I was given instructions on how to get on the autobahn to reach Munich that evening.
My earlier attempts to make reservation at any hotel had revealed that all available accommodation was already occupied or booked because of Octoberfest festival. It was a great surprise for me as tit was still the early part of September.
When asked if there was another town where we could stay overnight, I was told that any exit road in the vicinity of Munich would lead me to some hotel accommodation still available for us.
It was time to get started. I had heard about autobahn, the world-famous highway, many years ago in India and now was the chance to personally drive my car on it.
Autobahn is the German word for a dual carriageway. It denotes such highways in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It was the first limited-access high-speed road network in the world.
The idea pre-dated Adolph Hitler but autobahn construction had been slow due to lack of support caused by economic problems. After gaining power in 1933, he enthusiastically supported the ambitious construction project, to provide employment and the needed infrastructure for economic recovery of Germany.
Within a short time, the construction sites had over 100,000 labourers working at all over the country. The immensely popular project was a great propaganda achievement for the Nazi regime.
The successful completion was deemed to create national unity and to further strengthen their centralized rule.
Another potential aim of the autobahn project was to provide mobility for the movement of military forces. However, the autobahns built before the war had gradients too steep for vehicles to carry goods.
Autobahn's routing was planned to include segments that offered spectacular views. It enabled a large proportion of the population to drive long distances and enjoy the countryside along the way.
Some straight section were used by the Grand Prix racing teams of Mercedes-Benz for high speed record attempts.
During World War II, the central reservation of some autobahns were paved to allow their conversion into auxiliary airports.
Aircraft were either concealed in numerous tunnels or camouflaged in woods nearby. Late in the war, some stretches of the autobahn were used as makeshift runways for bombers.
Autobahn was unfit for use by military tanks due to their delicate surface which could be quickly torn by them. Trains proved to be more useful than autobahn to carry military supplies.
Autobahn construction was brought to a halt by 1943 due to the increasing demands of the ongoing war.
Many sections of the autobahns were in bad shape after the war, having been severely damaged by heavy Allied bombing.
The autobahns in East Germany were grossly neglected after 1945 in comparison to those in West Germany, having received minimal maintenance during the years of the Cold War.
According to a 1995 study, the average speed travelled on German autobahns was 134 km/h. However, nearly one quarter of the total length of the German autobahn network has no speed limit and about one quarter has a permanent limit.
I had to watch speed and not to go beyond the limit specified by the manufacturer for driving new cars on the first day.
The autobahn provided a great driving experience for me. It was totally exhilarating and pleasant.
Although my attention was entirely devoted to our safety, I could not resist looking across and enjoy the greenery and beautiful landscape of the country side we were passing through.
The highway is superbly built and maintained.
Recreational Mecca
Danube Island festival
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Universal Virtues
The king is said to have ordered that the money sent for Ferdowsi be used for repairing an inn near the poet's birthplace in remembrance. The inn is in ruins but still exits. Some think that the lack of interest shown by him earlier was caused by the jealousy of other poets at the royal court.
Ferdowsi was the son of a wealthy land owner, and was born in 940 in Tus, a small village.
His Shahnama is one of the masterpieces of world literature. It is Persia’s national epic, and great source of its myths and legends. It is considered by many to be the most important piece of work in Persian literature.
The epic characters echo some in the Indian and Greco–Roman mythologies.
Ferdowsi decorated the Shahnama with many universal moral concepts. It is a treasury of perennial wisdom and universal values. He asks his readers to think carefully and see the reason for the rise and fall of individuals and nations, and improve the future by learning from the past.
He stresses his belief that as everyone is merely a passerby in the transient world, one is wise to avoid lying, cruelty, avarice, and other evils. He tells his readers to strive for honour, justice, order, truth and other virtues.
Scholars of Ferdowsi have selected some of these universal values from Shahnama:
Chivalry, control over one's self, courtesy, education and knowledge, foresight, forgiveness, gratitude, hard work, helping the poor, honouring covenants, hospitality, justice, love of spouse and family, loyalty, modesty, patriotism, religious uprightness, seeking and acting in moderation, seeking truth and opposing anything that is against it, shame at committing immoral acts, thankfulness, wisdom, worship of one God, and more.
Just as Chaucer did with the English language, Ferdowsi was a popularizer of the Persian vernacular. Iranians consider him the father of modern Persian language. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, they regard Ferdowsi as the greatest of their poets.
Ferdowsi believed in the greatness of Shahnama. In one of his verses, he takes pride in his thirty years of hard work:
... I suffered during these thirty years, but I have revived the Iranians (Ajam) with the Persian language;
I shall not die as I am alive again and have spread the seeds of this language ...
This prediction of Ferdowsi came true. His poetic composition helped establish Persian as the court language in different countries of their empire.
Persian literary figures, historians and biographers have praised him and his Shahnama. It is considered by many to be the most important piece of work in Persian literature. Western writers have also praised the Shahnama. Persian literature was considered by such thinkers as Goethe to be one of the four main bodies of world literature.
Ferdowsi is said to have died around 1020 in poverty at the age of 85, embittered by the royal neglect. However, he was fully confident of his work’s ultimate success and fame, as stated in the last verses of his book:
I've reached the end of this great history
And all the land will talk of me.
I shall not die, the seeds I've sown will save
My name and reputation from the grave,
And men of sense and wisdom will proclaim when
I have gone, my praises and my fame.
Ferdowsi was buried at the yard of his own home, where a mausoleum was built in 1925 under Raza Shah Pahlevi's rule. In Tehran, the present capital of Iran, a monument of Ferdowsi stands on his memorial square.
Ferdowsi was the son of a wealthy land owner, and was born in 940 in Tus, a small village.
His Shahnama is one of the masterpieces of world literature. It is Persia’s national epic, and great source of its myths and legends. It is considered by many to be the most important piece of work in Persian literature.
The epic characters echo some in the Indian and Greco–Roman mythologies.
Ferdowsi decorated the Shahnama with many universal moral concepts. It is a treasury of perennial wisdom and universal values. He asks his readers to think carefully and see the reason for the rise and fall of individuals and nations, and improve the future by learning from the past.
He stresses his belief that as everyone is merely a passerby in the transient world, one is wise to avoid lying, cruelty, avarice, and other evils. He tells his readers to strive for honour, justice, order, truth and other virtues.
