Knowledge or Grades? What's more important?

I don’t like to complain, but the current teaching scenario doesn’t earn any appreciation either. I hate it when my teachers break into the same old monotonous speech on marks, marks and marks. How can something as valuable as knowledge be measured in marks or grades? Is it even possible to catalogue a man based on the marks or grades he earns?

Ever so often, my teachers tend to assign an arbitrary number of marks to each and every concept. They've developed a habit of it. Most of them, at most times, tell, "This concept is important for 2 marks"; "That definition is a definite question for 1 mark"; "One numerical is guaranteed from this concept"; "This derivation will be asked for 5 marks." I don't understand why teachers are so compelled to categorize topics based on marks assigned to them in the examinations. But, the worst bit is when they skip fundamental concepts citing the reason that no questions pertaining to such concepts are asked in examinations. They say that certain concepts are 'not important from the exam point of view' and that not studying such concepts wouldn't amount to any loss. Some ignorant students follow such teachers blindly and study only for the sake of exams. These lethargic students find the easiest ways to score the most marks with the least efforts, discovering shortcuts, finding frequently asked questions, and skipping unimportant topics. Many students are inclined to mug up the answers to the most anticipated questions in the examinations. They get ready to face the exams, but not to apply their knowledge.

According to me, the cause for such marks-driven pedagogy is a fundamental flaw in people's ideology- people tend to judge individuals, their character, their capabilities, and everything in between, on the basis of marks. If 'A' gets 95 marks out of 100 in any arbitrary subject, then people begin to praise A to the sky; "Oh! A's so intelligent! A's so smart!'; people never take A's character, aim, interests or personality into consideration. Similarly, if 'B' gets 40 marks on the same test, then the same people begin to treat B irreverently. Most fail to consider B's circumstances; whether B was unwell or uninterested or just had other priorities and commitments. It is true that if an individual can't score good marks, then he is a bit weak in prioritizing and decision-making, but that shouldn't mar his image for a lifetime. We mustn't judge anyone by virtue of his marks. Take the example of Albert Einstein, or Thomas Edison, or even Mark Zuckerberg. Both Einstein and Edison were considered dim and foolish by pedagogues, because they rebelled against rote learning. Now, tell me, can we imagine Einstein and Edison fools, just because they didn't do well in school; or Zuckerberg as bogus because he dropped out of college?

Knowledgeable students will garner good marks, but good marks do not imply knowledge. One shouldn't sow rotten seeds in small pots, add kilos of fertilizers and expect beautiful flowers. The time has come for education to stop centering on marks and start centering on character-building. Education should be an inspiration, not a burden. Knowledge and character must be supreme, not marks.

Contentment

Self contentment brings happiness,
But does the happiness need self?

For if I loved books, I'd be a librarian;
If I loved food, I'd be a cook;
If I loved money, I'd be a banker;
But does this contentment have an end?

I am content,
When my house is my home,
When there is conversation in silence,
When my thoughts aren't solitary,
Even when I'm asleep.

But one mustn't stop with complacency;
For I'd rather be incomplete,
Than stay in the dark,
And assume I'm complete. 

Procrastination

The bitter reality of every hard working, yet low achieving person is procrastination. It is a tendency that is very hard to avoid. Take this article for example. I put the heading up last week and planned to write it. Time and again, I postponed, pushing the day further for one reason or the other. I guess, the time is right only now, for I will not procrastinate any longer.

For the past few weeks, I've been thinking of discussing, with the principal, about a few reforms in the functioning of our college, but could never find the right thread to pull. Firstly, our college neither has a student counselor, nor does it have a suggestion box. Whom do I speak to? This is one of the matters I wanted to discuss about. Autumn is creeping in faster than I imagined. In two months, I'll have to start writing my college applications, and with no counselor, completing it won't be easy. I have yet to find out who in our college has the authority and the ability to complete the official parts of my college application as a school representative.

