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A VISIT TO EIFFEL TOWER , PARIS.
Shailesh Mota and Jeanne Allard organised and planned our visit to Eiffel Tower. We were at the Eiffel Tower on 29th April, 2023.From Alfortville, we went by a cab all along River Seine. However, one has a variety in public transport options to arrive at the Eiffel Tower from any corner of Paris. Line 6,8 and 9 ( Metro trains ), RER C ( train ) and Bus Line 82 and 42 all go to the Eiffel Tower. The easiest and the quickest way to reach the Eiffel Tower would be to take the Metro and use Line 6 (green) that passes through Bir-Hakeim Station .This station is about 400 metres from the Tower and the distance can be easily covered in 7 or 8 minutes walk .
The Eiffel Tower was built from 1887 to 1889 by French engineer Gustave Eiffel whose company specialised in building metal frameworks and structures. Gustave Eiffel is at the origin of many metallic works in Europe including the Porto Viaduct (Portugal), the Viaduct du Garabit (France) and the Budapest train station (Hungary). His company, that was located in Levallois Perret, near Paris, also built the metal framework for another world-famous monument: the Statue of Liberty (New York, United States), designed by Auguste Bartholdi and offered to the United States as a gift from France to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence in 1886.
The Eiffel Tower has been built with painted puddle iron bars The puddle iron that makes up the Eiffel Tower's structure came from the Pompey Forges (East of France). The iron plates and beams produced through the puddling process were then preassembled in the Eiffel factories in Levallois Perret using rivets. The construction of the Tower was started to celebrate 100 years of the French Revolution. The first digging work started on the 26th January 1887. On 31st March 1889, the tower had been finished in record time – 2 years, 2 months and 5 days – and was established as a veritable technical feat. All the metal pieces of the tower are held together by rivets, a well-refined method of construction at the time the Tower was constructed. Journalist Emile Goudeau, who visited the site in 1889 when the construction had started , records this :-
"A thick cloud of tar and coal smoke seized the throat, and we were deafened by the din of metal screaming beneath the hammer. Over there they were still working on the bolts: workmen with their iron bludgeons, perched on a ledge just a few centimetres wide, took turns at striking the bolts (these in fact were the rivets). One could have taken them for blacksmiths contentedly beating out a rhythm on an anvil in some village forge, except that these smiths were not striking up and down vertically, but horizontally, and as with each blow came a shower of sparks, these black figures, appearing larger than life against the background of the open sky, looked as if they were reaping lightning bolts in the clouds."
Until 1929, the Eiffel Tower was the highest building in the world. Visible from almost anywhere in Paris, the tower has a privileged position on the Champs-de-Mars esplanade .Located on the bank of the Seine river , the Eiffel Tower is possibly the busiest tourist site in Paris . Its height and unique silhouette floating above the Paris landscape quickly made the Eiffel Tower one of the most popular attractions in Paris. Since the beginning, the Eiffel Tower drew attention and served as the theatre for numerous events in the life of Paris and France: the grandiose fireworks on July 14 ("Bastille Day"), national-level events and large-scale sporting events.
( Bastile day celebrations )
( Bastile day celebrations )
The Tower can be seen from many and various points around Paris and its suburbs. It is photographed, drawn, filmed, and replicated in all kinds of circumstances.It naturally slipped into the role of symbolising France in the collective imagination, not only in movies and graphic arts but also in literature and poetry.Closest to the Tower is the Champ de Mars, where one can relax and stroll through the vast park. On the Palais de Chaillot side, the Trocadéro terraces also offer a stunning panorama of the Tower in its entirety. For an unobstructed view with the Seine in the foreground, one needs to visit Bir-Hakeim Bridge, where one can also find the Renaissance France statue.
( Under construction photo)
Every night, during its light show, the tower becomes even more mesmerising. The' Eiffel Tower Light Sparkle' at night is a sight to behold. The light show begins at sunset every night. Depending on the season, this usually occurs between 5:00 pm and 10.30 pm (local time). At that point, the 20,000 lamps spread out across the Tower are switched on and start to glow. The lights often change colours depending on the season and special occasions. For instance, during Christmas, the Tower lights up in red and green . Similarly, the Tower lights up in different colours on Bastille Day (July 14th).
We saw this light display during our 'River Cruise '( Seine river) . Infact the Tower is illuminated with thousands of golden lights from the base to the its top. Add to that, after every hour from 9.30 pm, there is a dazzle of additional lights that twinkle and sparkle for some minutes. Two beams of high intensity lights keep rotating from the top creating a circle over Paris or the 'City of Lights'. This fantastic spectacle of lights is worth watching . Mobile cameras, video cameras and digital cameras go busy at the sight of this spectacle. People on the deck of a moving ferry stand up to see, clap, whistle and cry in amazement.
Visiting the Tower, and seeing its historic gardens and the spectacular view of Paris from the top is an incredible experience. The Tower has three floors that are open to the public: the 1st floor, 2nd floor and the summit. The 2nd floor has 2 levels, as does the summit (an enclosed lower level, and an open-air level above). One can take the stairs from the bottom of the Eiffel Tower to go up to the 2nd Floor after covering 674 steps. In total, there are 1665 steps from the ground up to the top of the Tower, but the stairway from the 2nd floor to the top is not open to the public . Visitors can reach the first two floors either by the stairs or by elevators. The ascension from the 2nd floor to the summit is only possible by an elevator.And high speed elevators take no time to go upto the top of the Tower.
