Amsterdam - A Beautiful Poem

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After the food, they started playing a local Dutch song. The local crowd started singing in unison.

“I don’t understand it.” I said to Mariah who was sitting next to me and listening to the song silently. “But it sounds really nice.”

“I will translate it for you.” She put her head on her knees. “Is there anyone who can boat without a paddle? Or fly a kite without wind? And who can part with his beloved without tears in his eyes?”

She would pause for a while to listen to the words and then translate them for me.

“I can boat without a paddle… and fly a kite without wind but I cannot part with my beloved without shedding tears.”

The dream of mid winter’s night was over.

The journey that started from Paris around eight days back was coming to an end in Amsterdam. In those eight days I had been to the top of the world with nearly three dozen equally insane fellow gypsies who savored every moment of being in the middle of Arctic Ocean.

But that was then and Amsterdam was now.

I was told that it was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I had taken my camera out of the bag. With one hand on the door handle of the tram and the other holding the camera, I was trying to keep myself from falling. My eyes were continuously fixed on the viewfinder.

When the tram turned left from Museumplein, an ocean of blue and green color burst open. Typically tranquil architecture on either side of the water canals that spread across the city. Sun rays would make their way from behind the leaves of thick trees and reflect from the surface of water to the camera to create naughty colors on the canvas. A boat passed by in the canal disturbing the peace of several ducks and swans having fun in the water. For a second, all the trees, houses and cards appearing the mirror of water got mixed with each other.

Right next to Kalverstraat, there is River Amstel and when a dam was built on the River Amstel, the city was named Amsterdam. It was earlier named Amsteldam by none other than Hamlet.

My finger was continuously pressing the shutter button on the camera.

Whenever the Dutch talk about their cities, they would say Rotterdam is full of action, Hague is an old connoisseur and Amsterdam is a beautiful poem that slowly pierces into your heart. In a country which otherwise looks unresponsive and dreary, Amsterdam is like sensitive heart and several canals are coming out of it like arteries.

Despite being a bit overrated for its exquisiteness and nightlife, and despite the over exposure of banned substances, Amsterdam still has something distinctive about it. Of course not to forget, the unprecedented feminine beauty that I have not seen in any other European country I have seen.

For the last eight days, we had been walking a lot and those activities were beginning to take their toll on our bodies. To be honest, we were not able to do justice to busting the myths about Amsterdam.

Around the streets of the Dam Square, in the red light district, the so called night life of Amsterdam was at its full flow. Ever few meters, ‘someone’ was ready to offer you a ‘good time’. On both sides of the canals, night clubs, pubs and ‘windows’ were abundant.

Around the canals, there was harmony, silence and cold. Despite that we had come back from negative 30 degrees Celsius temperature, we were still feeling cold in the zero degree of Amsterdam. Streets lights had been turned off. White residential buildings were complimenting the moonlight. The cold breeze was touching our faces and we did not want to go back to our hotel. It was a pity that such beautiful scenes were waiting for us outside and we had wasted an hour in the area which is a shame to the beauty of a serene city.

‘I can boat without a paddle… and fly a kite without wind but I cannot part with my beloved without shedding tears.’

The next morning, I parted with Amsterdam without shedding tears.

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