london aquarium:




london aquarium has its own speciality. it has different sections devoted to each ocean and the sea animals found in it. secondly, the fish tanks are very large and so the number of fish in each tank is also very large. each tank has a display showing a map of the world with marking of the seas where that kind of fish is found.




various kinds of fish have been named on the basis of their similarity with another object, e.g., wolffish, starfish, dogfish, etc. moonjelly fish was a special attraction because of its appearance. in fact it looked more like a bubble increasing and decreasing in its size rather than a normal tail type fish. it has no heart, no brain, no blood, no gills. however, its smell and taste senses are very strong. another fish, which i particularly noticed was anableps, which is four eyed and swims at the surface level of the water in the tank. it can see ahead of it as well as below, and, therefore, it can protect itself from attack from the predators.


the aquarium also had a section devoted to the rainforests of the world and the tribes living there. these tribals were able to meet their needs by working for just a few hours a day. their children were having much fun and freedom and were able to learn the skills necessary for their adult life much the same way. should we call them 'backward' just because they did not use money or electricity or such other things, which we are accustomed to use? don't these tribals have a right to their lifestyle? protecting rainforests is necessary not only to protect the freedom of the tribals living there but also for its contribution to the world's climate and its rich flora and fauna. we depend on the rainforests for most of the medicinal plants.

for my favourite photographs, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/mlkesarwani/Aquarium


river thames:




the river thames flows through the heart of london city. the history of london is woven around the riven thames. the bridges built across the river, the castle, the wharfs/ves, the churches, the residences of the bishops, the westminster (the british parliament) etc take the visitors into the long history of london city. the recent constructions like british airways' london eye and the glazed multi storeyed buildings tell the story of engineering and technology.


river thames has pucca embankments and very wide walkways on its both sides. it has piers for the large motorised boats. even a wartime ship 'belfast' is also parked as a memorial.



on the south bank of the river you will find artistes entertaining the visitors. someone has painted his or her body and put on peculiar dresses, sometimes standing like a statue. another group is there playing instrumental music or just singing on the tunes of a recorded music. someone is displaying his or her skill in playing with five rings around the body or playing with five crystal balls, which move on various parts of the body. they just entertain the passersby and feel happy with whatever you give them in appreciation of their performance. it must be a dying art here also because with the advent of cinema and particularly television, you will not find even "natas" or snakecharmers in india having any substantial income to make a bare living. of course, the social security system in uk must be of much help to these performers.

for my favourite photographs, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/mlkesarwani/ThamesRiverSouthBankWalkway


the civilisation at its best: degree of civilisation of a person or a society is best measured by the degree of sensitivity towards the needs of another person or society. this is best displayed here when you pass through the roads. construction of footpaths on both sides of the road is the first recognition of a right of a person to walk. london does not have many walkers on foot but even then you will find eight feet to twenty feet wide footpaths. if a road has only two lanes, one for up and the other for down journey, no motorist will overtake you even if the other lane is empty. if it is a red light, every vehicle stops and waits for green signal. even if a person is half way crossing the road on foot, the vehicles will not move till he has crossed the road inspite of green signal. if a lane is for bus only, no other motor vehicle will run on that lane. if a bus is sharing a lane with other vehicles and the bus has stopped on the space earmarked for it (which generally happens on a two lane road), the following vehicle will either stop behind the bus or carefully overtake it provided the other lane is empty. parking space for bus is carved by cutting down the width of the footpath only if the footpath is wide enough. no motorist blows a horn. if a motorist has blown a horn, be sure you have violated the traffic rules. a motorist coming from a subsidiary road will wait and give first right of passage to the vehicles coming from his right side on the main road. you will not find a vehicle stopping on the roadside to obstruct the lane. parking spaced are marked at some places and for that there is clear indication on the motor lanes. there are markings on subsidiary roads, where you can take left as well as right turn. if you listen a sound of continuous siren, be sure to slow down and be on the left side of the lane so that an ambulance or a police vehicle may overtake you. if you are near a crossing, you need stopping so that an ambulance or police vehicle, which might be coming from a side which has red signal, may pass through. generally at circular crossings where five or more roads meet, a triangular is formed where you may be tempted to overtake the vehicle on your left, but here you won't falter.


hi - bye-bye - sorry - thank you: enter any shop and reach a counter, the person at the counter will say 'hi' to welcome you. what a pleasing experience! you should not fail to respond by saying 'hi'. once your job is done, naturally you are expected to say 'thank you'. this is not obligatory for you but you would definitely like to thank the person who has served you. even if you fail, the other party won't fail you and you will hear the sweet words 'bye-bye' pronounced as 'bai-bai'. if there are many persons to be served, you will automatically go and stand in a queu. and again here, you will find that only one person is near the counter and the next person in the queu is at least four to five feet away (isn't it too far away?) if someone on the street happens to come just in your way, the other person will say 'sorry'. in case it is you not the other person who has come in the way, the other person will say 'sorry' without waiting for you to apologise.

automated teller machines (ATMs): ATMs are very popular here. they can be seen outside the bank branch buildings as well as at other places. the machines are generally fixed as a hole in the wall. at a branch, i saw several ATMs in a hall meant for the customers. you can transact banking (such as withdrawing money or transferring money) as well as non-banking (like investing in mutual funds) transactions.