Saturday, May 13, 2023

A VISIT TO EIFFEL TOWER , PARIS ( FRANCE ).

                                      

                      























                                          






       

















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A VISIT TO EIFFEL TOWER , PARIS.

                                     


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.

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 )

 

                               

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