Heaven

 

I would like a piece of the sky

and a box full of breeze
Some fresh lemons
and may be a few stars

I would like some warm granules of sand
and the salty water from the sea
A bottle of fragrance from the wet earth
and a basket full of young giggles

I would like the colours from the flowers
and freshness from grass
A warm moist cake
and a bunch of wagging tails.                                     Heaven.

10 Things that I learnt in 10 months of staying Abroad

I moved to Germany from India exactly 10 months ago. It has been an brilliant experience. I have had many new things to learn. Have made some great friends belonging to different Nationalities, have learnt a new language, have even been a witness at a Chinese-German wedding. The 10 months here have given me 10 major lessons.

Lesson 1: Importance of respecting our language

Here everything is in German- websites, official documents, newspapers, everything is in German. So much so that the famous and delicious Nestle Condensed milk- Milk made- is Milchmädchen here. Even the biggest brands of the world make labels especially for Germany. People know English but they take pride in speaking their mother tongue.

On the other hand in India, It is cool to speak in english. Speaking in Hindi is 'so LS' ( low-society). Teenagers proudly say, I don't know hindi very well. New age parents are not teaching hindi to their children. We don't befriend people who don't know English. We even make fun of people who make grammatical errors. How many of us can write in Hindi without even one spelling mistake? Why don't we take pride in our language? Why is Hindi LS?

It truly hurts me that even at the Indian Embassy in Munich, the officer at the counter would speak to Germans in german but as an Indian when I spoke to him in Hindi, he responded in English and made sure that the entire conversation was in English.

Lesson 2: There is much more to a country than what the news shows.

For a lot of people, the country is only what news papers and channels show. Almost all people I met wanted to know about women safety in India. Sadly after Dec'12 India is viewed as barbaric and all the  Indian men as rapists. Some people have asked me openly and some subtly, some ask if the news is true and a few others have asked ' do women go out in Delhi?' A close friend said, she thinks every girl on the street is raped in India. I know that the women safety situation is not good but I still need to put in so much effort to explain that not every Indian man is a rapist. 

Similarly, Germany somehow is facing difficulty getting over it's past. I am asked so often if I am safe and do I feel secure staying here. Many think, hate crimes are all there is to Germany and foreigners are not welcomed. UNTRUE. I feel safe, secure and well respected.

Lesson 3: As an NRI, we have a lesser right to comment on the conditions in my own country.

Strangely just a few months of staying out of my country takes away my right to speak freely and share my views about my country. Now if I comment on bribes or how we as the citizens need to bring about a change, I am immediately reminded that I no longer reside in India, and how it is easy for me to say things when I am not living there. If I have a political view, I am told that I have all the comforts and earn in Euros. I am sorry guys but I need to tell you that you can't take India out of my heart. In fact living abroad I am more patriotic than a lot of people living in India are. 

Lesson 4: Indian are super brains.

Indians are generally considered very smart here. They pick up things easily and are intelligent. We are truly respected for our analytical and inferential skills. We don't realise it staying in India, but we do possess these in superb quantities. Another strong belief (which is partly true) is that most of the Indian men are into software ;). 

Lesson 5: Spanish are the European Punjabis 

Yes, this one is not related to India (or it is ;) ) but I have discovered Spanish are truly punjabi at heart. They talk aloud, hug everyone, dance like there is no tomorrow, love to eat, love food and are always talking. They make friends easily and even love Punjabi MC ;) What else can they do to prove their punjabi-ness.

Lesson 6: A smile breaks the barrier of all languages

No matter what language you speak (or don't speak) a smile always works. Just smile to say thanks or to say sorry or to say nothing at all- Just smile and you will get by.

Lesson 7: When making friends- don't choose on the basis of nationality.

People always asked me initially, Have you made friends yet? If I said yes, the next question always was- Indians? I some how never understood and still don't understand how friendship can be country specific. My closest friends here are Chinese, Spanish and German. They are my friends because I like them as people. I can not judge them or reject them based on their country of origin. I have learnt so much from them about their country, culture and above all my next lesson. 

Lesson 8: Everyone is the same.

The nationality does not matter. We all are human beings. We laugh on the same things, similar things hurt us and pain has no language too. On the first day of my language class I saw people as Iranian, Mexican, Spanish, Chinese, Russian etc. By the third day when we all laughed on the same joke, I realised we are all the same- humans. Our skin colours may differ but humanness is alike.