Secondly, our college library's modus operandi is one the most peculiar and worst kind I have ever seen. All the books are kept behind glass walls and to read any of them, one has to affix one's identity card. So, obviously, the librarians have trust issues. But, that isn't the end of it. One is allowed to borrow only one book among limited options, that too only on a specified date once in two weeks. I feel as if the librarian decides what I read and when I read it. The other day, one of the librarians told me that many old books had been stacked, bundled and kept in a storeroom on the top floor of the library building, inaccessible to potential readers. They could have been leased to students or, even donated to economically or academically poor students. But, no; they had to take the stupid decision and pack the books off for rodents to bite at. I don't know what one needs to know to become a librarian, but I'm sure librarians in our college library are unqualified for the post. In nearly all libraries, the situation is so pathetic that I've never seen a librarian as a book lover. Librarians at the counter often sit playing games on the computer, never caring to read a book from among the thousands around them.

Thirdly, the cultural and co-curricular activities in our college are nearly equal to nil, qualitatively and quantitatively. Our principal doesn't even permit us to participate in fests organised by other colleges; Fests in our college are out of the question. When some of my friends and I had opted for a French language course, the principal dashed our aspirations and asked us to concentrate on the core science subjects. The very soul of our college has become resistive to cultural expression and extra-curricular activities. The only active group in our college is the eco-club comprising of lecturers only. I don't know why; I'm going to find that out soon.

Now, surely, I will no longer wait for someone to take the lead, neither till someone asks me for my opinion. I will take the lead. I will ask the questions and I will get the answers I need. I will open the forum for discussion. I will try and I will succeed.

LIVE AND LET LIVE

Should we interrupt in Nature's Deeds?

In our last biology class, our teacher was telling us about human activities' "ill-effects" on ecosystems and that protecting the ecosystems is our responsibility. Many people believe that construction of wildlife sanctuaries and bio-reserves, adoption and care of animals, and collection, storage and preservation of plant specimens (seeds) are methods to do so. But, I strongly oppose most of it. We shouldn't interrupt in nature's deeds, either for the bad or what we assume is good!!

We have a long-standing habit of poking our nose into everything and doing things without giving much regards to  its consequences. Firstly, we managed to change (others prefer destroy) our environment with our habitation, agriculture, and industrialization. Frankly speaking, I don't find any flaw in it. We are as much a part of the environment as it is of us. As inhabitants of the Earth, we have every right to make our stay here comfortable; but we also have the duty to accept the ramifications of ours' as well as our cohabitants', animals, plants and microbes, activities. Secondly, claiming ourselves to be the smartest species in the generations to come, we indulge in activities to protect nature. Why do we want to conserve nature in its current state? Are we afraid of the future? Afraid that species smarter than us may evolve, and dominate us? Treat us as we now treat chimps?

We are either incorrigible hypocrites or ingenuous ignorants. One should either be selfless or accept that we are selfish. Why be a hypocrite? We speak so much of conservation of nature; protecting nature for nature's sake, for animals' and plants' sake. Did they ask us for protection? Aren't we obligated to all such things? But, I believe we actually do all of it for our own sake. We have feasts during holy festivals, don't we? Why? Because, we want to, but we take the name of God as if he demanded us to have such a sumptuous meal. Why do we treat others respectfully and courteously? Because, we often expect the same attitude in return. If it was ensured that no matter how you behaved, others would treat you respectfully, I bet, most people's true character would come out.

If we are not hypocrites, then we are ignorants for failing to consider the aftermath of our actions. We often hear that the number of species on Earth are decreasing, and that species loss is our loss. I believe it is just nature's way of filtering out the incompatible. When we change, the nature around us changes. If some species are dying, some more better suited species are being generated. Saving a mere two or three species will not sustain the future. Nature has its own ways of solving problems and speciation is one of the best it has come up with. Origin of man was a result of speciation. If we stop obstructing nature at every path, it will redeem itself; it will speciate. Nature will balance itself; not restore, but balance!!

