Two Worlds, Two Lives

I’ve been in India for the past two months now, and for the first time in my life, I can imagine myself live here again. Nothing drastic has changed in my day to day life, nor in either of the nations per se, but maybe I’ve had enough time to experience the flip-side to know what India’s strengths are.

I’ve always acknowledged how I get the chance to live in two different worlds. But this is the very first time I’ve realized I also lead two different lives each time I switch countries.

For me, Germany is a nation where you put the self first - you learn about yourself as an individual. It’s also a country where you learn to live life in the way they show us in movies - walks in parks, play sports any time of the day, vacations in every season the climate has to offer, meetups at little cafes with chairs out on the street. Work is secondary, rarely one’s primary driver in life. Therefore, it is also rarely one’s identity. The country and the mindset is averse to change. The philosophy here dictates slow progress, if any.

For me, India is a nation where there's a strong sense of community, and the community comes first. In a sense, you learn to forget the self, whilst also struggling to show yourself as different from the rest. You’re one among very many and the social hierarchy constantly shows you we’re born unequal. And so you immerse yourself in your duty and try to make the most of this opportunity you’re given, which often defines your identity. The core of each person is to hustle, though sometimes that results in one-upping the other. Speedy construction surprises me how the country's landscape is different every year that I visit, and yet everything is always under construction. I highly appreciate how fast the country is to adopt and invent technology, and do it at massive scale.

They're truly two different worlds, and in those, I lead two different lives.