Chapter 6
The summer of the year 2009 ,we traveled by Lufthansa changing at Munich ,this time the huge Boeing was a double decker with the toilets and pantry situated below one had to climb down some ten steps . water and juices with biscuits were placed there ,one could help oneself without calling the airhotess.. I enjoyed the flight ,looking out of the window I saw another Boeing flying in the opposite direction , when we were airborne over europe. A sight I will never forget. At this moment I remembered my Daddy and his words about the flying horse.
Mr Tandon recieved us at San Francisco airport, their home is in Saratoga a town in San Francisco district. Seema is my senior in college , while Mr Satish is an aluminus of Indian institute of technology coincidently they belong to Fatehgath . The San Francisco Bay Area, metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas. The Bay Area's nine counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. San Franscisco has an old world charm , the beautiful apartments with their picture windows decorated with silk and lace curtain reminds one of English village Harlow and seaside Dover The huge fishermans wharfs , yatches floating with colourful sails ,fishing boats .every day we both would to go to San Francisco by the Amtrak from saratoga and roam around , the city has trams climbing the cliff which are different from other cities which have underground train ‘The tube’. There are the horse drawn carriage ,the horse have forelocks and braided manes with bushy hoofs like the swiss horses. Every morning young men and women use to get into the train with their bicycles when we reached the metropolis they got off the train and cycled of to their office.Something I use to do as a student , park my cycle at the stand and catch a bus. I wish I could do the same now , but wearing a sari and riding a bicycle in India is risky.
Driving across the world’s highest suspension bridge popularly called the ' Golden Gate' is a memory to kept close ones heart . the air is cold and chilly that it cuts in to you . It is difficult to stand on the cliff and look across the bridge and sea .
We had forgotten to bring any jackets ,so it was difficult stand more than five minutes to stand drink in the wonderful view ,there is photograph of mother and me flying in the wind. Just joking looks like we going to be swept away by the draft. Well the world’s longest and most photographed bridge has turned 77 years in 2014.
Written upon completion of the Bridge sometime in 1937
Written by Joseph P. Strauss, Chief Engineer,
I am the thing that men denied,
The right to be, the urge to live;
And I am that which men defied,
Yet I ask naught for what I give.
My arms are flung across the deep,
Into the clouds my towers soar,
And where the waters never sleep,
I guard the California shore.
Above the fogs of scorn and doubt,
Triumphant gleams my web of steel;
Still shall I ride the wild storms out,
And still the thrill of conquest feel.
The passing world may never know
The epic of my grim travail;
It matters not, nor friend or foe –
My place to serve and none to fail.
One could just say “ WOW “ look they are touching the sky ,sitting in the car watching the orderly line of home trailers , cars and tourist buses speeding on the hairpin curves . I could just marvel at nature and the life in its various forms if only these trees could speak they would give us the story of mankind from last 3000 years oh !what a pity ! they would sigh if only man had asked us ! how we have survived on air, water and solar energy- the answer to all our problems
My favorite movie was,‘’Those magnificent men and their flying machines’
I donot have a talent for singing though I can sing the old English hymns and carols fairly well. Here I want to mention an old English song by Susan Raye which happened to be my childhood favourite , something in the song about aeroplanes and airports. ‘L.A. International airport’. Well the song was playing in my mind when we disembarked in Los Angelos the city of angels .Till then it was not available on youtube , we use to have record. Since the needle of the gramophone player is broken ,I couldnot listen to it . I was jubilant since I was in there finally .
Yosemite national park is another beautiful place , it is situated in mountains , there is a huge waterfall which can be seen from a distance of ten kilometers falling down from the round rock mountain ,right in front is a steep cliff called the grand dome .
Around you can see cabins, tents ,home trailers and campers . We had the wonderful close view of the waterfall as it comes down with thunder. Here is one place where nature is at its best ,there people from all over the world with you enjoying the scenery.
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San Jose is known as the silicon valley is full of Indians; computer software engineers.