Studying substantial parts of history, evolution and pre-historic life, the one thing that we can deduce is that change is inevitable. Yet, we resist it. Whenever something new happens, whether gradually or suddenly, we become hysterical. We hear that only a thousand tigers are left in India, and we begin worrying- What to do? What to do?? Let's try this! Let's try that!! I say, stop all this bullshit and reassess the scenario. For a change, let's not do anything, and wait for nature to complete its move. Remember, humans evolved from nature ans not the other way round. Let's stop interfering and allow nature to get its act back together. Let's live and let live!!

Can Man Be Unselfish? Of Course Not!!

Selfishness is a character that compels one to keep the whole or at least a part of anything and everything for oneself. Although used in a very derogatory sense, selfishness is an inherent trait in every organism, be it - unicellular or multi-cellular, mobile or immobile, domesticated or wild. It is the driving force behind the development of man and one of the most influential motivations.

Charles Darwin was right when he spoke of, 'The survival of the Fittest,' (Although he referred fitness, ultimately and only, to reproductive fitness, I believe fitness refers to the combination of all the favourable traits.) Selfishness is in our genes, and its one of the fundamental characters passed on to us by our ancestors. Only selfish people incited by a tinge of selflessness went a long way and they still do!! Plain selflessness neither inspires one, nor does it motivate one to beat the odds and do something new. Selfishness renders one fit and the fittest always survive.

'Man loves himself most.' I've read at least two stories having this as their moral and I wish to cite the two. In one story by Mannu Bhandari, a cemetery comes upon a widower who is extremely sad and is weeping over the death of his wife. The cemetery expects the man to die in despair, but in the span of a couple of years, it again comes upon the same individual mourning the death of his second wife. The cemetery condones the man, thinking of his acts as an aberration, but when it again finds the man lamenting, this time due to the death of his third wife, it realizes that man loves oneself most and that he is always ready to scale immense heights to find peace and happiness for oneself.

In another Akbar and Birbal story, Birbal arranges for an experiment to prove that one loves one's own life most. He puts a monkey and its baby in a deep tank and asks the servants to start pouring water into it. As the water level rose to the mother's knee, it picks up the baby and places it against its bosom. When the water reaches its hips, it places the baby on its shoulder. When the water level reaches its shoulders, it places the baby on top of its head. But, when the water level seems to rise above its nose, it puts the baby down and stands on top of it to save its own life. Thus, the experiment showed that one loves one's own life most.

Although I speak so much for selfishness, I don't intend to support it under its current definition. I believe that we shouldn't let selfishness limit only up to I; it should cover the expanse of I, my family, my people, my nation, my Earth and even my galaxy (not ruling out inter-galactic communication in the near future.) I believe selfishness under the right control can be a very positive inspiration and motivation.

A Novel Predilection

Over the past few years, I've developed an affinity for novels in the mystery, suspense, thriller and conspiracy genre. I've gone onto read novels written by Dan Brown, Robert Ludlum, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Stieg Larsson.

The penchant for mystery novels began when I was in class 5. I had borrowed the first edition of Famous Five, by Enid Blyton, from the new library in the township. The Famous Five kept me so engrossed that I couldn't let go without reading the entire series. I was effectively hooked on, reading an edition every week. I managed to read 18 out of the 21 book series in the year, since 2 of them were damaged and 1 missing from the library. All-in-all, the Famous Five brought me to the mystery adventure genre.

Over the next two years, I experimented reading books from authors like O. Henry and Chetan Bhagat, but nothing could satiate that lust for mystery and adventure. Later, my sis bought an edition of Dan Brown's The da Vinci Code, but couldn't finish it. When I managed to get my hands on it, I couldn't put it down. I was mesmerized by the conspiracy, the mystery and the thrill it enveloped. The in -a-day narration and attention to detail had me head-over-heels in love with the style of writing. Consequently, I devoured - Angels & Demons, Deception Point, Digital Fortress, The Lost Symbol, and Inferno - all by Dan Brown. I am desperately waiting for his next novel. His conspiracy stories have left me wanting for more.

