For two years, you have had the good fortune to read the weekly contributions of Deepa Talasila. Alas, the UT Nieuws must say good-bye to this lovely, creative voice as she leaves Enschede for London. Before she departs, why not interview the interviewer?
Deepa Talasila earned an MBA in marketing at Swami Vivekanand Institute, an affiliate of Mumbai University in the city once known as Bombay. Before coming to the UT, she worked in the marketing department of the newspaper, Indian Express. Her husband, Vishy, attended Bangalore University where he studied electrical engineering. Later, he worked at the Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems in Bangalore, known as India's Silicon City.
Anyone with even a smidgeon of knowledge of Indian geography knows that these cities are far apart - 1500 kilometers, to be exact. How the heck did Vishy and Deepa meet? Via the internet! Deepa explains that she was `setting out to explore what chatting was all about' when she happened upon Vishy. He was no novice to chat rooms, confessing sheepishly, `To be honest, I was looking for girls.' For the next several months, they spoke via computer and telephone. When Deepa had the opportunity to visit Bangalore for a work-related event, she seized it. She nervously rode a train for 24 hours, waiting to meet the face behind the words. That they are together today bears testament to the success of that initial meeting.
After the encounter, Deepa divulged her feelings to her parents. Their favorable reaction pleasantly surprised her, as it is not unusual to reject a `foreign' son- or daughter-in-law from another state. Two and a half years later, Deepa and Vishy were married, despite geographical complications preventing them from seeing each other more than 10 days. After the nuptials, in accordance with Indian tradition, Deepa went to live with her in-laws, while Vishy returned to the Netherlands. It certainly could not have been easy for Deepa, who scarcely knew Vishy's parents. By the time she left for Enschede three months later, however, Deepa and her in-laws had become quite fond of each other.
When Deepa left Bombay, it was 30 degrees. At Schiphol, she was greeted by a chilly 5 degrees and a husband eager to show her Twente. Vishy promptly took her on a 20-kilometer bike ride. A word of advice to newlyweds: this is not the ideal welcome for one's wife.
Despite the rocky start, both Deepa and Vishy are positive about their experience here. Vishy is a big fan of the `coffee culture', not necessarily for the coffee, but for the camaraderie. And, he admires how well organized the Netherlands is, with the glaring exception of the IND, which strikes fear in foreigners by virtue of its complicated bureaucracy. Deepa is impressed by the lack of class distinction among the Dutch, as well as by how rich the Netherlands is. While the Talasilas were disappointed by how difficult it was to integrate into Dutch society, they made valiant efforts to keep busy, including some saucy salsa lessons.
As they leave, Deepa and Vishy proffer advice to international newcomers. Deepa says, `Take up new hobbies - for example, at the UT Cultural Center. It's a good way to make both Dutch and international friends.' Because Vishy regrets not having biked more around the Netherlands, he advises taking advantage of the bike-friendly culture and exploring the countryside via bicycle.
Before they head home to India and then, in February, to London, Vishy must accomplish one more significant task: his dissertation defense. The reason for their stay in Twente was Vishy's pursuit of a PhD in the Applied Mathematics group under Arjan van den Schaft. On December 9, Vishy will defend his thesis entitled, `A Hamiltonian Approach to Discrete Mechanics: Issues in Geometry, Modeling, Simulation and Control.'
The UT Nieuws extends its best wishes to Deepa and Vishy as they venture forward to explore another corner of Europe.
Hometown: D - Mumbai (a.k.a. Bombay), V - Bangalore
Languages: D - Marathi, Hindi, English, V - Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, English
Favorite food: D - `my father's biryani', V - `my mother's spinach'
Favorite book: D - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, V - Eastern Religions and Western Thought by S. Radhakrishnan
Favorite Indian music: D - Indian film scores, V - Carnatic music
Favorite film: D - When Harry Met Sally, V - `Swathi Muthyam'
Worst part about living in NL: D - Unfriendly neighbors, V - That the Dutch know so little about India
Best part about living in NL: D - Long summer days, V - Beautiful autumn colors
