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POSTCARD FROM SWIZERLAND
Museum trail
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Forget the Alpine peaks and heady valleys. In Switzerland, you'll have a tough time doing justice to the museums.
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The Swiss introduce the new generation to the past early on in life.
Picturesque: A clocktower in Bern.
SNOW-CAPPED mountains. Undulating hills. Almost melancholic pine trees, unbelievably stable, silent. Grass with a fresh cover of snow almost every morning. A calm river that conceals more than it reveals. Yet, the Swiss live in museums! Another matter their museums are life centres, a place where you can have a chat over coffee, making sure that the kids have something to occupy their hyperactive minds and bodies. And maybe, just maybe, you might saunter down to have a look at the works of Paul Klee, the man who loved a guitar but left a treasure on canvas.
The Zentrum Paul Klee, with its twin hill-shaped structure running parallel to the green belt, is in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. It gives you a recreation centre to go with the museum! The people here seem to love their nights out, and their black and blue clothes. But hey, why are we talking of Bern when the Swiss Arts Council-guided trip to the country starts with the biggest city of them all, Zurich? Far from the din of Delhi, the place seems so calm as to be, well, like a nursery. And this when the city is dressed up for Christmas and New Year! The sun plays hide and seek near Sofia hotel where we stay. Outside, in the main market square, there are rows and rows of restaurants and bars. But they come to life only when the midnight is but a kiss away. In the afternoon, few locals are on the road: most in the offices, a few at home. And few, very few, people come down to do the purchases. The only sign of activity is at the lake where seagulls, ducks, quails and crane all exist in perfect harmony, the chill of the breeze failing to affect their serenity. The locals are at ease with the weather. Only the tourists seem to have taken out their mufflers and gloves at a roadside temperature of around seven degree Celsius.
Lots of them
The city is full of churches, Protestant as well as Catholic. Many of them are more than a hundred years old. And museums. From Zurich to Basel, to Bern and Geneva, every city has enough museums to last a billion people. A place like Basel has a population of around 1,74,000 and there are 40 museums to cater to their artistic instincts!
Back in Zurich, it is more of the same. At Kunsthaus museum, they have ostensibly everything that a history lover can ask or desire. From the works of Van Gogh and Picasso to Rodin, to contemporary Swiss art, all is under one roof. Importantly, they don't display everything under one light too. There is a beautiful usage of light and shade, brightness and bleakness to give just the right feel to a work of art. Add to that a little recorded commentary available at the press of a button for every work, and you know why all artists seem to love the Swiss museums. If in one room there is Gogh, "alone with his artistic freedom", at another there is an inward gaze of Picasso. Adding a local touch is Ferdinand Hodler, who painted symmetry in nature, yet kept one half of his human creations bare. In some, it is the female form, in others it is the male body.
But hey, don't we get to see that all over the world? Well, not quite. Here, people with special abilities have special facilities for them to bring their wheelchair. And the kids come running in with parents. The Swiss introduce the new generation to the past early on in life.
A place for things Indian
Just a few kilometres away is the Rietberg Museum, and quite simply the place to visit if you are an Indian with a heart that throbs for everything Indian. They are doing up the place for major shows in February. Here again, one cannot miss the interplay of shine and silhouette. The museum nestles in the lap of the mountains with lots of pinewood used generously. One moment, you are looking at an ancient work of art, next moment, you have the Alps looking down at you. At some place, the greenery outside serves to remind you that there are joys outside waiting to be explored too. But inside, it is a date with Indian art. The good old Nataraja is housed in a better way than in any museum back home. A bronze piece from the Chola period is the centre of attraction in the upper gallery where the slanting rays of the sun replicate the magic of the dancing god. Incidentally, the museum, which came up in 1952, houses enough works of non-European art to demand an exclusive visit. The Indian, Chinese, Persian art works all have their pride of place. There are 5th Century Buddha statues, even works from Gandhara. Of course a little stroll through the scenic Rieter Park does not hurt at all!
Literature too
Enough of Zurich. Just drive down to Basel where the House of Literature awaits the discerning. Here authors come to introduce their works, people sit and read, and have snacks. The path to the city though is like a miniature of life. There are huge tunnels along the way. You come out of one tunnel, there is breeze, there is sunshine. There is life. Then realise that another tunnel is not too far. At Basel, they take pride in their churches. And of course, the museums. The city goes to sleep by 6.30 p.m. Before that they come to life in, well, museums which tell the story of the Renaissance period, the Reformation, the Counter Reformation. The Rhine flows almost unnoticed, except for the intrepid few who row across the river, silently, patiently. It leads one to France, somebody informs. You can look at Germany from the bridge on the river, another helps.
More of the same lies in store in Bern. Geneva, though is different. The churches are all stately. The city throbs with life. The markets and restaurants remain open at some place till almost 10 at night! And the way to Geneva is paved via Lausanne, a place of as much scenic delight as any you would see. The snow finds a permanent abode here; trekking is an alternative too. There is life beyond museums too!
ZIYA US SALAM
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