Scholars of Ferdowsi have selected some of these universal values from Shahnama:
Chivalry, control over one's self, courtesy, education and knowledge, foresight, forgiveness, gratitude, hard work, helping the poor, honouring covenants, hospitality, justice, love of spouse and family, loyalty, modesty, patriotism, religious uprightness, seeking and acting in moderation, seeking truth and opposing anything that is against it, shame at committing immoral acts, thankfulness, wisdom, worship of one God, and more.
Just as Chaucer did with the English language, Ferdowsi was a popularizer of the Persian vernacular. Iranians consider him the father of modern Persian language. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, they regard Ferdowsi as the greatest of their poets.
Ferdowsi believed in the greatness of Shahnama. In one of his verses, he takes pride in his thirty years of hard work:
... I suffered during these thirty years, but I have revived the Iranians (Ajam) with the Persian language;
I shall not die as I am alive again and have spread the seeds of this language ...
This prediction of Ferdowsi came true. His poetic composition helped establish Persian as the court language in different countries of their empire.
Persian literary figures, historians and biographers have praised him and his Shahnama. It is considered by many to be the most important piece of work in Persian literature. Western writers have also praised the Shahnama. Persian literature was considered by such thinkers as Goethe to be one of the four main bodies of world literature.
Ferdowsi is said to have died around 1020 in poverty at the age of 85, embittered by the royal neglect. However, he was fully confident of his work’s ultimate success and fame, as stated in the last verses of his book:
I've reached the end of this great history
And all the land will talk of me.
I shall not die, the seeds I've sown will save
My name and reputation from the grave,
And men of sense and wisdom will proclaim when
I have gone, my praises and my fame.
Ferdowsi was buried at the yard of his own home, where a mausoleum was built in 1925 under Raza Shah Pahlevi's rule. In Tehran, the present capital of Iran, a monument of Ferdowsi stands on his memorial square.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Shahnama
The story of Rustum and Sohrab is only one of the many chapters in Shahnama, "Book of Kings or Great Book". It is regarded as a literary masterpiece in Persian language.
The incentive for revival of Persian cultural traditions came after the seventh century conquest (in 633) of Persia by Arabs.
Shahnama tells the history of old Persia before the Arab conquest of the region. This tale, all written in poetic form, starts 7,000 years ago and covers the mythical and historical past of Persia.
It poetically narrates the story of Persian kings and knights that made the land of Persia an Empire through the ages. Nearly two-thirds of the Shahnama is devoted to their heroic roles. It also reflects on Persia's cultural values and its ancient religion of Zoroastrianism, and conveys a profound sense of nationhood.
Ferdowsi used the slightest admixture of Arabic words in his poetry. His book has been pivotal in reviving the purity of Persian language.
Shahnama succeeds in capturing the timeless power of a great culture. As the crown jewel of Persian literature, it is cherished by all Iranians and non-Iranians, which include the Persian speaking societies of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the ancient cities of Samarqand and Bukhara. Though separated by political borders, they share the same traditions.
After 30 years of hard work, Ferdowsi went to the capital to present his book to Sultan Mahmud of Gazni. The Sultan had promised to pay the fee of 30 horses, loaded with gold coins, to the poet for dedicating the book to him.
However, the Sultan turned furious for not being mentioned in the tale of kings, as Ferdowsi had only covered the period prior to the Arab conquest.
Contrary to the agreement, he offered Ferdowsi thirty horses loaded with Silver coins. The offer was refused by Ferdowsi.
Frustrated and wandering for a time to avoid the wrath of the Sultan, the poet returned to his home town of Tus,heartbroken and poor.
He wrote a long and angry poem for the Sultan, and stuck it to the wall of the room where he had worked for all those years. It ended with the verse translated as:
"Heaven's vengeance will not forget. Shrink tyrant from my words of fire, and tremble at a poet's ire."
The Sultan is reported to have relented eventually. Realising the true value of the Shahnama, he sent the agreed fee to the poet.
Ironically, when the messenger arrived with the promised loads of golden coins, Ferdowsi's coffin was being carried out through the exit gate of Tus to his grave.
The gift was then given to his daughter, since his son had died before his father at the age of 37.
The daughter is reported to have refused to receive it.
The incentive for revival of Persian cultural traditions came after the seventh century conquest (in 633) of Persia by Arabs.
Shahnama tells the history of old Persia before the Arab conquest of the region. This tale, all written in poetic form, starts 7,000 years ago and covers the mythical and historical past of Persia.
It poetically narrates the story of Persian kings and knights that made the land of Persia an Empire through the ages. Nearly two-thirds of the Shahnama is devoted to their heroic roles. It also reflects on Persia's cultural values and its ancient religion of Zoroastrianism, and conveys a profound sense of nationhood.
Ferdowsi used the slightest admixture of Arabic words in his poetry. His book has been pivotal in reviving the purity of Persian language.
Shahnama succeeds in capturing the timeless power of a great culture. As the crown jewel of Persian literature, it is cherished by all Iranians and non-Iranians, which include the Persian speaking societies of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the ancient cities of Samarqand and Bukhara. Though separated by political borders, they share the same traditions.
After 30 years of hard work, Ferdowsi went to the capital to present his book to Sultan Mahmud of Gazni. The Sultan had promised to pay the fee of 30 horses, loaded with gold coins, to the poet for dedicating the book to him.
However, the Sultan turned furious for not being mentioned in the tale of kings, as Ferdowsi had only covered the period prior to the Arab conquest.
Contrary to the agreement, he offered Ferdowsi thirty horses loaded with Silver coins. The offer was refused by Ferdowsi.
Frustrated and wandering for a time to avoid the wrath of the Sultan, the poet returned to his home town of Tus,heartbroken and poor.
He wrote a long and angry poem for the Sultan, and stuck it to the wall of the room where he had worked for all those years. It ended with the verse translated as:
"Heaven's vengeance will not forget. Shrink tyrant from my words of fire, and tremble at a poet's ire."
The Sultan is reported to have relented eventually. Realising the true value of the Shahnama, he sent the agreed fee to the poet.
Ironically, when the messenger arrived with the promised loads of golden coins, Ferdowsi's coffin was being carried out through the exit gate of Tus to his grave.
The gift was then given to his daughter, since his son had died before his father at the age of 37.
The daughter is reported to have refused to receive it.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Golden Period
It was getting near the time at which my car was to appear for delivery from the assembly line.
Within minutes of arriving at the site, a new car was delivered to me where I was standing. It smelled so fresh from the paint it just had and was exactly the one that we had ordered from Edmonton to be custom-built.
Before getting into the driver's seat I was given the instructions to abide by during the short journey on the first day of driving it.
When I mentioned that I would be travelling to Iran, I was provided an authorization to the Mercedes dealer in Vienna, the capital city of Austria, to get the first service done before driving further.
