This time I am going to take a look at the snaps and gather my thoughts and pen them down ( type on keyboard).
To start with I did participate in a run at Maidenhead which I am absolutely proud off. A 16 kms run through wood land and mustard fields in 1 hr 28 min is something that I will be proud off for a long time.
Did a couple of 5 k park run at Reading which I enjoyed even more, because the competitive spirit in me wants me to do better every time.
Then came the day to go to London, called upon my long time friend Pradeep who moved recently to London. My childhood friend/Best mate with whom I live came along to the Science Museum. I must say they did not share the same level of enthusiasm that I had for Science and machinery, none the less they were no spoil sports. The museum was half a mile long and it had three floors, Honestly we could cover only half of it in 4 hours. The warm welcome of Rocket engines and the replica of the Moon lander was enough to get my heart pumping.
Some of the older generation Russian rockets which had more than 16 tiny rocket motors just showed how advanced they were decades ago. I realised India even in the 21st century are plagued by failures in getting a single rocket motor working. Not to sound pessimist, but I hope soon we can catch up and be at the fore front of the Space frontier. The very sight of the Mercuy re entry module just showed how courageous those early astronauts were to bet their lives on engineers who put them in a metal shell which would plummet down from a height of 200 kms only to be heated to searing high burning temperatures during re-entry. They counted on a layer of Cermaic burning away beneath a capsule to save them. If they get the maths wrong about how thick it must be then every one would have been cooked inside!
The museum had various sections based on different themes, one of them was about how the miraculous brain works. There were games set up which deceived the Brain. we Had fun playing around with that for a while; fascination soon dropped which is usual. Our attention span is immensely low. Wonder why the Brain does that? If we could offer 100% focus on a task; speaking for the Human race we all could have achieved much more. Is that the difference between an armature and a genius? Could be !
We grabbed a quick Lunch with a stunning desert and went straight back into the Museum, guess Food was what was on our mind all the time. The next section was for the planes and the marvellous crafts that always have fascinated me. From the bell helicopters to the Harrier Jump Jets. There were many engines from the yester years on display. A cross section of the 747 was what amazed me the most. From a distance the shell looks so thin that its hard to believe that , that wafer protects us from minus 44 degrees, 900 miles per hour wind which one quarter Bar air pressure; read that as certain death !
Late evening, we walked about Wataerloo to catch a good view of the Millennium bridge, There was a public art work on display where poems from around the world in all languages were recited and left hanging on strings. It was interesting. The thought of letting paper planes aiming towards the sky did bring up the imagination that the poem for world peace if really did take off and impregnate the thoughts of the ill minded people, then the world would surely have been a much better place, alas, that's not the case. But I do have the freedom of wishful thinking.
After our walk headed to a Anand's favorite pub for a Drink, only to be put behind a barricade by the Firemen. The neighbouring restaurant had a minor fire break out. Persistence paid off and they let us through to get the only drink I am capable of consuming, a Cider.
My next tour was to the imperial war museum at Lambeth. Greeted by the biggest cannons I will ever see. the shells were as tall as me which can spit those out hundreds of kilometres away.The word "Massive" suits perfect now!
The number of planes and the anti aircraft guns, the Tanks, the heavy Artillery, The submarines, U-Boats,The clandestine Enigma machine, The mock up of the Atomic bomb was some what awesome and discomforting at the same time. Each of the machinery there were engineering marvels.Epitome of human genius, but it took away the lives of Millions across Europe and Japan. Especially the V2 rockets that the Germans used in hundreds against London and the Atomic bomb gave me the shivers up my spine.
The most agonising part was what I was not allowed to photograph. it was three floors of the holocaust memorial.It was the same feeling that I experienced when I was at the memorial at Berlin. The injustice done to several millions and the 6.6 million lifes that were taken off this earth for no reason shows how cruel Humans can be. It brings me to shame to call myself as a human. A tiger kills to satisfy hunger, but a human kills to satisfy ego. What strikes me is that our great nation, India has faced nothing like what Europe has faced. Not even a fraction. The wars and the massacre they have seen is epic!. Just imagine if we were ruled by the Germans and our peaceful protests and hunger strikes would mean nothing to the Nazi's.They would not only willingly allow us to kill ourselves but might even assist. Our victory was not wholly because of us, it was because the Empire shared the values of a sane person. They respect freedom because they have seen what it means back at home. For the British the Germans had put the razor sharp sword right up to their necks for them to realise its importance and then let us have it.
The following weekend came my good Friend, Prajakta from Pune. I was more than happy to play the host and take her around the city along with Pradeep. we headed to the Greenwich and many shopping malls. Girls do love them more than anything else.
Pradeep and I did let her cook some good Pune food for us and had a good time chatting away. We once went to Windsor as well to take a look at the Queens place, only to be 20 minute late, but none the less I happened to meet a girl who time travelled from 16th centry but who still uderstood the value of one pound to stand next to me for a second.
The past month has treated me well with the British summer being delightful. I am thankful to the Lord that I have some good friends who have stood by me,and some who withstood me! The one background score that's in my head is 'Make hay while the sun shines'
For a whole lot of Pictures
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150254340454540.365923.651679539&l=e64c356af8
