Our member Ms. M. Banerjee while visiting her daughter and son-in-law in Frankfurt had toured Germany, Switzerland and Austria. She shares her thoughts related to these places and marvels the discipline and beauty there.
In the month of August, 2023, I had gone to visit my daughter and her family and they took me to visit a few European countries. Since there wasn’t any direct flight to Frankfurt, I went from Kolkata to Dubai and from Dubai to Frankfurt. My experience of Germany was of mesmeric beauty, peace and cleanliness. Like various other cities this too had quite a few places to offer to tourists like me.
The most well-known there is the Black Forest in Germany. People often visit this to view the world’s largest cuckoo clock and sample the Black Forest cake which originates here. The castles found within the Black Forest look majestic. The Kingzig valley has a Museum of Traditional Costumes. The younger generations enjoy outdoor activities here, especially during the winters.
The St. Peter’s Cathedral in Cologne is beautiful. The façade itself catches attraction of all tourists. Cologne’s Cathedral was built in the medieval period. This is the oldest and also the most significant masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value. Its tall structure is mesmerizing.
The water of the Rhine river is soothing. People usually go on a cruise to Amsterdam, Switzerland and other places. It has a long history, during the Roman period it used to be used for commercial purposes.
The best thing I liked about Switzerland were the numerous cows. Maybe the presence of so many cows have some relationship with Swiss chocolates which are world famous. Switzerland is visited by most people for its beauty, the Alps etc. But frankly, since I had gone there from Germany, I didn’t find it strikingly different.
Germans I found are very disciplined and they keep their country very neat and clean. In fact, the European countries look beautiful as they are dust free. All places are beautiful, everything is green, the plants and trees, basically the scenic beauty is worth seeing. Moreover, population is less here so it feels good to walk on the neat and clean beautiful roads. People don’t honk horns, so there’s no disturbing sounds around. The views are picturesque. No animals are visible on the road publicly in Germany. But people who want to keep pets are aided by the government. Austria was another country that I visited with mesmerising landscapes, picture-like grasslands and meadows. The best are the villages that are serene and beautiful.
Overall, all the countries that I visited intoxicated my senses and made me feel I had been to an ideal vacation destination.

Shantiniketan has been very close to our member Ms. S. Sen’s heart to as her mother was brought up there under the preaching of Guru Rabindranath Tagore. She shares her memories of Dol utsab celebrated there.
I was brought up in Kolkata, but since my Ma had strings attached to Shantiniketan and had known Rabindranath Thakur, I too was attached to that place. There was a time when I even looked forward to studying there. But ultimately that didn’t happen, yet my attachment to the place remained throughout my life.
Long after my marriage I was keen on visiting Shantiniketan along with my husband. My husband and I reached Howrah station. Our intention was to witness the dol utsab at Shantiniketan. Just before our train reached Bolpur, a group of 𝘉𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘴 arrived and with their songs transformed the atmosphere. It immediately made me feel the serenity and the difference that Shantiniketan creates. It made me feel that I had already reached Bolpur.
I stayed at my student’s house. My student and her husband were very good hosts. By the time we reached the station, they were already there to receive us and take us to Bolpur.
At Shantiniketan people used only abir, pure abir and that too pink and red colours only. All colours there were made out of herbal products. Holi was celebrated in a way that everyone enjoyed, as colours were smeared in a very decent manner. People took permission to put a tika on the forehead. People were never worried that they would be immersed in colour and make to look weird.
I have been always apprehensive about going out in the sun. I chose to stay indoors while telling my hosts to go ahead and enjoy outdoors. Thankfully the Holi utsav was telecast on the local channel. At Shantiniketan In the evening of Dol Purnima a 𝘯𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺𝘢 natya is hosted by the students of Biswa Bharati. The performance was amazing. I had never seen such wonderful dance movements. The synchronization of each performers movements was worth watching. Each dancer was swift footed and they seemed to be floating in air as they performed. I always feel that people who receive their training in performing arts from here learn the art to perfection.