London Diaries (5):Down the Downing Street

Across the Westminster Bridge lies the Big Ben and the houses of parliament. I chose a warm sunny day to walk across the bridge to reach the big Ben.

Next to it is the imposing House of Parliament. Its a great deal of effort to go inside - you need a whole lot of permissions so I just contented myself by clicking photographs from the outside.

A short walk down the street is 10 Downing Street. Off course its a extremely high security zone and we couldn't click any pictures except of the fierce looking policemen !



Just across downing street was a tribute to the women who fought in world war 2

London Diaries (4) : Marching with the Guards at Buckingham Palace

After I was done with Trafalgar square, I decided to walk to Buckingham palace. Its quite a walk but I didn’t really mind. I believe that the best way to see a city is by foot. I like doing things at my own pace and I abhor guided tours where they stuff a lot of useless information about a place down your throat and then herd you quickly to the next tourist spot without giving you much time to actually enjoy the place. It makes me feel as if everything is just passing in a blur. I need to go slowly, walk around and get a feel of the place, take snaps, stay for as long as I want and take in the surroundings …

One of the things Buckingham Palace is famous for is the changing of the guards’ ceremony. I did want to see the change of guards, but I had been told that I’d have to reach at least 2 hours before to make sure I get a good spot. I had no intention of waiting for such a long time just to see the ceremony and I didn’t want to push and shove a lot of people to get a good view and get pushed and jostled around in return. So I decided to just see the Buckingham palace and forget about the change of guards.

From Trafalgar square, I walked under the Admiralty Arch and on to The Mall road. The Admiralty Arch houses important government houses is also a ceremonial entrance to the mall road that leads from Trafalgar square to the palace.

Admiralty Arch

The mall is a very long road and was milling with tourists. Both sides of the road were decorated with the Union Jack. It has the St James palace and St James park on it as well as many important buildings whose names I forget but remember them as being rather imposing structures. Architecture in London is spectacular where ever you go.


I was walking leisurely when there was a sudden rush of activity and all the tourists started rushing towards the St James Palace that was a little ahead. Not one to miss any action I followed them. Everybody had their cameras out and ready as if they were waiting for something to happen. Suddenly Four mounted policemen came out of the palace and stood on all sides of the roads to ensure none of us would rush forward - Although for the life of me I couldn’t understand what they thought we would rush forward for. Suddenly we could hear the sound of a marching band. The crowd fell silent and quivered with anticipation. And then marching round the corner, resplendent in their red tunics and bearskins came the Queens guards! What I didn’t know was that the Queens guard always marches out of St james palace and down the Mall before joining in the change of the guard ceremony. I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time! The guards marched on towards the Buckingham palace and we kept pace with them by walking along on the pavement. We had the most perfect view !

The guards



A policewoman

The mounted guards

My luck ran out when the guards turned towards the Buckingham Palace. The road ahead were so packed with people that it was impossible to get any further. I knew that even if I did manage to reach close to the palace I would hardly be able to see anything over the heads of let’s say – a million people ! So I contented myself by listening to the band and catching an occasional flash of red as the ceremony took place inside the gates of the Buckingham Palace.

If I may say so, (and I say this at the risk of earning the ire of many) Buckingham palace is not really that imposing a structure. Honestly I find our Presidents house much grander. The Victoria memorial right in front of the palace is rather impressive though. So are the royal mews and the gardens.

Here are a few pictures!



Buckingham Palace





The memorial in front of the palace



The changing of the guards ceremony inside the Palace



coming up next - Down the Downing Street !

London DIaries (3) : Trafalgar Square – where have the pigeons gone !

Do you guys remember the opening scene of Dilwaale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge – The one where Amrish Puri is feeding the pigeons at Trafalgar square? Well believe it or not, doing that was on top of my "Must Do things in London"list. I didn’t care what else I did or did not do, but feed the pigeons at Trafalgar Square I must. I would not consider my London trip a success unless I did that ! So one fine morning I took myself to Trafalgar square in anticipation of feeding these birds that are as famous as the square itself.