We visited Winchester house of the legendary Winchester rifles , that day I wished my father was alive he loved to talk about Winchester rifles and peace makers ‘the colt’ and Diana airguns . The Winchester Mystery House is a mansion in San Jose, California which was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester. Located at 525 South Winchester Blvd. in San Jose, the Queen Anne Style Victorian mansion is renowned for its size, its architectural curiosities, and its lack of any master building plan. It is a designated California historical landmark sarah Winchester came to believe her family and fortune were haunted by ghosts, and that only by moving West and continuously building them a house could she appease these spiritsIn 1884 she purchased an unfinished farmhouse in the Santa Clara Valley and began building her mansion. Carpenters were hired and worked on the house day and night until it became a seven story mansion. She did not use an architect and added on to the building in a haphazard fashion, so that the home contains numerous oddities like doors or stairs that go nowhere, windows overlooking other rooms, and stairs with odd-sized risers. .an expensive imported chandelier that originally had 12 candle-holders was altered to accommodate 13 candles, wall clothes hooks are in multiples of 13, and a spider web-patterned stained glass window contains 13 colored stones. The sink's drain covers also have 13 holes, every Friday the 13th the large bell on the property is rung 13 times at 1300 hours (1 o'clock p.m.) in tribute to Winchester. these oddities are attributed to her belief in ghosts
San Jose is high up even summer is quite cold , I use to collect cones from conifers . in june the there are apples and pears which you can pick and eat.
I use to pluck plums from roadside trees which were planted for beauty , I’m sure the tree must be happy that the fruit was not wasted .
The whole traffic stops when a wild gander with his goose and goslings cross the road.
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I was visiting the famous Stanford university near San Francisco in california , the campus is beautifully adorned with black marble statues among green lawns , in the middle courtyard there is fountain with dolphins . The meadow has the logo ‘S’ created with real red flowers and plants. The church has been based on Italian architecture .A fresco painted on the exterior depicting the sermon on the mount. The roof has a huge dome. There are glass windows showing the crucifixion scene ,angels with mother Mary .and the holy family. Some frescoes on the walls of Adam and Eve .How this university came into existence it is said that Leland Stanford had died in an accident while studing at Yale university
His parents tried to meet the president of the university a snooty and arrogant man , not only did he made them wait but refused to erect a memorial for their son ,a brilliant student. He suggested that they can donated a grand that’s ten thousand dollars for a wing of department. The Stanford were millionaires ,the president was fooled by their shabby clothes and simple manners.After this shoddy incident they decided to open their own private university.
'A suitable Boy " novel has been written by Vikram Seth who was a graduate of this university.
I visited the chemistry and physics departments home of many nobel laureates . I witnessed the Iranian students and other activists protesting for re-election in Iran and for brave woman Nasrin Sotoudeh a human rights lawyer in Iran[ Persia ] who represented imprisoned Iranian opposition activists and politicians following the disputed June 2009 Iranian presidential elections as well as prisoners sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were minors. Her clients included journalist Isa Saharkhiz, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, and Heshmat Tabarzadi, the head of the banned opposition group Democratic Front of Iran. Sotoudeh's imprisonment was widely condemned in the international community. Persia is modern Iran
I was reminded of a brave Persian Queen Esther was the wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), who prevented the extermination of her people by the king's vizier Haman.
As the story goes the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), held a feast for all his vassals , nobles and chieftains in the grand palace in Shushan The kings and princes were seated in the great palace hall adorned with blue and white hangings fastened with silver rings with gold chairs ,wine was served to them in vessels of gold
The king wanted to show his majesty and glory to his guests ,he sent his chamberlains to bring his Queen Vasti dressed in royal garments with the royal crown on her head in the palace hall
Queen Vasti was beautiful but arrogant woman she refused to obey and did not come before the subjects . The king became very angry and banished Queen Vasti from the palace he sent out a royal decree that all eligible young virgins to brought to Shushan and King Xerxes will select a new queen
Modecai was a jew who lived with his adopted daughter Esther in Shushan.Esther was among the selected virgins to be presented before the king , Modecai forbade her to tell the chamberlains that she was a jew Esther pleased everyone in the palace with her intelligence and sweet deposition After purification as Persian custom she was presented before King Xerxes , he was pleased and made her the queen
Modecai use to walk in front of the palace gates to learn about Esther’s well being one day he heard about a plot to kill King Xerxes he informed the queen who told King Xerxes ,the plotters were hanged. And Modecai’s name was written in the chronicles.