On  the look for more, I found Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. He originally wrote in Swedish, but the English translations - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest - are superb. The characters, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are built and developed extremely well. Stieg Larsson pulls you into a wormhole and you can't escape until you read the entire trilogy.

I'm on the hunt for more mystery and conspiracy. Do tell me if you know of any such good thrillers.

EUROTRIP

My first chance to use my passport as something other than a photo identity proof proved to be a serene experience across 10 western European countries. We travelled the countries- England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy and the Vatican City.

The build-up to the trip started two months before the actual trip itself. We had to drive from Belgaum to the city of Bangalore for document verification and bio-metrics for the U.K. Visa. Fortunately, one of my of  maternal uncles stays in Bangalore, abating the officialism of the 400 km drive. Obtaining the Shenzhen Visa was easier as we didn't have to go in-person to apply for it.

The build-up gained pace two weeks prior to the trip with the anxiety of deciding what to wear and what to take setting in. We bought some winter clothes although we were to visit Europe in spring, as Europe's springs are significantly cooler than our winters. One week prior to our trip, my sister was diagnosed with shopping fever and she had to visit just about every garment store in Belgaum to cure it.

We reached Mumbai one day prior our departure for Europe, parked our car at another of my maternal uncle's home and set off in a cab at 10 in the night, thus kick-starting our trip.

DAY 1
0000 IST
We're here, at last! Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport: Terminal 2! Luckily, the Meru Cab came on time and drrropped us off competently. At first glance, the terminus looks mesmerizing and magical.

0005 IST
Where is the tour coordinator? Tring Tring... Tring Tring.... Tring Tring.... No answer. I guess, we were too early for our 0640 departure, but the feeling of impatience stayed inexorable.

0100 IST
Still no sign of any Kesari representative!! (By the way, we were travelling with Kesari Tours Private Limited) We just strolled around CSIA terminal 2 admiring its mind-boggling architecture.

0200 IST
Yet more waiting! And no sleep! Walking around the terminal, I saw 2 couples with Kesari apparel. I deduced that they might be from out tour group. After surreptitiously watching them, I was engulfed by a strange feeling: Had we forgotten to pack something or had they over-packed? (The latter turned out to be true)

0300 IST
Kesari representatives turn up. We meet our tour leader, Mr. Jayesh Mhatre, for the first time (More about him in later sections). It turns out that we were part of the season's first Eurotrip. But, the arrival of Kesari was as much painful as joyous because they brought so much snacks and other stuff that we had to repack our stuff at the terminus! In the next three hours, we checked in, got through security check and emigration and landed at Duty Free Mumbai Shops. I don't get the concept of  Duty Free; The prices they sell at are sky-high anyway, around 10 times the actual price, what more taxes were they going to levy?

0640 - 1340 IST
My first international flight from Mumbai to Istanbul aboard a BOEING 777-300ER. Our seats were shuffled and I had to sit in an aisle different from mom, dad and sis'. I even had to sacrifice my window seat for an unruly couple. The breakfast on-board was a total enigma. I spent my time playing video games and watching Hangover III and a few episodes of Big Bang Theory.

We tasted some Turkish Delight at Istanbul Airport. It tastes very much like the Indian Halwa, but is richer in taste and nutrition. Then, we were off to London in an Airbus 330.

1440 GMT
We landed in Heathrow, but it took us two hours for immigration and baggage collection. Then, we went straight to Holiday Inn M4J4 for some much needed rest to prepare for the next 14 days. We spent the evening relaxing, and acquainting ourselves with Europe's cool climate.

Day 2
Early morning showers threatened to dampen our sight-seeing, but by the time we moved from the City of Westminster to The City, the skies cleared and the Sun shone through. Our first stop was the Tower of London, in The City, on the banks of river Thames (a.k.a. London ki Ganga). The tower has a very vast history, from being a castle to prison to palace and now a museum. We saw the Crown Jewels; the largest diamonds in the world, the Stars of Africa and of course, the Koh-i-Noor. We saw the Ravens of the Tower of London, the Yeomen Warders (popularly known as the Beef eaters), and the Grenadier Guards.

