Magden is a municipality in the district of
Rheinfelden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland, almost at the outskirts of
Rheinfelden and it is the site of the ancient Magdalener spring which today
serves as the water supply of the Feldschloesschen brewery in Rheinfelden. We
were so lucky to live in this beautiful place and I used to go for a walk after
a day’s work. Thanks to almighty that I landed in this serene place after
living in different places on this planet mother earth.
Its always customary to meet Angela and
Torsten once in a year. In 2004, we had a chance to meet together in Moselle.
Its a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern
France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the
Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is in its basin as it
includes the Sauer and the Our.
There are quite a lot of recreational
activities an der Mosel. We did hiking, cycling and swimming. There is a boat
tour in the river which covers the panoramic view of the mountains on either
side. Its famous for the large wine yards which spreads across acres of land.
It was a perfect summer days spent once again with the lovely couple Angela and
Torsten.
Having conducted various Cricket, Badminton
tournaments on behalf of Indian Association Basel, its time for Tennis
tournament. The number of participants were quite less when compared to Cricket
and Badminton probably because many of them are not playing Tennis regularly.
We had a good time with mens doubles and kids having a good outing as well.
Thanks to Sports Club Roche Tennis section who gave the ground for a day to
conduct this tournament.
Living next to the Rhein river, Fish should
be part of your diet. Fish essen is a customory event in the various small
cities next to the Rhein river. We had a Fisch essen celebrations in our
village Magden and most importantly I had a chance to mingle with the
Maennerchor (Male singing chor) group in Magden. I joined the group and on
every Wednesdays we used to sing, practise and perform on important events in
and around Magden. It gave me an opportunity to mingle with one of the great
hearted people who are mostly in their retirement and to learn about the
experiences of life. Singing definitely mellows down your mind and brings lot
of calmness in the mind. Thanks to Maennerchor Magden for accepting me in their
group.
Cricket on Ice, the annual Cricketing event
happens in the frozen St. Moritz lake in the middle of February. Since I had
the knee injury, I couldn’t play but did the Umpiring, scoring and commentating
for some of the matches. The gala party after the matches on Saturday evening
is a special event with nice food, drinks and prize distribution ceremonies.
Cricket is a sport which gives me lot of joy, happiness, fun and satisfaction.
Engaging with it in every aspect is a great stress burster for me in my life. German
Cricket Club won the Cricket on Ice 2024 edition.
Stoos, Anita’s annual company event in the
picturesque Alps is always in my calendar. Since I had the knee injury I
couldn’t do Skiing with Anish this time even though he did with his friends
from other colleagues. Its so ideal that Anish has semester day off on Friday
and we make it as a long weekend in the beautiful Stoos wellness hotel.
Hopefully I can perform Skiing again, the sport which gave me lot of happiness,
joy and fun especially during the tough winters.
A1 Sports Club gives lot of joy, fun,
togetherness not only on the Cricket field but also on off the field
activities. A1 family day was celebrated on May 1st with amazing Indian food,
dance, quiz and cultural activities. Followed by this event, A1 Diwali event
was also celebrated in November bringing all friends, family together in one
place. Thanks to Saju and all A1 team and family members who bring lot of joy
for both Men’s and Women’s Cricket in and around the Basel region.
Grilling in the summer is a great
experience especially for a non vegetarian like me. We had a chance to grill in
the Magden forest with Anish friend Bori and his family in October before the good weather ends. It was
relatively cold but the weather stayed absolutely fine and we all had a great
time together. Magden offers various places where one can grill and hike in the
lush green forests. Thanks to Bori, Anish friend who suggested this plan and made a memorable day.
Sports Club Roche has around 20 different
sports section, apparently there was no Cricket section even though Cricket
being the second popular sport in the world. We had the privilege to start
Cricket chapter with all the Cricket enthusiasts in Roche. Thanks to Sports
Club Roche (SCR) who recognized this sport and made Cricket as official section
in SCR. We used to play indoor Cricket from October to April and outdoor
Cricket with hard ball from May to September. We already participated in many
of the indoor tournaments in and around Basel and been already in the podium in
some of the tournaments. Cricket is fun especially indoor games which are fast paced during the depressive winters.