Taking possession of the car soon made me realize that I am already on my road journey to Iran, a country that is historically connected with India in many ways.
While growing up in Punjab, many of us were students of Persian literature and its unique heritage of classical poetry. It was mandatory to learn Persian as an oriental language in high school. This provided opportunity to get acquainted with the great poets who had lived during their literary golden period: Ferdowsi (940-1020), Omar Khayam (1048-1131), Saadi (1184-1283), Rumi (1207-1273) and Hafiz-e Shirazi (1325-1390).
I learnt Persian along with a personal friend and class-fellow, Ram Dhan, in Multan, one of the largest city of present-day Pakistan. It is an ancient city, sarcastically described in a Persian couplet:
"Chahaar shay ust tofa-e- Multan,
Gard-o-garma, gadaa-o-goristan ! "
"There are four things which Multan offers: Dust, Heat, Beggar, Graveyards!"
A great grandfather in my genealogy was a Persian language scholar and was known to recite Persian poetry and quotes orally. This had inspired me to become proficient in reading and writing Persian language. In order to achieve this, I was advised to take special lessons from a locally acclaimed teacher.
When Ram Dhan and I decided to contact him, we found that he was already over-booked and over-burdened in helping others. He had no time to spare.
Anxious to learn Persian through him, we respectfully pleaded for help.
We were already known to him as top students. He could see our sincerity and commitment.
To our great joy, he paused to consider what we were asking and said, "Can you come at an early hour ... 4 a.m.?"
"Yes, Sir, we certainly can.... We will do whatever you suggest."
We were lucky to have him as our tutor for Persian language: one hour each morning.
This made us getting up each day around 3:00 a.m., and start travel on our bicycles to reach him downtown from Aghapur,a nearby suburb.
During our readings, I got re-acquainted with the heart-wrenching story of Rustum and Sohrab. It is one of the legends from Zoroastrian mythology, popularized by the 11th century Persian poet Ferdowsi (940–1020) in his Shahnameh, the national epic of Persians.
Rustum, the Persian hero, loved a Tartar princess in early youth who gave birth to Sohrab his son. While Sohrab knows the identity of his father, Rustum does not even know that he has a son. When Sohrab grew up, he had to fight in single combat as champion of the Tartar army, against older Rustum who is still a trusted champion of the Persian army.
Fighting under an assumed name, Rustum is impressed by the bravery displayed by the young Sohrab and asks him to withdraw from an unequal contest. From the valour of the aged warrior, Sohrab suspects that his opponent is the great Rustum and begs him to disclose his identity. But all this is of no avail and the fight continues without each realising the father and son relationship. At the climax Rustum cries out his name to frighten his opponent. Not terrified but astonished, Sohrab lowers his shield, and in doing so his unprotected body is pierced by the sphere thrown at him by Rustum. The dying Sohrab threatens that his father Rustum will take revenge. Confronted to prove Rustum as his father, Sohrab points to the insignia on his arm that his mother had received long ago when Rustum was leaving her to return to Persia.
The legend is immortalized by Mathew Arnold ( 1822-1888 ) in his English poem "Sohrab and Rustum, An Episode", which according to him is "by far the best thing I have yet done ... but then the story is a very noble and excellent one".
Arnold quotes this passage from Sir John Malcolm's History of Persia as his general source:
"The young Sohrab was the fruit of one of Rustum's early amours. He had left his mother, and sought fame under the banners of Afrasiab, whose armies he commanded, and soon obtained a renown beyond that of all contemporary heroes but his father. He had carried death and dismay into the ranks of the Persians, and had terrified the boldest warriors of that country, before Rustum encountered him, which at last that hero resolved to do, under a feigned name. They met three times. The first time they parted by mutual consent, though Sohrab had the advantage; the second, the youth obtained a victory, but granted life to his unknown father; the third was fatal to Sohrab, who, when writhing in the pangs of death, warned his conqueror to shun the vengeance that is inspired by parental woes, and bade him dread the rage of the mighty Rustum, who must soon learn that he had slain his son Sohrab. These words, we are told, were as death to the aged hero; and when he recovered from a trance, he called in despair for proofs of what Sohrab had said. The afflicted and dying youth tore open his mail, and showed his father a seal which his mother had placed on his arm when she discovered to him the secret of his birth, and bade him seek his father. The sight of his own signet rendered Rustum quite frantic; he cursed himself, attempting to put an end to his existence, and was only prevented by the efforts of his expiring son. After Sohrab's death, he burnt his tents and all his goods, and carried the corpse to Seistan, where it was interred ...."
Within minutes of arriving at the site, a new car was delivered to me where I was standing. It smelled so fresh from the paint it just had and was exactly the one that we had ordered from Edmonton to be custom-built.
Before getting into the driver's seat I was given the instructions to abide by during the short journey on the first day of driving it.
When I mentioned that I would be travelling to Iran, I was provided an authorization to the Mercedes dealer in Vienna, the capital city of Austria, to get the first service done before driving further.
Taking possession of the car soon made me realize that I am already on my road journey to Iran, a country that is historically connected with India in many ways.
While growing up in Punjab, many of us were students of Persian literature and its unique heritage of classical poetry. It was mandatory to learn Persian as an oriental language in high school. This provided opportunity to get acquainted with the great poets who had lived during their literary golden period: Ferdowsi (940-1020), Omar Khayam (1048-1131), Saadi (1184-1283), Rumi (1207-1273) and Hafiz-e Shirazi (1325-1390).
I learnt Persian along with a personal friend and class-fellow, Ram Dhan, in Multan, one of the largest city of present-day Pakistan. It is an ancient city, sarcastically described in a Persian couplet:
"Chahaar shay ust tofa-e- Multan,
Gard-o-garma, gadaa-o-goristan ! "
"There are four things which Multan offers: Dust, Heat, Beggar, Graveyards!"
A great grandfather in my genealogy was a Persian language scholar and was known to recite Persian poetry and quotes orally. This had inspired me to become proficient in reading and writing Persian language. In order to achieve this, I was advised to take special lessons from a locally acclaimed teacher.
When Ram Dhan and I decided to contact him, we found that he was already over-booked and over-burdened in helping others. He had no time to spare.
Anxious to learn Persian through him, we respectfully pleaded for help.
We were already known to him as top students. He could see our sincerity and commitment.
To our great joy, he paused to consider what we were asking and said, "Can you come at an early hour ... 4 a.m.?"
"Yes, Sir, we certainly can.... We will do whatever you suggest."
