PATRIOTIC DREAMS IN INNSBRUCK

It was way back in September 95 when I was the Chief Manager (C&I) of Mumbai branch of State Bank of Travancore, that I got this opportunity to go abroad. I was selected to attend the Cambridge Seminar on Risk Management organized by the Chartered Institute of Bankers, London. Six Bank executives were selected by the Indian institute of Bankers to attend the same, after being nominated by their respective Banks.

It was a one week seminar held at the Christ College, London where the famous poet Milton is said to have had his education. The mulberry tree under which he is said to have sat and wrote his poems is still there in the beautiful Garden in the college campus.

After the one week seminar I went for a 11 day European tour touching about 8 countries and saw many places of interest in these countries. It was a conducted tour by “COSMOS”, one of the famous such tour operators in London. The following is an extract from my tour diary.

We started the tour from London one morning and reached Dover. After crossing the English Channel from Dover to Calais, we boarded an extremely comfortable bus (by Indian standards) in which we were to travel the next 11 days. The bus took us through the French countryside, passed through Holland and reached Brussels by evening. We did some sight seeing in Brussels and stayed overnight there. Early next morning we started off and after a brief stopover in the tiny city state of Luxemburg, we reached the “Black Forest” in Germany, by evening. I couldn,t really see any difference between the Black Forest and our Forests in Thekkady except for the difference in Flora and Fauna. But these Europeans, they really know how to sell their tourist spots.

Before sunset we continued our journey, passing through the Alps into Austria. The pristine countryside of Austria was a treat to watch. The Autobahn (European expressway) passes through a number of road tunnels some of which are the best and longest road tunnels in the world (some as long as 24 kms). The tunnels are well lit and cuts through the mountains like a knife which doesn’t make you feel that you are driving through a mountain (A far cry from the hairpin curves leading up to some of the Indian hill stations). On the Swiss side it is said that they have built self contained shelters inside these tunnels, which could sustain thousands of people for nearly a month in the unlikely event of a nuclear war. One could say that the Swiss are the only people fully prepared to survive a nuclear war if it happens, God forbid.

Just after sunset we reached Innsbruck, the second largest city in Austria which has a very fine Ski slope where the 92 winter Olympics was held. We spent three nights and two days in Innsbruck. The second day evening, there was an optional item (An item not included in the general itinerary of the tour and has to be paid for separately) called “A Tyrolean evening”. Among the five Indians in the tour I was the only one to opt for this event which I thought would enlighten me on the local culture.

Tyrol happens to be an area in Austria rich in tradition, and having a distinct culture of its own. In India we can compare this to regions like Vidharba, Telengana, Travancore etc. The evening consisted of folk dances and music of the Tyrolean region whose economy was mostly agrarian, mainly consisting of dairy faming.

It was really fascinating to see the Tyrolean men and women foot stomping in perfect rhythm to music created by absolutely local instruments, consisting mainly of cowbells. The cowbell played an important role in the lives of the Tyroleans, being a symbol of the main economic activity viz. dairy farming, which is also the main economic activity in Switzerland. There was one musical item using only cowbells of different sizes which reminded me of the “Jaltarang” back home.

Like I mentioned earlier the Europeans really know how to sell tourism. At the end of the show, the group played the national anthems of all the countries represented in the gathering which consisted of at least 10 different tour parties. They went in alphabetical order starting with Australia. There were quite a few Australians who sang along “Advance Australia Fair” holding their wine glasses above their heads.

As each anthem was played the tourists from that country stood up and sang along. I eagerly waited for the Indian national anthem. They played the anthem of even a small country like Fiji. Then came Holland. I braced myself for the next announcement which in all probability I thought should be India. Then the lady compere announced, “I understand there is one person from India in the COSMOS group … (I almost began to stand up, a bit nervous knowing that I was the only Indian in the hall of around 200 people, (so much for the interest of Indian tourists in other cultures)) …but I am sorry we are not familiar with the Indian National Anthem, so we go on to the next country”. I almost dropped dead into my chair. What a let down and what a shame for the nation, that when they know the national anthem of a small country like Fiji they do not know the national Anthem of the biggest democracy in the world. The indignation weighed on my mind for quite a while and I was totally unaware of the happenings around me for sometime, till I realized that I was back at the hotel.

I went to the room with a heavy heart. Some of my tour mates sympathized with me and said some things to pep me up. But I was in no mood for any conversation. That night I could not sleep for quite sometime. It must have been at least midnight when I finally managed to sleep. It was a disturbed sleep.

And there I was, back in the hall and the national anthems were being played one by one. It came to India’s turn. The lady announced, “ I believe there is an Indian National................but we do not know the Indian National anthem.” Before she could finish her sentence I was up on my chair and I shouted, “Doesn’t matter; I will sing it for you” and I started singing aloud, “Jana Gana…….
Jaya Jaya Jaya Jayaheh”, I concluded.

There was pin drop silence in the hall. Then suddenly somebody somewhere started to clap. It caught on and soon everyone was standing up and clapping, giving me a standing ovation. It was then that I realized that I was standing on my chair. I tried to get down and lowered my legs but there was no floor, I lost my balance and started falling. I could hear the crowd still clapping. But I was falling, falling ..falling into a bottomless pit. The sound of the clapping became less and less audible. Finally I touched bottom with a heavy thud.

I woke up to find that I was lying on the floor of the hotel room.