Last week Renuka and I visited Spain. Although in the course of many years in the diplomatic service we have seen a great part of the globe, it was our first visit to Spain. I had been invited by the Casa de la India in Vallodolid to deliver a lecture on India in the 21st century. The Spanish translation of my book on the Kamasutra was also to be released.
We went by Ryan Air, which was also a first for me. I was aware of the recent revolution of no-frills cheap flights, but it was a new experience to buy my own meal on flight. Vallolodid is a wonderfully sleepy but culturally vibrant city in the heart of the historic Castilla and Lyon region, about two hours from Madrid. Our genial and indefatigable host, Guillermo Rodriguez, who had figured in one of my earlier columns, was a little late in coming to the airport, but it did not matter because time takes on a different dimension in Spain.
For anyone coming from the frenetic pace of London, Spain, and even more Vallolodid, is delightfully laid back. I am sure the Spanish are as hard working as anybody else, but somehow they appear to go through their chores with a kind of relaxed and easy demeanour that is distinctly Mediterranean. Lunch is usually as late as three in the afternoon. Invitations for dinner are at 9:30 pm. People, especially the young, party till the wee hours of the morning. On weekends the revelry is at its peak. Partygoers throng the city squares, moving from one bar to another. We realised this to our cost, since we were there on a weekend, and noise levels did not subside till almost dawn.
There are many ways to discover a new country and culture. Some people spend most of their time visiting museums and art galleries. I prefer to talk to ordinary people, and to walk the streets and observe the small but distinctive traits that make each civilization unique. The first thing I noticed was that most people in Spain speak nothing but Spanish. The French speak French as a matter of pride, preferring not to converse in English even when they know it. The Spanish do not know English (although schools are now teaching it compulsorily), and speak their mellifluous tongue both unconcernedly and at the speed of light. My lecture at the University needed a translator. So did the launch of my book on the Kamasutra, with the difference that this time the translator was blushing.
{{/usCountry}}There are many ways to discover a new country and culture. Some people spend most of their time visiting museums and art galleries. I prefer to talk to ordinary people, and to walk the streets and observe the small but distinctive traits that make each civilization unique. The first thing I noticed was that most people in Spain speak nothing but Spanish. The French speak French as a matter of pride, preferring not to converse in English even when they know it. The Spanish do not know English (although schools are now teaching it compulsorily), and speak their mellifluous tongue both unconcernedly and at the speed of light. My lecture at the University needed a translator. So did the launch of my book on the Kamasutra, with the difference that this time the translator was blushing.
{{/usCountry}}I noticed too that they are a genuinely friendly race. One of the consequences of British rule is that we 'natives' still crave for our morning 'chhota haziri'-a cup of bed tea. This was not readily available in our hotel in Madrid, and even if it was, I realised I had not been very competent in conveying my requirements because the tea arrived with the entire breakfast. We were not having breakfast in the hotel, so with some trepidation I asked the waitress to take it back and just leave the tea behind. To my surprise she agreed most cordially, and even changed the bill to charge me only for the tea.
One more example. If you ask for a whisky in a Spanish bar, they do not bother to measure it. The bartender continues to pour until you say: Stop! In one restaurant when I asked for a peg of scotch, the waiter placed an entire bottle on my table, leaving it to me to determine how much I wanted to pour. The contrast with British bars is striking. Luis Delago, the famous Spanish musician, who hosted a splendid lunch for us at the beautiful artist's village where he has built his home, told us of the reaction of a Flamenco dancer when given a small peg of whisky in an English bar. She looked at it in amazement and then exclaimed: 'But this is what I leave behind in my glass after I have had a drink!'
On our return journey, the Span Air flight journal had Parminder Nagra on the cover. Inside there was a big feature on Mumbai, and a long interview with Cobra beer tycoon Karan Billimoria. Apparently, Span Air is to shortly start a flight to Mumbai. If my experience is a pointer, passengers on this flight can be assured of a drink that will not be measured!
(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)