Carpe Diem #368, Perm

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

!! I have an announcement to make. I have created an all new weblog for all our special features except the CD Specials of the featured haiku-poets at: Carpe Diem Haiku Kai Special I have already published the first post there a episode of "Carpe Diem Goes Back to Its Roots" about classical haiku. So I love to invite you all to visit and share your thoughts and haiku !!

We are on a quest to find the "Aleph" while we are traveling straight through the Soviet Union on board of the Trans Siberian Railroad the longest railroad in the world. This journey is the ouverture for our Shikoku pilgrimage on the Island of Shikoku in Japan. There we will visit 88 shrines were once Kobo Daishi of Kukai walked to find himself.
As we are on our way to Shikoku we ourselves are on a quest, a quest to find ourselves through the "Aleph", the 'secret' place in which we are in the past and in the present at the same time. The "Aleph", the title of a novel by Paulo Coelho, in which he is on a quest to find the love of his life in a former life.

This quote by Paulo Coelho is in the right place I think. In "Aleph" he is searching for who he once was and who he has become. And I think we are on our way to fullfill that quest for ourselves.

Let's go on our way ... further along the TSR. Today we have reached Perm, we are already almost 1500 km on the go and for sure Paulo and his traveling friends have seen this station although it isn't mentioned in the novel. What was he doing while entering the station of Perm? Was he asleep, was he in a conversation or maybe it was here when he entered the 'Aleph' for the very first time?
Let us take a quick visit to Perm.Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov . According to the 2010 Census, Perm's population is 991,162. As of the 2010 Census, the city was the thirteenth most populous in Russia.

Perm on the banks of the Kama River

The city is located on the bank of the Kama River upon hilly terrain. The Kama is the main tributary of the Volga River and one of the deepest and most picturesque rivers of Russuia. This river is the waterway which grants the Ural Mountains access to the White Sea, Baltic Sea, Sea of Azov, Black Sea and Caspian Sea. The Kama divides the city into two parts: the central part and the right bank part. The city stretches for 70 km along the Kama and 40 km across it. The city street grid parallels the Kama River, traveling generally east-west, while other main streets run perpendicularly to those following the river. The grid patterns accomdates the hills of the city where it crosses them.
Another distinguishing feature of the city's relief is the large quantity of small rivers and brooks. The largest of them are the Mulyanka, the Yegoshika, the Motovilikha (all are on the left bank of Kama River), and the Gayva (on the right bank).

Mulyanka River

Perm was first mentioned as the village of Yagoshikha in 1647; however, the history of the modern city of Perm starts with the development of the Ural region by Tsar Peter the Great. Vasily Tatishchev, appointed by the Tsar as a chief manager of Ural factories, founded Perm together with another major center of the Ural region, Yekaterinburg.Yekaterinburg, the birth-place of Hilal, will be our next stop.

Railroad Bridge crossing the Kama River

The TSR crosses the above railroad bridge as it enters Perm. Perm looks great and the nature around this city is breathtaking ... as is (in my opinion) all nature through which the TSR goes.

As we leave Perm ... the night has fallen ... and the bright stars are shimmering at the deep black sky ... Paulo lays down to go to sleep, but will he sleep? No he doesn't sleep well. The carriage shakes to much and the sound of the TSR is deafening as is the sound of the TSR in the opposite direction. He would be feeling broken ... and maybe that's why he experiences the "Aleph". Because as you don't have enough sleep your senses will be more sensitive and open for spiritual experiences. I have tried that once ... I didn't sleep for a few days and so I was awake for over 48 houres. I felt as if I was floating in the air, my senses were stronger and more sensitive than ever and it brought me wonderful inspiration for some of my best haiku ever. As you maybe know, I am an author too. As I was writing my first novel "Netsach, the galaxy of the seven worlds" I sometimes went on with writing for more than two days in a roll ... and as I read the parts of my novel which I wrote in those days I can easily feel the emotions which I had while writing it.
By the way, ... don't try it at home it's not healthy (smiles).

Senses Awake

crossing Kama River
the deafening sound of another train -
senses awake

senses awake
without a good sleep
enter the "Aleph"

enter the "Aleph"
holding her tight to my chest
in love again

What a joy to conclude this episode of our journey straight through the Soviet Union with such a nice trio of haiku ... and now ... up we go to Yekaterinburg, our next stop ...

This episode will be staying on until January 8th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our next episode, Yekaterinburg, later on today. "!! Perm is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) !!
Have fun, be inspired and share your haiku with us all.