While visiting some places in Germany, its
always customary to visit Anu, Jothir family on the way. We did quite a number
of times in 2018, 2020, 2022, 2025. Anish and Tharun get along very well and
they play with each other for hours and hours. Its always good to catch up with
their family and spending quality time in some of the great restaurants in
Karlsruhe. Karlsruhe has famous Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and I hope
Anish can make it to this University sometime.
Japan, a country in far east Asia, was always on my travel list for many years. I always felt Germany was the most organized and structured country wrt public transportation but Japan has surpassed all my expectations and they are on a different planet. I made this trip as a lone backpacker similar to what I did when I was a student in Europe. I traveled in different combinations to various countries in the world with my wife, as a family, with friends but this trip alone after almost 14 years was a true bliss and I did a lot of soul searchin during this trip.
What amazed me was their discipline, cleanliness, orderliness and politeness (bowing down everytime) in spite of their big population density. Tokyo being the most populated city in the world and I have neve seen such a clean city in my life anywhere in the world. I thoroughly enjoyed the food there being a meat eater (Rice, Noodles, Dumplings, Goza, Shrimps, Soups etc ) and they drink a lot similar to Europeans.
Had a chance to travel to Nikko, which is around 200 kms from Tokyo. Nikko was long a center of Shinto and Buddhist mountain worship, and as a result, many important temples and shrines are located there. Two shrines and one temple, Nikko Tosho-Gu, Rinno-ji, and Futarasan Jinja, comprise a world-renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site. I was shell shocked with the cleanliness of Nikko station which looked like a toy station to me. The hair pin bends to the top of Nikko was breathtaking and there is a huge waterfall and lake on the top. It's a small cozy picturesque town away from the buzzling Tokyo.
Kamakura has Historic spots, seasonal flowers and foliage, and gourmet food in the ancient capital, easily accessible from Tokyo. Less than an hour south of Tokyo is Kamakura, once the political capital of Japan, famous for its temples and literary heritage, as well as its beaches and hiking trails. Had a good dip in the pacific but I must say the waves in Chennai beach are way higher than in the pacific.
Also made good Japanese friends on this trip when I was in one of the restaurants. I made a road trip to Mount Fuji with my Japanese friends, one of the sacred mountains for Japanese people. It is the tallest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia and is known for its graceful conical form. We had a great lunch in a traditional Japanese restaurant with the BBQ fire and lovely food and drinks.
I decoded the success story of Japan. Two main things: No religion and No muti parties. I think they cracked the essence of life after the second world war concentrating on science, technology, development, infrastructure, sports, culture, arts and not focusing on religion, destruction and internal politics. Great country and a must see country on the planet earth.
Cricket is a sport which I always enjoyed right from my childhood days. During the summer break, I had a chance to do umpiring for the European Cricket League at St. Gallen. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially judging Leg Before Wicket is never an easy task which looked so easy when we watch it in the television. Umpiring is never an easy task where you are always under the pressure from the bowlers, fielders and more importanly scrutinized in the television with the live commentary.
Also had a chance to do commentary for some of the games which I enjoyed thoroughly. The most important aspect of the commentary is to make sure you are not overlapping with your fellow commentator. Thanks to European Cricket League which gives great advertisement and development of Cricket in Europe where Football is the number one sport.
Having traveled to different parts of India during my childhood, somehow Odisha was missing in my list. Thanks to my dad who taught me the art of traveling to various places due to his association with Indian Railways. I recently visited this beautiful state of Odisha, India’s best kept secret. I must say the domestic flight transportation in India has improved a lot in the last decade. There is a direct flight from Chennai to Bhubaneshwar, the capital city of Odisha. Bhubaneswar is an ancient city in India’s eastern state of Odisha, formerly Orissa. Some of the notable places to visit in Bhubaneswar are Lingaraj Temple, RajaRani Temple, Kedaragouri Temple, Mukteswara-Siddheswar Temple, ISKCON temple.
Puri is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, 60 kilometres south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. The great Jagannath temple in Puri is a must visit. Had a great time on the beaches of Puri which are quite similar to the Chennai beaches. The Eco treat in Odisha is giving a lot of fun activities on the beach like big motor bikes, speed boat and parasailing. I had a chance to do Parasailing for the first time in my life and it was a great experience.
