The blue sky

This week was a long weekend with 4 days leave all over Germany. Germany and other European countries were celebrating Good Friday and Easter and so the Monday was also off. I had no plans to sit at home on this long week end. Thanks to the weather, we couldn't plan anything for 3 days at a stretch, but we decided to do 1 day trips and keep ourselves busy. My mother-in-law is also here with us, so it was a good chance to take her and show her around. On Thursday itself, Atul broke the news that he finally got the International Driving license and he can now explore the German AutoBahn (highways) by either buying or renting a car. He immediately set into action and hired a small Volkswagen Golf for a trip to Titisee (a lake in the Blackforest area, 165 kms away from Stuttgart). Driving on German Autobahn is an experience in itself. I had tasted the speed in Sep 2003, when we had driven from Frankfurt airport to the university in Germersheim, near Mainz. Oh what discipline, ...

As I started from home in the morning for office today, it was a bright and sunny and after 2 days of dull and gray weather, I was very happy to see the yellow sun shining in the sky, though not very brightly. People living in Asian countries hardly pay respect to the sun; they take it for granted and even curse it in times of peak summer. But once you come to Europe, especially, central Europe , then the very sight of the sun during winters seems so much bliss!! As the train slowly climbed the hill, the weather changed drastically and the sun vanished behind a thick envelope of gray clouds. Suddenly it seemed as if our train was galloping through a white trail of clouds and fog. It seemed like a scene straight from a horror movie. Suddenly my cheerful mood dropped to a low and I felt very sad and lonely sitting in the train going to office, with no known face around me. I got down at my usual station and there stood 100 steps before me, grinning at me. Everyday, I have to climb ...

I arrived in Germany on last Friday. The journey with Tanay and my mother-in-law was fantastic. Tanay behaved like his usual self and did not trouble us much. We were very exhausted at the fag end of the journey, but that was anticipated. The week end was a saving grace and we could relax a bit. We went around on Saturday to buy things and then on Sunday, we were stranded at home as it was rainy outside. Monday was the first day to new office, in a new profile and a new surrounding. I had to take a train from the place where I stay to the place where I work and it is hardly half an hour away from my house. I reached office within no time, without getting stuck in traffic or without getting delayed. Office was quiet and all the people were working meticulously. I could hardly hear anyone talking to each other. I settled on my desk and started working. A close friend of mine helped me get oriented in the different buildings and it all seemed very new and different to me. I was now w...

On Friday, very unexpectedly, I got to know that my visa has arrived and I need to travel as soon as possible. I had just finished the biometrics on Wednesday and as it went with others, I was expecting that it will at least take a week or so for the visa to arrive. So, I was all relaxed and suddenly this news came and I did not know how to react. There was a knotty feeling in my stomach. I was neither happy nor sad. Suddenly it dawned upon me that I have to leave my current work place, house, people, friends and go to Germany. Was I not knowing that I have to go there some day? Then why did I feel so uncomfortable at the thought of going to Germany? That was a strange feeling, but then I had to put that thought at the back of my mind and move ahead with the preparations. I decided to pamper myself on the week end and make it the best possible week end before leaving my homeland. It was going to be the last relaxed week end of this year in this city, which gave me successful caree...

I completed 90 days in the new work place and it seemed like a few years have already passed that I restarted with work. Life had become so busy and hectic that there was hardly any strength left to do anything after coming back home. My little boy's lit up face and his toothless smile upon my return to home compensated for all the boredom which work brought in office sometime. I just got a few hours with him, say a two till he fell asleep like a good child. Then a quiet dinner followed with hushed voices fearing that we may wake up my boy. On Monday night, after a long and tiring day, I came home as usual, but with a mild headache and as the night set in, my headache worsened. And during midnight, I felt as if somebody was hammering my head with a large chisel. I couldn't take it anymore and decided to tell my mother, who sensed my restlessness and woke up. She did acupressure on my head, gave me ginger and sugar to eat and finally at about 4:30 am, I could get back to sl...