Yashendu's first Journey to Germany in 2005

2005 was a year in which I experienced a lot of new situations and many things happened for the first time. Shortly after my arrival in Germany, it was time for such a first time: my youngest brother Yashendu came to Germany for the very first time. It was a short visit, only for two weeks, but I do remember several details of that time.

As I have full confidence in my brother’s social skills, I did not need to tell him much more about Germany than I had already done or what he had got to know from visitors at the Ashram in order to get around in the west. There were however some surprises for him which I enjoyed watching, especially as it brought back memories of my first visits to this foreign country.

The first memory, and the most vivid one, is how we sat down for his first dinner in Germany. I had cooked while waiting for him and our German friends, who had picked him up, to arrive. I had prepared rice, vegetables and lentils, just like every day. Together with that there was German bread with butter. We sat down and said our meal mantras. Then I started eating but Yashendu’s eyes kept on searching the table and his hand hesitated. I looked at him questioningly and he asked ‘There is no roti?’ He was missing the flat Indian bread! I shook my head and pointed at the German bread. He looked at it in disbelief and I had to laugh about his face expression which was verging on horror. ‘What do I eat now?’ I laughed out loud and told him that this was what we had here as a substitute and that he should try, he would like it! In the end he did and started loving it.

The next surprise for him happened when the evening got later and later and it just did not get dark! Sunset was taking time, just as it is normal in Germany in spring. I remembered my surprise about this and enjoyed watching him staring at the sky in amazement and then taking out the photo camera, positioning the kitchen watch and taking a picture of the evening sky with the watch and the sun in one picture. He showed this picture to so many friends at home that I had to laugh again!

We were not only sitting around in Cologne however, I also had some work and programs scheduled. So Yashendu joined me and got to see how I worked, how much my lectures had changed from what he had seen in India. Friends, who had organized my lecture, picked us up and drove with us to their village. There, they had a friend who was the priest of the protestant church and in this church I gave my lecture.

In the evening, Yashendu told that he had felt some throat pain already the day before and that now, somehow with the cool spring weather of Germany, it had increased. After dinner it got stronger and he started having bad fever. I was not very worried – there were many people around who would be able to help – but I was wondering how this had happened! I had never been ill in all those years and also knew that Yashendu normally enjoyed a good health and was not often ill. Seeing him like this though, I agreed that he should go to a doctor. Our friends discussed in German and then told me their decision: one of them would take Yashendu back to Cologne where he would get a good doctor while I would stay in the village as planned and continue my program. That was Yashendu’s first Angina and he took some days to get better.

When it was time for him to return back home to India, he went shopping. Oh, did he do shopping! Lots of things that he wanted to take with him. For our father, he bought almond paste and cashew paste and was so happy about it! More bread spread, cake and all kinds of chocolates for our sister! And yes, one more item he took along: good, brown, German bread!