A Passage to Autumn

It registered slowly
the advent of Autumn
while trudging back home
through heavy rain
on a path strewn
with auburn leaves


..dead yet vivifying


Till that moment,
they were barely suspended
...the rain washed them down.

Ink, to Pen my thoughts

An ink-pen vision, transports me back to the messy years spent with ink stained hands (scrubbing them at the day’s end), spotted bags, spoiled notebooks, a non-waterproof mode of writing and basically no other choice it being a mandatory medium, and so writing and waiting for the page to dry before turning overleaf, and the constant fear of the monsoons seeping its way into school bags and washing/smudging away reams of important paperwork!
Running out of ink was the worst scenario as one never carried ink bottles for refills (a very risky practice). Ball points as an alternative (and what an attractive one) were a strict no-no and how we itched to graduate to use the hassle free ball point pen!

That was then, a long time back…That is how I felt in school.

And now I wonder how could I have ever thought like that! Ever!

In a world and time where I don’t unconsciously reach out for a pen (to talk about a fountain pen is a remote thing) each time I want to write something, rather compulsively depending on the word document/notepad instead, to get me by, I feel dependent and unnatural, even though that’s what I do each time…to reach out for the keyboard.
During these times, I get transported back to the period when I used a fountain pen to write, and then memories come rushing back. This time, flooded with positive ones, the fact that my handwriting had been at its best then which naturally proves as an instant confidence booster. Indeed if you letter things beautifully, you just come up with beautiful words to match it!

And that is when my hands ache to grip a fountain pen once again.

Now, at this very moment I am ready to forget all that a regular usage of a fountain pen entails.....ever entailed. What remains is the beauty and joy of holding one and putting it to use. An ink-pen bearing person today, is a very rare sight. But I admire the odd person who still carries it. Unfortunately I don’t possess one. One day, however I would indulge in a real expensive beauty, flaunt it and embellish my lettering with it.

'Light' up the World…. not your Cigarette please!

I hope this post doesn’t degrade to another lampoon tirade against smoking, of which I am capable of at the slightest provocation! And there is no dearth of such here in Zurich.
Wha..what!!Zurich..It’s Switzerland you are talking about, right?
That’s a shock I have been grappling with, as well since the past few years.
A true heaven in every sense of the word with everything in perfect order, from its natural resources to the functioning and governance, to the quality of living.
To preserve such a beauty is a given to the people here with respect being generously meted out to the streets, public transport system, the forests, mountains, rivers, even to each other.
And regarding the atmosphere?
While automobile pollution is almost non existent, the lack of it is made up by the amount of cigarette smoke billowed by nearly half the swiss population (foreigners included). That is a very disturbing fact, for the non-smokers (in this case passive smokers) like me who are washed in gallons of this smoke each time, waiting on the bus and tram stations or just enjoying a meal at a restaurant or sipping coffee at a cafe!

Exasperating Facts:
1) Europeans in general are very health conscious. My best guess, lung cancer apparently doesn’t bother them
2) Women are fast outnumbering the Swiss Men in this regard. Many smoke to keep their weight in check. Probably haggard looks, stained teeth, is something they are willing to accept in the trade.
3) Passive smoking can grip you more viciously than active!!(scariest one)

Feeble Excuses: Cold countries need this as a way to brace themselves against the cold..by that estimate non smokers should have been frozen to death by now!
And Style statement, my foot!

A difference I noticed in the attitude people harbor about this habit India vs. Switzerland: Whereas Indians are conscious about smoking in public places, it’s a socially acceptable trait here to the extent that non smokers would be greeted with a slight condescension.
Blowing up smoke all around you, stifling you, and not a flicker of guilt or apology crossing their faces, that defines an average environment/health conscious Swiss!


Be positive:
Hope for rectification is not lost yet. The Government is finally waking up. In phases, ban for smoking at public places is being implemented.

Funny:
Yesterday being choked while dining at a Pizzeria that was otherwise quite cozy, a friend of mine quipped that, impregnating all the female population in town would be a good idea. If nothing else, that would keep them from smoking :)