Life and other weird things

On this boring Saturday, thought of writing down a few things I remember about some cities and towns I have visited or lived in. Was trying to see what was the first thing that came to my mind when I thought of each of these places. One of the many weird things about me is that I have no city/town which I can call home, and hence have an outsider's view of wherever I live.

Bangalore:
Twenty years ago, the phrase that would come to mind while talking about Bangalore was : 'Summer Holiday'. Today what comes to mind is 'Change'. Everywhere you look there is a new construction, a new flyover, a new road where there is a new traffic jam.

Pune:
According to me, best described as 'Intellectual'. Everyone here speaks like they have been there and done that. The true blue Pune-ites assume that the universe was created with them in mind, and that the rest of the world have a debt to pay to the city - what with sharing the same oxygen as them. At the same time, the city has a degree of culture which is fast missing from most modern metropolises.

Bombay:
The most lively, and the most dirty city I have ever lived in. The energy of the city is contagious, just as the filth pervading it is disgusting. The city is like the microcosm of India. It is even more contradictory that Bangkok, which I describe later - it's true that a train ride on the central line takes people through the most horrible living conditions imaginable, just as it's true that driving through South Bombay on a weekend is a remarkably beautiful experience. The most interesting conversation I had in the city was with a sweeper in the local trains at 1am, who told me that he works 6 hours cleaning trains at night and then works the whole day to sell pens at traffic junctions, and ends up making Rs 12000 a month. It was more than the starting salary of most IT firms. Given my rather mixed feelings about the place, the one thing that comes to my mind while trying to describe Bombay is 'hope'.

Goa:
To me this place symbolizes 'untapped potential'. Goa has the ability to make me feel happy and sad at the same time. Happy, because it would be difficult to find a place as beautiful and unique as this. Sad, because it shows pretty much everything that's wrong with India today. A government that does little for its people. A place blessed with abundance from nature, but with rulers without the will to use this for the benefit of the people. There are places in the world with a fraction of what Goa has, which make millions through tourism just by good governance, while the moneyed tourists of the world give Goa a miss. Yet, there is a magic about the place and the people which make it my favorite place in India today.

Calcutta:
Somehow, as much as I would like to, it's difficult to say anything that is very definitely positive about this city. A place with obvious past grandeur and majesty, it is simply 'depressing' to go there today. I'm sure residents of the city would disagree, citing many cultural aspects, but the fact that the people running the city managed to drive out almost all it's educated workforce all through the 1980's and 1990's is testament to the depression one sees in the place. Yet, in the last 4-5 years, there are pockets of the city where one sees real development, and one feels hope for the once great city. It just takes once CPM or MC led strike to get rid of that feeling.

Delhi:
'Regal' is definitely the adjective best suited to Delhi. Everything about the city oozes culture and history, whether it is the stately architecture of the Mughals or the glitzy malls of today. Undoubtedly the city with the best infrastructure in the country, it's fair to say it's the best place to live in India at present.

Singapore:
This city is an embodiment of 'discipline'. A place which was essentially a town in comparison to Bombay even in the 1950's, is today arguably south asia's most important and ultra-modern metropolis. The visionary leadership of Lee Kwan Yew and his team have not just borne fruit, it has probably exceeded anything they thought they would achieve. What makes one think, is that in the race to be modern and the most disciplined city - a model city - there is an extraordinary amount of history and culture that has had to be sacrificed. Now, with the first generation of Singaporeans who have never known anything other than extreme modernity in the workforce, this will surely start making relevance.

Bangkok:
Coming to this city is much like coming to an Indian city. A constant contrast between poverty and modernity. Fantastic infrastructure, fabulous tourist attractions with an equally dark underbelly, what comes to my mind when I think of this city is 'contradiction'.

Phnom Penh:
A unique city, by any standards. The smallest capital city I have seen, but with all the ingredients of a growing city. Full of activity and business, the city is filled with young men and women of all ages. Most men of the 70's and 80's were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Still, with the friendliness of the people in the city and way I was not ripped off a single city, I would describe this place as 'promising'.

Hong Kong:
Undoubtedly the most 'buzzing' metropolis I have been to. The beautiful thing about Hong Kong is the fact that one can go from totems to total modernity to a rustic village in less than an hour. The energy of the place is best experienced on Canton Road on a weekday morning, where one has to fight for space on the roads. Seeing the immense crowds, as well as the surprisingly clean roads they travel on, is a learning experience.

Jakarta:
Haven't seen much of the city, but it was exciting enough to leave an impression. One word - 'crowded'.

Zurich:
The thing I will never forget about Zurich is it's transport system. I have never been as amazed by trains, trams and buses before I visited this city. I used to take the number 10 tram from Felsenrainstrasse every day at 8:03am. I still remember the kick of seeing the tram take the bend at the end of the road every morning at 8:01am and stop in front of me 2 minutes later. Every day for the three months I was there. So the word I use to describe Zurich is 'precision'.

Geneva:
Again, didn't spend too much time here, but just about enough to set an impression. And that impression is 'multicultural'.

London:
Ah. London. Words are not enough to describe this city. Once the greatest city in the world, ruling over two thirds of the world's people. Today, is arguably one of the most happening cities anywhere. The museums, the theaters in Covent Garden, the art galleries in Kensington, the musicians in the underground, recognizable names like Baker Street and Whitechapel all around which we have read in so many books, people queuing up for anything and everything, the majesty seen in the City of Westminster...I could go on for a while. How do I describe the place ? Probably the best way is to call it 'cultural'.

Dubai:
A city which is testament to vision, in my opinion even more so than Singapore. Singapore was an important port from the mid 1800's, but Dubai was much less until very recently. To have the vision to transform a desert outpost into an ultra modern city with the biggest and tallest of everything (along with making it the transport hub for more than half the world ) is truly stunning. I think of Dubai as 'incredible'.

Rome:
By far the biggest tourist paradise I have ever visited. I doubt if there are too many places in the world where there has been a powerful city in existence for a straight four millenia. Cliched as it sounds, to me Rome is 'eternal'.

Houston:
Just one word. 'Big'.

Colombo:
A city in the center of a three decade long inter-communal conflict would not arouse much emotion in people visiting the place. Yet, a visit to Colombo feels like a happy misunderstanding. The place is CHILLED OUT. An inexpensive place with a vibrant night life, what comes to mind when I think of Colombo is 'relaxed'.

Frankfurt:
Again, not much time spent here, but the impression I got of the city and its people was - 'hardworking and industrious'.

Well, that was it. A small venting of thoughts. Will try to update this list when I visit new and interesting places.