Varsha Elango is a passionate theatre artist with a background in industrial design. Currently studying MA UX in London, she is constantly seeking to create her space between design and theatre arts. Optimism is her way of seeing things in this world. Writing is her new favourite. You can reach out to her on Behance.
Veedu, veedu dha
(Home is home)
Since the time I got off my plane at London, I have not stopped thinking about home. When I say home, it's not just my house, but my people, my favourite cities with its food, language and my whole presence in it. I was very excited to be in London in the initial days, but as time passed, I realised how much I cared and wanted to be at home. As I was roaming around the city, it was admirable to my eyes but nothing got any closer to my heart. It has been more than six months since I moved to London and my desire to go back to India after my studies has only strengthened. The thought ‘I don't belong here’ stayed explicit all along. While I am having a wonderful time exploring, learning, travelling, etc, during my time here, there’s always a part of me thinking about running back as soon as possible.
Oru kallula rendu manga
(One shot, two mangoes)
Disclaimer: I’m going to be talking about food here, so in case I tempt you, I’m not sorry, haha. Food is one of the obvious things one would miss from the home land. Dosa has always been my go-to option when I want my food to fulfil my mood effortlessly. London being the most expensive city, a regular dosa in Central London is close to 9 pounds and of course the conversion hits you hard when you think of buying a regular ghee dosa for 900-1000 rupees. An almost fatal heart-attack can also be expected from a Tamilian. To get over the guilt of not paying 900 rupees for a dosa and to earn money doing jobs that I’d probably never get a chance to do in my life, I chose to work as a waitress at Saravana Bhavan in London. As I experienced waitressing, the biggest perk was FREE INDIAN FOOD. Who would say no to that? And you won’t believe it, but out of around 50-60 dishes on the menu, my everyday dinner was only varieties of dosas. My soul was so much in peace to eat that dosa with coconut chutney and paruppu sambar after serving a minimum of 400 people in the evening. I do love trying out new cuisines and have tried African, Italian, Singaporean, Mexican, Korean, Chinese, even Bulgarian food, but trust me, Indian food is unbeatable with the amount of flavours and the infinite types to match your infinite moods. How can I not mention the famous Fish and Chips from British cuisine? My honest opinion is, the fish is so crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside but I really hope the chef decides to add the important ingredient called ‘Salt’. It would then be a complete dish. I’ll anyday stick to Asian, with the addition of ‘Extra spicy’ choice and it can soothe me like home. Parallelly, I have also realised the similarities in Asian cuisines with the concept of staple meal being rice with some curry, while flavours keep varying from country to country. As I speak about it, I am now tempted for some Japanese chicken katsu curry with rice!
Comedy pannathinga da
(Funny encounters)
Lot of people have asked me if ‘Indian’ is the language we speak in India. I silently giggled and began to explain the diversity of Indian culture to surprise them with the fact of India having over 22 native languages. Although most of the countries like Phillipine, Nigeria, Mexico, etc have numerous dialects of the same language, India with its varying languages and further various dialects for each language got me thinking about how we even ended up with such a complexity.
I strongly believe that the weather of a place is one of the strongest elements that let a person connect emotionally with that place. On that note, weather in London is a personification of the extreme mood swings a person could have in a day. Majorly, it is so unpredictable that it would rain one second and the next second it would stop and the sun would be out, while it’s heavily windy. It's funny how the sun, the powerful giant ball, has no effect over the windy cold weather. There’s absolutely no need to buy new colourful clothes as they are always hidden behind the same old black trench coat or jacket, which is the only thing seen in all my photos taken here. Walking amidst the cold windy weather where I can no longer feel my hands, I have sometimes missed Chennai's boiling days too. Being a south Indian, I’d always prefer to be drenched in sweat than go numb in coldness.
Bits that take me home
I began to walk a lot in London as the infrastructure is so well designed to promote walking. There are even walking routes that go through parks and it’s the most refreshing moment in the day. I can walk straight for even an hour and not feel tired as I’m very distracted by the city’s old buildings, co-walkers with their pets, etc. Oh, my other personal and best companions are always Ilayaraja and SPB songs. Back in India, I won’t let my parents hear those songs in the car while we travel and now here I am, walking around London hearing, ‘En Iniya Pon Nilave..’. Somehow, it joys me and makes me feel lighter. I was once invited by a friend of mine to his house where he and his girlfriend had cooked Mutton Biryani, Chicken gravy with thayir pachadi (raita). Not everyone can relate to this combination but as I was eating, I felt like home there. The whole act of inviting and cooking culture is so beautiful amongst friends that I can’t wait to master my cooking to reciprocate this to my friends
Home is elsewhere
Having spent about 11 years in hostels during school and college, staying away from home was not new for me yet this intangible, increased distance was unbearable. Sometimes it feels like I’m being trapped and have no escape. Most of my nights before bed are spent reminiscing by looking through old photos with a smile and moist eyes. Out of everyone, Jeera (my dog) is whom I miss the most. I have checked for flight tickets when I began earning just to go and see him. There have been tons of debatable conversations about staying back or going back home to work post education with many people. All those who say they want to stay back because the money is great here, I don’t disagree. Although I can never imagine settling down here just because the money is great. Living in one place and missing being in another place for the rest of my life, all for money, I don’t think I can do that. I do want to earn money, but I do not want to regret missing my dad’s birthday, missing my mom feeding me when I fall sick or act lazy, missing my dog lying on my lap, missing seeing my loved ones faces frequently, missing riding my scooty around the city and the list goes on and on and on. I want to create my own beautiful life in the place where I belong.
Nevertheless, London is super crazy, amazing and is such an overwhelming, dynamic city where you can’t stand still but only have to rock and roll. It’s a vibe that cannot be imagined but only felt. Oh, it’s so huge that a 3-4 day trip to London is never justifiable. If you ever decide to visit, keep it a week minimum and I hope to see you then :)
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