Verona Italy

Verona. It is in Northern Italy along the river Adige. This is an old town with plenty of history, historical buildings and is a big tourist spot. Today Verona is hugely popular during the summer months with a very vibrant cultural scene. It hosts operas every day from June to September, wine festivals and several annual fairs are held here. We of course are here in spring before all the hoopla starts.  Why Verona? We do like these small old towns. Bologna, Bergamo, Ghent, Strasbourg, Bruges, Lyon, Dijon and Toulouse are all old, small and damn pretty.

Verona, as I said in the previous paragraph, is an old town. In approximately 30AD, that is almost 2000 years ago, the Romans were here. They built a magnificent Arena. This is a stadium from the old days, if you have seen the movie Gladiator you will know what I mean. If you have read Asterix in Rome you will know what I mean. Well, this Arena is still standing and still in use today. The outer wall collapsed but a small part still exists. The Arena is the venue of the Opera during the summer months. The structure itself is very impressive. To watch opera sitting inside will be a truly mind boggling experience. 

The remains of the 2000 year old outer wall

A view of the Arena

The inside of the Arena being set up for the concerts

Also surviving from the Roman times is a gate called the Porta Borsari. The lower section is said to date from 1^st Century BC, yes BC, and the upper section has been constructed on top someone in the 1^st Century AD. All in all, it is pretty old. 

Porta Borsari

You may have heard the story about Dick Whittington, the orphan boy who thought the streets of London were paved with gold. Well, the streets of Verona are paved with marble. I kid you not. All the pedestrian areas around the city centre are paved with marble that has become glossy and shiny with age and use.

Verona also was the setting for 3 of Shakespeare’s plays, Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and the Taming of the Shrew. I bet you did not know that. Juliet’s `house’ is located here and this is a major tourist attraction. This house is supposedly the location of the famous balcony love scene from Romeo and Juliet. We went there at the relatively early hour of 10 am. The place was teeming with Japanese tourists. No one else wakes up that early, just the Japanese and two nutty Indians. There is only one problem, the house has no connection with Shakespeare's fictional characters - although the house is old, the balcony was added in 1936 and declared to be "Juliet's house" to attract tourists. The balcony overlooks a tiny courtyard containing a statue of Juliet. There is a staggering amount of graffiti and general scrawling on the walls, floor, seats and everything else - there is a tradition of writing love messages to Juliet. You can buy a lock from the convenient souvenir shops and write your and yours name on the lock, pledge undying love and leave the lock at the conveniently placed grid. I guess if you can implore `God’ thru prayer, leaving a lock with your name on it hoping for eternal togetherness is not that strange. Both fall within the realm of fantasy or day dreaming. Anyway, let us plough on.

The famous Juliet's balcony

HRH the Queen of Kutch and Juliet

The locks pledging undying love

The Japanese

Graffiti

Verona does have some really nice old buildings, churches and a few museums. It has the river Adige so you can walk along its banks and cross on the many bridges. You can buy a Verona pass and get `free’ entry to a lot of these places.

The Listone

Plaza Erbe

Plaza Erbe

A place that you should visit when in Verona is the Castle San Pietro. This is high above the old town and a quite stiff climb. Once up you get great views of the old town. Very nice.

Being in Northern Italy, one of the more pleasurable, civilised and pleasant things to do is to have an Apertivo in the evening. An Apertivo is normally a bitter drink had at that odd time after work before going home. Campari or Aperol both of which are alcoholic are Apertivo’s. You could get a Crodino or a San Bitter which are non alcoholic. You go to a bar or a cafe, sit in the open, in the setting sun, watch the world go by and have a most pleasant pre dinner drink. With each Apertivo you get what we desi’s call `software’ or of you are a verni, `Chakna’. You want more `Chakna’, order one more drink. A Campari Soda is a pre-bottled. perfectly proportioned. served with lots of ice and a slice of Orange. Another very popular drink is a Spritz which is either a Campari or Aperol mixed with Prosecco and garnished with Orange served with lots of ice. Let me assure you that a Campari Spritz is really delicious and refreshing. This is something we both enjoy.

