I had never seen
a snowfall in my life of 23 years. And what a sight it was when I really got to
experience it!
Way back in
2002, I got an opportunity to visit my dream destination, the country, where I
was able to communicate with the people, understand them and get understood in
return. I was in Germany,
the country, which amazed me with its picturesque and clean natural beauty and
the Germans left me awestruck with their punctuality and diligence.
We happened to
get invited by a German friend of ours for Christmas that year, which is
actually not very common. Germans prefer celebrating this festival with their
close family members. But then this friend was really sweet and she went out of
the way to make us feel comfortable at her place. Her parents had decorated
their house beautifully. There was a small pond at the backside of the house,
where they had reared gold fish. I was wondering, how the fish survive when the
water freezes. Do they stay below the thin crust of the frozen water or just
die off?
There is usually
an excitement in the air amongst the Germans regarding whether it will be a
White Christmas or a normal one. Almost every person in Germany awaits
a White Christmas. But not all parts of the country receive snow at the same
time. When we went to my friend’s place on 24th December, it was
just freezing cold and snow was nowhere in sight. But on 25th,
suddenly small flakes of snow began to drop on our hands when we were roaming
in the backyard and within no time, the whole place was filled with snow. It
was so soft and tender!! We shouted and we jumped in joy; we danced like small
kids with the snow flakes on our hands and hair and all over our clothes. For
my friend and her parents, it was a usual phenomenon, which happened every year
in their lives, but for us, it was “the” first time and it was so very
beautiful.
We tried to
capture the snow flakes in our cameras, but then whatever human senses capture,
can’t be captured by any other technology, be it the latest and the advanced, I
believe. I accumulated all those lovely sights and scenes and the memories in
my eyes and then digitized them in the brain and they are so very fresh and
alive even today as if I am experiencing them even today! Each snow flake was
different from the other. It is said that not a single snow flake resembles the
other with respect to its shape and dimension. Isn’t it the wonder of nature?
Can human beings replicate the snow flakes just like the natural ones? I do not
think so! Nature has kept many of its secrets still as secret and that is the
most wonderful and amazing part which really leaves me dumbstruck. Technology
has no doubt made our lives simpler, but the natural beauty when experienced in
abundance takes you to a different meditative state altogether. You start
believing in the almighty and that unseen power which guides one and all.
We got a very picture
of nature in Germany.
People have maintained the sanctity of all the natural reservoirs, be it
rivers, lakes, forests, or even man-made gardens for that matter. Germany is so
technically advanced, but it is one of the most Eco-friendly and Eco-conscious countries
in the world and takes a lot of care to not harm nature in any way and tries its
best to maintain the balance between nature and man.
I so very wish
that we Indians get inspired from them in this regards!
Speaking of Nature and it's preservation I think we Indians have a lot to learn.
ReplyDeleteOn my recent trip to Thailand, I was amazed at the way the people treat their surroundings. Though not economically as strong as India, the country understands nature and belives in drawing a thick line between the natural world and the man made world and not let the later disturb the former. And the result was there to see... pristine beauty and harmony between both the worlds!