I remember when two friends of ours were coming to India from France, and wanted to travel across the north. We warned them that reserving tickets on trains here is necessary, unlike in Europe. We had to book two months in advance (it was two then, not four, as it now is). They were surprised, but accepted it and made their travel plans well in advance.In France, by the way, and in large parts of Europe, for regular trains (not fast trains) there's absolutely no need to reserve. My sister and I had a rail pass and we made one reservation in all during two weeks of travel. For all the other journeys, we could simply get on to any train and go wherever we liked.When we got to Howrah station to take our train out of Kolkata, both our French friends were stunned. In the beginning, I thought it was simply because there were so many people. Indian stations can be slightly overpowering. … [Read more...]
An Old Lady in France
Having performed at Aix-en-Provence (close to Marseilles), and being readers of Dumas, we couldn't not go to Marseilles and visit the Château d'If. We had read and heard enough about it to want to go and see how picturesque it was. We went to the tourist office and found out what we were supposed to do. Excited and eager to set off, we stepped out of the office and unfolded the map we had been given, trying to find the the bus-stop. The map did not make sense to us at all. We looked up and around, trying to find places that corresponded to the map. We found none, so we turned the map upside-down to see if that would help. It did not.An old lady was watching our animated and amusing little drama, easily understanding what our problem was. When we turned the map upside-down, she finally came up to us and asked in that French accent that I've come to love so much, "Doo you need 'elp?"I … [Read more...]
Ramayan in French
My association with France began with a French exchange programme in 2004. I was vegetarian, I barely spoke French, I had never heard the French accent, I was to live with a French family for three weeks and I was to attend French school in that time. And because I was 17, I was not scared, I was excited.I remember the first day vividly. I remember all the attempts everyone made at making conversation. We talked about the world wars. We talked about food. We talked about India. We talked about France. I understood about five per cent of the conversation.And then, one thing led to another, and my sister and I started talking about the Ramayana. In English, it's a beautiful, complex story that I enjoy telling. In French especially back then, I was comfortable only with present tense. That's all very well for regular story-telling, but if you forget that one little episode, you're … [Read more...]