We returned to the City of Westminster for lunch at Bangalore Express via the Trafalgar Square. At this moment it gets hard not to go into the following digression. Trafalgar Square has the sculptures of 4 huge lions at each of its corners. The artist who was summoned to sculpt them was famous for painting animals like dogs, horses etc., but neither had he ever sculpted nor had he seen a lion. Using his cat and dog as models, he gave the lions dog's paws and the look of a cat. Even the lions' mouth is kept open like a dog's.

Then we made our way through Parliament Square, viewing the Houses of Parliament and the Big Ben, to the Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Monument. Many of my co-tourists felt that the Buckingham Palace is no match for the grandeur of Indian Palaces. But, I believe it is worth a view because of the power it housed and the lineage it still houses.

In the afternoon, we visited Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, one of the funniest parts of our trip. We posed, sometimes exceedingly stupidly, with actors, athletes, politicians, and many other notable figures. But, the best part of Tussaud's was the 4D MARVEL SHOW. The Avengers and Spiderman jumped right in front of my eyes. I was almost compelled to jump out of my seat and  join them fight the bad guys.

Glimpses of Madame Tussaud's

As the Sun descended, we took a ride on the Coka Cola London Eye, grabbing a spectacular view of the sunset and the London skyline along the Thames.

DAY 3
We had to wake up at 4 in the morning to catch our 8 'o' clock Eurostar train to Paris. We boarded Eurostar at St. Pancras Terminus, King's Cross Station. The journey by Eurostar was a great experience. We were travelling at 180 kmph under the English Channel and didn't even feel jerks and jolts. The view of the English and french countrysides from the large windows in the pantry car was bucolic. But, the slums surrounding the Gare du Nord, Paris (Paris' North Station) portrayed a drastically different picture of immigrants in France.

We proceeded for lunch at Jodhpur Palace restaurant and then set out to see the beauty of Paris. We learnt about the history of Paris and the French Revolution, and roamed the streets of Paris. One striking thing is the similarity in structure of the buildings. We saw the Louvre Museum, the Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden), the Place de la Concorde (Concorde Square), Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the Grand Palais (Palace) and many of the 37 bridges on the Seine. Pont Neuf or the New Bridge happens to be the oldest bridge in Paris at around 400 years of age. Its name, which was given to distinguish it from older bridges that were lined on both sides with houses, has remained.

In the evening, we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, observing the beauty of Paris' city planning with the backdrop of an equally beautiful sunset. The panoramic view of the city reveals the stunning pattern in the structure and arrangement of buildings. Many of the city blocks actually appear to be shaped as pizza slices. At around 8 'o' clock, we adored the night view of Paris in a cruise in the Seine.

Feel Good Factor:
We were in Paris, considered by many as the center of Europe.


DAY 4
We allocated the whole day for Disneyland Paris (a.k.a. Euro-Disney). Well, nearly the whole day, as we took the wrong exit from the expressway and managed to reach Disneyland only at 12 'o' clock. The enchanting land requires at least 2-3 days to see and feel, but unfortunately we only had 6 hours to explore it.

I went on the following rides:

• "it's a small world": The happiest cruise that ever sailed around the world.
• Captain EO: A fantastic 3D film relating the adventures of Captain EO, alias Michael Jackson, featuring a rhythm-packed musical soundtrack and a whole host of dazzling special effects.
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril: Face the wrath of the gods on a mine car looping at high speed through ancient temple ruins.
• Pirates of the Caribbean: An adventurous cruise through a pirate attack on a Spanish fortress.
• Big Thunder Mountain: Hurtling through an abandoned gold mine at breathtaking speed aboard a runaway mine train!

We had some tongue tingling, stomach filling hot pizza, pasta and gingerbread at the peppy African jungle themed eatery, Colonel Hathi's Pizza Outpost.

