You can call me a typical India
Girl who loves Shahrukh and Kajol and for whom love means “Diwale Dulhaniya Le
Jayenge”. You watch “Tujhe Dekha to Ye jaana sanam” and in a moment you get
transferred from your place to the Swiss Alps and all you want is stay
there. When the song gets over you come
back to reality, on your couch, with probably some wafers.
I have also travelled to these
peaks many times while on the Yash Raj movication. Like most Indians I too
always wished to actually visit this beautiful Country and I had been planning
for long. Finally, in July-August 2014 ‘We’ could fulfil ‘Our’ dream and
Switzerland happened!
We travelled extensively to
Zurich, Schaffhausen, Rhine Falls, Mt. Titlis, Engelberg, Lucerne, Mt. Pilatus
etc. What a Country! (I was and am still in love with every bit of it).
It was 3rd August 2014
and it was our last day in Switzerland. The next day we were flying to Paris. We
were stationed in Lucerne and the plan was to visit Interlaken that day. The
train, the platform and the duration of the journey had been checked. We were
ready and reached the station well in time to catch the 10 am train from
Lucerne to Interlaken.
It was a 2 hour journey and we
wanted to get the best seats to be comfortable. The train wasn’t really full,
but to our dismay we didn’t find a cabin exclusively to ourselves. There was a
4 seater cabin occupied by an old man who definitely looked 80+years old. We
looked all over wondering where to sit, and then this man smiled and somehow we
decided to sit there.
Okay! So we started for
Interlaken, all set for a beautiful train journey (probably the best train
routes in Switzerland) with the camera ready in my hand to capture as much of
this beautiful Country as possible.
While I was busy clicking pictures,
he started a conversation with my Husband and me. There is something about that
conversation that opened my perspective about life and I am tempted to share
that with everyone who reads this.
We talked about ‘Us’, the places
we had seen in Switzerland in the last few days and that we were from India. We
asked him if he was travelling with someone. He replied he was not. We asked
him, if he didn’t mind telling us his age and he told us that he 85 years old (what
inspired me further was an 85 year old man, using a walking stick was
travelling all alone).
We asked him if he stayed in
Lucerne and was visiting someone in Interlaken. That’s when he told us, he was
actually a German, residing in Spain with his partner (Ahaan! So he mentioned
Partner and not wife, may be was in a live in relationship). This was an annual
ritual for him since last 30+ years. They were five friends who had been
catching up every year in Interlaken for spending 3-4 days together. They have
never skipped that and though he is 85 now and gets tired, he will continue
doing this till he can. (Well that’s enthusiasm, true friendship and living
like one wants). He told us he will reach before the other friends so he will
sit by the river or somewhere and spend some alone time.
“So, what do you do when all of
you catch up?” I asked him. He told me we all meet and talk and listen to some
music and talk again and he smiled. (There was something about him; he was
talking effortlessly naturally, flawlessly and straight from his heart).
So we asked him, what he used to
do when he was young. He told us he was a soldier in the German Army during
World War II. (Whoa! So was a Hero, respect multiplied by 10, there is this man
who has also contributed to his country)
The next question was about his Partner
and we were careful to not cross the line. “What about your partner?” I
asked. He replied, “HE is 30 years
younger to me, HE takes very good care of me and understands me so well. We
aren’t married, but we plan to get married soon, it wasn’t so cool till some
years back and I shifted from Germany. We have been together for 10 years and
we love each other a lot.”
So, he was GAY. (You know what,
respect for him increased 100 times, he was a Soldier, he had friends, he lived
happily, he was such a nice human being, he finally got the courage of staying with his love at the age of
75, he was finally living with him, he had his own struggles and he was finally
planning to get married). I felt happy for him, Sad for him, Proud of him, I
had many emotions which I couldn’t express then, but I felt, everyone needs to
know about him and get inspired and thought of writing about him.
Why do we judge homosexual
people, where are they wrong? Why are they ridiculed? They are just like us in
thought process, in things they do or like, they have friends, and they too
contribute to the society. Why can't we give them their rights and space? This is
all the more relevant in context of our country.
We reached Interlaken and didn’t
realise how 2 hours had passed. He told us which bus we should take to reach
the river and told us he will guide us to the bus stop. He took his walking
stick and guided us.
We were about to leave, we
greeted each other, smiled and told him how meeting him was so special to us.
We boarded the bus and he boarded his bus. We had lunch and reached the train
station near the river for our cruise. We saw him sitting there with the stick
in one hand, smiling at people and humming to him. I can’t express how pleasing
that site was.
We are not in touch, but I hope
he has married his partner; he has fulfilled all that his heart desires. Amen!
