Tag: Writing

Greece….Santorini Sunset 

by Dr Radha Chowgule Gupta, posted in Travels with Twinny!

When God was about to distribute his 7 sacks of rocks ..
He decided to pour 6 over Greece!
So rocky and mountainous is this terrain!
80% mountains
20% idyllic romantic islands.. The Greek Cyclades….
Have a look…


The Minoan civilisation of ancient Greece may not be as old as the Indus Valley .. But it beats all ancient civilisations in the level of advancement …
The excavation sites on the islands ofCrete and Thera( now Santorini)… Show three storey buildings , a market square ,banks, homes with perfect drainage systems and a fleet of ships for trade … Greece till a few years ago constructed 65% of the worlds ships
Simply astounding !
Considering… all this happened..4000 years ago….in 2600 BC!


These amphoras , this prehistoric art.. All existing till today ??!
Incredible !!
Is it really true..Amruta??
Yes Twinny!!
FRESCOES…Beautiful in colours of the volcanic earth .. Red blue ,black and white have been uncovered at the excavation sites …..though mummified by the volcanic ash…They are so prolific and beautiful .. This level of art again seen only in the time of Renaissance and Leonardo da Vinci!!
Have a look and decide for yourself …


How these relics survived 4000 years is a mystery ..considering the Mediterranean weather so dry ,windy ,hot with only 2 months of rain in winter…
But luckily volcanic soil is hygroscopic …!
So even plants grew… luscious though small, juicy
Tomatoes ….So also olives and grapes !Naturally wine pressed out from the grapes and olive oil pressed out from the olives.. And naturally therefore … Began a buzzing trade with distant lands… !
Easy …because of the worlds best fleet ….to transport it out .. Winning combination!!


And the one thing that wins any Greeks heart …..Is aubergine / eggplant / baingan.. !!
You better like aubergines … In Greece….
They serve it all the time … With cheese, with tomato paste, on their own…!
Isabella .. Don’t tell me you are going to make an aubergine appetizer today .,??
No Twinny ..
Today’s special is
Greek Salad!!!
Coming right up…


So you see .. The Greeks love to cook!

The first RECIPE book ever written in the world was Greek .. In 4th century BC!!
They love to eat , to share, to celebrate and talk all at once!
And when they done with the wine and the salad and the cheese … They just lie back…and relax…in the sinful Mediterranean sun…
Like Greek gods and goddesses did …..
Like so….


Bye !!
Off for a swim and a snooze ….!
Amruta/ Isabella come on … Hurry up!
Bahadur aaj Kya hai dinner ke liye ??
Baingan memsaheb…
Oh no no no!!!!😡😡😡!

New York, New World!

Featured by Dr Radha Chowgule Gupta, posted in Travels with Twinny!

New York was first New Amsterdam because the Dutch christened it so…Then the British came in and renamed it  New York !

Soon came the Irish, Germans, Puerto Ricans and a million or so Jews …
And a huge melting pot of hardy strong DNA’s gave birth to a city .. Probably the WORLDS CAPITAL !!
Wow !! Isn’t Twinny lucky!
What a place to begin a journey ….The Big Apple !!!

tumblr_ljryd8tzhz1qclui7o1_500

2016-07-26-PHOTO-00000358

New York is the birthplace of so much…
Creativity in theatre, films – you name it!
Creativity in producing conveniences … For everyday living,
Creativity in music… All sorts thrived … Rock and roll, jazz, soul
…The birthplace of Sport, of Mohammed Ali !

The ‘Float like a butterfly, Sting like a bee!’ Star of the Ring lived by his own rules!

God Bless his soul!

Here he is with his famous quotes!

2016-07-26-PHOTO-00000360

2016-07-26-PHOTO-00000361

2016-07-26-PHOTO-00000362

SOOOOO New York!

The city’s people were hungry to be the very best… Driving them to produce prodigiously, in all fields.. Making iconic towers …To house the growing populace …as more and more people flocked to the city of dreams…

Be it for Broadway or Wall Street, the city just grew and grew, never giving up..
Not after Black Thursday …

Not after The Great Depression…

Not even after 9/ 11….
New York and its people just somehow  crawled …out of the ashes,
reinventing themselves, Stronger than ever before …

Here’s  the WORLD ONE Tower, Erected  at the site of the destroyed Twin towers ..this is the tallest tower in the northern hemisphere .. And certainly the safest ever constructed ..

A symbol of hope …

Of resilience..

Of strength ..

Seen below, are the overwhelmingly poignant’REFLECTING POOLS’ with the names of the those who perished carved in stone around it.

A tribute …

A memory…

That shall survive…

Forever…

2016-07-26-PHOTO-00000364

2016-07-26-PHOTO-00000365

2016-07-26-PHOTO-00000366

2016-07-26-PHOTO-00000367

2016-07-26-PHOTO-00000368

New York…a place to reflect…

A place to revel..

A place to be just YOU!

You could be chatting up a New York model…

2016-07-26-PHOTO-00000370

Or simply pretending to be one!!! Ki pharak painda??!

2016-07-26-PHOTO-00000372

And that’s all folks ..!

That’s all for today’s edition of Travels with Twinny !!

See you next Thursday!