Celebrating India

Hello from my home in Helsinki! This is NordLetter #119, a weekly newsletter on living and walking in Finland. Each week I share some of the interesting things I found on the web.

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Walking around the block

One of the things I missed while vacationing in Barcelona was walking around the streets and trails of Helsinki. Sure, Barcelona is a walkable city, but walking in Barcelona is walking on sidewalks. Walking in Helsinki is walking in nature. And I will always prefer that.

Since returning, I have done a lot of that. Back to normal.

The first walk I did was around Töölö. It was a mostly quiet walk. I saw people dancing in the park near the lake.

Then, a couple of times, in different stretches, Savya wanted to get down and run. So he did.

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Celebrating India

The Indian Embassy in Finland hosts two major events each year - one on Independence Day and the other on Republic Day. Since this Independence Day was on a Saturday, we were expecting a large crowd at the venue. We were not disappointed.

The event has a fixed pattern. You get to the venue, you look at the little posters, and get your photos clicked. Then, around 10 you move closer to the front where the ambassador unfurls the flag and we sing our national anthem - Jana Gana Mana.

This year, we sang Vande Mataram, before the unfurling. And the version of Vande Mataram was longer than the one I knew, or even knew existed. It was new to me, and I think new to all the people present there bar a few. Because, after the section that we all knew was over, and the song kept going on, there was an awkward silence as the whole crowd had question marks on their faces, and we were collectively trying to murmur our memories of a song we did not know into existence. It did not happen. But the song ended and everyone sang Vande Mataram as it ended.

The unfurling of the flag reminds me of the unfurling of the flag we had in school. Perhaps because we always had issues when unfurling the flag in our school as well.

After the unfurling, the ambassador gave a speech. But we had gotten smarter after our last couple of events and had made our way to where refreshments were kept. Plenty of other people had the same idea. And so, we waited for the performances to get over. Talking amongst friends.

Eighty years of an independent India. What a day!

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India Day Celebration

Last year, I had performed at India Day, but there was no such plan this time around. We were relaxed as a result.

We reached Meripuisto around 15:00, which is perhaps the worst time to visit the place because that’s when the crowd is at its peak. I had dropped Prerna closer to the venue and then driven further up to park the car. I had a similar feeling I have had a few times before, of travelling from behind the stage and then coming upon the crowd.

And wow, what a crowd. It felt as if I were back in India.

I walked along with Savya to the BJPF stall. I said my hellos. Prerna had called up her mentor, who had arrived with a few of his friends. We explained to them what each dish was. They took, in unison, everything that was available at the stall - litti chokha, gol-gappa, momos, chicken rice, maal-pua.

We found a bench a little further away from the stall and sat there. As they ate, we talked about a bunch of things. We talked about learning Finnish, about them being afraid of visiting India - and me trying to get them to do it. I got to know about kalsarikännit, which means sitting on your couch in your undies and drinking beer. We talked about our cultures. We talked about going to meetups, about how hard it is to reach out and talk to new people. And how you should do it regardless.

It had turned into a proper mela at this point. The folks from ISKCON were singing and dancing nearby. All around people were eating and just joshing around. I had fun trying to explain the different ways the same thing - gol-gappa is made around India.

That’s the beauty of India, I think. India has everything. Like one of Prerna’s friends was interested in old things, I said you could go to Rajasthan, a bunch of tourists do, each year. There’s also Ajanta-Ellora. Though I haven’t been there myself.

As the clock wound closer to 16:30, we moved closer to the stage. FinBiharis had a performance lined up around this time. We stood next to the stage and saw a bunch of performances. Our friends enjoyed the performances.

After the event we drove to Savya’s friend’s house and had a relaxing dal-bhat-sabzi at their place. I played 29 with our friends. We chatted, drank a bit and relaxed.

Savya and Emma ran around, screaming, laughing and trying to figure out which toy they both wanted next.

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Until next week.