Is there a higher destiny that controls our lives? I often think of this when I meet people whose life has taken a turn towards an absolutely new direction through the most improbable of chances. If they had not been at a certain place at a certain time in a certain frame of mind the pattern of their lives would have been totally different. Was it pre-destined that this would happen to them? And, if not, was it only random chance that brought about such a radical change in their lives?
These thoughts came to me when I met last week a Spanish couple, Guillermo Rodriguez Martin and his charming wife Monica de la Fuente. Some years ago Guillermo, or Emo as his friends know him, was a seasonal trekking guide in Nepal for Spanish mountaineering expeditions. He did this for a living, knew little about India, and almost nothing about its culture and literature. On one occasion he came by land from Nepal to India, and from Gorakhpur took a bus to Varanasi. He had never been to the holy city before but managed to get accommodation on the ghats along the Ganga. The sight that greeted him when he woke up the next morning changed his life. The rays of the sun were pouring into his room, dancing across the ripples of the river, and outlining the spires of temples along the ghat; he could see the devoted taking the holy dip, hear the chanting of priests, and watch boats gliding by against the expanse of green fields on the other side. Emo was transfixed. He would never be the same again.
Monica was Emo's girlfriend. She came to India because of him, and only for what she thought would be a short tourist excursion. Her travels took her (inevitably) to Khajuraho, where the annual classical dance festival was on. Monica saw Leela Samson dance, and now she was transfixed. She knew nothing of Indian classical dance; she could not even correctly pronounce Bharatanatyam. But she realised that there was nothing she wanted to do more than to learn it.
Emo and Monica decided to take the train to Chennai to meet Leela. They had never travelled to the south, knew nothing about Chennai, had no friends there and did not know where they would stay. Monica met Leela and asked to become her disciple. Understandably, Leela was reluctant. Here was a pupil who was nineteen, had no verifiable references, and no exposure whatsoever to Indian music and dance. Where would she fit her in, and how would she begin to teach her? She advised Monica to go to Kalakshetra, and Monica went. By this time Emo and Monica's money was running out. The last date for ICCR's scholarship for foreign students had also lapsed. The situation looked quite gloomy, but when a higher destiny is in charge, how strong can human obstacles be?
{{/usCountry}}Emo and Monica decided to take the train to Chennai to meet Leela. They had never travelled to the south, knew nothing about Chennai, had no friends there and did not know where they would stay. Monica met Leela and asked to become her disciple. Understandably, Leela was reluctant. Here was a pupil who was nineteen, had no verifiable references, and no exposure whatsoever to Indian music and dance. Where would she fit her in, and how would she begin to teach her? She advised Monica to go to Kalakshetra, and Monica went. By this time Emo and Monica's money was running out. The last date for ICCR's scholarship for foreign students had also lapsed. The situation looked quite gloomy, but when a higher destiny is in charge, how strong can human obstacles be?
{{/usCountry}}Against all odds, Monica joined Kalakshetra. She learnt there for several years, and then went on to learn Kathakali at Kalamandalam in Kerela. Her parents were not approving and could not understand what had got into her. But Monica could not have been happier. By this time Emo and she were married. Emo had enrolled for a doctorate in contemporary Indian writing in English at the Loyala College. In Chennai they lived in the Cholamandalam artist's village. This too was a matter of chance. They saw the village advertised outside the railway station, and for lack of anywhere else to go asked the taxi driver to take them there. Walking along its picturesque alleys they found a sculptor with a room to rent above his studio. When he saw them he said: 'I am glad you have come'. The sculptor thought that Emo and Monica were the tenants he was expecting from France. The French never showed up, and the young Spanish couple moved in as if it was ordained.
Emo is now the head of the Casa dela India in Spain. Located in historic Vallolodid, the Casa has become an important nodal point for the projection of Indian culture in Spain, and for Indo-Spanish interaction. Monica is now Spain's leading exponent of Indian classical dance. Last week she gave a mesmerising performance at the Nehru Centre. I would rate her performance to be among the best I have seen in recent times. The lives of both are inextricably linked with India. If this is not destiny what is?
(A Stephanian, Pavan Kumar Varma is a senior Indian diplomat and presently Minister of Culture and Director of the Nehru Centre in London. Author of several widely acclaimed books likeGhalib: the Man, the Times and the recently released Being Indian, he will be writing the column Hyde Park Corner, exclusively for HindustanTimes.com)