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The glory and grandeur, poverty and pelf, spirituality and spicy food hooked them all to India, says A. Saye Sekhar
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European students at The Hindu press in Vijayawada. Photos: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar.
SLINKY CLOTHES or lose shirts and trousers. Whatever their outfits may be. They brought lotza love and affection to India. Trying their best to understand the Indian culture during their month-long stay on the land of saints and sages, the ideas sparkling in their young minds are dime a dozen. It's altogether a new experience for the 12 European guys and gals to observe the rich cultural heritage metamorphose into a modern era. Spicy food and soothing love of the Indian populace amazed them.
All of them descended on India as part of the Young Ambassadors' Programme (YAP) of the 41rs Club International. Wards of the 41rs' clubs across the globe, these young ones brought a message of peace and love to India. A 41r is a former Round Tabler. It is mandatory for a member of the Round Table movement to retire from it on attaining the age of 40. The world's 41rs clubs chose to have a youth exchange programme to create global awareness and understanding among their wards - the just-then-grown-ups - so that they could become the cultural ambassadors among various nations.
Wide exposure
The dozen young ambassadors, during their four-day sojourn with their respective hosts in Guntur - 41rs play host to at least two to three of the visiting foreigners, among other things, had been exposed to the various facets of India - be it the tour of Pepsi factory or the ML&Co's tobacco threshing unit or Mangalagiri temple. Besides, they had a boat ride in the swirling waters of the Krishna, a visit to Bhavani Island and the Chirala beach.
All of them in unison said: "It's wonderful" on visiting the office of The Hindu in Vijayawada.
Accompanied by Anil Harnathka, his son Vishaal and Soumya Maddi, the four boys and eight girls, in their visit to The Hindu, evinced a lot of interest in knowing about Indian newspapers. They were awe-struck to know the whopping circulations of leading Indian dailies, English as well as vernacular. Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Guntur, Visakhaptanam, Bhubaneswar, Kanpur, Patna and Kolkata formed part of their month-long itinerary
People stare
Twenty-year-old Sebastian Fantl of Austria took two days of time to get over the culture shock on his arrival to India. "Many people here were looking at us, just because of our white skin. But, all of them were very friendly and always smiling. Austria has a population of eight million people, just as in Hyderabad. Driving in India is very crazy," he said. Of course, the flip side of the coin was the dirt alongside the roads and railways that made him uncomfortable. Sandra Sapone of France is studying her dentistry in Lyon.
Rich culture
Culture, clothes and temples are a pleasant experience to her, while the food is too spicy for her to relish. She finds the cultures of North and South India - being cleaner - different and is shocked to know the wide gap between the rich and the poor. She liked Taj Mahal the most and The Hindu is the first newspaper office she had ever visited in her life. The 21-year-old Angeline Dion of Reins in France is in her III year of Pharmacy course. A lot of crowds on the streets, driving of vehicles to the left side of the road and religions with different gods amused her. Dochy Sophie of Tournai in Belgium is gearing up for taking up a course in physiotherapy. According to her, "People in India are very open. Cows and camels on the street is an amazing sight. The food is very very spicy, but I like it. If I could wear a saree in my country, I would have bought a lot of them. But, I can't. Poor thing." Anne of Germany, in her last year of the school (Grade 13), will take up medicine. "I was shocked to see poverty. Religion is very important in India. Your country is colourful," she says.
Romain Loutaintie, a 22-year French guy, loves India for its spirituality and respect for god. He liked the Indian temples and friendly nature of people. The 18-year-old Lucas Fantl of Austria is girding up his loins to go to University of Vienna. He liked the Indian delicacies and lovely people. For the 21-year-old Maxi Kowalke, who's working for theatre, operas and films, everything in India is big and strong. Population, noise, colours and smells - all at one place - leave a myriad feelings in a visitor. Children, fruit markets, cows, dogs, sleeping people, heat, plants, dust, tents of the poor, huh... all are there. It's mind-boggling. Julie Dufour, a French girl, is full of thoughts and ideas, and above all, mixed feelings. A mix of cultures and everything under the sun in India charms her the most.
Different cities
Browsing through the pages of a pocket dictionary, French lass, Emilie Delattre, says with great difficulty: "I think travel in India is very nice. Taj Mahal is a better monument. I don't speak English well. Sorry." Jean Dion, again from France, loved the landscape and culture in India.
The cities of Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Hyderabad and Guntur were all very different from one another. The elephants by the Moon Palace in Jaipur were impressionable. The Belgium girl, Daphne Heuvelsman, the oldest of the visiting group, finds Indian people waking up with spirituality in their mind and going to bed at the end of the day again with it. "Meditation impressed me the most," she says.
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