We were lucky to have him as our tutor for Persian language: one hour each morning.
This made us getting up each day around 3:00 a.m., and start travel on our bicycles to reach him downtown from Aghapur,a nearby suburb.
During our readings, I got re-acquainted with the heart-wrenching story of Rustum and Sohrab. It is one of the legends from Zoroastrian mythology, popularized by the 11th century Persian poet Ferdowsi (940–1020) in his Shahnameh, the national epic of Persians.
Rustum, the Persian hero, loved a Tartar princess in early youth who gave birth to Sohrab his son. While Sohrab knows the identity of his father, Rustum does not even know that he has a son. When Sohrab grew up, he had to fight in single combat as champion of the Tartar army, against older Rustum who is still a trusted champion of the Persian army.
Fighting under an assumed name, Rustum is impressed by the bravery displayed by the young Sohrab and asks him to withdraw from an unequal contest. From the valour of the aged warrior, Sohrab suspects that his opponent is the great Rustum and begs him to disclose his identity. But all this is of no avail and the fight continues without each realising the father and son relationship. At the climax Rustum cries out his name to frighten his opponent. Not terrified but astonished, Sohrab lowers his shield, and in doing so his unprotected body is pierced by the sphere thrown at him by Rustum. The dying Sohrab threatens that his father Rustum will take revenge. Confronted to prove Rustum as his father, Sohrab points to the insignia on his arm that his mother had received long ago when Rustum was leaving her to return to Persia.
The legend is immortalized by Mathew Arnold ( 1822-1888 ) in his English poem "Sohrab and Rustum, An Episode", which according to him is "by far the best thing I have yet done ... but then the story is a very noble and excellent one".
Arnold quotes this passage from Sir John Malcolm's History of Persia as his general source:
"The young Sohrab was the fruit of one of Rustum's early amours. He had left his mother, and sought fame under the banners of Afrasiab, whose armies he commanded, and soon obtained a renown beyond that of all contemporary heroes but his father. He had carried death and dismay into the ranks of the Persians, and had terrified the boldest warriors of that country, before Rustum encountered him, which at last that hero resolved to do, under a feigned name. They met three times. The first time they parted by mutual consent, though Sohrab had the advantage; the second, the youth obtained a victory, but granted life to his unknown father; the third was fatal to Sohrab, who, when writhing in the pangs of death, warned his conqueror to shun the vengeance that is inspired by parental woes, and bade him dread the rage of the mighty Rustum, who must soon learn that he had slain his son Sohrab. These words, we are told, were as death to the aged hero; and when he recovered from a trance, he called in despair for proofs of what Sohrab had said. The afflicted and dying youth tore open his mail, and showed his father a seal which his mother had placed on his arm when she discovered to him the secret of his birth, and bade him seek his father. The sight of his own signet rendered Rustum quite frantic; he cursed himself, attempting to put an end to his existence, and was only prevented by the efforts of his expiring son. After Sohrab's death, he burnt his tents and all his goods, and carried the corpse to Seistan, where it was interred ...."
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Idi Amin
In the briefing session at FAO headquarter in Rome, I was provided the ‘Laissez-passer’ for my travel.
Laissez-passer is issued to officials and members of the United Nations and other specialized agencies or international organizations. Similar to a passport, it is generally recognized worldwide, and usually confirms limited privileges and immunities.
For the first time I became aware of a discount enjoyed by the employees engaged for the development projects sponsored by the international organization.
When the sales papers from the Mercedes outlet were being checked prior to the delivery of my car, I brought any such entitlement to their notice.
I was told that this should have been brought to their notice earlier. According to them, the Edmonton dealer was the right person to provide such discount.
I wrote to the Edmonton dealer accordingly, after arriving in Iran. But such a claim was totally ignored under the pretext that it should have been brought to their notice at the time the purchase order was being prepared.
Neither side was willing to act now. It was a financial disappointment for me.
While waiting in the lounge for the time mentioned for taking delivery of my car, I remembered a brief dialogue I had in Rome with another Asian specialist selected for his FAO assignment.
We had a few minutes together during the coffee break while attending the briefing session.
"Where are you heading for your assignment", he asked.
"To Iran", I replied.
"Iran! Iran is the most difficult country to work for under the United Nations," he commented.
I was astonished by this blunt assessment about Iran, an assignment I had been anxiously looking for since I received the offer.
Ironically, when I asked him where he was going, he happily replied "Uganda", the country that had expelled almost all the Asians a few years ago.
It was Idi Amin (1925-2003) who had taken the drastic step in 1972. He was the military dictator and President of Uganda at that time.
Declaring it as an economic war, Amin had ordered expropriation of Asian and European properties and expulsion of the Asians who were not Ugandan citizens.
Most of those affected were born in the country, while their ancestors had come mainly from the Indian sub-continent when Uganda was a British colony.
The businesses and industries owned by the Asians were backbone of the economy. These were taken over and handed to Amin's supporters.
With no previous training and experience of handling and maintaining these, the change was a disastrous failure.
Many of the expelled Asians who had British passports went to England. Others returned to India, or moved to different countries.
Idi Amin's doctorial rule was totalitarian abuse of human rights, characterized by nepotism, corruption, political repression, ethnic persecution and extrajudicial killings. International observers and human rights groups have estimated that several thousand people were killed during the eight years of his military rule.
Born in 1925, Amin had joined the British colonial regiment and rose to become Major General and the Commander of Ugandan Army. He deposed President Miton Obote in a military coupe in 1971 and proclaimed himself the President of Uganda.
Encouraged by what had been done since he came to power, Amin tried to annex the Kangera province of Tanzania.
The Uganda-Tanzania War of 1978 and the growing dissent within Uganda ultimately led to the demise of his regime.
Amin fled to Libya and then to Saudi Arabia, where he died in 2003.
Post Script: I was in Cambridge, England, attending a conference during 1991 where I met the Vice president of Uganda accompanied by two security officers. On my introduction as the past National President of NACOI (National Association of Canadians of Origins in India), he gave me a warm welcome and expressed the strong desire that the Ugandan Government wanted the expelled businessmen to return and help build the economy.
Laissez-passer is issued to officials and members of the United Nations and other specialized agencies or international organizations. Similar to a passport, it is generally recognized worldwide, and usually confirms limited privileges and immunities.
For the first time I became aware of a discount enjoyed by the employees engaged for the development projects sponsored by the international organization.
When the sales papers from the Mercedes outlet were being checked prior to the delivery of my car, I brought any such entitlement to their notice.
