An Indian in Germany

Computer Babu Naidu

Yours truly has always been a critic of Computer Babu Naidu, the Cheif Minister of Andhra Pradesh. I hail from the state and have seen nothing but hype and spin surround his ambitious looking policies. He had time and again succeded in arm-twisting the Central Govt. into granting more to AP.
Friends have written me off as too severe a critic in dicussions. I have always argued that he has stressed on wrong priorities and had done nothing for the poor.
Today I will keep quiet and let George Monbiot a columist of The Guardian do the talking.

An excerpt from The Guardian


In Britain the Labour government claims to have abandoned such practices, though only because they infringe European rules on competition. But now it has found a far more effective means of helping the rich while pretending to help the poor. It is spending its money on projects that hand public goods to corporations.

It is now giving, for example, £342m to the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. This is a staggering amount of money, 15 times what it spent last year on the famine in Ethiopia. Why is Andhra Pradesh so lucky? Because its chief minister, or "chief executive" as he now likes to be known, is doing to his state what Pinochet did to Chile: handing everything that isn't nailed down, and quite a lot that is, to big business. Most of the money DfID is giving him is being used to "restructure" and "reform" the state and its utilities.

His programme will dispossess 20 million people from the land and contribute massively to poverty. DfID's own report on the biggest of the schemes it is funding in the state reveals that it suffers from "major failings", has "negative consequences on food security" and does "nothing about providing alternative income for those displaced". But it permits Andhra Pradesh to become a laboratory for the kind of mass privatisation the department is seeking to encourage all over the world.

On the edge of lunacy-Guardian

Swiss Trip

Christmas in India meant just a one day holiday and I am sure 1st Jan was not a holiday for schools. However, here in the west things are quite different. A string of parties and a wonderful holiday, that is what this piece is all about. Two parties with office collegues, one with friends and one with the Tiwaris apart from my own birthday party, the holiday season had started on a very positive note.
Travel plans were made, tickets and hotels were booked well in advance.


27th Dec

We set off from Kaiserslautern to Lausanne. Sitting in the ICE (fast train) was like a joy ride, the tilt of the train due to banking at turns. On our way to Lausanne we had our first view of the snow capped Alps.

In Lausanne station we met Prakash Tiwari IMSCian from IIT M. We bought the youth pass to be effective from 28th to 31st Dec for 180 CHF (Swiss Franks). Walked up hill to reach Flohn local station where Randhir, also from IMSC, joined us. The Swiss bus drivers proved to be very passenger friendly. When we enquired the hotel address with a bus driver, hoping that he would surely know, he first did some explaining and then to our surprise got down from the bus and walked across the road to show us the bus stop to reach. Having reached the bus stop, we found the bus already waiting. The driver, a lady in this case explained to us to buy tickets using the vending machine. The bus was getting late and so she decided to let us travel without ticket.

At the Formulae 1 hotel we were received by Arabs. Freshened up and walked half a km to have our Dinner at McDonalds.


28th Dec

We had our breakfast at the hotel. It was raining and the spirits were damp. We walked for half an hour and reached Renes station. The plan was to go to Geneve. We had to change train in Morges. A gap of 15 min and we were posing for photographs. A passer by mistook the photographers sign that he was done with taking pictures and joined us to pose. He was probably the only other soul on that platform. We were surprised to learn that this guy, originally from France, could speak good Bengali. He was an anthropologist working on and entwined with Bengali Culture. En route we enjoyed the view of the distant snow covered peaks and Lake Geneve.