Chilika Lake is the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia and second largest coastal lagoon in the world, spread over the Puri, Khordha and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over 1,100 square kilometres. Had a good boating ride in Chilika lake for about 3 hours.
I was really amazed by the popularity of Naveen Patnaik, the son of Biju Patnaik who have been ruling the state of Odisha for the past three decades. I could see lot of development activities which has happened in this state because of him. Most importantly, Odisha has been the main sponsor for Indian Hockey team and they have built wonderful stadiums in Bhubaneshwar and Rourkela. I certainly loved the warmth of Odisha people and it was a trip to remember in my life.
Having rubbed shoulders with Prabu for more than a decade, it was a rewarding experience to meet Prabu and his family in his hometown Dharmapuri. The Hogenakkal waterfalls was in my bucket list to visit for a long time. Hogenakkal Falls is a waterfall in South India on the Kaveri river on the border between Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu and Chamrajnagar district of Karnataka and It is located 46 km from Dharmapuri. We had a good boating experience with thunderous waterfalls and the weather was very pleasant. The oil massage and after bath in the waterfalls was a treat to the body.
We went to Yercaud the next day and stayed in one of the beautiful picturesque cottages. The hair pin bends, the boat ride, the sweet coffee, amazing food in the hill station, the pleasant weather added great memories to our trip. Thanks to Prabu for the great hospitality and for creating great memories in his own den.
Recently I had a chance to visit Tada falls with my father. It takes around 2.5 hours to reach from the Chennai suburbs. You can park the Vehicle near Tada falls parking lot and follow the trail to trek to the Tada falls. Total trek is almost of 10 km through rough patches and rocky terrains. Novice hikers can trek along a 3 km long trail one way that snakes along a clear stream of water. Mid-level trekkers can go further up, climbing the boulders to reach the base of the falls. Though the trail can be a little exhausting, there are multiple water pools along the trail and the area has good green cover making it a pleasant hike.
Similar to the path of doing higher studies in Germany, my college friend Balaji did his higher studies in France and became a French citizen and is living in Paris for close to two decades. We have been in touch for long time but never found a time to meet each other. Its better later than never. Finally I had a chance to meet Balaji after nearly two decades in his own den Paris. He picked me up in Paris and showed all the must see places in Paris given the fact I have visited Paris already twice. It was a great catch up kindling all the old college memories and most importantly he visited me with his family in Switzerland.
Chennai Marathon has become an annual event in my calendar. Running in the the beautiful beach stretch from Naiper bridge, following the light house, Adyar river, Madhya Kailash and finally reaching the Central Polytechnic grounds is a great experience for a Chennaite. The number of runners has been increasing from year to year and Thanks to the Chennai runners and other NGO organizations, volunteers who played a vital role in conducting this mega event in Chennai successfully. Thanks to Praveen, Mani who accomodated in 2023 edition and Periappa, Swarna, Kalai in 2024 edition. Its a perfect reunion with the friends in Chennai after a long time.
Gloomy days, gets darker in the evening, November days.. how to get rid of it.. Yes Cricket!! The Dreilaender Women's Indoor Cricket tournament was held in the huge gorgeous Halle Matte Magden on November 12th 2023. Four teams participated in this tournament.
1. Swiss Girls East
2. Swiss Girls West
3. Basel SuperNovas
4. A1 Sports Club - Women
All the teams played against each other with a round robin of three matches. After all the matches, below were the points table
Teams Played Won Lost Tied Points
Swiss Girls East 3 2 0 1 10
Basel SuperNovas 3 2 1 0 8
A1 Sports Club 3 1 1 1 6
Swiss Girls West 3 0 3 0 0
The last match was a thriller between A1 Sports Club and Swiss Girls East and it ended up in a tie. Based on the points table, Swiss Girls East were the winners, Basel SuperNovas were the runners and A1 Sports Club took the 3rd prize.
Indian Association Basel and A1 Sports Club take this opportunity to thank the four teams who represented the 2023rd edition of Dreilaender Indoor Women's Cricket tournament and making it a successful one. It was Diwali day and all the players made fireworks with the bat and ball inside the indoor hall.
The Dreilaender Men's Indoor Cricket tournament was held in the huge gorgeous Halle Matte Magden on November 12th 2023. Four teams participated in this tournament.
