Pavn ke Pankh By Shikha Varshney
SOME OBSERVATIONS
Glanced through the book while reading chapters on places visited by us also but long long ago ; to be more specific during June 1979 when we visited England , Belgium , Luxemburg ,Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Italy and France . To start with the book, read details about Switzerland , Paris and London only along with “ Bhumika “ and the photos enclosed therein .
Title of the book speaks volumes of imagination because usual perception about placement of wings on two shoulders .Yes there is a famous painting of the greek god Hermes having wings attached to his sandals . Kudos to you ,Shikha .
Cover of the book is famous wooden bridge made centuries ago in Lucerne, Switzerland. On our trip we had also walked on this bridge and we loved it. Shikha picked up this very place as cover of this book brings her and us on the same page ; isn’t it amazing coincidence….
But the black and white photograph of the same at page number 129 is antithesis . Alas the writer couldn’t use colour pictures for not only this site but all others also, it is a let down. May be this has been done purely for cutting down the price. But was it worth saving expenses in this way is justified . May be this will be kept in mind while publishing 2nd Edition.
Should we start from the start of the book?!, If so then we start from Dedication(‘Saamarparn’),Very interesting to note that the kids can also become a bolster(‘Sambhl’)! Perhaps so but extremely rare and not in almost all the cases. It will be very interesting to review this with the passage of time. Of course it has to be personal only.
- INTRODUCTION
It is highly appreciated that the book has been written in Hindustani language, that is Ganga Yamuna tehzib, for example the words used sanskriti, ruh-b-ruh, aalam, pustak ka maksad etc. This may be a sort of lighthouse for other writers.
It is very interesting to note that yatra, ghumakdi, have been used together in one sense whereas according to me the former is specifically with purpose or reason whereas the latter is represents aimless movement. Perhaps Shikha may elucidate it
Of course the reasons for going out of home have been explained beautifully.
Interestingly the purpose of writing this book has been mentioned to be introduction of known and unknown places. On this observations will be made at appropriate places.
The bhoomika has been ended with a couplet framed by some unknown which may please be rechecked because the balance of the second stanza is not in line with the first one. It is felt that perhaps the sentence should be bahe phelaye hue hai duniya tere itnezaar mei , instead of bahe phelaye duniya tere itnezaar mei.
- VENICE
No doubt that this city has a very high status in the list of a tourist but somehow in the conducted tour which we had undertaken conducted by one of the leading tourist companies at the time(Cosmos), for a 15 days trip of Europe starting and ending at London, Venice was not in the itinerary, we could not visit this city in 1979. Therefore it was very interesting to see this place through your eyes thirty year hence.
The trip to this place has been very romantically described. The history of the city and its geographical description are a real source of information for this place. The difficulty a tourist can face in locating particular places is very interesting to note.
The reference to the film Great Gambler and the song mentioned therein is very apt as opening introduction to this city. Similar reference of Zeenat Aaman enjoying a gondola ride comparing with self is really imagination of high order
The writer’s description of the city and its surrounding in poetic form as a conclusion to this special city is top notch.
- ROME
A beautiful start for a city of magnificent history having very few similar examples. Of course tastes vary with individuals and those who are fascinated with the old civilizations , this city holds a special charm.
True that those who have no taste in anthropology the description for reaching the city has been written in a very lucid way.
The views of the writer on the imagination of the competitive games as arranged in amphitheatre presently known as the Colosseum, shows the extreme sensitive nature of the author. The word used bhyanak is very appropriate.
The description of Romans in roman and countrymen style dresses and the interaction with one of them, concluding them to the cheaters and money fleecers is too harsh according to me. How much fee/money they might be charging from the foreign tourists cannot be astronomical. If you go to Kuffri(near Shimla) and want to get photographed with yaks and its owner in traditional Himachali dress, you have to pay some fee which you may call it as bakshish. Perhaps this is the only source of income for these people. Your deleting of video regarding but retaining the still photography surreptitiously does not speak highly about Indians. But your frankness in writing about this episode and your inner feelings speaks very highly about you
In conclusion the description about your trip to this place is very frank, full of information and knowledge.
- SWITZERLAND
We were bewitched by the natural beauty of Switzerland in our whole trip in 1979. During our visit to this area I was feeling guilty to compare that Kashmir is more beautiful than Switzerland. We had been to Srinagar, Gulmarg etc in 1952, staying in houseboats and travelling by Shikara in Dal lake and Jhelum river. Our nature of not maintaining cleanliness, upkeep and beautification was evident everywhere. In contrast to this watching the berns and sideslopes of even highways
being maintained including mowing the grass grown there for miles and miles, was noteworthy. The chimes of bells with different notes tied to the necks of cattle kept inside well fenced areas was an experience in itself. My qualifications being a master of highway engineering degree holder, watching construction of bridges on the gorges to avoid bends on the hilly tracks was an experience in itself because at that time we were taught to develop national highways and construction of major roads in India as stage construction because of paucity of funds available with the government. There I appreciated the proverb ‘money makes the mare go’ but in a different sense.
I was a bit saddened to note that your trip of Switzerland is covered in just 7 pages, We had also visited Geneva, Bern, Bassel, Lucerne. More justice should have been done in the book in describing the natural beauty of this area including a visit to Mount Titlis.
Similarly , I rate very high the man made beauty of Paris when we visited that city of course we could not visit the museum because it was suddenly closed on that day because of a terrorist threat. To us London appeared to be like a village when compared to Paris.
OTHER PLACES
We did not visit the other places mentioned in the book ‘Pav Ke Pankh’ so no comments on these. However I shall be reading about these places from said book with great interest.
Shikha, you have been bit more harsh towards India and Indians. Perhaps the reason is you left India after your schooling and came back
for a small duration before going to London for permanently settling there.
To be truthful we were never much impressed about that place. Perhaps the reason may be that my friend and office colleague, Mr Amirtham, and his wife after hearing from our trip of Europe, went to London and there some skinhead boys snatched the purse she was carrying at London Victoria railway station in which they had put their passports and all of their money. One can easily imagine their state of mind after this experience they had in that foreign land.
PS:-
Though our stay in London was for around 2 weeks, we enjoyed seeing the city and were highly impressed with the British Museum, London. We were taken aback to see the ancient section of Iraq especially the sculptures brought from Babylonian and Nineveh regions. I had been to Nimrud, Hanging Gardens’ site, and Al-Nasiriyyah there but the way and presentation at that museum was par excellence.
I also went through the chapter “Do din, scotts aur bag pipe” regarding your visit to Edinburgh. I congratulate you to express yourself in such a grand way the development of nations and countries with passage of time and the tragedy India has been facing about its downfall for centuries. This can only be handled by a journalist qualified from one of the top-most universities of the world. I would like you to expand your feelings as brought out in page numbers 42-44 of ‘Panv ke Pankh’.
I shall be finishing your book from cover to cover but at my leisure pace.
With Regards, Hardipender Singh, B.Sc. Engineering (Civil)
M.Sc. Engineering (Highway) L.L.B.
7th July 2024
