«One Wish» – India
Kshitindra from Kolkata
Age: 63
Job: hotel owner/manager
What makes you happy?
to have the power to control my mind…the important things in life are inside…food makes me happy one hour, clothes a few days… but with your mind can make yourself happy the entire life
What makes you sad?
if people say that there is no more hope for the world
If you had one wish, what would it be?
to have a lot of food and to distribute it to the poor people because empty stomaches are no good
Encounter: We were staying at the Hotel Sunflower and Kshitindra is the owner/manager. We had an interesting conversation with him. A very funny guy and he knows a lot about European politics and its history.
Vihnod from Varansi
Age: 33
Job: owner of Baba Lassi
What makes you happy?
when my son is happy, I am happy too
What makes you sad?
that my son is not healthy
If you had one wish, what would it be?
I wish my son gets cured and will be happy and healthy all his life… I go to the Ganges every day to pray and to get the holy water
Encounter: We had the best Lassis of our lifes at this place. We went there at least once a day and always had a chat with Vihnod who is the owner and prepared those tasty and beautiful decorated Lassis. Once Baba Lassi – alwaya Baba Lassi!
Baba from Varanasi
Age: 63
Job: Sadhu / holy man
What makes you happy?
to be on the spiritual path
What makes you sad?
nothing
If you had one wish, what would it be?
once you are on the spiritual path, you don’t have wishes anymore
Encounter: I met Baba in the streets of Varanasi. He invited me to the place he is living and explained me about his spiritual life which was very interesting.
Abhi from New Delhi
Age: 24
Job: sportsman
What makes you happy?
my love
What makes you sad?
when we are separated
If you had one wish, what would it be?
to get married very soon
Encounter: We met Abhi in our favorite Dosa place. He explained us that he is together with a girl from Spain and that she will come to India to marry him. Before he was in the army, but had to quit as it is not allowed to have a liaison with a «foreigner». Then he became a sportsman and is successful in platform diving.
Sandiip from Varnasi
Age: 27
Job: owner/cooker Dosa place
What makes you happy?
when my family and friends are happy, I am happy too
What makes you sad?
to see poverty
If you had one wish, what would it be?
that everybody in the world is happy and that there will be peace
Encounter: Sandiip owns this Dosa place together with his brother and we had such great and dosas and other food there. In high season, they produce up to 300 dosas a day. It is kind of a crêpe made of a rice dough with filllings of your choice. Our favorites were Butter Paneer Masala and Banana-Chocolate Dosa.
Sonu from Varanasi
Age: 27
Job: hotel owner/manager
What makes you happy?
I like to make people happy because then I am happy too
What makes you sad?
to loose somebody I love
If you had one wish, what would it be?
I wish that my family will be happy forever
Encounter: Sonu is a young, charming and intelligent guy and owner of the guesthouse Marigold. We stayed there one night, but had to leave as it was too hot without any AC in the room. However, this guesthouse is one of the cleanest we found in India and a great place to stay while in Varanasi.
Sanju from Varanasi
Age: 48
Job: hotel manager
What makes you happy?
my work
What makes you sad?
actually nothing – when you live in peace, you are not sad anymore
If you had one wish, what would it be?
I have been travelling a lot when I was younger, but if possible, it would be nice to travel to Europe as I have not been there yet
Encounter: Sanju is the manager of ta lovely and well kept guesthouse called Shivakasi in Varansi where we stayed 5 nights. He is such a kind and helpful person and we had some «philosophical talk» with him. Two important messages: «never expect st from sb – otherwise you will always be disappointed» and «peace comes from the inside – if you are not in peace with yourself, it is impossible to have a calm mind» and «your problems can only be solved by yourself». Very true!
Vicky from Agra
Age: 51
Job: tuk-tuk driver
What makes you happy?
if people around me are happy, I am happy too…you know, good karma attracts good people
What makes you sad?
sadness and happiness are counterparts in life; sometimes you have to be sad to apreciate happiness again
If you had one wish, what would it be?
that people find happiness in their hearts – happiness can only come from the inside
Encounter: Vicky helped us to get train tickets to Jaipur as the guy from the train station sent us to the wrong place. He is open-minded and very funny guy and showed us his guestbook where people leave a comment about their experience with him as a tuk tuk driver. We tought he is different than all the others, but in the end, he also wanted to bring us to shops to make us buy things.
Bobby from Jaipur
Age: 44
Job: shop owner / manager
What makes you happy?
to make another person happy
What makes you sad?
if I can not help
If you had one wish, what would it be?
to have resources and money to help the poor people in this country
Encounter: Bobby just opened a food place in Jaipur as he felt to do something different than to sell jewelry. He is very open-minded and we had a great chat with him and his friend managing the place.
Naviin from New Delhi
Age: 32
Job: tuk-tuk driver
What makes you happy?
if people around me are happy, I am happy too
What makes you sad?
I am not a sad person
If you had one wish, what would it be?
that my family will be happy forever
Encounter: Naviin drove us around Delhi in his tuk tuk to a very fair price. The only thing we had to do was to visit some government souvenir shops for around 10 minutes as he will get petrol coupons worth 50 rupees. We liked that he was that honest and he told us: I help you and you help me.