At the day's end was the Disneyland Parade, which I felt would be more amusing for a 6 year old kid than to me. I do appreciate the beauty, the hard-work and the technology behind it, but it just wasn't for me. For me, Disneyland was characterized by the bursts of adrenaline, riding the thundering, spine-chilling roller-coasters.

Feel Good Factor:

DISNEYLAND!!!

DAY 5

We had breakfast in Paris and drove 3 hours continuously to reach Brussels, Belgium. Did you know that Brussels is a 1 hour drive away from 4 different countries. Also, Brussels is called the Capital of Europe, since the European Union is head-quartered there.

As soon as we entered Brussels, we visited the Atomium. It makes for a great picture with one holding the balls (actually, they're supposed to be electrons according to an old disproved atomic model). Post lunch, we proceeded to the Grand Place Square via the statue of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. The Grand Place or Grote Markt looks exquisite with all the gold laden buildings and their roofs. We had waited long to see the naked symbol of Brussels, the Manneken Pis, but the sheer magnitude of the statue blew us away. It is the life size statue of a 2 year old baby!! We even bought some belgian dark chocolates, and waffles with extra cream and chocolate on top. (My shirt managed to gather more cream than my mouth: tasty in my mouth, but sticky on my shirt!)

Then, we went on a 4-hour long journey into the Netherlands and had dinner at Invitation Restaurant, Noordwijkerhout. The restaurant had a beautiful and serene lake-view, and the dim lights in the dark night helped get rid of all the boredom and stress from the 7-hour journey.

Feel Good Factor:
Breakfast  in France
Lunch in Belgium
Dinner in Netherlands

DAY 6
A soon as I wake up in the morning, I open the huge windows of our room and what should I see? Flowers everywhere: flower fields in every direction, all the way to the horizon; red, yellow, blue, violet, you name the colour you want. The previous night, we had arrived in the darkest of nights. We had high expectations of the tulips, but actually seeing the fields shattered them all.

At around 10 in the morning, we reached Keukenhof (Tulip Garden) at Lisse. There were flowers in full bloom up to the boundaries of my vision, but a sort of gloom had set in. My mood had gone downhill, and whenever I am in a bad mood, all wrong things happen around me (usually because of me). I learnt this the hard way that day. First, in the souvenir shop at Keukenhof, I dropped nearly a dozen chocolates from the rack. Then, when we were at McDonald's for lunch, I dropped and spilled half a bottle of Coke on the floor. Then, at the dinner table, I dropped a bottle cap into my plate. (Fortunately, the bottle didn't follow the cap into my plate.) I guess, many things drop with the mood.

After lunch at McD's, we went for a canal cruise ride in the City of 100 Canals and 1000 Bridges, Amsterdam. Amsterdam is more famous for 3 things- drugs, dine and bikes. Amsterdam is beautiful, but our time in it wasn't. The atmosphere was great, but my mood wasn't.

Then, we sped off to Germany, courtesy, the Autobahn. Did you know that there are no speed limits for cars on certain stretches of the Autobahn? Unfortunately, we were in a bus! We first went to Cologne to see the Cologne Cathedral, the massive Gothic structure. During World War II, the allied fighter pilots used this structure as a landmark and hence, never tried to damage it. But, currently it is under restoration to scrub off the black sooty layer on the whole of its outer surface. Then, we had dinner at Ganesha Restaurant, Cologne and called it a night.

DAY 7
We spent most of the day travelling: we had to cross Germany- North to South, from Cologne to Zug, Switzerland. But the journey was beautiful, traversing the mystical Black Forest region (Schwarzwald) of Germany and the Magical hills of Switzerland.

This part of the journey happened to be the official introduction of the tour group and I will follow the same thread. I was part of a group of 27, including 2 families, 6 couples (2 newly weds), 2 loners and 4 trainees, led by a charismatic tour leader. The jolly group was the reason why the journey didn't seem so gloomy and boring. We played together, sang together and laughed together. The whole group seemed like a family, and I would have bonded better had I been more gregarious. We were driven around in 9 countries by Robert, a Pole (as in a Polish citizen) in a Polish bus.

