Culture / Karlsruhe
Foto: Natalie Soysa
Culture
A shower had just cleansed the runway
when the plane landed in Frankfurt
A young man bursting with energy
whisked me in a wheel chair
to check me out
The taxi glided on the highway
to Romanfabrik
At Motel one
the receptionist
relieved that I had not gone astray
receives me cordially
Afternoon
I venture out to Romer
the ancient city
with its imposing buildings
and wide promenades
A stroll by the Main inspires me
But
More than anything
the warmth shown by the people
both young and old
to me, a foreigner
overwhelms me
The young girl at the “arrival”
who allowed me to use her phone
The officer at ‘information’
who took a lot of pains
to locate my contact
whom I had missed
the unknown lad
who taught me
to operate the ticket machines
to travel by train
More than the tall buildings
and the wide roads
what impresses me most
is the culture of the German people
that pulsates in the very air
they breathe
Karlsruhe The train heads for Karlsruhe
carrying the four of us
two south Asians
and two Germans
fleets past
factories and country houses
pumpkin farms and wind – bent grasses
On our right the land watered by Rhine
it rattles over a bridge on the Main
The old city appears
in all its grandeur
with its paved roads and sidewalks
a well–kept park
and the palace beckoning you
The Art Museum
was presenting “a double vision”
Stepping into the halls
I’m transfixed in awe
Minute trickle by
I leave unwillingly
to the poetry forum
when the plane landed in Frankfurt
A young man bursting with energy
whisked me in a wheel chair
to check me out
The taxi glided on the highway
to Romanfabrik
At Motel one
the receptionist
relieved that I had not gone astray
receives me cordially
Afternoon
I venture out to Romer
the ancient city
with its imposing buildings
and wide promenades
A stroll by the Main inspires me
But
More than anything
the warmth shown by the people
both young and old
to me, a foreigner
overwhelms me
The young girl at the “arrival”
who allowed me to use her phone
The officer at ‘information’
who took a lot of pains
to locate my contact
whom I had missed
the unknown lad
who taught me
to operate the ticket machines
to travel by train
More than the tall buildings
and the wide roads
what impresses me most
is the culture of the German people
that pulsates in the very air
they breathe
Karlsruhe The train heads for Karlsruhe
carrying the four of us
two south Asians
and two Germans
fleets past
factories and country houses
pumpkin farms and wind – bent grasses
On our right the land watered by Rhine
it rattles over a bridge on the Main
The old city appears
in all its grandeur
with its paved roads and sidewalks
a well–kept park
and the palace beckoning you
The Art Museum
was presenting “a double vision”
Stepping into the halls
I’m transfixed in awe
Minute trickle by
I leave unwillingly
to the poetry forum
Somasundarampillai Mukhopadhyay
Frankfurt, October 6, 2016
Frankfurt, October 6, 2016