So, Imagine my surprise, no, my absolute shock when I didn’t even see one single pigeon! Trafalgar square was positively milling with tourists but there was not a pigeon in sight !  It seems that a few years back these poor pigeons were declared a health hazard and feeding them was discouraged. Slowly they all but dwindled away !

Pigeons or no Trafalgar square is a spectacular sight ! In the middle is the Nelsons column flanked by four lions. This column was erected in the memory of Lord Nelson who died in the battle of Trafalgar.



Nelsons Column - Click to Enlarge

 

Click to enlarge - Lion at the base of the column

The famous fountains in the square are designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens (The same architect who built our capital city !). Behind the square is the National Gallery – a very imposing structure as well as St Martins church.

St martins in the background

National Gallery

The whole combination of Nelsons column, the fountain and the National Gallery in the background make an arresting site ! It was a sunny day and I was in photographers heaven !

Fountain - Click to enlarge

Trafalgar Square - Click to enlarge

 Another interesting thing I saw near the fountain was the Plaque depicting how many days are left for the London Olympics !

 

Coming up Next - Marching with the guards at Buckingham Palace !

London Diaries (2) : London from the London Eye !

There is joke in London that the British Airways (they were one of the initial owners of London Eye before Merlin Entertainment bought it) was earning so much from the London eye that they planned to give up their Airline Business!There might be some truth in this statement as London eye is one of the biggest tourist attractions in London. Also, The setting for it is perfect. It’s on the south bank of the river Thames and just across the river you can see the iconic Big Ben and the Houses of parliament. Needless to say, London eye was the first place I decided to visit in London. But I had not accounted for the capricious London weather. The day dawned extremely dull and grey. It was raining and even the roses in my aunt’s garden seemed to be shivering under the cold wind. I dropped the idea of spending a day outdoors and I decided to take myself to the British Museum where I could potter about and look at the exhibits in comparative warmth and comfort.

My aunt however had other plans. The weather bureau she said, had promised a warm and sunny afternoon in spite of a wet morning. And since sunny afternoons are as rare as unicorns in London it must not be wasted by staying indoors. As the saying goes, we must make hay while the sun shines! I for the life of me couldn’t imagine how this miserable rainy day would turn sunny in a few hours but my aunt" faith in the weather Bureau was unshakable. Sunny they had said so sunny it would be! So I reluctantly agreed to go to the London Eye with her.
By the time we were walking towards the tube station (as the underground in London is called) the rain had stopped and the sun was feebly trying to peep out from behind the clouds. I became a little hopeful. The weather Bureau might be right after all. But my hopes were dashed as soon as we reached our destination and emerged from the bowls of the station. It was raining again and the sky had turned a morose grey.Buttoning up our jackets and cursing as we tried to control our umbrellas in the chilly wind we made our shivering way to the London eye.London eye was a magnificent sight even on a dull day. This giant Ferris wheel, standing at 135 m, is quite an excellent piece of architecture and design.

 I had no intention in to join the serpentine queue of people buying tickets to get in it. After all, there is no point going up to see a panoramic view of London when the whole damn panoramic view would be hidden from you by mist and clouds is it! My aunt was still adamant that the sun would come out if only I would have the patience to wait. So to put my time to good use I decided to explore the area around the London eye. This area,known as the South Bank starts at the Westminster Bridge, where the London eye is situated;and goes up till the Waterloo Bridge.Westminster Bridge is rather quaint and probably the most photographed bridge on London. It has the South Bank Lion at one end and the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben at the other end.

I took a few rather dull looking photographs !

As you can see from the first snap, the Westminister Bridge is painted a rather garish green. (apparently because the seats in the House of Commons which is just across the bridge are also painted green). Most of the tourists usually walk across it to reach the House of Parliament etc.I decided to keep my walk across the bridge for a sunnier day and wandered about the South Bank instead.

