As the name suggests, this is a blog post about living in Paris. The post very unpretentiously is an effort at noting down the moments that I spend here… decades later, as my memory fails me, the words shall be the cue.. So apologies to the reader if some parts are incomprehensible or vague because somehow somewhere I am hoping that they will make sense to me.
Its been two days in Paris now and I have experienced melancholy and joy, the urge to head back to India and the conviction that Paris is my ultimate destination, bewilderment at the transport system (Metro, RER or trams) to the comfort of a seasoned metro traveler. I have felt uncomfortably hot in my room on the first day (Caveat: The french DO NOT have fans) and terribly cold on a cruise on the river Seine the very next day . In the stark sunlight of a Monday morning, I have felt horribly conscious of the fact that I am an Asian amongst the debonair Parisians and in the basement of a night joint I have realised that whether American/Mexican/Italian/French, we are all the same at a certain level. Within a span of hours I have gone from feeling deeply philosophical looking at the monuments of Paris to completely hedonistic with a drink in my hand.
It all began on a cold Sunday evening with the innocent wonder at the infrastructure and the taxi with GPS system. The wide eyed fascination with the make of the cars and the critical view of our own simple Maruti's ,not to forget, the first brush with a frenchman (cab-driver) who was not too pleased with our incompetence in the Langue François. To contrast our displacement to the land of the french, we met Good 'Indian' Samaritans who understood the urgency of informing the ma, pa and dadaji , back home that - "Here we are!!! In La Ville Lumiere, stranded on couches for a couple of hours waiting to get into our rooms". There are other details which need not be mentioned..but ofcourse about the rooms, well all I have to say is that God has been kind and for the other people - Well Paris has $*#@ ing expensive real estate.
The next day's journey to college was a mere haze of stairs ,ticket machines and trains. (U have to be in Paris to experience this).The induction that day was the most unmentionable episode as it was as regular as any induction back home, of course the difference being that we sat with class mates from 21 different countries. Anyway the day was wrapped up with a pinch of grocery shopping, telephone banging (The Euro Latino calling cards sure have a typically french, read complicated, system to call home) and of course listening to Tamil songs and feasting on dosas .
The next day started similar to the earlier one, only this time we were more comfortable with the journey and suddenly the lines on the map made more sense than technicolor patterns. The seminars that day about French living style and culture were intriguing and soporific at times … but the best was yet to come..and what an evening it was when it did come- The first look at Seine and a cruise on it is something that I dare not attempt to describe in words , I have neither the prowess nor the imagination to convey to the reader the beauty of the experience. The only guarantee is that it lifts your spirits and gives u a high that not the strongest alcohol can. The snippets of conversation with a Mexican and Japanese are details that add a dash of socializing to an otherwise very personal pleasure of the sights. The evening was not to end with this memory, the impromptu plan of the exchange students to go to a bar and party led us walking down the Streets of Saint Germain to get our first look at Paris night life. The karaoke bar had us singing and dancing to Like a Virgin, Sweet Child O'Mine, American Pie, Whenever Wherever….. Ah! The list is endless. The party was the perfect end to a perfect day….. This day was our real 'Welcome to Paris day' and God Bless! That is the day when I fell in love the city {seems like it doesn’t take much :) }.
This is more or less the narration of 2 days at Paris… there promise to be more memories, faster than I can chronicle and faster than the keys can type. With a sincere hope to pen all of them down…
Abientot!
Highlights
1. Tushar being asked by a fellow Indian student - 'Excuse Me! Which Country are you from?'
2. Our unsuccessful attempts at using the Euro Latino telephone calling card.
3. Tomato Puree being misunderstood for Tomato Ketchup ( Yeah! Yeah! We can't read French).
4. The daily effort at comprehending the food items in the Mess.
5. The shower system (You need to keep pressing a button to keep the water flowing).
6. Gopi asking a man on the station for directions in Tamil.(And actually getting the answers)
