Sometimes, I like to ponder over as to why people in government offices in India refuse to follow procedures honestly and properly that they have been appointed to implement. My understanding is that it's the pre-independence attitude that is still in place... when civil disobedience and mockery of government was a cool and accepted resort, when you were a patriot if you didn't follow rules and regulations set by the foriegn government. But, times have changed now. We are not being ruled by some outsiders who oppress us, we are being ruled by people who are one of our own.. though admittedly, they still oppress us. Yet, some/most of those rules have been set up for our own good, the system has been put in place for the good of the country, if followed properly. But one can't fault a lowly babu (clerk) or a peon for the corruption either. The poor soul is expecting only a few bucks in return of services that are, though, his duties and responsibilities and that he should ideally provide without a bribe. This corruption starts at the top with the "leaders"of the country who amass and multiply their wealth exponentially every year, while 1/3rd population can't afford 2 meals for their family. Now, that's where the change is required. I believe that the leaders who got us our freedom, fought for it and sacrificed for it, have earned their dues, and it's time they move on to work for the public again. And, the new ones - well, I wonder what dues they are trying to get before they start thinking about the interests of the country. The problems in India can't be solved with a bottom-up approach, but top-down! Call me pessimistic but I am sorry, that doesn't seem likely to be happening in my lifetime or at least not in my "youth".
This post is going to be super long.. mainly because it's been quite long since my last posting.. primarily because I was busy finishing up my Master's thesis (giving it final touches before official submission), dealing with the bureaucracy of Netherlands to officially and legally reside in Amsterdam in comfort (Dutch people love their bureaucracy) - e.g. waiting in the bank for 1 hr to get my Debit card activated, and what not. And add to that the woes of not having a proper birth certificate, because schools in India like to do something that might just blow your mind; I hope you are ready for this - they keep your original birth certificate and give you a photocopy, and then never return your original birth certificate. So, basically what you are left with to prove your birth (except your own existence) is a photocopy of the certificate. And as you go along, you keep putting some makeshift certificates in your little "I-am-alive-and-kicking" kitty - documents that have no validity outside India. Anyway, my parents have finally been able to get another copy of birth certificate for me, but now will have to deal with the U.P. government for its legalization (for apostil), which will take another 3-4 months; now lemme say it again - I love India.
Well at least for now, I am an official/legal resident of Amsterdam, have a bank account and a cell phone. Very soon, I'll get a legal internet connection at home and will, thus, be able to serve humanity better (I have always wanted to say this). I also finally bought a bike today - a swift- & smooth-riding golden sports bike, sort of a hybrid between racing bike and mountain bike - for just 60 Euros, a very good deal indeed. It's got gears, hand brakes, bell, lightswith a dynamo; it's a light ride, and has a nice sleek look. However, I have already been successful in breaking its rear brakes - they were not in the best state, so I applied all the mechanical engineering I ever learnt to fix them, and ended up making sure the brakes were completely done for and needed replacement- I suppose I don't have to explain my bad undergraduate grades anymore, just come see the work I did on my bike. Now, with a new brake cable, a new tool set and what not, I am again going to attempt an exhibition of my engineering (mechanic) skills!! Let's see what this ends up in.. :D.. One things is for sure though, having a bike is definitely gonna be one good work out, coz I have to lug this bike for 2 floors (0th --> 2nd) and carry it back down every time I take it out for a ride.. Boy, are my legs gonna be stronger in a month!!
But hey, that's not all - the university is closed since Thursday (30/04) till Tuesday (05/05), but I was smart enough not to do anything about it, since I assumed that the graduate students would be showing up for work anyway - as a result I didn't make any plans whatsoever to go anywhere in this 6-day break. But as I found it out on this Wednesday, 1 day before the break started, that not one single soul would set foot in the compounds of the building, I frantically tried to arrange a trip to Finland - unsuccessful, then to Budapest - didn't work out either, and finally to Frankfurt (also, turned out it wasn't worth spending 180 euros for a 2 day trip) before finally giving up and deciding to stay put and enjoy the sunny weather of Amsterdam - oh you better believe it, it is sunny here, kinda rare in Amsterdam - but won't last long, I have been told.
