Cherry Blossoms

So the Cherry Blossoms have arrived and it is time for everyone around D.C. (and lots of tourists from other destinations) to take a trip around the Mall area for the blossom viewing.

Families, friends, couples, singles and all those young in spirit visit this fortnightly blooming site – the so-called Cherry Blossom.

Apparently, more than 3,000 Japanese cherry trees were originally donated by the Mayor of Tokyo to the people of Washington in 1912 with the aim of strengthening friendship between the two countries. It is said that the Americans responded this gesture by gifting flowering dogwood trees to Japan. Not sure of how that is celebrated, I would focus on the Cherry Blossoms.

Each spring, the little trees bloom and convert the Tidal Basin near Jefferson memorial (the most popular site to view the blossoms) into a beautiful assortment of white, pink and green. Walk alongside the Potomac thus becomes a ritual.

Typically, this is the time when the place sees a bunch of activities from kite flying, musical programs, marathon, parades and sometimes even a wedding ceremony. One gets a view of the city policemen at their best, not to forget the huge trashcans, and mobile restrooms (haven't captured that though!).

There is communal spirit along the paths and lot of just simple fun, and of course the bloomed blossoms. One can hear the clicking of camera all through the stretch and people in gasping at the beauty.

Photographers with their tripods choose the perfect spots to capture good shots. We did not have that but did manage some decent moments.

Some also take this time to view the popular memorials surrounding the place –Roosevelt, Lincoln and Jefferson Of course! The others are visited but not many cherry blossoms there.

While one may see these every year, I personally feel worth it year after year, when done with friends and family.

Fallingwater

It sounds quite odd to tell someone that we went to view someone’s ‘summer house’ but it was indeed a pleasant opportunity to visit Frank Llyod Wright’s (FLW) Fallingwater, located at Bear Run, close to Pittsburgh. The drive from DC to Pittsburgh was most scenic and strangely, the colour of the roads added a picturesque view to the journey.

The weather could not have been better than what we had and thus made it a perfect day out. Considering it was the first day of the opening of the house since winter - March 15 - we wanted to book the tickets online but that involved a service charge per ticket as well as specifying the time of the tour. Since we only had an approximate time of arrival, we preferred to get the tickets on reaching there. However, when we got there, we found out that online timing was only to get an estimate of the visitors for that day. So it did not really matter for what time you purchased the tickets so long as one reaches the same day.

We took a regular tour of the house that was built for Edgar J. Kaufmann (well-known businessman) by FLW. This mainly involved a tour of the various rooms, view of its original furnishings, fine art, books, artifacts, paintings and unique collection of artistic works. Through this, one could gauge the lifestyle of the family. It was interesting to not that although the house was built way back in 1939, it was designed in a style, contemporary of today’s age and time. Taking cognizance of the surrounding landscape, the house was built in a cantilever structure lining with the river and most beautifully, allowing the river to flow from ‘under’ the house.

One could take a glance at this through the stairs that run down the riverbed (or should I say that the stairs rise up the flowing river)! This seemed to fit most naturally into the ambience of the house with the sound of the waterfall as being the highlight of my tour around the house. Another favourite aspect of the excursion was how the house fit perfectly within the landscape to allow for the flora and fauna blend into the construction as if for the viewer to believe that it has always belonged there!

Five Dangerous Things

An interesting video showcasing a-little-more-than Five Dangerous Things you SHOULD let your Children do. While the title can be intriguing, what Gever Tulley is highlighting is that allowing children the freedom to explore will make them stronger, smarter and infact, safer! I shall allow the video to do the talking:

Its Springtime!

Apparently, yesterday – March 20 – was the first day of Spring! While I was keen on witnessing a good snowfall around the area (no hard feelings to those surviving the snow in bitter conditions), it is nice to see a change in the air. Birds are chirping, one gets to see kids out in the open and the buds are beginning to bloom. After nearly four months of cold and long nights, Spring is here to bring sunlight and longer days. There is also some pleasant rain that brings in fresh air to the surroundings. A major attraction I cannot wait to see are the Cherry Blossoms too! Some symbolize Spring to beginning of life and hope; a bit clichéd I guess but it sure does bring in colour, hope and for a change, we can now open up our windows and let the cool breeze set in. It is time for heavy clothes to be stacked away (for a while) and thankfully, that feels lighter to the body too.

Coming from Mumbai, one is exposed to ideally three kinds of weather – Summer (cruel), Monsoon (personal favourite) and Winter (do we have one?). The concept of Spring was thus alien and in a way, an intriguing experience. One witnesses garage sales, barbecue parties and shorter clothes. Youngsters on skateboards and rollerblades, convertibles rolled down, Easter eggs and of course, Daylight Saving Time. I hope life gets better with the caress of this season.

Micro-Lending Enters USofA

A few weeks ago, the front page of Financial Times carried an article announcing that the Grameen Bank from Bangladesh has entered the US Markets, setting shop in Queens, NYC.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d05bb6d2-dc30-11dc-bc82-0000779fd2ac.html

Its main clientele would currently include lending to the disadvantaged women population and then expanding into other areas. A third-world bank lending money to the world’s richest country! Ironical yet so true!

The bank was created with the principle of lending those stuck in the BPL Trap –the ‘below poverty line’ – those not even considered within the closest circumference of the normal bankers. It is to nudge those who have no security, beggars on the roads so to say, those who have never managed $100 finance. It is to lift lives of these kinds of people that the idea of micro-finance was born. Named as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the current age and time, Professor Mohammed Yunus pioneered micro-credit. There are loads of websites and innumerable resources behind the Man, his vision and his commitment.

Not going into those details, I too wonder (with my miniscule knowledge of the global markets) whether Grameen Bank could, as stated in the article, ‘make an impact in the US where the credit is widely available and businesses and tax systems were much trickier to navigate than in developing countries’? Will the strategies of Micro-Credit work in the country that fell into the hands of the mortgage meltdown? Is such a lending possibility about to pave way for a revolution in a country that has been knocked down due to the (ahem) subprime options?

Having read up a bit on the subprime credit, it appears that both, microfinance and subprime function on similar objectives i.e. lending those with no access and both have lower rates of interest. The fascinating aspect would be to really see how, despite these factors that failed the subprime, the micro-credit principles, that flamed to success across South Asia and Africa (among others too), build its model in the developed world. There is no doubt that Professor Yunus has moved this world ahead and a classic example of ‘One Individual Making a Difference at the Macro Level’ – in this case, tackling global poverty!

He has indeed, consolidated and about to conquer! So really, Kudos to him for his motives, his compassion and conviction in engaging people to take action and also, in entering the West, at the precision of time and age!