We stopped at a Cuckoo Clock Factory (Hofgut Sternen) at Drubba, Titisee in the Black Forest region. The whole workshop/store doubled up as a huge cuckoo clock. I was awestruck at the sight of the variety of cuckoo clocks on show and the craftsmanship and technique that goes into each one of them. we even had lunch there and in desserts, we had Black Forest pastry. (Devouring yummy Black Forest in Black Forest! What more could I ask for?) Then, it was time to say bye-bye to Germany and hello to Switzerland.

Here, we first visited the Rhine Falls. There was a slight drizzle and hence, we had to wear ponchos. The waterfall looks beautiful from a distance, but when we reached a boulder at the base of the falls by a boat and climbed on top of it, the experience was exhilarating. The combination of the drizzling rain and the water spraying from the falls made for an ineffable experience; and the sound of water, UNFORGETTABLE.

Then, we went to Zug, near Lucerne to rest for the night.

Feel Good Factor:
RHINE FALLS; Water Above, Water below, Water All Around...!!

DAY 8
We went atop Mt. Titilis and even had ice cream in the middle of all the snow. The bliss of having snow all around you can't be explained in words. Its just sheer adrenaline, dopamine and endorphins.

We made our way back down in the afternoon and went to Lucerne. We saw The Lion Monument representing the back-stabbed fallen soldier, while sipping a cup of hot Indian Masala Tea. Then, while everyone else went on a shopping spree, we explored the streets of Lucerne, trying to understand the history, culture and architecture of Switzerland. We later sat on the banks of Lucerne Lake, enjoying the cool breeze and the setting Sun, and soaking in the Swiss Aura.

We had dinner on a cruise in the Lucerne Lake. Then, while everyone danced on the deck, I was overcome by memories of a dear one. I sat alone at the back of the cruise, feeling emotions I had never felt before. The ripples in the water seemed to reflect the ripples in my heart. For the first time in my life, I was emotional!

Feel Good Factor:
Snow..!!

DAY 9
We went to Jungfraujoch (a.k.a. Top of Europe) by cogwheel train. The whole day, we had fun in the snow. We even had a snow fight between Kesari Mandali  (our tour leader and his apprentices) and Bhidu Company (Sanskruti, Samruddhi, Sanskar, my sis Anisha and me). We bombarded one another with snow atop the mountain, in the train and even on the streets. Everyone was so busy with the snow fight that no one cared to click any pictures. This is just what I felt from day 1: Forget the photos and cameras, and enjoy the moment.

Feel Good Factor:
Snow-fight..!!!

DAY 10
After breakfast in Zug, we left for Liechtenstein, a doubly land-locked country between Switzerland and Austria. It is the sixth smallest country in the world with 36,000 happy citizens. Liechtenstein is the only country with no borders and no army. It is bordered on one side by the river Rhine and the other side by mountains. Liechtenstein and Switzerland are separated by unmanned bridges. So, on one end of the bridge, you have Switzerland and the other end, Liechtenstein.

We visited Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, and toured the city in a small road train. Surprisingly, the commentary in the train was in Hindi. Either India has very good relations with Liechtenstein or the country expects lots of tourists from India. We even had Indian lunch there. Then we headed off to Austria.

We first visited Innsbruck. The name of the city comes from the first Bruck (bridge) on the river Inns. We even saw the Goldenes Dacht (Golden Roof) and Maria Theresien Strasse (street). Queen Maria Theresa was known as the mother-in-law of Europe, since she had 16 children and each of them was married off to a royal family in Europe. We stayed the night in Hotel Olympia, Axams atop a snow peak in the Alps.

Feel Good Factor:
Breakfast in Switzerland
Lunch in Liechtenstein
Dinner in Austria

DAY 11
We woke up early for a morning walk in the snow. Eventually, everybody else left and I was left to solitarily jog atop the Alps; something that I actually preferred. After the morning chores, we left for Italy's Veneta Province. We saw some beautiful vistas from Alps' snow peaks to the Italian plains to the Mediterranean Sea.

