How I Made an Odia Friend in Stockholm Out of Nowhere

It had only been a few months since I moved to Stockholm from Bangalore, along with my husband. Autumn had just ended and it was the onset of the ruthless winters, as they call it, what with the temperatures dropping to -20 degrees on certain days while the standard temperature locked between -10 and -15 degrees Celcius. We were thankful if the temperature reached anywhere between -2 and -5, it felt warmer. Anything above -2 is an almost impossibility between December and February. But I am deviating…

So it was on one of these freezing wintry mornings in December that I randomly saw a post on Facebook which said a group of students from Lund University are working on an assignment on Bridgerton (the book-turned-Netflix series) and would like to interview a few South Asian women on their take on the colourblindness portrayed in the second season of Bridgerton. Naturally, I was interested and volunteered myself for the interview.

A few days later, a certain girl drops me a message for an interview and I accept. We have an interesting and long interview followed by a chat about the series in question. Over the course of our conversation, I found out that she was also from my hometown, Odisha. And of course, the joy of finding a person from back home, so far away from home, in an alien land is unparalleled! We exchanged numbers and promised to catch up when we were in the other’s town. (FYI: She lives 5 hours away from Stockholm).

Months later, in July, she sends me a text saying she is in town and would be glad if we could meet. I was excited! It seemed like ages since I had been out with a friend who I have not met through my husband. We decided on a day and I could hardly wait in anticipation!

On D-day, I met her at a certain point and we went to shop for some second-hand books. While we were browsing, a Swedish guy comes up to us and started saying something to my friend in Swedish, like he is pointing at something. She asks if he wanted one of the books she was holding, but no! He had just walked up to us to give a shy compliment to the top she wearing, “Nice colour. I like the flowers on it”, he said coyly and then quietly walked off, leaving us staring at each other in shock. Come to think of it, as Indians, such a gesture never happens back home, somebody walking up to simply compliment you, that is. But once we were out of the initial shock, we smiled at each other saying how sweet the gesture was. It certainly made our day and, more so, hers!

Happily, we purchased our books, had an Indian chicken roll, and since it was a bright sunny day, I took her to this lovely place by the lake to enjoy the view and a good walk. Not everyone is a nature person but this girl is a nature’s baby through and through. It was charming to watch her go gaga over a lonely cottage in the distance, the ducks swimming in the water, the wildflowers around us and all the tiny details that the majority of us would have missed.

Normally, I am a semi-introvert and can get quite worked up before meeting someone alone, especially a new person, and I felt the same about this meeting. But, upon meeting her, I realized she instantly puts you at ease and shares almost the same interests in life. I made a good friend that day, and in what way! Glad to have all the experiences that life is throwing my way, almost every day.

The Un-romanticized Version of Moving Abroad

When it comes to moving abroad, especially as an adult, what nobody will ever tell you is the fact that it is tough. It is difficult enough for people moving for jobs or studies. And here I was, moving with my husband, at the ‘tender’ age of 30-plus-something, leaving my job, and basically everyone and everything I knew, behind.

Starting a new life in a different city is not easy. Imagine what it would be like, to move to a new country altogether, where even the photocopy (Xerox) shop doesn’t work like how we are used to. As an adult, making new friends and acquaintances is not a cakewalk. And to me, a self-designated ambivert, it was no different either. Let me tell you something about my experience of moving from Bangalore to Stockholm.

Our journey:

We had been sentenced to a 20-hour journey (which got extended to a good over 35 hours; I will tell you how) to Stockholm from Bangalore via Abu Dhabi and London (the rest of my husband’s team members got a 12-13-hour flight schedule). We got only an hour to change our flight from Abu Dhabi to London. Only a miracle would have got us on that flight on time. And as luck would have it, we landed in Abu Dhabi at 8am instead of 7, just as our ‘preordained’ flight to London took off.

