24 May 2016

About Me

I am a traveler by passion, blogger by volition, shopper due to pathological reasons and, a consultant by profession. I come from a state called Bihar in India and have called cities like London and New York city as my home which would explain the name of this blog just in case you were wondering. I intend to share my personal experiences, tips and trivia while I travel the world and live in some of the most amazing cities of the world.

19 March 2016

From Bihar to Big Ben


British imperialism was not a result of some great spirit of human adventure or over burning religious zeal. IMHO, it was a purely a result of bad weather when some pale skinned Britishers decided that they needed more than
two weeks of sunshine in a year. Also, now I understand why the entire Sherlock Holmes series seems so dark despite the usual cheeriness that Benedict Cumberbatch brings to all our lives; and my folly in fixing it, as no amount of brightness in a TV settings can fix the grim and grey of London.

That was my initial set of quips triggered by London weather and if you have not figured it out by now, maybe your brain cells have gotten a bout of London dreariness too. : P. Well, a few months ago we decided to move
to London during peak winters and hence, now I have earned the rights to talk incessantly about London weather.


These days, one has not lived a fulfilling corporate life (oxymoron!) without having gone through a takeover, merger, downsizing or international transfer. Hence, driven by one such corporate shake down, we made the move and hence the title from Bihar to Big Apple  Ben (p.s. I have been chuckling over this title ever since). Even though I am not even close to being an accomplished writer or even a writer, I definitely have a classic case of writer’s block. Hence it’s only taken a few months for me to position my mind and rear in a stable place long enough to spew out a post and I have not yet written my good bye NYC post (come to think of it, am not sure I will ever write it). Anyways, like always, I hope that I will be prolific and secretly pray that I will just write …



There are a few immediate realizations during any move and while some can warm up your heart and make you fall in love with a new place; others will make your heart sink to the bottom of Hudson and make you question
the entire move. I have been going through these highs and lows almost every day. The lows primarily because I left my dear New York and my friends and life behind but also because I am a tropical person and snow or rain, I’d like my sunny side up any day! But then you find out that Charles Dickens lived one street away from your apartment and you can go watch a play in candle light where Shakespeare produced his plays and when you walk by so much history daily that would be the combined age of all of NYC skyscrapers, and meet people from
India, Syria, Lebanon and Albania in the same day, you begin to marvel at this wondrous city!



Now there’s a getting used to the city and then there’s getting used to living in the city. Just like you only realize how fast your Wi-Fi is till you get to a slower connection; I had not realized how convenient and quick things were in NYC till I landed in London. Setting up a home internet only takes a couple of weeks and in this day and age, some of us very well age a few years in that time without internet. Thames water pressure may run so low that you want to kill someone by the time water trickles from your head to your toes and if I am fairly certain that I have added a few more wrinkles by the time my lift (note – I said lift) takes me to 5th floor. But in London real estate, everything that’s slow, inefficient and broken, adds to the charm; which may explain the overpriced and under equipped central London apartments. More on the house hunting adventures later …but for now, we have found a beautiful apartment that’s full of it's own and our own quirks, where we plan to host family and friends for the joy and laughter and warmth so it becomes our home. 


I have also come to realize that the grass is always greener on the other side of the pond.  NewYorkers
swoon over a British accent and royalty while Londoners gush over Brooklyn's urbane cool or Manhattan’s pace. Probably explains why a Brooklyn loft or a New York style speakeasy are the IT trends in London and a chandelier and Georgian architecture are the epitome of class in NYC.



I am hoping that the proverbial London spring and summer arrive soon and win me over. Here’s to meeting friends old and new, devouring cakes and tea , checking out structures classic and funky, rubbing off some history and literary grandeur to living in a new apartment with some old fittings. London be interesting! Cheers !






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