1. Zurich Mavericks
2. Novartis Cricket Club
3. Roche Cricket Club
4. A1 Sports Club
All the teams played against each other with a round robin of three matches. After all the matches, below were the points table
Teams Played Won Lost Points NRR
Roche Cricket Club 3 3 0 12 2.04
Zurick Mavericks 3 1 2 4 0.65
Novartis Cricket Club 3 1 2 4 -0.93
A1 Sports Club 3 1 2 4 -1.90
After the league matches, Roche Cricket Club topped the table and qualified for the finals. All the other teams ended up with the same points. Super over was played between Zurick Mavericks, Novartis Cricket Club and A1 Sports Club which also resulted with each team winning one match. Finally, Net RunRate was used to rank the teams. The 3rd place match was played between Novartis Cricket Club and A1 Sports Club where A1 Sports Club bagged the 3rd prize. The final match was played between Roche Cricket Club and Zurick Mavericks.
In the finals, Ben Stokes' moment came where Roche needed just one wicket and Zurick Mavericks needed 4 runs. Unfortunately the ball hit the non striker's bat, got deflected and went to six. It was not intentional from the non striker and certainly six was awarded. Thats the beauty of this sport where there can be always one winner and one runner. Zurick Mavericks won the 2023rd edition of Dreilaender Men's Indoor Cricket Tournament and Roche Cricket Club were the runners.
Indian Association Basel and A1 Sports Club take this opportunity to thank the four teams who represented the 2023rd edition of Dreilaender Indoor Men's Cricket tournament and making it a successful one. It was a Diwali day and all the players made fireworks with the bat and ball inside the indoor hall.
Junior Chamber International (JCI) hosted the members from JCI Hungary in Switzerland. Thanks to Julia who organized a trip to Sachseln. Sachseln is a village and municipality in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Besides the village of Sachseln, the municipality includes the hamlets of Edisried, Ewil and Flüeli-Ranft. Sachseln is located directly on Lake Sarnen, surrounded by lovely mountains. Älggialp forms the geographic centre of Switzerland. The weather was sunny in the first half and cloudy in the second half of the trekking. It was a wonderful trekking trip with various trials.
Singing has never been my hobby and I always admire the solo and choral singers. Recently I joined Maennerchor (Male Chor) club to get the basics of singing and more importantly to improve my Swiss German. It has been a fascinating experience with warmly accepted members. We already performed couple of outings once during the Swiss National Day and the other on Culture Day festival in Magden. Thanks to Maennerchor Magden verein for accepting me besides being a beginner in singing. We also did a boating trip in Interlaken and had a awesome buffet in the ship.
It's been a ritual that we visit Angela and Torsten every year. Either we go to Chemnitz or they come to visit us in Switzerland. They visited us for the VaterTag long weekend. We had a chance to go trekking with them and visit the waterfalls nearby in Seeberg. Seeberg is a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The lake Burgäschisee is located on the border with Aeschi. We also did the trekking to Sonneberg tower which is located near to my home. Angela and Torsten have shown the Sachsen beauty and it was our turn to show them the beauty of Switzerland.
Recently I had a chance to visit the European Parliament in Strasbourg via my Junior Chamber International organization. Completed in 1999, the official seat of the European Parliament offers tours & interactive exhibits. The European Parliament currently represents about 450 million European citizens. It has 705 Members, elected for 5-year terms. It holds legislative, budgetary and political supervisory powers. The European Parliament is the largest parliamentary assembly elected by direct universal suffrage in the world. An architectural gem Designed by Architecture Studio, the huge glass-and-metal building, which has housed the European Parliament since 1999, is very impressive. It is one of Strasbourg’s architectural gems. Beautifully reflected in the water, its huge glass façade, measuring 13,000 sq. metres, symbolises the democratic transparency of the European Union.
Recently visited Amsterdam for a Validation University conference and presented on the latest ChatGPT topic here as well. Have visited Amsterdam as a student, with the family and friends and its a city which you can never get bored, always happening place. Amsterdam being the capital of Netherlands, the most populated has got one of the best public transportation system. I always teach my son, the three names refer to the same country: Dutch, Holland, Netherlands. Dutch is very linguistic and they speak very good English, German and of course their own language Dutch.