Lesson 9: The world loves POTATOES.

The cuisine from all the country consists of many potato preparations. We all love our potatoes, no matter what name we call it by- it could be aalo, patata, Kartoffel, or potato. It is aalo all the way. It is also the most famous picnic preparation almost everywhere.

Lesson 10: Learning a foreign language is not impossible.

I used to believe that I could never learn a new language. I just did not have it me. It was a strong belief until I started learning one. The first language class made sure my belief was strengthened but the second class onwards I realised it was hard work but fun. With-in a few months when I could talk to people who I had instinctively liked but could not speak to because they spoke no other language apart from their mother tongue, I realised all the effort was worth it. Now I plan to perfect Deutsch and may be learn another one.

When I lost a bit of my wisdom

                                           (This picture has been taken from the internet)

It took me almost 30 years to get wise. The process was still on, when the dentist told me I don't need to grow more wiser. In fact I should let go off some of it. He was kind enough to say that he would not make me a complete fool in one ago. It would be a step by step process. A little wisdom at a time in 4 easy steps and I would be back to how I began my teens- lets just say- not so wise.. At least nothing in my mouth to prove it.

I had never been to a dentist before. The first one I go to tells me - 'Sie haben zu viele Zähne" which literally translates to 'you have too many teeth.' I thought it was a funny thing to say to someone. After all 32 is the number of teeth we should have, or at least I thought so. Anyway, listening to the doc, I decided to become a fool. Took an appointment for Monday at 11.30.

I reach dot on time and am a little anxious. I have never had an extraction before. Of course, as I had never been to a dentist before. But the truth is I have never had any medical procedure. Don't know how anaesthesia tastes or feels and the biggest problem in the dentist's clinic is, no matter when you come, you have to wait.

The more I wait, the deeper I feel the need to breath and the faster my heart beats. After 15 minutes of waiting in the 'Wartezimmer/ Waiting room', a petite lady comes and tells me, ' Kommen Sie mit/ please come with me.' I follow her with heavy steps and shallow breaths. She tells me to lie down on the dentists chair and places a violet cloth round my chest. She puts a few instruments, which look like weapons to me, on the table in front and leaves the room, shutting the door behind her.

Now, I am alone in this room, dressed up by the nurse like a mouse ready for dissection, with these weapon like instruments in front of me. My thoughts are racing, my breath is shallow, my heart is beating fast. Any movement outside the door feels like dooms day is here. And time passes. 7 minutes later, I am calm. I think the storm has passed and I begin to breath normally. After a few minutes of the calm I realised that this was the lull before the storm. Time passes slowly, I check the time and I now have been waiting for 15 minutes on this chair.  Almost 20 minutes later as soon as I decide to surrender to my fate, suddenly a tall Man in his 50s walks in and shakes hand with me. The next thing he does is, pick up an injection. I had voluntarily opened my mouth seeing him, but as soon as he pointed the thin syringe towards my mouth, I closed it.

 I am brave after all ;)

He spoke to me and told me what he planned to do and I thought, for once let me act with the short lived wisdom I possess right now. All he wanted to do was give me an injection and pull out my teeth. I prepare myself, I tuck in my hands under my legs and wait for him to poke me with this weapon. I wait..... my body is stiff and mind ready for the pinch or poke I was about to feel. And he removed his hand from my mouth. I asked why did you not give me the injection? He said he did ! I got the biggest shock of my life. I thought dentists are supposed to hurt us, they are the pain masters in doctors, dentists are devils !!

Just like that he pulled out a bit of my wisdom and showed it to me. I smiled a bloody smile and we said our good byes.

I wonder......

I wonder how the leaves know when to change their colour,

I wonder how the seasons know when to come,

I wonder if the birds realise how beautiful they are

and I wonder if the rivers ever forget to flow?

I wonder how the smell of freshly cut grass remains the same all over the world,

I wonder how the wood burning in fireplaces reminds me of the hills,

I wonder how tiny the rain drops can be,

and I wonder if the ladybirds can fly?

I wonder how this universe was created,

I wonder if the big bang is really true,

I wonder how our body is so magical

and I wonder how much do I really know? 

I wonder if marriages are made in heaven,

I wonder if there is God,

I wonder how many colours truly exist,

and I wonder how much love there is?