Serendipity

We can make any place our home and make anyone our friend! What a little gem of a movie this is! Like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy morning - it left me with a warm, happy feeling and a big smile! Watching it with friends made it an even more enjoyable experience. It was the probably the perfect setup for such a movie watching experience - far away from the familiarity of home in a distant country and gradually falling in love with it; away from the safety cocoon of friends and family, but forging bonds of friendship with people from all over the globe. In a nutshell, it was a freezing, snowy December evening in 2012. We were this wonderful gang of people in a cozy Stockholm apartment, us Indians (representing a cross-section of our country, hailing from north, south and east), a German-American living in the Netherlands, a homegrown Dutch and a Spaniard living in Hungary! As the wise-crack Chandler might have said - Could it BE any more of a mixed bag?! It was an unforgettable exp

1. Winter Wonderland - Sergels Torg , the heart of Stockholm, during Christmas It was my first experience of Christmas in Europe and I was absolutely thrilled. It seemed like I had walked into the sets o f so me holiday movie or the holiday special s on sitcom s that I so love watching. 2. Skansen on Christmas Eve A visit to 'Skansen' - the world's first open-air museum on Christmas Eve was indeed a great experience. And this was also the day when I viewed my most beautiful twilight, when the sky looked like a great canvas splashed with the most wondrous colors one could imagine. 3. First Snow My first snow. Though it was not exactly a White Christmas, as the snow arrived a good few days later, it felt wonderful to get dressed up in long overcoats,caps and scarves and step softly on the white blanket. 4. Christmas goodies from the Helanders (They misspelt my name, but then what

"We look before and after, And pine for what is not: Our sincerest laughter With some pain is fraught; Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought." I might have used this quote to often embellish my school essays, but had never completely embraced the soul of Shelley's words till I heard this - Extreme happiness that almost, inexplicably,  borders on a profound sadness. This hauntingly beautiful melody perfectly embodies Shelley's ode. It brings with it lingering memories of days long gone, moments that we hold dear to our heart. There is a wistful, far-away quality to it which kindles dreams and stirs up nameless emotions, a desire to reach out for the intangible. It warms the heart but with it there is also a tear glistening somewhere in the corner of the eye. It reminds us that happiness and sadness are both fleeting and temporal, we never know what the next moment might bring our way, and that is life... The 'Theme From A Summer Pla

Have you ever experienced a moment when you listen to the strains of a particular piece of music for the first time and you are bound to it forever? The melody is then no longer restricted to merely the auditory senses, but transcends to culminate into a joyous experience for the soul. The heart is gladdened, the spirit soars, a warm, rosy glow envelops the senses and there pervades an inexplicable lightness of being. That is what I feel and experience when I listen to the theme music from the Chariots of Fire. A feeling of emancipation and elevation, of ecstasy and exhilaration, as if I have wings to soar high and touch the skies. Though I had heard about the movie quite a bit, I had never watched it or even listened to the theme. And then it was the dazzling opening ceremony of the London Olympics 2012 and at the grandest sporting spectacle of all, they played into the night. It was then I realized what a singularly breathtaking piece of music this was and how lucky I was to

When I first arrived in Stockholm at the end of October last year, winter was about to set in. It was actually quite a late onset when compared to the bitter winters of the past couple of years. Rather than the cold, what was most disturbing was the absence of daylight. The sun used to be out for rarely four to five precious hours of the day. You start for office in the morning, it is dark, you get out of office at evening, it is dark again. Having lived all my life in a country bathed in sunlight all through the year, it was quite difficult to cope with. It was actually quite depressing. However, help was never far away. Lend your ear and you would most certainly hear a summer story. Summer - the magic time in the lives of the Swedes. Glorious sunshine, crystal clear skies, budding leaves and blossoming flowers, long, balmy evenings, the all-pervasive white of the snow giving way to a vibgyor-like, spectacular burst of colors. It was almost as if the Swedes would live through the

                                        The high point of my trip to Amsterdam - The 'Achterhuis' (meaning 'back house' in Dutch) or The Secret Annexe - now The Anne Frank House. On that balmy summer evening, when I stood by the Prisengracht canal, I almost felt I was taking a journey back in time. In fact, that was the overwhelming feeling when I entered the Anne Frank house. Within those walls, time stands frozen and Anne is still a beautiful young girl with dreams in her deep,dark eyes. My first introduction to Anne Frank when I was probably in the fifth or sixth standard, through a Bengali children's magazine. Then,later on, I read the the annal in its entirety and the moving foreword by Eleanor Roosevelt. Life, seemingly ,turned a full circle for me on 22nd June 2012,when holding the entrance pass (picture above) in my hand I stood at the entrance to the Anne Frank House and Museum. Though I was initially a bit disappointed to know that photo

