A view from afar
By Priya Mohan, former kanthari Intake-Coordinator, nowadays she works with Deutsche Welle in Bonn.
For a Keralite living in Germany for the last couple of years, though more of a lifetime considering the changes it bought to my life, my roots yearn for those simple earthly pleasures from Gods Own Country that have always tickled my senses. At the same time, I have whole heartedly embraced the language and culture of my adopted country, that has given me a life and career.
Last week I visited my friend Sabriye’s parents, Karl and Cornelia in a beautiful village called Morenhoven , not far from the city of Bonn where I live. I am seeing them after almost two months, because of the contact ban being imposed due to the current corona crisis. As always, I run to them when I have my extreme lows and I found that Cornelia and I were sailing the same boat, this time both suffering from the ‘Corona Blues’. Just then Sabriye, called us to find more about how we were faring.
We often call to talk and share about things we find interesting about these two parts of the world each from a perspective of a foreigner. We have very open-minded discussions and we don’t take offence in sharing things, acknowledging and accepting, be it good, bad or critical.
So, while talking to her last week, I was telling her how few of my colleagues at work came to me one day saying ‘Oh! you are from India! We just saw in the news that people were drinking cow’s urine (‘gomootra’ as they call it in India) as part of building immunity against Covid-19. Do you also believe in doing the same?’ they asked me with a tinge of humour attached. I was totally appalled and speechless at the same time. It took me a few seconds to come back with a response. I said, ‘I certainly did see it but please know that I do not belong to that geographical part of India where all this happened as part of a political agenda’, I told them I am proud to be a Keralite, a state that was always known not just as God’s own land, but a state that time and again has proven how brilliantly they have dealt with crises like the Nipah virus , Kerala floods and now the Corona.
I probably could have gone on and on about how I felt, but instead of bragging, I wanted to let them find out for themselves through the same channel they saw people drinking the cow’s urine. And right enough, in few weeks, big media outlets like BBC and Washington Post came up with write up’s about how Kerala has gone about handling the corona crisis. As I write this today, it is now the 4th day where the cases are zero in Kerala. Such is the efficiency of the Kerala Model of development, where the health indices are on par with the western world. Not to mention the highest literacy rate and internet penetration in the country, two key indicators that often goes hand in hand with development.
Somehow after this incident it got me thinking that here in the west, if people view India as a land of mystics and spirituality, a land of the poor where hunger for both food and power exists. I often wonder why they view the nation so differently from what I see. This takes me back to when I just started working here in DW. I had a colleague with whom I was having lunch once. I asked him if he has ever visited India and if he would like to take his kids there, to which his response was ‘I would love to but I am not sure If I will be able to handle my emotions when I see all the poverty in that country’. Oh, my goodness! I was astonished by what I had just heard. This, about a country with an over 3 Trillion US dollar GDP, 5th largest in the world and expected to be 3rd largest in another 10 years. A country with one of the biggest pool of people working in the IT industry. So, in my mind I thought about what he must be thinking of me as well. Not that I cared if he thought I lived in a slum, but on the contrary, I felt sorry for him for not knowing my country and about just making a statement without having a clue.
One thing I know about Germans for sure is that they love rules, are super structured and organized. The last four years that I was in India, I worked with Sabriye and her Dutch partner Paul (founders of kanthari, an NGO based in Kerala). I have gone crazy trying to figure out why we could not understand each other. It was only after coming here, I learnt what they were trying to tell me all the while… Just by simply organizing or planning my day I found myself with abundant time for each and everything that I wanted to do besides work. I learnt that I have more time in hand here not because I had less work to do than while in kanthari, but simply because I had more structure and organizational skills. While in Kerala, 24 hours was simply not enough, and at the end of the day I often wondered what I did all day long. This is something being an Indian I never learnt. I loved my chaos while there and thought that was the norm. This is something Sab, Paul and I often exchange and laugh about when we meet each year in Germany for Christmas.
Most of my German friends often told me that they fear uncertainties. They had their entire activities planned at the beginning of each year. They are extremely confident that these plans will not and should not change. If it does, it calls for panic. Here I would like to be more like Penny than Sheldon Cooper – Of Big Bang Theory fame 😉
The last two months I had couple of my German colleagues calling to ask me how I am dealing with the lock down. My first two months just went by so quick, as I utilized this time to learn the language and to take care of my mental and physical well-being. After going through a lot of personal ups and downs very early in my life and being brought up in a country where we are far more resilient to crisis situations, this for me was more of a quality time I got with my son and also for myself. But on the other hand, I received several calls from few German friends asking me how to deal with stress and how they struggle as they don’t have a clear perspective for the next coming months. They kept saying ‘Priya I am sure you are already used to handling such stress levels, but for us this is all new’. This got me thinking again: Is this something that the west is not immune to, and why so? Very often being in India, the idea of being in the west, meant things are always comfortable and nothing can ever go wrong. That is how the system is made here. As long as you follow the rules, there is nothing to worry. Well, it is true in a lot of ways, but I also feel that it kind of makes them lose their sense of balance, the moment such a tiny virus puts their life on hold. Guess that is where the real Indian traditions like Yoga and meditation comes in handy.
During the corona period, despite the government re-assuring us that there is absolutely no need to panic for any essential items, like in most other countries we all still rushed to the super markets to have some additional supplies stocked up – Me as an Indian tried to store more of edible stuff so there is no shortage of food at home, but Germans (and I guess everywhere in the west) on the contrary, piled up toilet rolls for fear of not knowing what they could do if the stock is over. Well, I am happy to have an Indian upbringing where I have learnt the slightly better way of cleaning myself with water instead of toilet paper 😉
Here in Germany they are taught at a very early age about self-discipline and I was amazed to see how easy it was for them to follow the social distancing rules. The very same rules and structure that I spoke about earlier, is what makes them adhere to these strict guidelines and protocols with ease. The trust the government has in its people and the respect society in return gives is what I found so amazing. This is the only reason Germany has been far more successful than other countries in the battle against Covid-19. Today not only has the curve flattened, but life is resuming back to normalcy by people following the guidelines of social distancing.
In India , during the same time, a lock down was imposed initially for a day and by the end of the day people flocked in the streets banging pots and pans and singing aloud “ go corona go”… Isn’t this hilarious??? Needless to say, I felt slightly embarrassed the next day, as that was the first article I read in DW news. 🙂
Having said all this, I must admit, I am so thankful to be in and to have experienced both worlds. I love and enjoy being in India and in Germany. India – the land of the mystic, now blending with the modern, is a country I love. I know for a fact that the resilience that is inculcated into our nature from childhood has held me in good stead to handle any crisis, especially the ongoing pandemic, with far more ease than would have been otherwise. Taking a leaf out of each other’s book is an advice I would put forward to citizens of both countries as we bring into play all our strength and resilience to get the better of a microscopic organism that is playing havoc with our lives… And overcome we will…
(I would like to inform all readers that the views and perspectives portrayed in this article are purely my personal opinion.)
Priya Mohan, Bonn, Germany