The liveliest city where all cultures meet

By Kamaljit Singh

"IN 15 minutes we are going to land at Heathrow terminal 4..." The announcement by the plane crew brought a finale to the nine-hour journey from Delhi to London, which I had dreamt of for so long. As I looked outside the window, the city of London looked like a Divali night as the tens of thousands of yellow sodium lamps aligning the avenues seemed to have no end at the horizon.

While moving in the corridor for immigration and customs clearance, I noticed at the terminal a middle-aged Punjabi hooking the wheels of an aircraft to a puller. The glimpse testified what I had heard here that a large number of Indians can be found doing odd jobs at the Heathrow. Many others were performing the jobs of assisting the immigration and security officials or passengers. It was about five in the morning as I came out of the airport to take the underground train called Tube to go to the King’s Cross in central London. Even here the person operating the ticket counter was a Punjabi from Jalandhar district. The Tube, though underground, at times ascended the surface only to give some glimpse of residential areas on the way. The computerised display of the arriving destinations and the route maps made the ride a very pleasant experience, where you did not require any assistance from a third person.

My host, Dr Paul Taylor of School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London, had already arrived to receive me at the King’s Cross Tube station. The SOAS residence, my home for the next week, was just two hundred yards away on Pentonville Road. The well-maintained rooms, pin-drop silence, excellent cleanliness, electronic security, self cooking and other leisure facilities made the stay here a memorable experience. Besides the academic work at the Law Department I tried to use my free time to explore as much of London as I could.

London is one of the liveliest and most exciting place where all cultures meet, and successfully combine tradition, style and innovation. To get around London the Tube is one of the smoothest, safest and quickest ways. For security, the ticket halls, platforms and subways are constantly monitored by closed circuit TV cameras. In case of need one can always rely on staff wearing high visibility jackets carrying radios to summon help if needed. The whole of London is divided in six zones and tickets of varying zones of different durations are available without any hassle. Passes of different periods are more economical as they can be used for travel by bus also. The London Transport Visitor Travelcard providing virtually unlimited travel on the Tube network and buses operated by the London transport is the cheapest way to get around. For a totally different perspective, one may try the Thames Hop-on, Hop-off ferry service with fares of two pounds for an all-day ticket. The leaflets and brochures giving details of all kinds about buses and trains are available free of charge at all underground counters.

The Westminster Abbey was the first place to start off the journey through the history of England. It is the tallest Gothic building in the British Isles. It is a living church, not a museum, although there are many things worth seeing. As you look around, you will be invited each hour to pause for one minute to meditate or to pray. The atmosphere inside is always solemn. Among those who are remembered here are great statesmen and all those who made significant contribution in the development of Britain. All the monarchs and queens except Edward V and VIII have been crowned here. Some are buried near the shrine of the founder, St Edward the confessor. Like many other churches the Abbey is in the shape of a cross. When it was founded in 11th century it belonged to the Roman Catholic church. At the Reformation in the 16th century, the church of England kept much of its tradition but there were changes. Today it is part of the Anglican Communion.

Not far from Abbey are the British Parliament and the Big Ben on the banks of the Thames. The ferries are available from here to the Tower Bridge and other places like the Millennium Dome. Live commentary on board makes this short journey exciting provided the audio system is well maintained. The Tower of London, standing beside the Thames, its existence for 900 years as Royal Palace, fortress, prison, and place of execution lie at the heart of Britain’s history. Befitting its fortress role, it is home to the Crown jewels. The legendary Kohinoor is also kept here. The ‘Yeomen Warders’ so entitled by Edward VI here give one a unique insight into their lives and history. The first and most famous, the White Tower, was built on the orders of William the Conqueror when he took up residence in England. The Medieval and Tudor history of this famous Norman building comes alive through a 3D video shown inside.

Amidst the bustle of Westminster, as one enters the Banqueting House near Bushy Park, one feels the place as haven of tranquillity. The magnificent building is all that survives of the great palace of Whitehall which was destroyed by fire in 1698. Featuring a spectacular ceiling, comprising nine massive canvasses, it was also the site of the beheading of Charles I in 1649.

Long queues can be seen outside the entrance gates of the fascinating and unbelievable wax museum created by Madame Tussauds at Marylebone road near Regents Park. Not only does one find true to life wax statues of almost all great or renowned persons from various walks of life, but also a living history of prison and the damned from the medieval times to the present. Small kids can be seen crying under the special audio visual effects. The statue of Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales, raised on a wooden inclined pedestal with steel railings attracts maximum crowd vying to get framed with her real looks. It came as a surprise to see statues of personalities from South Asia. These included ex-PM Narasimha Rao, and not Nehru. All the statues are dressed in real clothes and have true physical dimensions, including the colour of hair and eyes. Looking from a corner one feels as if there are no statues at all and we have assembled here to meet one another. It takes more than four hours to see the entire work. A restaurant inside comes as a welcome relief in between.

Moving down to Millbank beside the Thames, the Tate Gallery contains the national collection of British paintings and the 20th century European paintings, sculpture and innovative modern art. The museum of Mankind in Burlington Gardens reflects history, art and sculpture of non-western peoples around the world. North of the city centre is the 18th century stately Kenwood House in the rural and green setting of Hampstead containing the outstanding art collections. The entry into many of London’s galleries and museums are free. The British museum with its great oriental, western and ancient sections can take up a week, just like Louvre museum in Paris, to see in detail. Having already heard about the National Gallery, I thought of spending my evening at the famous Trafalgar Square, having beautiful fountains and statues. The national gallery has a superb collection of European art, including every school of painting. The adjacent national portrait gallery has marvellous paintings of great persons from British history.

The spacious Trafalgar square with its characteristic metal statues of four sitting lions and the tall Nelson’s column attracts large crowds in the evening. Many can be seen feeding the lovely pigeons and getting clicked with their friendly gestures. The feed is available for a small price from a nearby stall vendor. Some try to climb up the larger-than-lifesize lions. Many youngsters indulge in merrymaking oblivious of the world around them. Not far away is the Piccadilly Circus, an area known for pubs and pleasures of the flesh since ages. Numerous sex shops selling pornographic literature, magazines, videos and sexual gazettes do brisk business. In the evening it turns into a crowded area with hordes of tipplers swarming the roads and pubs. Obviously, going alone there is never a sound idea.

Oxford Street is London’s famous shopping street with 300 shops, including several large department stores such as John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, C & A, Hennes, Selfridges etc.

That the Britishers have excellent marketing skills has to be agreed to. People from all over world wish to visit this city as everything here is so well organised.