I was told that this should have been brought to their notice earlier. According to them, the Edmonton dealer was the right person to provide such discount.
I wrote to the Edmonton dealer accordingly, after arriving in Iran. But such a claim was totally ignored under the pretext that it should have been brought to their notice at the time the purchase order was being prepared.
Neither side was willing to act now. It was a financial disappointment for me.
While waiting in the lounge for the time mentioned for taking delivery of my car, I remembered a brief dialogue I had in Rome with another Asian specialist selected for his FAO assignment.
We had a few minutes together during the coffee break while attending the briefing session.
"Where are you heading for your assignment", he asked.
"To Iran", I replied.
"Iran! Iran is the most difficult country to work for under the United Nations," he commented.
I was astonished by this blunt assessment about Iran, an assignment I had been anxiously looking for since I received the offer.
Ironically, when I asked him where he was going, he happily replied "Uganda", the country that had expelled almost all the Asians a few years ago.
It was Idi Amin (1925-2003) who had taken the drastic step in 1972. He was the military dictator and President of Uganda at that time.
Declaring it as an economic war, Amin had ordered expropriation of Asian and European properties and expulsion of the Asians who were not Ugandan citizens.
Most of those affected were born in the country, while their ancestors had come mainly from the Indian sub-continent when Uganda was a British colony.
The businesses and industries owned by the Asians were backbone of the economy. These were taken over and handed to Amin's supporters.
With no previous training and experience of handling and maintaining these, the change was a disastrous failure.
Many of the expelled Asians who had British passports went to England. Others returned to India, or moved to different countries.
Idi Amin's doctorial rule was totalitarian abuse of human rights, characterized by nepotism, corruption, political repression, ethnic persecution and extrajudicial killings. International observers and human rights groups have estimated that several thousand people were killed during the eight years of his military rule.
Born in 1925, Amin had joined the British colonial regiment and rose to become Major General and the Commander of Ugandan Army. He deposed President Miton Obote in a military coupe in 1971 and proclaimed himself the President of Uganda.
Encouraged by what had been done since he came to power, Amin tried to annex the Kangera province of Tanzania.
The Uganda-Tanzania War of 1978 and the growing dissent within Uganda ultimately led to the demise of his regime.
Amin fled to Libya and then to Saudi Arabia, where he died in 2003.
Post Script: I was in Cambridge, England, attending a conference during 1991 where I met the Vice president of Uganda accompanied by two security officers. On my introduction as the past National President of NACOI (National Association of Canadians of Origins in India), he gave me a warm welcome and expressed the strong desire that the Ugandan Government wanted the expelled businessmen to return and help build the economy.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Sindelfingen
Sindelfingen
http://it-so-happened-it-so-happened.blogspot.com/2010/08/Sindelfingen.html
The taxi brought us to the Mercedes-Benz reception centre in Sindelfingen where I was identified as the would-be owner of my custom-built car
Sindelfingen is about 18 km south west of Stuttgart, the state capital of Baden-Württemberg. The town is located at the Schwippe river headwaters. It has automotive and computer industry and is home of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class luxury cars, a series of the largest sedans produced by Mercedes Benz. The name "S-Class" is derived from the German word that means "special class", or "In a class of its own".
We were taken to a large room with displays of earlier models and the past history of Mercedes-Benz as the world-famous car manufacturer. I learnt that the origins of the Daimler-Benz company, founded through a merger in 1926, dated back to the mid-1880s when G. Daimler (1834–1900) working with W. Maybach (1846–1929) and K. Benz
(1844–1929) independently invented the internal combustion engine-powered automobile in south-western Germany.
With the Black Forest not far away, Sindelfingen is the largest town in the administrative district of Böblingen. The first documented mention of Sindelfingen was in 1155. Women from Sindelfingen are reported to have suffered much in the 16th and 17th centuries due to the witch hunts.
During the Middle Ages Sindelfingen had notable weaving industry. Hand weaving enjoyed an important position in the 19th century, until the textile industry was adversely affected by Asian imports. As a result, some former weaving mills were used as offices for the computer industry.
Computer tabulating technology developed primarily from the punched card data gathering techniques of the weaving mills. The need arose to replace the pen and paper compilation of census date by a faster method.
The 1880 U.S. census had taken seven years to tabulate. The data so collected were almost obsolete by the time the figures were made available. Due to rapid growth of the U.S. population from rising immigration, it was estimated that the 1890 census would take much longer. As such a faster technique of tabulating data was vital to be useful.
Herman Hollerith (1860 – 1929), a German-American statistician, is widely regarded as the father of modern automatic computation. Invented by him in 1884 to improve the speed and accuracy of calculating the U.S. census, his punched card tabulating machines were developed and used for the 1890 census, which took only one year.
Such machines were in use also for censuses in Canada and many other countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The punched data card tabulating and sorting machines dominated the computing industry through the mid-1970s.
Hollerith's companies were merged to be renamed International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) in 1924, a Forbes 500 company.
http://it-so-happened-it-so-happened.blogspot.com/2010/08/Sindelfingen.html
The taxi brought us to the Mercedes-Benz reception centre in Sindelfingen where I was identified as the would-be owner of my custom-built car
Sindelfingen is about 18 km south west of Stuttgart, the state capital of Baden-Württemberg. The town is located at the Schwippe river headwaters. It has automotive and computer industry and is home of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class luxury cars, a series of the largest sedans produced by Mercedes Benz. The name "S-Class" is derived from the German word that means "special class", or "In a class of its own".
We were taken to a large room with displays of earlier models and the past history of Mercedes-Benz as the world-famous car manufacturer. I learnt that the origins of the Daimler-Benz company, founded through a merger in 1926, dated back to the mid-1880s when G. Daimler (1834–1900) working with W. Maybach (1846–1929) and K. Benz
(1844–1929) independently invented the internal combustion engine-powered automobile in south-western Germany.
With the Black Forest not far away, Sindelfingen is the largest town in the administrative district of Böblingen. The first documented mention of Sindelfingen was in 1155. Women from Sindelfingen are reported to have suffered much in the 16th and 17th centuries due to the witch hunts.
During the Middle Ages Sindelfingen had notable weaving industry. Hand weaving enjoyed an important position in the 19th century, until the textile industry was adversely affected by Asian imports. As a result, some former weaving mills were used as offices for the computer industry.
Computer tabulating technology developed primarily from the punched card data gathering techniques of the weaving mills. The need arose to replace the pen and paper compilation of census date by a faster method.