Thus started an unending wait for our next flight. We were redirected to Stockholm via Zurich (I must say I was disappointed. I was really looking forward to that 8-hour halt at the London airport) for a 3am flight the following morning. So now we had nearly 24 hours to kill.

Since it was not our fault that our flight got delayed, thus resulting in our missing the onward flight and so on, we were to be offered bedding and lodging by the airlines, according to airline regulations. Here we were given two options: either pay a certain amount for visa-on-arrival to get your visa immediately and check in at the hotel (Ramada, no less!), or wait for an indeterminate time while the embassy gets your visa ready, and THEN get to the hotel. We opted for the latter and decided to while away our time at the Abu Dhabi airport. It took them a good 7 hours for them to give us our visa which would otherwise have taken only minutes, if we had paid (wink, wink).

We finally got our visas about 6 hours later, at around 2 pm, and we were bundled off in style by the airport employees/officials/drivers to the Ramada, Abu Dhabi no less!!! After enjoying a hearty buffet (lunch and dinner were free!), and dipping ourselves in a hot tub, we lay down for a short siesta till midnight when the driver would come to pick us up for a ride back to the airport.

Two hours later, at around 6pm, we decided to venture out for a short walk. This was to prove to ourselves, that we did visit a new country, no matter how brief the stop. It was really hot and humid and without incidence.

We waited in our room for our airport pickup after dinner (the free buffet, remember?). And, oh yes, we did make a group of friends in this manner. It so happened that some 6-7 other people had missed the same flight that we did! Some things do happen for our good!

Anyway, the ride back to the airport and the flight to Zurich were uneventful. We planned to watch a movie on the flight but ended up sleeping the whole way instead (hola jetlag!). At Zurich, we took the 2-hour flight to Arlanda airport (Stockholm), the last leg of our journey.

So, finally, after a 35-hour journey, we finally landed in Sweden! Whew! And from there started a series of ups and downs of trying to adjust to a new country, its different food, climate and basically different everything! It was a brand-new start and not always a pleasant one. I have my share of experiences for you all to read and make note of. Tune in for more…

How a tulsi plant proved that the world is a really small place...

A Festival Dedicated to the Largest Chariot on the Move!

Scandinavia’s Biggest Chariot Festival in Stockholm!

Rath Yatra, the car festival of India is very close to the hearts of all Indians. It is a unique event that is nothing like anything you have ever seen! This is one festival that is celebrated on a large scale in every part of India. Be it Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bangalore, no matter the place, people come together to celebrate the 9-day journey of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.

What is Rath Yatra

Do you know what is Rath Yatra? With three huge chariots housing each of our three deities being pulled by hundreds of devotees from one temple to another, this car festival is a treat to the eyes!

In July every year begins the 9-day sojourn of three deities Lord Jagannath, his sister Maa Subhadra and his brother Lord Balabhadra to the Gundicha temple and back. While the onward visit is called the famous Rath Yatra, the return journey is called Bahuda Yatra. Read more on the reason behind this journey.

– It’s Significance and the Story

King Indrayumna was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu and wanted to build a temple in his honour. Not knowing how to go about it, he prayed to Lord Brahma to guide him on the right path. Lord Brahma appeared before him and suggested that he must seek advice and blessings from Lord Vishnu for the best solution.

After a long bout of prayers, Lord Vishnu appeared in the King’s dream and told him to get a log of neem wood from Bankamuhana. Once the king had sourced the wood from the said forest, now he faced the problem for the right person to craft the idols. Any carpenter who set to the task could reach nowhere as their instruments kept getting stuck or broken on touching the neem wood. The king was now in a quandary.

One day, as he was sitting in this forlorn state, he received a visitor by the name of Ananta Maharana. Disguised as an artist, he was none other than Lord Vishwakarma, the architect of the Gods. He offered to make the idols on condition that he won’t be disturbed till his work is complete. The king agreed.