South Bank is a very artsy and eclectic part of London. As you walk along the river from the London eye, you cross many theaters and cultural venues such as the London Film Museum, The royal festival hall, Hayward art gallery etc. This area has some fantastic restaurants and bistros where you can take you food outside and enjoy the view and the river. Inspite of the cold wind I rather enjoyed my walk along the river. Infact as I would discover later, walking along the Thames is actually the best way to see London.

I passed my time pottering about, clicking snaps, watching the tourists and at the same time keeping an eye on the weather. The weather gods were definitely out to test my patience. They really couldn’t make up their mind. It would stop raining, the sun would start shining but as soon as we started to make our hopeful way towards the London eye, it would become cloudy and dull again ! It was exasperating to the extreme ! But around 1 o clock,as if by magic the sky started to clear and within half an hour we had a blue, almost cloudless sky.

I took a pic of the London Eye from the Westminster bridge. Compare this snap to the above pictures that were taken just an hour back !

It made me wonder if there was some harry potter like magic going on in the weather bureau !

Off course we made a beeline to buy our tickets for the London Eye. By the time we were standing in the line to board the London eye our jackets were off and I was sweating even with just a T shirt on. Needless to say the view from the top of the eye was simply spectacular. It was warm sunny and totally cloudless. The sky was a bright dazzling blue !

Here are a few snaps that I took!

The House of Parliament from the London Eye





you can see St Paul's Cathedral in the distance





The view from the top !

coming up next - Trafalgar Square - Where have all the pigeons gone !

Bombay Duck is a Fish - Book Review

Author - Kanika Dhillon

Publishers - Westland Publishers

"Bombay Duck is a Fish" is Kanika Dhillon’s debut novel. Kanika is a scriptwriter at Shahrukh Khan’s Red Chilly Entertainment so perhaps it is not surprising that she has chosen Bollywood as the setting of her novel.

The book traces the journey of Neki Brar who leaves her Amritsar home for Bombay with dreams of becoming a Film-Maker. Neki is an MBA and is on the brink of a spectacular career in the corporate world, but she throws it all away to follow her Bollywood dream.

Once in Mumbai, she lands a job as an assistant director to one of Industry’s most famous directors. There is no typical bollywood struggle for livelihood here, Neki lands her job pretty easily. Rather Neki struggles in a different way as she faces cut throat competition, deceit and back stabbing at her job from day one.Bombay Duck is a fish is an insider’s tale about the real Bollywood that the world doesn’t get to see – The struggle, the despair and the heart break behind the smiles and the deceit, debauchery and the ugliness behind the glamour.

Infact Kanika uses the topic of the book “Bombay Duck is a Fish” as a sort of metaphor for the world of Bollywood. In the book Neki actually thinks that Bombay duck is a duck and not a fish as she later discovers. Similarly through her journey in Bollywood, she learns the stark and often sad reality behind the facade of Bollywood.

The book is written in a very interesting manner. Most of the narration is in the form of Neki’s entries in her diary (she calls her diary Nano) or through her letters to her mother back home in Amritsar. The entries in her diary talk of her love for an upcoming actor, the ego clashes and even the humiliation she faces at work and her own ruthless ambition to succeed at all costs. The letters to her mother, on the other hand paint a very rosy and often untrue picture of the kind of life she actually wishes to live in Mumbai.

Sayings and phrases from Herman Hesse’s book Siddhartha also run through the book. Siddhartha was Neki's father’s favorite book and Neki could never understand why he liked it so much. Now as she struggles to find a foothold in her own life, she sort of understands why her father uses the book as the philosophy of his life. She learns to look at life as different shades of grey rather than being always black or white.

"Bombay Dick is a Fish", is a gripping tale of ruthless ambition, betrayal and dreams gone awry.I rather expected the book to end in the different way betrayal that it actually did.After all we are used to Bollywood films where things always turns out well in end. But perhaps that is what Kanika has been trying to tell us all along – That in Bollywood dreams don’t always come true !

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!