The 1880 U.S. census had taken seven years to tabulate. The data so collected were almost obsolete by the time the figures were made available. Due to rapid growth of the U.S. population from rising immigration, it was estimated that the 1890 census would take much longer. As such a faster technique of tabulating data was vital to be useful.
Herman Hollerith (1860 – 1929), a German-American statistician, is widely regarded as the father of modern automatic computation. Invented by him in 1884 to improve the speed and accuracy of calculating the U.S. census, his punched card tabulating machines were developed and used for the 1890 census, which took only one year.
Such machines were in use also for censuses in Canada and many other countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The punched data card tabulating and sorting machines dominated the computing industry through the mid-1970s.
Hollerith's companies were merged to be renamed International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) in 1924, a Forbes 500 company.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Facsimile
Facsimile
http://it-so-happened-it-so-happened.blogspot.com/2010/08/Facsimile.hyml
We wanted to make an early start to arrive in time to take delivery of our car from the Mercedes-Benz Factory in Sidelfingen. Getting up early to do so signified our desire to enjoy every minute of such a day. The breakfast served to us offered a great selection, and we had ample intake to keep us going. Lavinia was excited to take possession of a car that will drive us through many countries to reach Iran.
Staying overnight at Holiday Inn was quite comfortable and refreshing. It was made possible with help from Leon, our brother-in-law, in England. He booked reservation at Holiday Inn by facsimile mail. As a well-established business executive in London, he had been already using it for his transactions wherever such a facility was available in Europe.
Facsimile mailing was still in its early stages at the start of our travel. We were impressed with the rapidity in receiving written confirmation of our forthcoming stay in Stuttgart. And especially so when an unexpected change was required because of a directive from Rome asking me to arrive a day earlier to attend a briefing session organized for those undertaking FAO assignments in other countries.
"It is so immediate and convenient," said Lavinia. I agreed and warmly nodded my affirmation.
In stead of making phone calls at different times from widely separated global locations, facsimile mail provided a trust-worthy communication technique of sending letters for exact reproduction elsewhere. We were intrigued and pleased how a fax (short for facsimile) could send a document over telephone lines.
The history of the facsimile was started with the invention in Scotland. It was 1842when Alexander Bain, Scottish clockmaker, made a machine that could receive signals from a telegraph wire and translate these into images on paper.
Facsimile machines existed in different forms since the 19th century. Modern fax machines became feasible only in the mid-1970s, with sophistication of technology and lower cost. Newspaper publishers and TV broadcasters had employed the first facsimile machines for transmitting photographs.
Japan presented a problem in using the competing technologies such as teleprinter. As it was faster to handwrite the Japanese language characters than to type them, a facsimile had clear advantage. Due to the unique requirements of the Japanese markets, facsimile machines had great potential in the country.
Japan successfully managed to lower the production costs through advanced technology, and soon led the world in the utilization of facsimile service. In the 1970s, there was rapid innovation in the facsimile industry and many standards were set.
Initially, government agencies were the prime users. Japan was the first to allow facsimile transmission over public telephone system in 1972, and in early 1970s the Japanese government was also one of the first to give facsimile documents legal approval.
Over time, faxing has gradually became affordable, and by the mid-1980s fax machines became smaller and compact and very popular around the world.
http://it-so-happened-it-so-happened.blogspot.com/2010/08/Facsimile.hyml
We wanted to make an early start to arrive in time to take delivery of our car from the Mercedes-Benz Factory in Sidelfingen. Getting up early to do so signified our desire to enjoy every minute of such a day. The breakfast served to us offered a great selection, and we had ample intake to keep us going. Lavinia was excited to take possession of a car that will drive us through many countries to reach Iran.
Staying overnight at Holiday Inn was quite comfortable and refreshing. It was made possible with help from Leon, our brother-in-law, in England. He booked reservation at Holiday Inn by facsimile mail. As a well-established business executive in London, he had been already using it for his transactions wherever such a facility was available in Europe.
Facsimile mailing was still in its early stages at the start of our travel. We were impressed with the rapidity in receiving written confirmation of our forthcoming stay in Stuttgart. And especially so when an unexpected change was required because of a directive from Rome asking me to arrive a day earlier to attend a briefing session organized for those undertaking FAO assignments in other countries.
"It is so immediate and convenient," said Lavinia. I agreed and warmly nodded my affirmation.
In stead of making phone calls at different times from widely separated global locations, facsimile mail provided a trust-worthy communication technique of sending letters for exact reproduction elsewhere. We were intrigued and pleased how a fax (short for facsimile) could send a document over telephone lines.
The history of the facsimile was started with the invention in Scotland. It was 1842when Alexander Bain, Scottish clockmaker, made a machine that could receive signals from a telegraph wire and translate these into images on paper.
Facsimile machines existed in different forms since the 19th century. Modern fax machines became feasible only in the mid-1970s, with sophistication of technology and lower cost. Newspaper publishers and TV broadcasters had employed the first facsimile machines for transmitting photographs.
Japan presented a problem in using the competing technologies such as teleprinter. As it was faster to handwrite the Japanese language characters than to type them, a facsimile had clear advantage. Due to the unique requirements of the Japanese markets, facsimile machines had great potential in the country.
Japan successfully managed to lower the production costs through advanced technology, and soon led the world in the utilization of facsimile service. In the 1970s, there was rapid innovation in the facsimile industry and many standards were set.
Initially, government agencies were the prime users. Japan was the first to allow facsimile transmission over public telephone system in 1972, and in early 1970s the Japanese government was also one of the first to give facsimile documents legal approval.
Over time, faxing has gradually became affordable, and by the mid-1980s fax machines became smaller and compact and very popular around the world.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Reza Shah the Great
Reza Shah the Great (1878 - 1945)
Devider had spotted and pointed to look towards some Iranians when we visited him at the university compass in Tuebingen.
I saw that they were in a group consisting of male and female students, joyfully mingling and enjoying themselves.
There was no other person to be seen except them at that time.
I was curious and asked Devinder, "Why Iranians were so popular with German girls?"
He paused for a while and said, "As you know, Nazi ideology had adopted the concept of Aryans as the master race for Germany. And the word Iran in Persian means land of the Aryans. "
Devinder believed this was a factor enough to trigger affinity among Iranians and Germans.
The term Aryan originates from the Sanskrit word Arya, meaning "honourable, respectable, noble".
Persia and Iran were the names used interchangeably prior to 1935. After that Reza Shah, considered as one of the greatest kings historically, decided to select Iran as the official name of the country.
Recognizing the need for higher education, he established the University of Tehran and started sending Iranian students to Europe in pursuit of modern technology.