As years passed by , the king's vizier Haman became powerful and greedy.He hated Modecai because he was a jew and plotted to destroy him . He told King Xerxes that some people were planning a rebellion and ask him for a royal decree that they should be destroyed.
Modecai stood before the the palace gates weeping and renting his garments ,wearing only a sackcloth queen Esther was troubled and sent chamberlains to Modecai who showed the letter . Modecai commanded Esther to come forward and save her people.Esther was afraid of the kings anger , it was the royal custom when the king was in the inner court for 30 days no one may go in without permission
The queen requested Modecai and all the jews of the nation to fast and pray for three days when she prepares to go to the King if he is displeased he may punish her. QueenEsther dressed in royal garments with the royal crown on her head went in the inner court of the palace and knelt before the King.
Xerxes was pleased and extended his scepter towards her and asked her “ what is your petition queen Esther”
“ My lord I request you to come a banquet which I have prepared in your honour”
That day King Xerxes went to the banquet after feasting he again asked her “ what is your petition queen Esther”
“ My lord I request you to come a banquet which I have prepared in your honour and bring vizier Haman with you ”
After the banquet the king couldnot sleep he ordered that the royal chronicles to be read aloud and the incident about Modecai was written down The king realized that he had not rewarded him. The vizier Haman was overjoyed with the invitation and was thinking about himself when King Xerxes asked how should a man who had saved the kings life be rewarded
Haman said he should be dressed in royal robes and seated on the royal horse and given a land as gift King Xerxes ordered Haman to honour Modecai in the same manner Haman’s heart was filled with fear
That day in the banquet King asked Esther “ what is your petition queen Esther”
She requested him to not to destroy her people the jews The King was perplexed and wanted to know about it queen Esther said that this wicked vizier Haman has plotted against them . Then the king’s rage was kindled and he orderd that vizier Haman and all his followers and entire family be put to death He wrote a royal decree that all enemies of the jews should be destroyed.
The Jews established an annual feast, the feast of Purim, in memory of their deliverance. According to traditional rabbinic dating, this took place about fifty-two years after the start of the Babylonian Exile.Given the great historical link between Persian and Jewish history, modern day Persian Jews are called "Esther's Children". A building known as the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai is located in Hamadan, Iran. Their deliverance is celebrated in the Jewish festival of Purim in Feb or March (the 14th of Adar in the Jewish calendar), commemorating Esther, who saved the Jews from destruction in 473 BC during the Persian occupation.The festival includes a complete reading of the Book of Esther (Old Testament Book ) in the synagogue, during which the listeners respond with stamping, whistling, and hissing to the names of the evil characters.
We took the Lufthansa flight via Munich .Heavy traffic somehow we were seated apart my seat was between two german gentlemen who behaved very correctly throughout the flight. All three failed to understand why the airhostess did not let us change our seats. The young man who was seated next to the aisle ,kept making fun of the that airhostes by mimicking her way of walking and talking obviously he was annoyed wanted to sit with his friend across the aisle.
Munich we were apgraded to executive class that was a experience of our life. Seats opened out in form of huge easy chair almost like a vertical bed. The menu was delicious and we were given toilet pack complete with toothbrush and toothpaste. I read funny article ''Princess Diana's death "
An English princess with an Eygptian boyfriend travelling in a german car , crashes in a french tunnel , driven by dutch driver who was drunk on Scottish wisky, followed closely by Italian paparazi on Japanese driven motorcycles treated by American doctor using Brazilian medicines and more over posted by an Indian using Korean technology [ Samsung ,LG, Blackberry] that use Taiwanese chips and a Korean screen and assembled by Bangladesh worker in a Singapore plant most probably transported by Pakistani lorry drivers This the True Defination of Globalization.