Walking out onto the glass platform on the first floor offers the unique sensation of walking in the void. Arriving on the 2nd floor, one can enjoy the view of the Louvre Museum , the Grand Palais, the meanders of the Seine river, Montmartre, Invalides museum, Notre-Dame cathedral and many more prominent structures of Paris city . It is here that one finds the Michelin-starred Jules Verne restaurant, alongside a Pierre Hermé macaron bar and take-away food stands. There are some official shops to discover a selection of exclusive products bearing the Eiffel Tower brand and made in France, such as snow globes, stationery accessories, miniature Eiffel towers, etc. The final destination: the summit! On its two levels, one enclosed and the other open-air,one can stroll around and take in the unique panorama of the 'City of Lights' from a height of 906 feet (276 metres). There is a champagne bar at the top level and it opens onto the outside. The father of the monument, Gustave Eiffel, had a huge office on the third floor of the Tower. Once covering an area of 100 square meters, only a small part of it remains today, not accessible to the public but visible through a glass window. One can see some period furniture, a phonograph, as well as three wax statues, made by the Musee Grevin, representing Gustave, his daughter Claire and Thomas Edison, one of the pioneers of electricity and sound recording.
Although the City of Paris owns the Tower but its management has been entrusted to a company called SETE or Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel.The French government earns about 80 million francs per year from the sale of admission tickets to this monument.
At the Eiffel Tower, we saw a group of street dancers entertaining tourists with Indian song " Kaala Chashma " . Sung by Badshah and Neha Kakkar( originally sung by Amar Arshi) , we saw this song being used for dance acrobatics by another group of street dancers at the Chetelet ( pronounced as Shetlay in French ) train junction in Paris city. Possibly, the song gives the street dancers a 'Global Feel' .The Norwegian dance group, 'Quick Style' , performed on this peppy track and it went crazy viral on social media for their moves. This song is from the 2016 movie "Baar Baar Dekho" and has been filmed on Bollywood actors Katrina Kaif and Siddharth Malhotra .
We saw some young Indians from Punjab rural areas selling wine ,champagne and beer in buckets to tourists. We also saw them in Lourve and some other tourist places selling mineral water for one Euro .These men looked semi literate or illiterate, and for sure they must have arrived in Europe under some painful circumstances navigating the route adopted by illegal immigrants . We also saw many immigrants from Africa selling Eiffel Tower replicas to tourists . When the African immigrants saw us , they cried , "namaste le lo. paanch eik euro ka. Special concession .Kitna babu ji ." France is a popular destination for Senegal migrants . Senegal had been a French colony. I am told that most of the Senegalese migrants come to Marseille followed by Paris. On persistent requests, a young wine seller from Punjab told us this :-
"I don't English or French speak home conversation . Only tourist selling language . I sell French German,Spanish tourist , So pick up business sentence languages . Speak Punjabi or Hindi. I comfortable"
And he spoke in Punjabi. He said this :-
" I am from Hoshiarpur rural area. I am a school drop out. I came to Italy many years back through an Indian agent. I went to Portugal. I prepared papers of Portugal. Now I can come to all EU countries. We found France better. Young boys come through a tough and inhuman route. Some come on tourist visa and keep shuttling borders when visa expires. They live as illegal migrants . Always on the run . Always worried. Always working very hard and sweating it out for a living. In Paris , we sold mineral water initially. Now we sell wine to tourists. Police is after us. Hide and seek game. We live 8 or 10 in one flat. Very hard life. We can't go back. We save around 400 to 500 Euros per month and send home. My father sold land in Punjab for my coming over here. None amongst us is educated enough to start a different life. These Africans selling key rings and models of the Eiffel Tower are mostly from Senegal. The Chinese agent gives them this stock for sale. Most of them are illegal migrants . Police is after them also. Police comes in morning hours . All footpaths sellers come in the afternoon. We see many educated young Indians in Europe . They earn good salary and live with dignity . We are happy to see our own countrymen doing well. They live their own settled life and don’t mix with us . They believe we are children of lesser god. Most of the young men from Punjab that you see here remain unmarried as they can't afford to live independent family life. Even if someone marries, he can't bring his wife here and live a family life as he doesn't earn much for such a venture . His wife has to live back with his parents . A life full of suffering and exploitation. No photo. No name or address details . No mobile recording please. I talk as friend and that is it."
The story of the Punjabi immigrant made us sorrowful. A story of pain and suffering in an ambiance of glitter in this ‘City of Lights’ called Paris .I was reminded of a couplet of Urdu poet Moin Ahsan Jazbi:-
“Sarv o saman bhi mauj e naseem e sahar Bbhi hai .
Aey gul teray chaman mein knoyee chashm e tar bhi hai.”
( You have the cypress and the jasmine and the wafting morning breeze as well,
O flower ! look around ,there also sits a person with moist eyes in your garden .)
(Avtar Mota )
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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