inderSTADTBala Gopalan's noWHere in the *CITY

… higher & costlier! There used to be a time when the dollar (USD) went a long way when travelling in Europe. Not anymore, evidentally, as we found out during our recent vacation in Deutschland and Italia. A triple whammy, if you will, and how so you might ask?

Firstly, the dollar is weaker than ever, viz., the near-parity days that I remember from early 2002 is a distant memory and lucky you are if you get around 76E to a 100Bucks.

Secondly, it appeared, at least in Germany, that they have retained the sale prices for items that used to cost up to 10DM but just changed the currency to Euros. There I was at my favourite Crepe stand at the head of KoenigStrasse in liebe Stuttgart with the missus, all ready to get as many crepes that my pocket change would allow and that which I thought would carry us through the rest of the day, when I was told, “Funf Euro Funfzig, Bitte!” for a couple of simple “Butter, Salz und Pfeffer crepes mit roasted Swiebelen und Krauter” … BAAAM! Thats when it hit me and I almost gasped, “You’ve got to be kidding me … aber das kostet nuer Funf D’Mark Funzip Pfennig in 2002, was passiert??” As much salivating as I had been doing in anticipation of what I had not had in over 2 years, I almost choked in Quixotic style upon letting out the gasp but recovered miraculously enough and in time to give the missus a “Fear not, what do they take me for .. a german tourist? ha, not this one, ma’am! Bring ‘em on .. I have things under control” look. At least, I thought I did! Reluctantly, reach out I did for my valet, pull out a 10E note, and gave it to the crepe vendor, even as he was ready with the balance change already. I tried to rationalize it as, “Think about the upside. On the way back, perhaps, my pocket change might even cover the cost of the crepes!”

Thirdly, spending budgets are not what they used to be from the good ol’ greedy days of the new economy. No, I am not referring to corporate budgets though truer words about them would be impossible to find presently. But am referring to that of the Average Joe Kudimagan (Tamil for Citizen).

To quote a phrase that I loathe, “this is not rocket science .. doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this one out .. or whatever blah + rocket science + whatever blah”.

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 …