International Friendship Day - 1st Sunday of August

S Balakrishnan *

The only German word I remember out of my friendship with my German friends is 'Herr' which means Mister/Shri. They were actually my friend's friends; J Sadashiva Rao was my YMCA Hostel mate in Cuttack teaching German at the German Cultural Centre in the city.

Let me introduce Herr Volker Petzold and Herr Willi Wackers on International Friendship Day which is observed on the 1 st Sunday of August. The German duo from the then FRG (Federal Republic of Germany, i.e., West Germany), were guests of Rao for a week in 1982.

The other divided part was East Germany/GDR-German Democratic Republic-though in actuality it was a Communist Nation. For that matter, North Korea is officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

China, for that matter, calls itself merely as People's Republic of China. Well, what is in a name ! The two Germanys unified w.e.f. 3rd October 1990. While I shared a two-bedded room with common toilet facility at YMCA Hostel, Rao could afford the luxury of an independent single room with attached bathroom.

The Germans spoke, in hesitant English and sometimes stumbled for a suitable word; they would immediately refer to the German-English dictionary and continue the dialogue with a smiling relief. They were soft-spoken, gentle and careful not to hurt others. Maybe these qualities attracted me to'wards them and we three gelled together.

Being their first visit to Orissa, Rao felt they should visit Konark Sun Temple and Puri. But Rao himself couldn't accompany due to his German coaching classes and so I joined them on a day's trip to these two places. I had already visited Sun Temple once and it was love at first sight. So I could explain the nuances of the Temple.

In Puri, non-Hindus are not allowed inside the Shri Jagannatha Mandir. For this purpose there is a building opposite the main eastern entrance, from the terrace of which one could have a clear darshan of the towers of the temple-of course, for a fee. They happily clicked with their digital cameras which technicality was beyond my comprehension.

They tried to explain the camera's memory card, digital storage there, then transferring to computer for storing, viewing, printing, etc., etc., but it was all far above my imagination. I did not want to stress my pea-sized brain.

After going back to Germany, they sent me a few copies of photos taken at Konark & Puri (including an unexpected snap of me at the building in Puri, my first digital version!) and various other tourist spots of Incredible India.

I scanned them in 2002, stored in e-mail, and now retrieved them for this write-up, which all I could not comprehend at all 20 years back in 1982. I understood why the western countries are called developed/advanced Nations.

Herr Volker was wary of spicy Indian food. He was concerned of his delicate stomach and was very careful of what he ate. Though he hated, he took lot of tablets to ensure 'health security' while in India. So he preferred eating more of fruits but there was again a problem - that of pesticide content. The organic culture had not begun in India then.

Here again we in India lacked in awareness and lagged behind. I took upon myself the duty of thoroughly washing & wiping each and every grape, to Rao's disdain. Don't pamper them, Rao would chide me. But as guests of India I thought it was my bounden duty to make them feel at home. Atithi Devo Bava!

No wonder they decided to visit me in Chennai at my parent's house, a few months later for a few days. Willi Vs dark blonde hair that touched his shoulder was the star of attraction in my locality besides the fact that two foreigners were our guests. Volker had beautiful blue eyes and sharp nose. I took' them to Mahabalipuram, the Unesco World Heritage Site (Remember Modi-Xi Jinping summit there on Oct 11 2019?)

When they repeatedly enquired about Kalpakkam nuclear power plant, I wondered if they were spies. But it turned out later that it was out of their concern for Nature and disaster prevention. Despite 80 kms, Madras would also be affected in case of a nuclear disaster, they scared me. Generally they seemed to be more interested in the daily life/activity which I didn't understand then.

Wish I had taken them to the various local area markets, temple localities and the bustling narrow streets of old Madras. I remember taking them to a temple in our locality; they saw with curiosity a 32-ft-tall Hanuman statue being carved out of a single massive granite block which is now a revered temple.

When I got posted to Gangtok from Cuttack, I invited them to Sikkim and Volker replied, "I do not want to apply for it (special permission to visit Sikkim) in India because of the very complicated and corrupt authorities there. I have made my own experiences with them in 1982, you know". What could I do ? Bitter though that was the truth ! So he did not gome to Sikkim during early 1987 nor could I go down South to meet him.

Volker was in the business of converting motor vehicles into motor home vehicles for travel-crazy people. But two years later in 1989 Willi came to Madras with his girl friend and stayed with us for a few days. By then I got transferred to Madras. The advanced country's concept of girl friend was not to the liking of my orthodox mother.

Who are we to judge other people? I took them to the GPO to collect letters by showing their passport. While I was stunned by the marvelous interior of that British era structure, they seemed less impressed. They must have Churches with such beautiful work, I thought. This heritage building was later damaged by fire but restored.

They left behind a rubber bed roll which we preserved for many years hoping it would come handy some time for something. For 30 years it was safely in the attic like many other such collections and was half-heartedly disposed of only while shifting home in 2018.

In the busy city life my priorities and pressures changed after marriage, kids, etc., and thus I lost touch with them after. 1989. I never had the chance to know how they felt about the 1990 unification of Germany. There was no social media then, nor even e-mail.

Only a letter from Volker in 1986 and a few photos plus an English-German pocket dictionary bought spur-of-the-moment by me remain now as reminders of the long-lost international friendship.

Heil Friendship!