Beijing was originally called Peking and then the name changed to Beijing, only to be changed again and reverted back. It has an interesting history of name change with the change in the political scenario. Our first glimpse through the aircraft window revealed a rather brown and desolate looking landscape. We were arriving there towards the end of winter season with temperature hovering around 3 degrees centigrade (at 11.30 in the morning and below – degrees in the night) and hence the flowers were not in bloom. The winter is rather severe in most parts of China specially in Beijing and the surrounding areas. My heart sank a little without the usual greenery that one is used to seeing in India.
India
Memories of Diwali/Deepavali/Kalipuja
The biggest religious festival of India is round the corner. My daughter was describing the festive spirit of Delhi during Diwali and I thought about the spirit of this festival in the southern part of India. As we were discussing how this festival encompasses almost the entire country, we also realised that the same fervour may not exist in the north eastern part of the country or in Kashmir. However, the point is that this festival of lights is celebrated in most parts of this country. After I spoke to her, I thought about the memoreis that I have had of this festival. My childhood memories of Diwali are of in and around Kolkata, and have different flavours.
Sarbari's Blog 