Our daughter Shagun Vashney (we call her Tanu), was
stated to graduate with a Masters in Management degree from London School of
Economics(LSE), London on 14th December, 2015. She had long-desired
that all of us (her family) be present when she’s honoured with her degree. And
why not? She had worked very hard to achieve this goal. She is one among a few
recipients of British Government’s scholarship and had also been an ambassador
for LSE. The plan to attend the ceremony was finally made, and all four of us,
my wife Meera, son Sarang, our daughter Shagun, and myself, planned our
itinerary for travelling to Europe(London –Paris – Rome). We organised the visa for UK & Schengen, and with all necessary preparations done,
time had come when we set on this journey of a thousand miles with family.
First
Stop at London
13 Dec 2015, Sunday, 1st Day
Landed at famous and busy Heathrow airport at
London on 13th Dec’15 in early morning. My daughter had left a day earlier so
she could finish local preparations and come to receive us at airport. Heathrow
is one of the most organized & busiest international airports. Efficiency and service level of almost all staff was worth admiring - we cleared
immigration formalities in under 15 minutes and came out at Terminal-4 where we
were greeted by Shagun. One can immediately sense good air quality, cozy
weather and a real nice feeling of warmth after arriving in London. A cup of
hot coffee at Costa refreshed us, and all the tiredness coming from a 10hr
flight vanished in no time while relaxing at Café with family.
We were to reach at Devons road where we had booked an apartment
for our stay at London through AirBnB. Going
by the London Tube was the best option – local trains are called as Tube in
London, and provide the best connectivity and are the fastest mode for travel
in London city. Heathrow is a little outside London but it connects well with
the Tube. We took our first tube running on the Piccadilly line headed for
Green Park station, and from there changed lines to reach Canary wharf. Here we
changed tracks to get on DLR to reach Devons road - the place of our stay. DLR
is a new transport system in London created for short distance connectivity.
The entire journey was quite exciting. One can see organized
suburbs, tidy roads and well managed traffic all through the day. Canary Wharf
is the global financial hub of London and has head offices of some of the
largest finance and consulting companies including – JPMorgan, Charles Swab,
HSBC, Accenture, Thomson Reuters etc. Think of a large company and you will
find their name etched on a tall glass building around you. You start dreaming
of having an office at one such place.
With my Sarang and Shagun
It was drizzling lightly, and after enough tube changes
and a little walk we finally managed to reach to our apartment at Devons road.
The apartment was very cozy, well equipped, and functional. Everything that one
can think (however big or small) for good living was available in the apartment.
A fully equipped kitchen, along with a local grocery store nearby gave us a
feeling that we were at our own house.
We all were bit tired by now, so we rested for a couple
of hours at home, only to leave in the evening for Oxford street. Oxford Street
is London’s most famous commercial street, dazzling with top brands. The city
was amazingly lit especially since it was near Christmas. Every road crossing
was glittering, shops were decorated and a kind of happiness and celebration
echoed all around. People around were calm, helping, and had high civic
awareness so as to say were formal as well. One can see respect for others and respect
for following civic rules – certainly these are very much required back at home
in India. At Oxford Street, we visited a local cafe “La Pain’ and had a
relaxing time, we had soup, coffee, local snacks - roasted potatoes, and some
red wine. Later, we walked to an Indian restaurant named Kathi Role Co. near
Oxford Street – this is made to look like a rusty Indian street but served
great kathi rolls and is a popular Indian joint in London. It was quite late by
the time we finished dinner, we were tired from a whole day’s travelling, and
so my son suggested we get an Uber. In 5 minutes, a shiny black Mercedes Benz
arrived and we were back at our apartment soon.
Now that I recall, I realize we would have walked close
to 14km on our first day in London. I don’t know how this was possible as back
in India a normal 3-4km walk in a day looks quite difficult.
Important Day for Shagun
14 Dec 2015, Monday, London,
2nd Day
Today was a big day for Shagun. She was very happy and
excited for her graduation ceremony at LSE, London. She got a special robe for
the occasion - a purple and black gown along with a ceremonial hat– which were
specially designed by the royal tailor of Queen Elizabeth. Shagun was to
receive the award from the LSE Dean in the presence of all her professors,
fellow students and family members as well as distinguished people present. Special
passes and seats were allocated for 3 of us in the Peacock theater, and we
reached well in time for the event. The atmosphere at LSE was amplifying with
high levels of energy & was fueled with passion and positivity from
students and everyone alike. Shagun soon left us to prepare for the ceremony,
and we walked to our seats.
At LSE with Meera, Sarang & Shagun
In the crowd of students, teachers and parents it became
difficult to find Shagun, our daughter. While we were searching for her we
spotted her in the crowd, she was coming towards us. Wow! She looked very
pretty in a ceremonial dress, and both me and Meera, my wife, could not help
staring at her for long. These were exciting moments, thinking of her as how
she had grown up from a small naughty girl to where she was today – getting her
post graduate degree in management from the most prestigious school LSE. These
were very proud moments. She showed us the way to the auditorium and then again
disappeared with her other student friends. She was attending to, meeting with
her colleagues and teachers. The students were seated separately in a large
hall.
Glittering Ceremony at LSE
We were waiting for Shagun’s turn, as there was a long
group of students who were receiving the awards. Finally, I could see her in the
hall and she was waiting for her turn. Her name was announced and she walked on
the stage to receive her award from the director of LSE. The hall cheered with
deafening claps from the audience and her classmates. I noticed her high level
of confidence and humility when she shook hands with the director. She waved
her hand to the audience, to her friends, acknowledging her gratitude for the
support they had given her, and thanking LSE for giving her the opportunity to
reach at this level and achieving her goals. Life paused for some moments for
us and filled us with overwhelming emotions.
Shagun at LSE
The award ceremony was over and everyone was invited for
an evening of socializing with all present there. Shagun introduced us to her
professors and course Dean, Dr. Britney Jones. She was very appreciating of
Shagun and spent a good time with us talking about Shagun’s achievements and
her forthcoming visit to India. Most of her teachers and classmates that we
interacted with had very strong backgrounds and it was honour for us to talk
and interact with them over a glass of champagne. We met many parents from
different parts across the world, having very strong views of LSE. We were also
introduced to Sandy Pepper, her course director, and he had a high level of
respect for Shagun. One can see an entirely different atmosphere and is
transported to one’s olden days when we were students.
Shagun took us on a tour of the other administrative
blocks, her class room, and the library. LSE has one the oldest and biggest
libraries and the facility is open for 24 hours and is classic architecture in itself.
Having spent reasonable time, we left LSE to have our dinner at famous Indian restaurant
‘Dishoom’ – which offers great authentic Indian food. I was told that Londoners
also love this restaurant and it is difficult to get a table at the restaurant if
not booked in advance. It was one hour of waiting for us but it felt worth
spending for good Indian food in London. Having a very fulfilling day we returned
back to our apartment and our key purpose of coming to London was happily met.
To be continued………
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