inderSTADTBala Gopalan's noWHere in the *CITY

Summer of 2001, I visited my colleague and friend Karoly in Gödölö (Click here to see some pictures), which is about 45 minutes drive from Budapest, in Hungary. Primarily a University town – mostly agricultural studies, I believe, Gödölö is home to the famous Schloss (castle) Gödölö. History records this castle as a gift from the Hungarian Parliament to Empress Maria-Theresia on the occasion of the reconciliation between Austria and Hungary. Maria-Theresia, affectionately called Sisi, was to the Austria-Hungary empire what Queen Victoria was to the British, with the notable difference of the former being MOTHER.

Two things I will remember most about Gödölö:

First, there is a statue of a horseman in front of one of the main University buildings. Nothing spectacular or distinctly remarkable about this statue. For the most part, it is garbed in bird droppings, grime, dirt, and what have you (not). However, one part of the statue that is still resplendent is the testicle area of the horse .. yup, shiny nice eggs. Karoly, self-appointed tour guide for my visit, told me that it was a tradition for girl students to touch the eggs prior to major examinations as a good luck begetting tradition. The shine, in contrast to the texture of the rest of the body of the statue, did seem to indicate that they were one lucky pair of eggs and were touched a plenty!!!

Second, as we were walking the streets of Gödölö, I could not believe my ears at what I thought I heard was playing at one of the cafes. It was very moving instrumental music, could it be Bollywood circa 1995? Could it? Naaa, … Nicht Moeglish! Here I was, parading the streets as the Alien Guest du Jour of this small town in Hungary, causing a lot of close encounters of the curious kind, and yet suddenly made to feel not so alien by this very familiar music playing in the most unfamiliar of places. This very familiar music ephemerally swiped the surroundings null and void and filled me with the kind of chimera that could only be described as a sum of feeling all at the same time – pride, nostalgia, appreciation, empathy, and belonged. It is the theme music, composed by A.R.Rahman, of the Bollywood blockbuster movie – Bombay, that I am referring to. Certainly, one of the few surreal moments I have had as a wandering nomad.

Listen to Bombay film’s theme music:

To conclude the story above, Karoly checked with the guy at the cafe how (where) he got this song (from) … he had no clue but conjectured that the owner got it from a visiting (indian?) student. We said köszönöm (kussy, if shortened) – Thanks in Hungarian, and walked on …