Chocolates, cheese and chateaus, and last but not the least, Swiss watches are the things Swiss that I am associated with since 1949. My first love then was, and still now is chocolate. Swiss cheese is not available locally these days. About chateau, my only experience was in November 1970 when I stayed for a few days in a Swiss-style chateau, owned by my British friend in Northern Scotland. All these came to my mind while I was going through your 'National Day' supplement on Switzerland, published on August 01.
The writer still remembers his first Swiss wristwatch that he bought in late 1951 at the then astronomical price of Rs.130 despite a student's discount. This is still etched in my memory. Sadly, it was lost, sometimes in early 1960s when it was either misplaced or stolen. Otherwise, may be, it would have been ticking on even today. I say this as I have a mechanically wound Seiko watch that I purchased to replace my lost Swiss watch, is still going strong! No wonder, Swiss-made things meant reliability and quality. Not that Japanese watches are any inferior, as my Seiko watch is still running.
Given this background, no wonder that Switzerland is now pioneering the way to drastically curtail environment pollution by fuel-guzzling jet aircraft crisscrossing our skies. The Swiss aircraft Solar Impulse, powered by the sun's rays, is now circumnavigating the world to herald an aircraft which will drastically reduce polluting effect. It uses the engines for only take-off and climbing to an altitude to get sunlight. This is just the beginning like the Wright brothers' first short air hop. In the decades to come, possibly solar-powered airplanes will be crisscrossing our skies regularly.
Engr.S.A.Mansoor
Dhaka.
sam@dhakacom.com
Of things Swiss
FE Team | Published: August 04, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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