Born as Reza Khan in a small isolated village he had started his military career at a young age in 1893, and was promoted to the rank equivalent of First Lieutenant in 1911.
Bravery and brilliant performance in successive campaigns led to his rapid rise in ranks. Captain in 1912, Colonel in 1915, and Brigadier General in 1918.
In 1921, Reza Khan occupied Tehran and became war minister after heading a British orchestrated coup .
He negotiated the evacuation of the Russian troops the same year.
Reza became prime minister in 1923, and negotiated the evacuation of the British forces stationed in Iran since World War I.
In 1925, he succeeded in deposing Ahmad Mirza, the last shah of Qajar Dynasty and was proclaimed shah of Iran. He changed his name to Reza Shah Pahlevi, the founder of Pahlevi dynasty.
However, his dictatorial style of rule caused dissatisfaction in his kingdom by the mid 1930's.
When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, it had a major impact on Iran which had declared neutrality in the conflict.
Allies protested Reza Shah's rapprochement with the Germans, and British and Russian forces invaded to occupy Iran during the same year.
And to make it a major corridor for British and American aid to USSR, Reza Shah was forced to abdicate in favour of his son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlevi.
He was exiled to South Africa, where he died in Johannesburg in 1945.
During my stay in Iran I became awe of the many social reforms and singular achievements pioneered by him.
Teja Singh
Canada
Devider had spotted and pointed to look towards some Iranians when we visited him at the university compass in Tuebingen.
I saw that they were in a group consisting of male and female students, joyfully mingling and enjoying themselves.
There was no other person to be seen except them at that time.
I was curious and asked Devinder, "Why Iranians were so popular with German girls?"
He paused for a while and said, "As you know, Nazi ideology had adopted the concept of Aryans as the master race for Germany. And the word Iran in Persian means land of the Aryans. "
Devinder believed this was a factor enough to trigger affinity among Iranians and Germans.
The term Aryan originates from the Sanskrit word Arya, meaning "honourable, respectable, noble".
Persia and Iran were the names used interchangeably prior to 1935. After that Reza Shah, considered as one of the greatest kings historically, decided to select Iran as the official name of the country.
Recognizing the need for higher education, he established the University of Tehran and started sending Iranian students to Europe in pursuit of modern technology.
Born as Reza Khan in a small isolated village he had started his military career at a young age in 1893, and was promoted to the rank equivalent of First Lieutenant in 1911.
Bravery and brilliant performance in successive campaigns led to his rapid rise in ranks. Captain in 1912, Colonel in 1915, and Brigadier General in 1918.
In 1921, Reza Khan occupied Tehran and became war minister after heading a British orchestrated coup .
He negotiated the evacuation of the Russian troops the same year.
Reza became prime minister in 1923, and negotiated the evacuation of the British forces stationed in Iran since World War I.
In 1925, he succeeded in deposing Ahmad Mirza, the last shah of Qajar Dynasty and was proclaimed shah of Iran. He changed his name to Reza Shah Pahlevi, the founder of Pahlevi dynasty.
However, his dictatorial style of rule caused dissatisfaction in his kingdom by the mid 1930's.
When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, it had a major impact on Iran which had declared neutrality in the conflict.
Allies protested Reza Shah's rapprochement with the Germans, and British and Russian forces invaded to occupy Iran during the same year.
And to make it a major corridor for British and American aid to USSR, Reza Shah was forced to abdicate in favour of his son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlevi.
He was exiled to South Africa, where he died in Johannesburg in 1945.
During my stay in Iran I became awe of the many social reforms and singular achievements pioneered by him.
Teja Singh
Canada
Monday, August 2, 2010
Tuebingen
Tuebingen, the university town, is beautifully located between the famous Black Forest
and the Swabian Alps.
Travelling by express train through the mountain valleys in 1959, combined with the
serving of an exotic breakfast, was an exciting experience for me and the first of
its kind among the panoramic surroundings changing rapidly in succession as the train
moved at great speed.
The university had been founded in the fifteenth century after obtaining the required permission from the Pope.
My desire to go there was to renew contact with Devinder, a close friend, and to seek
any advice he could offer me, a newcomer, after having lived in the West for over
past two years.
An acquaintance, an older gentleman from Jalandhar district, had voluntarily accompanied me me to act as a guide having past travel experience in Europe.
I had met him when boarding the Italian ship at Cochin. We were pleased with our
fellowship during the long sea journey to Genoa, which had many interesting episodes.
At one occasion, when we were revelling together at our recitations of Urdu verses and Punjabi 'bolian', we encountered a little misunderstanding from an Englishman who had
been drinking alone for so,e time in a corner of the empty bar of our ship.
Obviously drunk, he presumed that we were laughing at him.
As we were still enjoying our verses, he shouted at us loudly.
"... we ruled over you in India in the past. We are soon coming back to rule again...!"
I was about to react to this uncalled outrageous remrak. My companion noticed it
coming and put his hand quickly on my shoulder and quietly nodded to me.
"Never mind. You will come across such behaviour sometime...just ignore and stay calm."
We rode the bus to reach Tuebingen and enjoyed the travel through forested terrain.
Devinder was delighted to see us.
After enquiring about our well-being and those of our near kith an kin, a courtesy for
those arriving from India, he suggested we take a walk though the campus as we go for
dinner.
While walking around the campus, he pointed to some Iranian male students in the company
of German females.
"Lot of Iranians are studying here. Certainly the result of positive association that
Reza Shah Pehalvi had cultivated for Germany during the pre-war years."
Reza Shah's tilt towards Germany under the Nazis was a known fact.
As the World War started, the Allies forced him to resign, in an attempt to keep Iran neutral because of its importance as a country with abundant oil resources.
As if somewhat jealous, Devinder confided to us that the Iranian students were very
popular with German girls, a fact that became obvious when I reached Iran and
noticed that some of the top officials in Iranian Government were married to German
ladies.
It was already getting late. We stopped going any further and were led to dinner at a
nearby restaurant in the town.
My first request on arriving there," May I have some water to quench my thirst."
The server brought a bottle of beer instead, to which I said "no", because I was
longing for the refreshing drink of cold fresh water only.
"Drinking water is not a common practice here", my friend told me.
He went on to explain why it was so.
"Much of the natural water supply had been polluted in the past by German industries.
It is safer to drink bear instead."
As a good host, he proceeded to plead a special request on my behalf, to get me served
with bottled water.
I had heard him saying to the receptionist, " My friend has just arrived from India and
is still new to the country".
We enjoyed the dinner and coversation, and were soon on our return journey to Stuttgat.
