Passage to India
Soon, I’ll be saying “Tschüss Hamburg” and “வணக்கம் சென்னை” (“Vanakkam Chennai”). A Passage to India…
A sudden opportunity arose, offering four months of complete adventure. I was bold enough to dream about it and fortunate enough to be selected. This experience will be unique, both professionally and humanly. Although the purpose of this journey to India is to teach, it really will be about what I will learn…
Asie, Asie, Asie.
Vieux pays merveilleux des contes de nourrice……je voudrais voir de beaux turbans de soie…
Et puis m’en revenir plus tard
Narrer mon aventure aux curieux de rêves…
Once upon a time, I travelled in a second-class train from Jakarta to Jogjakarta. I had one goal in mind: watching the sunrise from the temple of Borobudur. This second-class train ride may have been one of the most difficult few hours in my life. I was young then, and traveling alone for 4 months in southeast Asia. When I arrived in Jogjakarta, I knew I was not ready for India. I also knew I would be at some point.
Is the time now? Probably.
At 44, three years in Hamburg have convinced me that Germany is not ready for me (I might never be ready for her myself…) and so after several attempts to find my place here, I am heading east for 4 months, perhaps longer. As a dear student of mine wrote: “India will offer what Europe has not been able to.” In Hamburg, I found LiebE, and for this already: “Danke an die Perle des Nordens”. The time has come to see other people, learn new languages, hear different sounds, taste food with my right hand and be lost again.
“…c’est ce que vous ne comprendrez pas qui est le plus beau.”
Did you know that there are no verbs in Hindi or in Tamil to describe the possession? You do not ‘own’, you are ‘near something’. You do not ‘have’, you are ‘with’. My passage to India begins, to share everything I learned and discover what I still do not understand.
बाद में मिलेंगे