We had lunch in New Venice and then took a Vaparetto, Water Bus ride to Venezia (Old Venice). The only unfortunate thing was that it was raining. My sister even went on to say, "Venice in Rain, Visited in Pain." But, I believe the rains were blessings in disguise. How else could we have avoided all the crowd in Venice? I stood alone in the middle of St. Mark's Square (considered by many as the busiest square in the world) and soaked in the beauty of Venice. If not for the rain, would I have been able to solitarily experience Venice's Aura? Of course not. I saw the statue of Victor Emanuel II, the Doge's Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, St. Mark's Basilica, St. Mark's Square and so many other monuments. Everything I saw in Venice is worth mentioning. That's the reason the complete city of Venice is a World Heritage Site. We even went on a Gondola ride in the canals of Venice.

Then, we proceeded for dinner and stay in Padova.

Feel Good Factor:
Jogging atop the Alps and Getting soaked in Venice.

DAY 12
We entered the Tuscany Province to visit Maranello, the home of Ferrari. My heart started racing and pounding as I saw the spectacular cars in the Ferrari Museum and the Ferrari Dealership.

Then we went to Galileo's home-town, Pisa. We saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Piazza del Duomo (Pisa's Cathedral Square) and clicked photos of us holding it up. But, none of my co-tourists had a good enough sense of perspective to click a properly aligned photo of mine. And another striking thing in Pisa was street vendors selling (fake) Gucci and Prada bags for 10-20 Euros. The scenario was similar in almost every city. We saw many hawkers, usually immigrants, selling virtually everything- from ponchos to fake merchandise to cheap souvenirs.

Next on our schedule was a visit to Florence's Piazza Michelangelo and David. Michelangelo gave David the body of a well-built male, but the face of his mother. And from the viewpoint right in front of David, I saw the spectacular night skyline of Florence. Having read Dan Brown's Inferno, it was very difficult for me not to go out into Florence exploring the places where Robert Langdon had been. We settled for the night in Art-e-Hotel, Perugia, Umbria Province.

DAY 13
A common saying goes such,"All Roads Lead to Rome." I don't know of the other roads, but our's surely did. We reached Rome, Lazio Province just before noon and visited the Flavian Amphitheatre, commonly known as the Roman Colosseum. Although much of its glory has been lost to calamities, its sheer size is still staggering. We further went on a small tour of the city - viewing Piazza Venezia with the new monument, Vittoria (which happens to be 150 years old), Circus Maximus and the ruins of various forums. We then proceeded for lunch at the Maharajah Restaurant.

Post lunch, we spent time in the Vatican City, the smallest country in the world. We entered via the Vatican Museum. Just about everywhere I turned, there was a piece of art, be it paintings, sculptures, mosaics, carvings, tapestries or frescoes. We then paid a visit to the Sistine Chapel, the most famous hall in the world. The frescoes painted by Michelangelo are magnificent, specially the Last Judgement, and the Creation and other Old Testament stories on the ceiling. There is also a small spot on the ceiling from where the paint has fallen off, but no artist has been brave enough to match Michelangelo and repaint the gap.

We then went to St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world. At every turn, there is a work of art. Every painting in the church has been replaced by mosaic, which look original and are camera-friendly. We saw the works of Bernini and Michelangelo. We then made our way into the St. Peter's Square. Then, in the evening, we went to the Trevi Fountain. Well, Rome wasn't built in a day and it can't be seen in a day either.

Feel Good Factor:
I was in 2 countries at the same time. One of my feet was in the Vatican City, while the other was in Italy.

DAY 14
For the first time in a fortnight, we woke up at our own pace and got ready in no hurry. We reached Fiumicino Aeroporto Internazionale Leonardo da Vinci at 1115 hours and boarded our Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul at 1425 hours. We landed late and had to rush to catch our flight to Mumbai. We reached Mumbai the next morning, stayed at my uncle's home and drove back to Belgaum a day later.