We had a nice chat with him until he got down in Nyon station. We reached Geneve and took a tram to Place du Molard. The shores of the lake are lined with gardens. Many Multinational companies have their offices on the Lake side roads. The Jet d'Eau(water jet) looked magnificent with its 138 M height. We had barely had a good look at the Lake Geneve and done a few minutes of video apart from a few photos when the rain started to grow dense. Only by providence could the steamer Henry Durand be waiting for us. We discovered that our Swiss pass entitled us to a free ride. Glad to have a shelter from rain we decided to spend the next three hours in the vessel as it sailed all the way to Nyon and back. A wait for the start, enthusiasm in taking photos, fun making video, and soon the battery drained. Here we were, a bunch of Indians from Germany, having spent a fortune to see the beauties of Switzerland, stuck in a steamer sailing on Lake Geneve, rain and clouds blocking the view. Add hunger to boredom (well the lunch was certainly not free or at least affordable) and you have the whole picture. Just in case you haven't let me put it in one sentence "Saab log aise bhaite the jaise ki bhaad me behke ayee hoo".
When we reached Nyon I decided we had had enough, enquired and found that the Railway station was just 10 min walk away. We got off the lovely steamer (see the photos), found our way to the station and reached Geneve again. Lunch was the top priority and McDonalds was the right place (not actually as simple as it sounds, had to search for it for 30 min!). We then went to the United Nations Building, took photos of the three legged chair, a monument to the victims of anti-personnel mines, searched desperately for the tricolour (easily found a close match, only change was a saffron disc instead of the Ashok Chakra) and finally found it to be hidden deep inside.

A boring tale better not told preludes our dinner at Prakash's house. A quick peek into the net to check how India was faring in the third test, at Randhir’s office in EPFL is perhaps the only thing worth mentioning. The dinner was tasty, especially the daal. Slightly off track, most(99.99% sparing Avik) Indian men discover themselves to be great cooks when they end up in Europe (of US I have no knowledge).


29th Dec

First thing in the morning we purchased provisions from COOP stores. After breakfast we vacated the hotel, deposited luggage in a locker and went to Ouchy (port) in Lausanne. I will skip describing the beauty of this place, the view of the Alps and the music of chirping birds. The pictures in my online album (http://subramanyam.fotopic.net) will talk a thousand words each.

The Olympic museum being closed, we decided to visit the old city. The old bridge, wonderful architecture, large church buildings and the colourful crowd is what the old city is all about in a nutshell. We spent some time (wasted rather) searching for an Indian restaurant (which was closed by the by) and ended up in a Pizzeria. We enjoyed the pizza and decided to visit the big church nearby which towered above all building. The carvings were typical gothic style. Beautiful stained glass windows, large organ and a tall spire the most prominent of features. I and Sarath decided to spend the 2 CHF each and went atop the spire. The view of the city, lake and the Alps was incredible (again better described by the photos).

We rushed back to the station, caught the train to Interlaken and by the time it was 6 PM we were in the Happy Inn lodge. We spent a lot of time checking the gifts and sovereigns from showcases. Once again we ended up eating at McDonalds.

The lodge was a typical backpacker’s accommodation. We met a Chinese guy on a world tour, an Indonesian forester, a Japaneese guy and last but not the least two beautiful Australian girls. The Lodge had an attached bar and by the time we came back from supper a DJ was setting up his equipment. We found some space and settled to drink. We waited an hour for the DJ to entertain us. When he started, we decided to call it a day. While most of the troupe left to sleep, three of us (me, Arun, Avik) decided to have a night walk as it was only 10 PM. We walked around, explored the neighbourhood, and discovered that the street in which many bollywood duets were shot was not far away (though it looked much different after the fall). The famous casino Krusaal was very nearby. We walked in and out without loosing a single cent, unlike weary looking people whom we saw coming out, on our way in, thanks to the 30 plus CHF entry fee. A show case of the watch shop in the casino complex was glittering with watches and we wondered if they were first hand.

We could see faint sketch of the mountains that surrounded this town on all side, on the dark canvas of night. An electric star shone high in the sky and we were wondering what supported it at that height.


30th Dec

Breakfast in the Interlaken west station, bus to Interlaken east and a train journey through beautiful Alps took us to Grindelwald. A 30 min bus journey took us to the skiing area called Bussalp. The beauty of the scenery on the way to Bussalp and on the top is very difficult to describe, but for those hindi movie seeing people out there, believe me, live was much better than in the movie. We took photos, made video, rented a sledge, practised, fell in snow, had lunch (vegetarian-Kartofel salad) and drank Johnny Walker to keep ourselves warm. After lunch, Amit, Sarath and I decided to go to the top of the mountain and come down by sledge. The hike was tiring and we scaled to 80% height and came down by sledge. I Fell in snow twice and the pants and shoe were frozen.

