Saturday, September 17, 2011

Newzealand....Nostalgia.....Kia Ora....

In 2004, I lived in Melbourne Australia for about a year. I enjoyed my time to explore the outback, neighboring countries, or islands whenever I could get some time off from work.  I could not resist the enticing tourism posters, to come and experience the “Middle Earth” the land of the hobbits! The movie the Lord of the Rings! was shot in a village about 50 miles away from Auckland.
On a beautiful sunny day, arrived in Auckland the city of the sails. I learnt my first Maori language lesson by saying “Kia Ora” which is “Hello. Enjoyed the scenic harbor and the waterfront. The Maori museum provides a wealth of information about the indigenous people Maoris’. Fortunately, unlike the ancient aborigines of Tasmania who were completely wiped out the Maoris’ retain their culture and language in Newzealand.

From Auckland we drove to Rotorua, a beautiful place with miles of geo thermal spas and geysers spewing hot water and sulphur fumes larger than the ones that we see in the Yellowstone National Park. The whole area is another master piece of nature. Fire and water inside the secret labyrinth under the earth comes out as magical geysers and fountains. After the nice spa experience, went to Ruapehu to see the volcanoes and the Crater Lake.
The next city on the itinerary was Wellington. Its Kapiti coast is famous for gourmet food. I got fabulous vegetarian food, with special local cheese and lovely macadamia tart for dessert. The pastry shops make you to stop and admire the countless varieties of artisan bread and rolls. Needless to say that it is food lover’s paradise!
At night the city sparkled with lights. Thought about the past when there was no electricity and the harbors shimmering with oil lamps. Human life has come very far in its journey. The Southern Cross that looked very bright in the country side seemed faded with the city lights. Yet it winked and reminded me to move from the middle earth further south towards Christchurch and Queenstown.



All content copyright © by Sobana Iyengar.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Resurrect…..Revive……Remember……

On August 30, 2001 I returned from Athens after a memorable vacation in Greece. My plan was to work remotely the next 10 days and to enjoy the perfect weather in DC. On September 11, 2001, at 8:00am I started a conference call with my developers in Bangalore and Santa Clara. Around 9:15am my mobile was constantly buzzing with incoming calls.  I ignored them till 9:30am to finish the con call. Later I realized those calls were from our concerned friends.  Yet another incoming call. I noticed that it was from Hans our good family friend from San Antonio. When I answered he asked me, “Are you OK? Where are you? Hope no one is traveling”. I told him that we are fine and I am working from home. He asked me to turn on the TV and gave me the brief sad news of the WTC attacks.


One by one the towers were coming down. The attack on the Pentagon was being relayed. An act of insane cruelty.  Sun Microsystems immediately sent an advisory as not to travel and to extend our system support to New York offices. I contacted the local hospital whether they need blood or volunteers. So much pain and disbelief that it all happened right here and we are witnessing it. A great painful and yet another episode in human history when innocent people were killed by a group of terrorists. It was very sad to watch the TV about the families who lost their loved ones. At the same time despair was turning into hope when the valiant firefighters, courageous law enforcement personnel, and heroic volunteers who managed to resurrect the city within weeks.

After every incident when innocent people are killed or subjected to violence we think that may be this is the last one. Do we need more protection from these acts of terrorism or prevention? I think it will take the “whole village” to inculcate non-violence to be the future means for promoting peace.

Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary and a befitting memorial will be held for the people who lost their lives on that fateful day of September 11. It is not easy to console but life must move on. Let us pray and hope that hate and violence will be replaced by love for humanity and peace.

PEACE ON EARTH






All content copyright © by Sobana Iyengar.