M4

There is a general perception that Indian students who visit Europe on exchange program attend classes the least and travel across Europe the most. Well, I have two questions: What took so long for the universities to figure out? And what gave it away? For my part, having a few years left in the European age limit for youth, I got a Eurail pass for 3 months of continuous travel. When I bought the pass, I had absolutely zilch clue of why I was spending almost a €1000 on the pass. Well, I was already quite confused about how I became eligible for the exchange program in the first place; That moment, figuring out whether the pass was worth the money was beyond me. Then everything changed when I reached Europe and had to travel by train to the university. Just the reservation charges for a single journey with the discounts of the pass was higher than a reasonable first class ticket for an similar journey in India. God knows what the full fare was! Anyways, I learnt from the o...

Renault, VW, Mercedes Benz, Volvo, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati Triumph, Suzuki, Honda, Harley Davidson, BMW, Ducati...Swedes do have a fine taste in cars and bikes. And the homes- each of them deserves a picture postcard. The first few days, I thought Swedes were filthy rich; not just because of the kind of houses they live in and the kind of cars they drive but the quality of their life and the consumption patterns are evidently not cheap nor mediocre even- everything was affluent, almost lavish. However, as I dug a little beneath the surface, I was told that behind this opulence was the deathly D-word: Debt. Apparently, Swedes have this compulsive obsession with things bigger and better- bigger houses, better smartphones, and faster cars and they take up huge debts to get these. With average direct taxation rates as high as 48-50% and a lot more in the form of Value added taxes and social fee, the average Swede pays the world’s highest rate of tax and of c...

Surrounded by the most amazing, picturesque views, Of mountains, meadows, lakes and mews, I travel through winding tunnels and valleys, With the occasional towns, hamlets and alleys With bags many, loaded to the brim, The heaviest load I carry that makes me grim Is this aching hollow in the chest From the heart I left behind with you, my dearest! With fast trains, swift cars and expressways so swell With likes of IKEA, Volvo and Shell They call this place plush But what do they know of wealth Who’ve never seen you blush! In a place that hadn’t fought a war in millennia Where people seldom experience paranoia Within me rages an Iliad And this journey shall turn into an Odyssey!   -ManChan Stockholm, Sweden