The `hardware' and the `software'.

Verona is pretty small. Most people come to Verona and then combine it with another place. Popular attractions are the Lake Garda or the nearby town of Vicenza. If you like you can even take a train and go to the legendary Venice. This is exactly what we did. Venice is 120 kms away, and, depending on how much you want to pay for a train ticket i.e. 23 Euro it is a 70 minute ride or 7 Euro for an 80 minute ride. We chose Venice at 7 Euro. Venice was charming. However, I must say that this was off season but despite that the place was actually swarming with Americans and Orientals. I kept hearing an American twang wherever I was. During the season the place would be impossible. Also it was cool, the temperature hovered at about 17-19 degrees Centigrade. During the peak summer it is hot, the water levels recede and the city starts to smell. Venice we thought was great for a short 4 hours. The city is in an alarming state of decay. The lanes are very small and getting around is tough. No map will ever work. We saw the two most important sights – Rialto Bridge and the San Marco Square. Rialto bridge is a major disappointment, frankly it is rubbish. San Marco’s Square is far better, a huge square and pretty attractive. Of course we took the Water Bus to go from the station to the Rialto. Nice, charming, different but certainly not worth a stay.    

Dhobi by boat

A building and the grear `Rialto' Bridge in the background

Thus ended our short stay in Verona. Nice place, well worth a visit.

T2 - My impressions

Exactly a month after Mumbai’s latest `icon’ the new airport terminal T2 opened; it was time for us to fly out of it.

Let me kill the suspense and reveal the plot. T2 is actually really nice.

You must have read about the trials and tribulations of T2. `Terminal’ 2 was an appropriate name. The ceiling had collapsed nearly killing some Air India staffers. A man in a diabetic coma was perceived as being drunk and left out on the footpath. Mosquitoes capable of inflicting dengue infested the airport. Horror stories of serpentine queues at immigration. Anecdotes from passengers who waited for up to 4 hours to collect their bags.  All this had me worried. However, as I have said, our experience was all pleasure.

One caveat/assumption/submission. You should not question someone’s sense of `taste’ as far as decor is concerned. If you like heavy dark polished furniture and I like sleek Italian furniture, then I am in no position to criticise your house with its heavy furniture. If you prefer to wear a kurta to a dinner while I would wear a shirt, it is simply a matter of taste. As long as the clothes are not inappropriate, taste should not be questioned.

The drive to T2 is fantastic. A new road has been constructed leading off from the Western Express Highway. The road is largely elevated and has new trees along the periphery which when they grow will look fantastic. The new road is dedicated to T2 so you have no rubbish on it. No rickshaws no hawkers no beggars and no traffic. Really nice.

The T2 building itself is impressive. Large modern and with a great sense of space. Every facility was international class. The signage was effective. Security was seamless and immigration was painless. The Business Class lounge is temporary, but I must say it was good. Comfortable chairs, lots of food ranging from sandwiches to Chicken Tikka Masala, a range of soft drinks and free booze. Well staffed. Most comfortable and impressive. You could sit and see the aircraft. I took a few photos. All illegal of course as photography is banned. How typically India. Build a brand new airport with large windows overlooking the runways and ban photography!

Much has been written about the artwork at the airport. There is a lot of art. There are also a lot of lights. This is where I refer you to my point on `taste’. Frankly I hated the lights. I also had a problem with the art. The contrast between the very nice and modern T2 building and, in my view the horribly clichéd `Indian’ art was too stark for my liking. I have taken a few photos. Have a look and make your own decision.

The Business lounge with the lights

More lights

Needless to say the new T2 has not affected the Indian stupidity and idiosyncrasies. You still have a couple of bodies scanning ever passport and boarding card to see if they have an Immigration stamp. Why? You still have to attach a tag on a hand bag and have it stamped. For some inexplicable reason a jacket which also goes thru the X Ray machine does not have to have a tag and consequently a stamp You still have a doltish CISF Guard checking your baggage tag and boarding card to ensure they have a security stamp. Why? Mind you none of this happens in any airport outside India. But that topic could be another blog.