It's been over eight months here in Stockholm, at H&M. Learning a lot of new things, unlearning some old stuff, gathering valuable experience and, most importantly for me, forging bonds that leave an impression on people's minds. Build not only a professional relationship but ties that surpass it. It has been a pleasure interacting with the people here, everyone has been extremely cordial, helpful and supporting. And I have tried to reciprocate their candor with the genuine warmth that I have felt for them. Maybe I am a bit too emotional by nature  and I accept that as a folly. I tend to get too affected at times by the circumstances. Today was one such day for me. It was very difficult to say the least. Two of the nicest persons I have met here left the project today. It is an integral part, a way of life at any workplace, of all professions - people coming and leaving. But I will take a bit of time to adjust to it. It is because they were more than just colleagues, I

31st March : I still aspire to be a globetrotter. As a kid, my favorite reply to the question 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' was 'A vagabond'. I don't remember clearly but it might have been inspired to some extent from the celebrated poem by Sir Robert Louis Stevenson of the same name. Childhood fantasies die hard. I am trying my hand at travel writing now. Someday when I shall apply for such a job, all this stuff would go into that CV! Anyway, there I was at Riga, Latvia, tucked away on the shores of the Baltic sea, with that particular feature that enthralls me foremost about any place - a quaint old-world charm. We had about five hours to roam about Riga before getting back to the ship for the return sail. I had done a bit of homework and armed with maps picked up from the reception desk of the ship (the helpful guy even marking some of the tourist spots), was all set to take a walking tour. And as in Stockholm, the Old Town was the focal point

 Hmmm, the title threatens to grow longer than the post itself! Well, just wanted to stick to the 'My Sweden Story' theme, have got into a little flow, so to speak. 30th March -Setting sail! A cruise across the Baltic, aboard a luxury liner called the M/S Romantika, with a Spanish Fiesta theme, to a city with a moniker of  'Little Paris' - it was fabuloso to say the very least! The cruise to Riga was a spur-of-the-moment impulsive decision, (the kind I am always afraid to make by worrying too much about the consequences), then I almost backed out at the last moment (which is actually more like me) scared by gloomy skies, threatening weather forecasts, and the frightening memories of sea-sickness from the last time. And then, it was back to being spontaneous and impulsive! Wow, I was really surprising myself. On way to the Frihamnen port, as the metro passed by Gamla Stan, it was blue skies and white clouds suddenly, and with it the lifting of spirits. Reac

People and places ~ the essence of a new life experience. "Each of us has a story of our own. When we meet different people at the various turns of  life, their stories become entwined to ours and they become a part of our stories too.", a rough representation of the dialogues in some movie that I had once watched. Stockholm has been such a wonderful experience in that regard. There will be lots of memories that I will carry in my heart always. Solitary walks by the buildings of the Old Town, through the narrow cobble stoned streets, watching the radiant colors of the skies, sitting on the benches by the waters as the lights of the city twinkled all around, feeling the wind on my face while listening to the cries of the seagulls...I could go on and on. These rendezvous make me feel strangely calm from within, its an indescribable feeling, I find myself smiling for no apparent season other than the fact that I feel truly alive and happy, rid of all negativity. There are

19th January 2012: It is nine days short of three months that I have been here and I have not yet written down a single word. So much for my resolution to pen a memoir of my Swedish Sonata. But here I am finally and it is this first step which demands the maximum effort. For I have seen time and again, that once I cross this major hurdle of penning the first sentence, I,kind of, rediscover the flow. Hopefully I haven't lost that touch. Also, as always, my memory which is pretty much cent per cent accurate when it comes to all things apart from studies and now office work, will help me out here. So.. "Let's start at the very beginning...a very good place to start.." 29th October 2011...a date to remember. I was scared, nervous, excited, jittery, apprehensive and homesick even before leaving home. I was going through such a gamut of emotions once my travel date was finalized. It was indeed a restless period. This was one huge step for me - moving out of home, bein