I cherish the memories of my visit to the university and Stuttgart of 1959. The city has grown extensively with passage of time.
It was in prime glory when I revisited it in 1977.
and the Swabian Alps.
Travelling by express train through the mountain valleys in 1959, combined with the
serving of an exotic breakfast, was an exciting experience for me and the first of
its kind among the panoramic surroundings changing rapidly in succession as the train
moved at great speed.
The university had been founded in the fifteenth century after obtaining the required permission from the Pope.
My desire to go there was to renew contact with Devinder, a close friend, and to seek
any advice he could offer me, a newcomer, after having lived in the West for over
past two years.
An acquaintance, an older gentleman from Jalandhar district, had voluntarily accompanied me me to act as a guide having past travel experience in Europe.
I had met him when boarding the Italian ship at Cochin. We were pleased with our
fellowship during the long sea journey to Genoa, which had many interesting episodes.
At one occasion, when we were revelling together at our recitations of Urdu verses and Punjabi 'bolian', we encountered a little misunderstanding from an Englishman who had
been drinking alone for so,e time in a corner of the empty bar of our ship.
Obviously drunk, he presumed that we were laughing at him.
As we were still enjoying our verses, he shouted at us loudly.
"... we ruled over you in India in the past. We are soon coming back to rule again...!"
I was about to react to this uncalled outrageous remrak. My companion noticed it
coming and put his hand quickly on my shoulder and quietly nodded to me.
"Never mind. You will come across such behaviour sometime...just ignore and stay calm."
We rode the bus to reach Tuebingen and enjoyed the travel through forested terrain.
Devinder was delighted to see us.
After enquiring about our well-being and those of our near kith an kin, a courtesy for
those arriving from India, he suggested we take a walk though the campus as we go for
dinner.
While walking around the campus, he pointed to some Iranian male students in the company
of German females.
"Lot of Iranians are studying here. Certainly the result of positive association that
Reza Shah Pehalvi had cultivated for Germany during the pre-war years."
Reza Shah's tilt towards Germany under the Nazis was a known fact.
As the World War started, the Allies forced him to resign, in an attempt to keep Iran neutral because of its importance as a country with abundant oil resources.
As if somewhat jealous, Devinder confided to us that the Iranian students were very
popular with German girls, a fact that became obvious when I reached Iran and
noticed that some of the top officials in Iranian Government were married to German
ladies.
It was already getting late. We stopped going any further and were led to dinner at a
nearby restaurant in the town.
My first request on arriving there," May I have some water to quench my thirst."
The server brought a bottle of beer instead, to which I said "no", because I was
longing for the refreshing drink of cold fresh water only.
"Drinking water is not a common practice here", my friend told me.
He went on to explain why it was so.
"Much of the natural water supply had been polluted in the past by German industries.
It is safer to drink bear instead."
As a good host, he proceeded to plead a special request on my behalf, to get me served
with bottled water.
I had heard him saying to the receptionist, " My friend has just arrived from India and
is still new to the country".
We enjoyed the dinner and coversation, and were soon on our return journey to Stuttgat.
I cherish the memories of my visit to the university and Stuttgart of 1959. The city has grown extensively with passage of time.
It was in prime glory when I revisited it in 1977.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Iran Odyssey 2
Stuttgart Revisited
We were directed to pick up our car at Sindelfingen, a neighbouring hometown of Mercedes Benz Factory, 15 km away.
Arriving a day earlier was to ensure that we are there at the right time to take delivery of our coming directly from the assembly line.
Also, it provided an opportunity to learn more about Stuttgart which I was visiting for the second time.
Stuttgart is situated in a lush valley surrounded by vineyards and forests.
It is one of the most well-known cities in Germany, prominent with its cultural and economic importance.
When the Allied Forces took control in 1945, the city was a serious contender to become the federal capital of West Germany. But finally Bonn had succeeded.
However, Stuttgart has steadily bloomed and achieved great economic prosperity during the post-war years.
I had stopped here the first time in 1959 when I broke my journey from India, to visit Devinder Naag, a friend from Amritsar where I had worked as forest ranger for three years prior to leaving for advanced studies in USA. At that time some parts of the city still showed the scars left by the extensive bombing it suufered during the second World War.
Devinder was enrolled as a post-graduate student at Tuebingen University near Stuttgart. He had selected the renowned institution without knowing much about German language. An army veteran had assured him that German language was "easy to learn", as experienced by him while serving there near the end of hostilities.
That was not what Devinder found when he arrived at the Stuttgart railway station. His itty bitty German, as spoken by him at that time, was not understood by anybody that he tried to talk to after disembarking the train.
It was almost midnight. When every body left, he ended up being contacted by the railway station master who spoke to him in English. He was grateful that somebody came to his rescue.
Devinder was taken to the waiting room lounge to spend the remaining hours of the nigh, and was advised to wait for the first bus scheduled to arrive at dawn for travel to his destination.
We were directed to pick up our car at Sindelfingen, a neighbouring hometown of Mercedes Benz Factory, 15 km away.
Arriving a day earlier was to ensure that we are there at the right time to take delivery of our coming directly from the assembly line.
Also, it provided an opportunity to learn more about Stuttgart which I was visiting for the second time.
Stuttgart is situated in a lush valley surrounded by vineyards and forests.
It is one of the most well-known cities in Germany, prominent with its cultural and economic importance.
When the Allied Forces took control in 1945, the city was a serious contender to become the federal capital of West Germany. But finally Bonn had succeeded.
However, Stuttgart has steadily bloomed and achieved great economic prosperity during the post-war years.
I had stopped here the first time in 1959 when I broke my journey from India, to visit Devinder Naag, a friend from Amritsar where I had worked as forest ranger for three years prior to leaving for advanced studies in USA. At that time some parts of the city still showed the scars left by the extensive bombing it suufered during the second World War.
Devinder was enrolled as a post-graduate student at Tuebingen University near Stuttgart. He had selected the renowned institution without knowing much about German language. An army veteran had assured him that German language was "easy to learn", as experienced by him while serving there near the end of hostilities.
That was not what Devinder found when he arrived at the Stuttgart railway station. His itty bitty German, as spoken by him at that time, was not understood by anybody that he tried to talk to after disembarking the train.
It was almost midnight. When every body left, he ended up being contacted by the railway station master who spoke to him in English. He was grateful that somebody came to his rescue.
Devinder was taken to the waiting room lounge to spend the remaining hours of the nigh, and was advised to wait for the first bus scheduled to arrive at dawn for travel to his destination.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)