When the time came to take the bus back, Amit decided that he would sledge his way down and enquired if there were any interested parties. Well a little eccentricity was a prerequisite to do this adventure and Sarath and I decided to try it.

The descent on the sledge was thrilling, chilling, dangerous with steep turns, and the clouds worsened things by effecting visibility. Sarath crossed a net and fell in deep snow once. I narrowly missed loosing control of my sledge twice. We stopped midway to take a quick sip to quench the thirst. A gentleman passing by was awe stuck as he said “Johnny Walker Pure!”

Frozen Jeans, burning belly, chill in the shoes, wet gloves and still in one piece, we beat the bus (well almost) in reaching Grendelwald. Then we caught a train back to Interlaken where we bought some provisions and reached the hotel. Thoroughly shaken to the very core, the oil in the lamps of the sliders was very low. I took rest in the hotel while the others went shopping and dining at McDonalds. Well Sarath and Avik had Durum or Donner Kebab. The rest resorted to Mc.

When the guys came back we sat in the bar and relaxed. Sarath tried Malibu and another strong liquor. I tried some beer. Heineken was especially good. Avik and Arun decided to explore the unexplored and I called it a day.


31st Dec

We checked out of the Lodge and as it was snowing in Interlaken, decided to leave for Zürich earlier than planned. A train to Zürich HBF, another to Orlinkon and a bus and we reached Formulae 1 hotel around noon. Every one was tired. We made some chai/kapi and settled to relax and play cards. At about 5 PM the lobby to step out grew strong and we left the hotel to see the New Year celebrations on lake side.

When we reached the main station we decided to explore the surrounding of the Rathaus as there was a lot of time left. Once near the Rathaus we spent time photographing and making video of the architecture. After about an hour we looked for a nice restaurant/bar found a Chinese restaurant which was a bit costly, continued the search and landed in an American Bar. We were desperate to get out the chill and attend to the needs of the stomach. A pint of beer and we had to leave the bar as the tables were reserved.

We had a lot of time to kill and so took a tram at random and travelled to and fro. By the time we reached the starting point two of us had enough of it and decided to return back. The rest of us enjoyed hot Vietnamese food (veg-fried rice, noodles, chicken something!). We had to wait for 3 more hours and killed time on the banks of the lake watching a live band, spent some time sipping drink and then joined the crowd for the fireworks show.

At midnight people popped their champagne bottles open and we greeted each other. A group of three English speaking (probably French) people in their 50’s offered us champagne and we enjoyed the free drink. At 12:20 the breath taking fireworks began. The show was simply superb. I strained my back and stretched myself to max to catch the show on video.

On our way back, we stopped in a less crowded spot for a photo session. A passer by tried to pick conservation with Avik. Meanwhile a blonde wished him happy New Year, stole a cigarette and to his astonishment kissed the passer by before she disappeared. Just about then another beautiful girl came from nowhere fully drunk and tried to hug and kiss Arun. Before the gentle man could react, the boy friend of the girl swung into action and pulled her away. Curses!


Broken bottles all along the streets, busy lanes and drunken people (well only some) was the picture after 1 am. We joined a group of people and danced to the tunes of ‘be my girl’ briefly, on our walk back.

We travelled ticket less from Zürich HBF to Orlinkon and had to walk for 30 min to reach the hotel. At Orlinkon we met a Sudanese man of Pak origin settled/trying to settle in Switzerland with a family of 4 kids and his wife. He picked a conversation with us Hindi speaking guys and wanted to walk with us as he was staying in the same hotel. The kids all below 6 years age walked half asleep. We helped him reach the hotel bid ‘Khuda Afhis’ and slept soundly.


1st Jan 2004 Happy New Year

Woke up by 8 AM freshened up, had coffee, checked out at 11, caught train at 1 PM in Zürich and reached Kaiserslautern by 6:30. Avik, Sarath and I spend some time in the Brauhaus sipping and reached home by 9:00 PM, cooked a nice daal, ate and called it a trip!

For all those out there wondering why McDonalds is our favourite eat out, let me assure you it is not so and had it not been that three of us were staunch vegetarians, we would have hardly been there but once.