But I have to admit, I love this place, this neighborhood.. I can step down from my apartment and get most varieties of foods - Middle-Eastern, Chinese, Indonesian, Moroccan - within 50 m of my apartment, come back and eat it in my fortress of solitude, and then again go back down to get grocery from the biggest supermarket chain of NL, again within 50 m walking distance.. if only my apartment were cleaner :(
I also learnt today, after having been searching for a hair conditioner for 2 weeks, that it is called "cremespoeling" in Dutch... yeah yeah, I know... I am quite vain.. I always had an inkling that I was fairly vain, but it was confirmed this week when I bought a shower gel with milk cream, another herbal gel, a lather maker and a hair conditioner (it took me 15 min to decide on that - 5 minutes to just figure out that cremespoeling means conditioner, and another 5 mintues to figure out what kind of hair I had in Dutch, and another 5 min to decide the economically optimal and compatible cremespoeling).. in fact, now I have become quite a lean mean shopping machine.. if not by my work, i am in some way contributing to the Dutch and, hence, international economy.. :D
Besides, my Dutch has improved quite a bit now.. I can write a few sentences in Dutch, and also read and understand some of it.. although the word order still messes me up.. hopefully, I'll get a grip on that too some time soon.. Ik doe mijn best (= I am doing my best).. :D
Getting back to the very very long weekend, lemme explain what these holidays, or "Free days" as they are known to us poor researchers, are for.. 30th April Thursday = Queen's day = "Koninginnedag" (to celebrate the birthday of the current queen's late mother); 1st May Friday = Labor day; 4th may, Monday = Jewish memorial day (in memory of Jews who died in the Nazi concentration camps), and 5th May, Tuesday = Liberation day (liberation from Germans in world war 2).. So, as Vibhor pointed out, we are talking about celebration of monarchy and liberation within the space of 1 week.. some irony, eh?
Anyway, one has got to be in Amsterdam to see the craze on Queen's day and Queen's night (29th April night).. it's mindblowing.. everyone is drunk and dancing.. having fun.. but unlike in India, where such an occassion could very well spell diaster for women - having out of control drunk men on streets is not a pleasant experience for anyone in India - I didn't see/hear of any incident of that sort here.. except for that the roads get dirty as hell in the night, but the efficient city administration cleans it before next day's celebrations start, and then again on Queen's day - same story.. it's quite a party out there though, and major fun for a new guy like me to just witness an event like this.. however, one incident did mar the celebrations towards the end.. One drunk idiot guy drove his car through the crowd, killing 5 people, including himself.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK7vsSrm3Cs.... People think this was an attack on the queen, but I don't get it, because the queen's bus wasn't even in the same frame as the car, let alone being on a collision course.. Anyway, my guess is it was some disgruntled city cleaner/sweeper, pissed about the huge amount of trash he has to collect after this "birthday party".. I had warned my research colleagues about it..
well, anyway I hung out with Rosanne and her friends on Queen's night, and was immediately nicknamed "Prem".. some Indian guy named Prem hosts a show in NL called "Prem times"..I was required to sing some song/tune as soon as the group yelled "Preeeeeeeeem Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimes".. and chose the theme song of "Melvin, the superhero" from Jeff Dunham's act.. (for those who don't know, Jeff Dunham is one of the best ventriloquist comic ever - you must check his act out on Google Videos).. the city (especially the city center) was so crowded that walking through it was a different experience altogether.. you had to walk through a sea of people, without spilling your beer.. it requires some sort of skill, I suppose.. I wasn't very good at it though, I believe a lot of people around me got their clothes drenched in my beer.. especially since everyone was so much taller than me.. i mean, i felt like a dwarf in that crowd.. i m more used to being the tallest among my friends.. but here, even the girls are taller than me.. it's very emasucalting..:(.. anyway, later that night at around 3 am, while walking back alone from the city center to my home, I got lost and found myself at a bus stop with a Dutch guy named "Jagran" (a Hindu name meaning "staying up").. He was also waiting for an hourly night bus, which was already 15 min late.. we got to talking and decided to share a cab instead... the cab dropped me home at 4 in the night for a mere 10 euros..
I spent the ueen's day in Vondel Park (biggest park in Amsterdam) with guys from my research group - Andreas (Austrian) and his girlfriend Alice (Austrian), Kornel (Polish), Andrew (English), and Yusuke (Japanese).. drinking beer, cracking jokes that noone laughed at.. thereafter, as the sun went down we started a quest of finiding a nice bar, but half of the city was now closed because of that attack.. eventually, we lost Yusuke to the crowd, Andrew to fatigue.. leaving the 4 of us plus some friends of Andreas from Germany.. as we were walking through a little "lake" of people (sea is bigger, so I suppose lake is a good analogy here, or if you like, you may go with "bay" of people), some drunk guy tried to get physical with me (not sexually, rather in a belligerent manner, but I suppose he was too high to be able to a good job at that either :D).. he tried to press his finger on my chest and push me around.. but I just parried off his hand and moved away while giving him a stink eye.. for a little over 2 seconds, it was scary since it was 3 tall guys against me, and I had fallen behind the rest of the guys of my group.. but ever since then, I have been telling this story as some sort of an act of courage.. :D.. Watch out guys, there's a new William Wallace in town.. :D
Anyway, we ate some Indonesian food on our way - "mein" with "kip sate" - and then waited for Yusuke for more than 30 min (he had gone back to the office to call us in an attempt to join the group).. but even our common love for alcohol couldn't bring us together, as he again got lost in the crowds at Rembrandtplein.. anyway, the night grew better as we danced at an Irish pub.. there were a lot of interesting things going on there, but I would leave that to another day..
Now, I am getting quite hungry and sleepy.. another 3 days of break left.. hopefully, I can fix my bike and bring it to a good shape by the end of it.. and hopefully not make it worse.. :D
P.S. Pictures are posted on picasaweb.. on my kushagra.singhal account..
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