Ram In ????

“Garbled” may be a misnomer-it was something m..o…r….e… than that my mind was full of. My way from Austria to the ancient city was filled with the thoughts of Julius Caesar, Nero & his fiddle, the Colosseum and the magnum opus cinemas Ben-Hur, Godfather, Gladiator, Italian job, the vehicle giants Fiat, Renault, Peugeot, Vespa and of course my favorite characters Asterix and Obelix…. whew….an endless list! All roads lead to ____…You would have guessed by now…..Bingo! Right you are!! I am entering the ancient city of ROME.

After a delicious quick bite at a traditional restaurant run by the ubiquitous Gujjus, we were on to the Icon of Rome-the Colosseum. Now a dilapidated structure, it was once the culmination point for the Romans to watch their gladiators exhibiting their talents in this violent arena.

We would all have read about this in our history books about the staging of deadly combats of gladiators and wild animals fight for public viewing. The massive stadium built in the 4^th. Century, which could accommodate seventy thousand people with inbuilt toilets highlights the skills of the ancient Romans. From the nearby Capitoline Hill, the silhouette of the Colosseum was an amazing sight. The central hub of Rome, the Piazza Venezia was just a stone throw distance from these landmarks. The dense traffic of Rome can be experienced in this place where as many as ten arterial roads meet.

Enroute to Trevi, we gazed through the marvelous sculpture carved in marble of the world’s biggest rivers Ganges of Bharat, Nile of Egypt, Danube of Europe and Rio de la Plata of South America, at Novena Square.

A graphic description of the awesome Romanian masterpiece-the Trevi Fountain may not be possible without you unwind yourself in a trance. We alighted from our coach at a crowded parking lot and waded through hundreds of tourists thronging the area in the cobbled pathway of the streets. We already could feel its presence even as we were approaching it. Indeed, as we got nearer and nearer to the Square the sound of gushing water got intense reaching a crescendo in the square, where the most breathtaking sight unfolds. The Trevi Square is much more than a mere sculpture-it is a fantastic work of art-a jewel of water and marble stone that is nestled between the palaces of the historic center of the City. The bright sunshine and the pristine spring water brings out a mystic effect on the marble and the constant breeze seem to bellow through the drapes and locks of the statues, agitating the waters resulting in  small waves creating an extraordinary intense and spectacular scene. The myth is that one coin thrown in a particular way over the shoulders will make that person visit the place again, two coins: will fall in love with an Italian and three means to marry that Italian. I exhausted all my coins-still waiting for ‘that’ attractive lady-wait seems endless. However, I ensured that my wife didn’t throw the III coin!!

I had read it in one of the road shop in the gullies- “None other than the Romans celebrate the ever-mutating and incredible power of water-so does the entire Rome-So, when in Rome, do what Romans do”. I started adoring the fountains and waters too! It is true- the number of fountains, clear water bodies spread across the length and breadth of the city  are testimony for this.

The crowd had swelled by then and it was a challenge to not get lost in the milling crowd and finding our coach. Even in the melee, I managed to buy a platter of fresh fruits. I may forget that narrow lane, but my teeth will not-the sourness of the strawberry hit through my skull!!

The itinerary was scheduled for yet another awesome experience-I could not wait for us to reach that landmark…..

We stepped in the waiting coach to continue the day’s tour .In lesser than fifteen minutes we entered a broad road and alighted .To quote Neil Armstrong-the first man to walk on the moon,” one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”-I always wanted to use this somewhere-whether appropriate or not, I am gonna use it now…….”One small step from Rome, a giant leap to another country”-Here we are in the smallest country in the world: The VATICAN-the State enclaved within Rome. We are in the Papal residence-the world’s most powerful seat of the Catholic faith and practice. A magnificent center square-the ‘Saint Peter’s Square’, welcomes us-on any day the Pope participate in the Mass, the whole place would be brimming with people, we were told. We could not experience that as the Pope was touring Austria then.

I should be pardoned for bringing the cinema references again-by now, I might have brought in an image that, I am too obsessed with movies-although I am not, I still I am!! Certain classical movies that are locations specific can never fade from my mind. Who can forget the masterpiece movie of Anthony Quinn’s “Shoes of the Fishermen”-all about a soldier becoming a Pope and the later year’s films adapted from Dan Brown’s novels Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons centering around the Vatican.

Stretching across the façade of the superstructure is the dedicatory inscription chiseled to honor Paul V in the year 1612.Each letter, we learnt is, 9 feet high! Even before entering we could imagine the magnitude of the grandeur we are going to experience inside the holy place.

Religion is embedded in virtually all aspects of the Vatican City. The oldest practices of the Church are held vigorously in this seat of faith for millions and millions. The Papal residence was built over the Tomb of St. Peter. The tour inside was a memorable one. Everything… everything looked enormous and we were dwarfed in the enormity. People of all faith were flocking the place. The history of the place kept haunting us. The  statues, the artefacts, the architecture-each and everything has an uniqueness embedded in it .The tall dome in the Basilica is a masterpiece by itself. The height is such, from the ground when one looks up to see the dome ,the tourists who have climbed up inside the dome look no bigger than an ant .In  fact, unless it was pointed out in the ‘audio tour’, none of us knew that there were people on the dome.

The Saint Peter’s tour will be incomplete if I do not mention about the works of the 15^th Century Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet MICHELANGELO. One’s heart will melt on seeing the statues of Virgin Mary having Jesus Christ on her lap after he was crucified. The expressive faces will haunt you for a lifetime. It is one of the tens of sculptures he has carved inside the Basilica. He attributed all his fame to the Superior Being! He never let his aura overshadow him. I recollect two of his famous quotes inscribed in tablets:

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free…

Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it…

The tall, handsome Swiss guards are the custodians of the entire place-should I say, The State? They are Pope’s armed force, one of the oldest military units in the world.

From the outside, we could see the residence of the Pope-the open/shut window indicates his presence or otherwise. The Vatican chimney which bellows out white smoke when a new Pope is elected by the cardinals was clearly visible from the center square-for reasons beyond comprehension, I had goose-bumps on seeing it.

I was and I am, certain that religions were founded not to plant a wedge between human beings, but only to bind them. So long as one does not thrust it on his fellow beings, all religions can coexist and it should be so for the well being of the human race and for a peaceful world.

We had spent most part of the day in that Holy place-we had our itinerary packed-we were to traverse to the distant Verona. With half-heart, we had to exit the marvelous place to continue on with our journey in Italy.

Till I lace up for the next….

J.Ram