Posts tagged Travel

Celebrating the splendour of Sydney Opera House

1 Comment read Arts, Entertainment & Lifestyle, Travel
Sydney Opera House at Bennelong Point. Photo Credit: ©Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 19.03.2023 (Khaleej Times): Sydney conjures images of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Bondi beach and the world-renowned Sydney Opera House. This year, the Opera House celebrates its 50th anniversary, offering visitors an array of events to witness its splendour up close. Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage listed site, the Opera House is regarded as “one of the indisputable masterpieces of human creativity, not only in the 20th century but in the history of humankind.”

Aglow in the mellow morning sunrays, the Opera House sails are an unforgettable sight for the thousands of visitors who visit this harbour city each year and the daily commuters on Sydney ferries. Describing the luminous effect, Louis Kahn, one of the most influential American architects of the mid-20th century once said, “The sun did not know how beautiful its light was, until it was reflected off this building.”

The Opera House precinct provides a fusion of art, culture and nature for everybody to enjoy — whether it is for a stroll or a jog around the building, taking one of the many guided tours tailored to one’s interest, viewing one of the performances or simply savouring the breathtaking views of the harbour and the city skyline from the forecourt.

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On a foot and a prayer

0 Comments read Disability, Travel
Illustration Credit: Surabhi Dhandia

By Neena Bhandari

A Cancelled flight, a lost suitcase, a stolen wallet are exigencies we may plan for while travelling, but I had never considered the possibility of an unexpected injury, until it happened during one of my annual sojourns in India. It revealed the dichotomy between the avant-garde and primitive modes of transport and healthcare facilities that exist in the country.

From riding on a vegetable cart to being carried in a no-frills palanquin-like wooden chair for an x-ray, I used myriad modes of transport from Sunderban in the east to Jaipur in the west, following a foot injury.

I snapped the critical weight-bearing bone (the talus) in the foot while alighting from a small, rocking wooden boat on to the hard, concrete surface of a jetty. A torrent of excruciating pain overwhelmed my senses. I have faint recollection of removing the calliper that had shielded the rest of the polio-affected limb from injury and being carried to a bunk in the underdeck of our boat. The first-aid kit on the boat was ill-equipped – with only a near-empty can of an anti-inflammatory spray, my pain threshold was being tested to its limits.

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