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PHOTOS: BY AUTHOR

ETERNAL CITY A cosmopolitan mix of the stubbornly traditional and the proudly avant-garde

The rain and the dosage of gray in the general colour of the day had increased as we emerged from the depths of the London Bridge Tube station onto Borough High Street.

What hit me first was the buzz around the place, it was getting onto lunch in what is a predominantly business area and as we tried to co-ordinate a printed map to the three dimensional real world, we were the only stationary part of that street. Everything else seemed to be moving at 4x and everyone around seemed to be going somewhere with purpose in their stride and focus in their gaze.

We hurriedly escaped this pandemonium of pin striped suits and pleated skirts and found refuge in an empty alley between a pub and an Indian restaurant.

In this buffer zone between beer and butter chicken we took a breather before setting out for the Borough Market. Here, I was much at home. Tourists sauntered around, old women shopped and corporate types were grabbing a quick bite at the food stalls.

This market is all about local produce – meat, dairy and vegetables. So there were tables stacked with wheels of cheese, fresh game hanging from hooks, fresh sea catch on ice and local farm produce.

Not surprising since Borough Market is London’s oldest food market. It was established on the south bank of the Thames when the Romans built the first London Bridge. It has occupied its present site for 250 years.

We headed straight to the wild venison stall, sampling the cheese that was being offered at the cheese stalls. The lesson I learned with the third bite of that hot dog was that authentic English mustard can take the fight to the most evil of Indian chillies and it proved this as it shot a pungent bolt through my sinuses that made my eyes water, rattled my skull and sent seismic shocks through my brain. By the time the last tingle had died, we were legging it on Tooley Street from the London Bridge to the Tower Bridge past the London Dungeon.

Dating back to 1078, the Tower of London is a London must-see. If you are the highly tuned sensory and perceptive kind, you’ll definitely feel the vibes of a thousand years of history.

There are artefacts dating back to the 12th century such as the silver gilt coronation spoon and the magnificent Koh-i-noor diamond both part of the crown jewels which are on display in the Tower. Peering at the Koh-i-noor through the bullet proof glass I couldn’t help but think that if this diamond could project from its depths a movie about its 800-year life from the time it was mined in Golconda to its current resting place in the tower of London, what a spell binding historical blockbuster it would beam out.

It probably would be a tale of love and greed and of power and treachery, an outline of the history of Hindustan from the days of the Delhi sultanate to the East India Company.

Here too is the scaffold site where three queens were amongst the unfortunates who lost everything from the neck below.

Today it’s a peaceful patch of green, but I could imagine the raised scaffold with its bloodstained block, the hooded executioner rhythmically honing his axe on the grindstone, indifferent to the cheering crowds below that loved the gruesomeness of a beheading, or the turmoil of emotions rushing through the condemned as he makes his meticulous preparation to cut short his or her life.

Try to imagine this and it will give you goose bumps.

The rain was still coming down intermittently when we got off the tube to Westminster. My friend wanted that typical “I’ve been to London” shot with the Big Ben and I wanted to have a go at the delicious pancakes that two dear old ladies make in a little shop on the corner of Westminster Bridge.

Their banana-chocolate pancake is pure indulgence. In fact, it is was rich and filling that we were snacking on it past the Houses of Parliament, half way through it at 10 Downing Street and finally fed the left-over bits to the water fowl in St. James Park on our way to the Queen’s humble dwelling.

That drew to an end a day of walking around a small part of London, there was so much I yet wanted to see and do – the Imperial War Museum, the Terracotta Army that is on display at the British Museum till April 6, 2008 and of course partake in one of the famed London Ghost Walks.

I’ll just have to go back.

Buy a travel card that lets you travel on trains and buses. You can buy these online before you leave. Go to www.visitbritain.co.in

Read up to enhance your market visit at www.boroughmarket.org.uk

Tube maps and route planners are available online at www.tfl.gov.uk

Bus tours are good if you want to get a quick dose of many of London’s sights. Go to www.theoriginaltour.com and www.bigbus.co.uk to check out two popular companies.

To find lovely B&B places in the heart of London go to www.athomeinlondon.co.uk

We stayed at 26 Hill Gate Place and simply loved it.

Go to the Historic Royal Palaces website at www.hrp.org.uk to plan your visit and even buy tickets online.

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