by its captain began. People
of different nationalities, cultures and languages were looking at the
breathtaking view offered from its open top. I saw Greenwich Pier and Cutty
Sark to my left, a number of apartments which once were docks to my right and
bridges galore straight ahead of me.
Making a journey on
water transport, I was slowly sailing in to a world of ships, docks, noisy
loading, unloading, horse carriages, taverns, brawls and the county police.
I came out of my reverie when the captain was mentioning
about Cutty Sark. It was one of the fastest sailing ships of its time
and ultimately gave way to those powered by steam. She was the last tea
clippers for trading with the East and after changing many hands and roles; it
is now on public display and is dry docked. Did I see images of the ship
docking in Indian ports, goods being traded, transactions understood through
translation and middle men? Yes. I did. I also was trying to visualize the
Indian landscape at that point of time and its important trading ports.
As we pulled out of the Greenwich Pier, the history of
England in general and London in particular started unfolding in front of our
eyes. The invasions, conquests, trade, culture, religion, politics,
architecture and social structure all were moving in a slow motion as a
reminder of the their role in shaping this country.
London Bridge! The first thing which I should mention here is that the photo
of the bridge displayed along with the popular rhyme “London Bridge is falling”
is not that of the “London Bridge”. It is “Tower Bridge”.
“London Bridge” was built as a pontoon bridge under the
Romans and underwent lots of design changes as has been amply explained in the
rhyme till the modern one was commissioned. It will not be an
exaggeration to say that “London Bridge” witnessed the rise and fall of many
conquerors and kings and treasures the memories under its bed to surface now
and then when in low tide.
Tower Bridge! Looking at it was like singing the above rhyme with its
picture placed in the front. It took its name from “Tower of London” which is
in close proximity and was commissioned to facilitate passing of
tall-masted ships between London Bridge and Tower of London.
Bridges Galore! Was I seeing the bridges as structures of steel, brick and
mortar or something with a task cut out beyond their physical appearance?
Questions; an integral part of my life have always led me inwards and I began a
journey most enjoyable. A bridge; one which makes a human life complete;
bridges one with the other; outer with the inner; resolves conflicts; cements
relations and brings eternal peace.
As if sensing my inner thoughts, all the bridges on Thames
seemed to have beckoned me to listen to them when they sang in unison:
“It is not just about connecting two banks,
we bridge generation gaps;
a meeting point of cultures,
we bring together people of various notions; (notion as an
idea or concept)
saw battles, conquests, trade and commerce,
knights in shining armor and people of peace;
will take you in to a world without frontiers,
join hands with our
mighty columns”
Look deep! Dig deep! As we passed through the bridges, the citadels which
now stand proudly on its banks came into view one by one. As I looked deeply at
them, I dug deep into their history and established a connection. They seemed
more than willing to lead me through passages, gates and mighty doors which
once buzzed with immense activity.
Docks and Docks! Where water is the life sustainer, can docks be far behind? No. Numerous docks came up on both banks
of the river to serve trade from all parts of the world; West India Docks, East
India Docks, London Docks, Surrey Commercial Docks, St Katherine Docks and many
others named after Kings, Queens and persons of great stature. Some of the
docks were later used to support military operations at various stages of
history. Docks once mirrored the way of life of people who lived around them
and many writers took inspiration from the human drama in the docks to portray
characters of their works.
Big Names! Large Canvas! I was finding that my canvas was too
small to paint all the big names that started appearing; The Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral, House of Commons Building,
Big Ben and London Eye.
I adjusted my watch
when the Big Ben struck four and was reminded of the rhyme “Hickory Dickory
Dock…….”
The Tower of London! Its towers overlooking the Tower Bridge, the tower
stood as a sentinel of Thames. As the captain’s commentary took me into greater
vistas, few things called for more attention:
Pointing at a line of the faces of lions in green colour that
were stuck on to the embankment on the side of Tower of London, the captain
said “when the lion drinks (water of
Thames); London sinks”. “May be true” I thought.
Prominently written on the same embankment was “Entry to the
Traitors Gate”. As per the captain, those charged with treason were brought
here by boat, taken in to Tower of London through the gate and executed.
Having completed its duty majestically, the boat turned
towards Greenwich Pier, leaving me in deep thoughts and wonder.
“Time to return with
the canvas tightly tucked in,
Memories that churn
black and white conversation;
I am a mere mortal,
With a limited portal;
so be it, I say,
and post my thoughts
anyway;
since small drops
make mighty oceans”
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