Now Vishwakarma started his work inside a closed room with all the doors and windows closed. You could hear the sounds of work getting done from the outside. The work continued for a long time. Months passed, and people started getting curious. One day, no sounds came from inside the room. The silence continued for the next few days.

Out of curiosity, the King and his sister opened the door to the room. They saw that the idols were partially prepared with only the head and torso, and no hands and feet. On seeing the King, Vishwakarma got angry. He said that since the former has broken his vow, the work would remain incomplete. Saying this, he left. And that is how we came to have our three deities with only a head, torso and two arms each with no hands and feet.

About Rath Yatra - Why is Rath Yatra So Unique

Queen Gundicha was the sister of King Indradyumna, the one who built the Jagannath temple of Puri. According to folklore, Lord Vishwakarma had built the idols of Lord Jagannath, Maa Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra from wood logs at the Gundicha temple. Queen Gundicha was the one who had opened the doors to the room while the work on the building of idols was midway. Seeing this, Lord Vishwakarma left his work incomplete and disappeared.

It is said that after the Jagannath temple was built, the Holy Trinity would visit Gundicha temple once a year for 8 days and make the return journey on the 9^th day.

 

For The Love Of A Son - Jean Sasson

Does everything about a certain 'couple of' countries have to be so extreme? Such wrath, such misogyny, such derogation and such hatred for women just for existing? I am disgusted. Honestly, women are nothing but child bearing machines? No identity, no right to live, no right to happiness otherwise? It is okay for them to be beaten, tortured, insulted, mutilated, raped and what not and bear it all. It should be nobody's business. And they can't even break free. There's no law to support them!? Oh God! Did their Allah allow their conscience to write such laws? How come they thought men were so superior and women nothing! I could go on and on, but I am in utter shock upon completing the book. God help me and all those who bear this criminality on a daily basis, and its scary to imagine how many millions of women have been living such lives all their life, hoping and expecting nothing better, no happiness, no smile and dying into oblivion...just like that! Disgusted! Shattered! Shocked! Angered!
FYI: Had I been a citizen in any of these countries, I would have been beaten and murdered for my thoughts, and they would have said, it's perfectly alright. She was only a woman, after all.

Where or When - Anita Shreve

What is it about love that can't be controlled? Is it just the hormones, or emotions running deep? If love matters so much, then is love right even when it stands to break existing families, separating children? What is important?
This book reminded me slightly of Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, where you stand to question the idea of fidelity. They say, if you are not happy with somebody, then there is no point continuing in a loveless marriage. And if you find true love elsewhere, even if both parties are married, what about then? This book left me with unending questions...

When The Moon Is Low - Nadia Hashimi

Imagine a sky filled with lights and crackers, the atmosphere rife with pollution and dust. Only, the lights are not from crackers, but rocket attacks. This is no wedding scene that you might imagine, but war-ridden Kabul with the onset of Taliban which made mere thriving itself impossible on a daily basis. Imagine how would it feel to feel imprisoned in your own city, in your own home, where the laws kept changing, and the ones you followed, or grew up following, were never right. The consequence of each misdemeanor being death. Imagine a life where nothing you ever do is right.
Kabul is described as lush and beautiful by people before the Russian invasion. After that, everything is just drab, myriad and full of destruction. In come the Taliban, as a seemingly welcome messiah, but that was not to be. They made even breathing impossible. Is staying put and hoping it would go away the solution? Or running away, which is nothing less than walking on a bridge of fire... It seems impossible to me to imagine surviving in such a situation. Afghan stories always render me shocked...

Coming Round the Mountain - Ruskin Bond

A 30-year old woman (girl) still reads Ruskin Bond, devours any of his books that come out, pre-orders them even. It is clear the books are meant for a younger crowd. However, she has grown up reading him all her life, so now is no different.
Mr. Bond never fails to keep you hooked. His autobiographical style of writing keeps us all enthralled and the 3-decade-young woman would like to recommend this, and any of his books, to readers throughout.