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| view of Afghanistan mountains |
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| Cloudscape |
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| The Caspian Sea |
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| Aerial view of Kiev |
Exactly after three years since my first visit, England called me again, of course to see
my daughter and son-in-law who had shifted to their own residence. As we entered the international air port in Delhi, the long chain of shops displaying various exotic wine bottles and liquors on shelves made me feel very strange and wonder whether I came to the wine-making country like France or Tuscany in Italy. The traditional Indian touch is conspicuous by its absence. Every where the impact of western culture showed its predominant influence. Even in restaurants western food items and beverages occupied a major part of the menu with staggering price tags.
As our plane took off, I composed myself cramped in between two fellow-passengers
with very narrow space to stretch my limbs. Many elderly people were seen struggling in their seats in a hapless condition. Like pretty dolls the crew flitted to and fro offering exotic
food and mouthing platitudes of providing a luxurious travel. I found young people clicking selfies in quick succession jostling and pushing on each other's shoulders, laughing loudly without heeding other people's notice.
Our plane flew over Lahore and entered the mountainous region of Kabul. The
formidable view of dry rocky terrain stretching miles and miles with scarcely a touch of green patch or a flowing stream gave me a shuddering view of the barren earth, if men exhaust the precious resources of Nature by their unrestrained and reckless ways. Later our plane flew over a wide stretch of plains dotted with dark patches of trees and fields. We crossed the vast stretches of sandy region before we flew over the Caspian sea which appeared just like a thin shallow stream from our aerial view. The sky with huge masses of fluffy clouds seemed like the mythical milky ocean with mounds of white cream and butter floating on its surface. When we flew over the cities the houses seemed as tiny as squares on a grid or small dice on a chess board. Thousands of houses in broad clusters dotted the whole area with long lines in between which were actually roads on which vehicles were moving like a long line of tiny ants. The curved course of rivers crisscrossing the green earth presented a graceful picture of the earth. During most part of our journey we saw vast stretches of grey plains with little squares of vegetation and clusters of buildings scattered here and there. Scarcely any living creature came within the range of our view as our plane was flying at an altitude of more than thirty-six thousand feet above the ground.
On viewing the route map I found that we were flying across the outskirts of the Ukrainian region maintaining a safe distance from Ukrainian cities like Astrachen, Kharkov and Kiev which were endangered by war-torn conflicts between the Russian-backed rebels and Ukrainian soldiers. While I was absorbed in my idle observation, the air hostess came offering soft drinks and beverages. Though I had no mind to drink anything; her soft, persuasive voice tempted me to accept a cup of black coffee with very little milk and sugar in it. Though I tried to make it palatable by adding milk powder and lumps of sugar, it gave me a hell of taste which I will never forget in my life.
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| View of London |
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view of the Thames |
As we neared London a vast conglomeration of little squares with dark patches and squares greeted our eyes. Through this haphazard expanse of squares a long meandering silver stream came into our view with many bridged spanning across its banks. The prominent mark of London is this life-sustaining water source, the ever-flowing Thames and of course, the London Bridge with her two projecting twin towers. The water in the Thames appeared brown as our plane made a gradual descent. It may be due to erosion of the soil by the swift flowing waters. The London streets flanked by dense green trees and thickets on the wayside seemed same as they had been when I made my first trip. The gabled roofs with jutting chimneys and brick-colored walls in symmetrical shapes indicated the conservative and sombre British spirit of giving importance to the traditional outlook in spite of adapting to the latest technology in everyday life. As I was absorbed in my thoughts, the pilot made a very smooth landing and the flight crew in their most humble customary manner wished us a very happy stay in London.
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4th July, 2015 Somaseshu Gutala
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