An Indian in Germany

Benvenuto...


Time : 5:30 PM Geb-49 Erwin Schrodinger Straße
I receive a phone call. An invitation for a dinner. And just as the deal is being clinched an unexpeceted twist and the plans cannot be confirmed.

Time : 6:30 PM Geb-10 Meisenweg.
I check mail and then there is an ambigious description of when and where. After a few more frantic emails the plan is ironed out to the minutest details. I dress up and a brisk 5 min walk takes me to the Bus halte.

Time: 7:00 PM Parister Strasse Bus halte
I wait for the bus and in 2 min I am aboard the #14. I reach Schillerplatz 5 min before schedule at 7:15. I had got down in Kaufhalle and walked down the damp foot path. On the otherside of the road, inside a big white tent people are ice skating. Must go there sometime, through there is a very high probability of breaking a bone or perhaps two. I am still left with 5 min to kill at Schillerplatz. I stroll around. It is Christmas season already. Few kids are enjoying a merry-go-round. Stalls selling gluewine, handicrafts and other decoration items. I browse through each shop careful enough not to look too interested, least I should draw the attention of the vendor and end-up conversing with him in my non-existant German.

I come back to the bus stop, across the road waiting for the pedestrian green are three Indians. In a minute I am shaking hands with Sarath, Avik and Mohan. We walk briskly and in about 10 minutes we are in front of an Italian resturant whose name is not so important (since I dont remember it!).

We sit in a nice corner on a spacious table. Behind me is a young couple. But All I can lay my eyes on are elderly couples. We ordered our food and drink. The drink came first. We sat chatting and the guys grew hungy. A think film of smoke, candle light a perfect set up for a perfect dinner. The non-veg guys had lasagna The vegies had but no option and resorted to a pizza. The food was tasty. We kill another half an hour waiting for the waiter. Then a good 15 min waiting for the bill. In another 5 min we are out on the street.

We walk back to the bus stop. People are coming out of the platz theater towards the bus stop. Almost all of them senior citizens. A few young people who have come from where ever they came from but not from the theater, are also waiting for the bus. The bus was rather crowded. I am back in my room in about 20 minutes. An hour I spent online and then called it a day.

The Waiting Game

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | The waiting game


It is always a game of the powerful exploiting the powerless. Once having been at the receiving end of things, Isreilis are supposed to know the value of dignity, freedom and peace. This, unfortunately doesnt' seem to be the case. The longer this injustice continues, the stronger will be the resolve in Islamic world to fight it. While their security needs cannot be undermined, their actions cannot be justified either. It is high time and they should stop playing with the lives of Palestenians.

Extract:
Khalid says that all the sheep owned by the village are going to starve, while their pastures lie across the Israeli security barrier. "Can somebody intervene here?" he asks. "You know when birds get stuck in oil slicks or whales get beached, everybody rushes to help them. Maybe helping the Palestinians is complicated. But the world could help the sheep. That should be simple."