Streets of Turin

November is a month of events in Turin. I think I was a bit lucky to land there during the weeks of November. This was my day one at Turin city.  On a rainy Sunday morning I was walking to Piazza san Carlo through Via Roma, the street with the richest shops of Turin. As I walked forward there was surprise ahead. I could see arrangements for a marathon run. It’s the Marathon run organized at Turin every year. There was inclusivity. People of all age groups were participants and also differently abled people were enthusiastically getting ready for the run. Despite the drizzles the people were happily rehearsing and warming-up for the marathon. There was so much energy in the air that I almost felt like jogging with them.

• 

• 

• 

• 

But actually I was walking along with a dove through the gallery. She was my perfect partner matching my pace. I saw the Statue of Po the Man and Dora the Woman fountains representing the rivers of Turin on my way. The gallery in Turin are the most attractive structures. One reason is they are architecturally beautiful. Another reason is you can walk safe inside when it’s raining heavily. The gallery can accommodate any large crowd. The major part of the city has galleries running along the streets to walk-in.  

• 

  Po fountain

• 

  Dora Fountain

• 

  Dove walk

• 

  lights in gallery

• 

  Gallery

I loved Via Roma so much that I walked through the street almost thrice during my stay there. But as part of shopping I only bought some doughnuts and pastry to eat. I walked in the night through the streets. The Black Friday sale was on as it was November. The shops were on festive mood, beautifully decorated with lights and balloons. I could hear the church bells and prayer sounds nearby. I enjoyed the rhythm. As I walked I saw a street with beautiful lightings with some writings all along. I took a snapshot of it and now I know what was written there. It was a poetry written by Guido Quarzo for children. We can’t understand the Italian version. I have just underlined the line I captured in my photo. The meaning follows.

• 

  Via Roma

• 

  Black Friday sale

• 

  Poetry in air

“La città era piena di rumore: era sempre più difficile parlare e ascoltare. E poi c’era il bosco silenzioso. Ma nel silenzio del bosco ci si perdeva. Chi non sopportava il rumore della città andava nel bosco, e il silenzio se lo portava via. Così si sparse la voce che nel bosco c’era un orco. Furono mandati soldati e anche quelli sparirono. Quando Luì il matto arrivò in città, trovò rumore e musi lunghi. Qualcuno gli raccontò la storia di quelli che sparivano nel silenzio e a Luì venne una gran voglia di fare una passeggiata nel bosco. Ma capì che era necessario studiare la lingua del vento e della pioggia, dei sassi, del legno e della terra. E dopo tanto studiare Luì inventò uno strano bastone che faceva un rumore dolce ad ogni passo. Tric trac, fran fran troc. Così il bosco non era più tanto silenzioso. Poi, le forme degli alberi e della terra tentarono di ingannarlo. Ma Luì con il suo coltellino intagliò il legno e raccolse pietre, e legò rami e fece balene orchi elefantesse. Le illusioni del bosco silenzioso diventarono cose da toccare e tutti quelli che si erano perduti incominciarono a saltare fuori come funghi. Da quel giorno tutti i bambini vollero i bastoni sonori di Luì per non perdersi nel silenzio e nel rumore. E quando chiesero a Luì che nome dare ai suoi bastoni, egli disse: chiamateli sonagli. E così fu.”

Meaning:

The city was full of noise,
It was increasingly difficult to speak and listen.
And then there was the silent forest.
But in the silence of the woods we got lost.

Those who could not stand the noise of the city went into the woods,
And silence carried them away.
So the rumor spread that there was an ogre in the woods.
Soldiers were sent and they also disappeared.

When Luì the fool arrived in the city,
He found noise and long faces.
Someone told him the story of those who disappeared in the silence
and Luì felt a great desire to take a walk in the woods.

But he understood that it was necessary to study
the language of wind and rain, stones, wood and earth.
And after so much studying Luì invented a strange stick that made a sweet noise with every step. Tric trac, fran fran troc.

So the forest was no longer so silent.
Then, the shapes of the trees and the earth tried to deceive him.
But Luì with his small knife carved the wood and collected stones,
and tied branches and made elephant whales orcs.

The illusions of the silent forest became things to touch
and everyone who was lost began to pop out like mushrooms.
From that day all the children wanted Luì’s sound sticks to not get lost in the silence and noise.
And when they asked him what name to give his sticks,
he said: call them rattles. And so it was.

Beautiful isn’t it. I loved this poem. All along we had busy lives. Now the Covid pandemic came and showed us silence. Initially the silence was so lovely. As days pass by the silence is making us disappear from friends and family. I don’t have rattles or bells. But only this blog page that makes my rattles to the world that I am still there alive. To say that I want to make everyone happy. To assure that hey friend you are not alone, I am here with you when you read my blogs.