End of the day, T2 is good. 

The RBI, notes and a complete cock up.

I have been forced to change my wardrobe, at least the lower half. I now only wear Cargo Pants. For those of you who may be unenlightened in such sartorial matters, a Cargo Pant was originally designed for use by the military now adapted for use by you and me. It is a loose cut trouser with many large pockets. These pockets were provided to enable the soldier to store essentials like radios, ammunition and so on. I need them to store my many wallets.

No I am not particularly rich, and neither do I carry all my money on my person. I have been forced to do this because of the various diktaats and acts of stupidity by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The RBI is our Central Bank which prints and manages our notes and coins.

Permit me to explain.

I had two wallets which I carried in the back pockets of my trousers. Wallet 1 had money. Wallet 2 had the multitude of cards - credit cards, ATM/Debit cards, loyalty cards from shops and airlines, AADHAR card, driving license, Railway pass etc. Life was simple. Then on 23^rd January 2014 the RBI mandated that all, yes, all bank notes issued prior to 2005 would be useable for transactions only till 31^st March 2014. After that date you could get them exchanged at a bank. If you had currency notes of the denomination of Rs 1000 and Rs 500, you could exchange them only till 30^th June 2014. Thereafter, 10 or more of these notes could be exchanged only if you gave your bank proof of your identity and residence. You could have a look at the actual diktaat by clicking here. Thus, every time I get notes issued prior to 2005 I had to keep them separate and get rid of them pronto. I now look at the date on every note that a shopkeeper, bar owner and taxi driver gives me with care. Since I am kind and practical, instead of refusing to accept the old pre 2005 note, I quietly accept it and look for the first available opportunity to get rid of it. So, that meant for effective cash management I needed a new wallet to store these old pre 2005 notes. That was wallet 3.

I believed that the need to carry wallet 3 would be over on 31^st March 2014, but, alas, I was proved wrong. The RBI has very kindly extended the date for exchange of old pre 2005 currency notes to 1^st January 2015. The kind and ever considerate RBI has asked banks to “exchange of these notes for full value and without causing any inconvenience whatsoever to the public”. I am, in one manner so relieved, but, I will have to carry wallet 3 for quite some more time. Of course, what begs the question is, what does one do with pre 2005 Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes after 1^st January 2015? The new circular by the RBI does not mention this. You could have a look at the circular by clicking here.

Then, this morning I was jolted. The RBI has goofed up, screamed the morning newspaper. Apparently, the RBI has issued in 2014 high value currency notes bearing the signature of Dr. Subbarao as Governor. Problem is that Dr Subbarao retired in 2013. The RBI has been most helpful. They have clarified that these notes, i.e. notes issued in 2014 with Dr. Subbaraos signature are NOT LEGAL TENDER. Yes folks, they are, I hate to say it, toilet paper. While on the one hand the RBI says these notes are not legal tender, on the other RBI says these notes can be exchanged. Am I missing something here? The RBI says that it does not know how many such notes have been issued. The RBI also says “currency note production is a manufacturing process. Making changes in the process takes time... Changing the governor’s signature on the banknotes is one such process. To complete the process in all the banknote presses for all denominations of banknotes is a programme which is underway and is expected to be completed in due course.”  Please read the newspaper report by clicking here.

I have just bought wallet 4. In this I will keep currency notes issued in 2014 bearing the signature of Dr Subbarao. Now you know why I wear Cargo Pants.

While all this may well be funny, do you realise the enormity of what has just happened. Bottom line, the RBI does not know what and how much it prints. And what are they printing? Money! Not pornographic calendars or Bidi wrappers but hard fucking cash!!!! It boggles my mind to think what is going on there. If you do not know how much you have printed, forget what happens to the economy, but would not Ghorpade, Gaitonde Patil and Lokhande who work in the RBI printing press not be taking fistfuls of this unaccounted money in crisp new notes home? After all RBI does not know what or how much they print. Is not the amount of security paper used to print notes, the amount of ink and so on and so forth not strictly accounted? 

The RBI has had 23 Governors. This is not the first time a Governor has retired.

Really, what is going on?