The Hospitality

I was in my office in Bangalore when one of my colleagues told me that she was traveling to Germany for our project. She is a 'senior resource' as she had about 4 years of 'workex' (I hate the IT lingo, workex is work experience). I inquired about her arrangement for accommodation in Germany and she said she would live as a Paying Guest with a Sri Lankan family. That came as a surprise to me. I know that people in Bangalore run these PGs for the "Software Engineers" who come from all possible parts of the country. But a PG in Germany !?! parvagilve!

So, when I was asked to go to Germany, the obvious choice was the PG as I did not have to bother about food. I also did not have to bother about washing my clothes, commuting to the office, not knowing the language etc... I was very happy to hear that the family was ready to give me a room to stay with them when my colleague got in touch with them.

Kusum Perera and Pali Perera are the couple who run the show at their place. Both of them are from Sri Lanka. They met and got married in their country after which they came to Germany and settled down here forever, 25 years ago. Pali works in a hospital (I don't know as what) and Kusum is a chef at Unilever's canteen. Happy couple they are with 2 daughters. The elder daughter, Isuru is studying in London and the younger one, Ina is with her parents.

They believe, serving their guests is not just for money but for the love and affection they have for people of their race. The setup is a 'win-win situation' for them and us. They get the money, we get all that we need. The husband and wife are very kind and the first thing that I was told was to feel as though I was at my place! Felt really nice.

They gave the freedom for me to move around at their place as though it was mine. Right from towels to soaps to fork and spoon, everything was provided by them. I chose to use my own things though. Once the table was laid for dinner, all of us used to sit together and have food. No restrictions on the quantity. On the contrary, she made sure that I increased my weight. The taste of the food was very different even though it was rice and dal. The rice used to be Basmati or Sri Lankan rice. She cooked very good non vegetarian dishes is what my other colleagues who eat, told me. The vegetarian was also good if not very good. What more could I ask for in a country where people look with their eyebrows up when something that has only vegetables is asked for!

The breakfast used to be either bread or cereal. They had 3 or 4 varieties of cereal. One was called Musli, which had the corn flakes, fruits, and some other ingredients which added to the taste. Then there were 3 varieties of Jams on the table if you wanted to eat bread. The toaster would be kept inside the kitchen which could be used by anyone. Then 3 kinds of juices would also be on the table for us to start the day in a very healthy manner. First few days, I liked the breakfast a lot and then it got monotonous :( The same bread and jam became boring to eat. No other go, I could not ask for something more and I ate it all.

The dinner would have rice and atleast 2 vegetable curries. At times, she prepared Sambar or even rasam. At times, it would be only rice and curries. But everything tasted different but good. After the dinner, they would force me to eat either a real big banana or eat ice cream. They wouldn't let me go until I chose one among the two. I feel what they take is less for what they offer. It is the trust and love that matters more than the money for them. They just did not tell it but proved it to me over the days.

Kusum would collect the money once a week with a sweet 'Sarath, thank you ne' [Thats her accent, Sri Lankan-German]. The room had a small wardrobe, a big window, a cot, a light, a carpet a few swtiches, a table and even a few hangers inside the wardrobe [You should know everything in detail!! ;) ]

Pali owns a Mercedes Benz E class. The mean machine is in my favorite color, Black! It really makes a statement. He would drop and pick us up from the office in his car. Benz E class is a costly car no doubt, but on the road, out of 10 cars at least 4 will be Benz, some or the other model. It is just another car for these people!

I really felt touched when Pali asked me for permission to give accommodation to another guest in my room as it had 2 cots. I told him it was his house and his decision. He said that did not matter for him. What mattered was another guest staying with me, may make me feel uncomfortable and they were ready to deny had I said it would not be okay for me. My god! I was really taken aback.

The couple follow Buddhism and I also learnt that Kusum loved Ganapathi a lot. She asked me which God I pray. I really did not have an answer because it is just God for me without any name or religion. I said we pray Shiva as he is our 'mane devru' She then asked me if I knew Ganapathi! I said every Hindu will know Ganapathi. She then asked me if I can perform Pooja back home in India on her behalf. I was overwhelmed with the simplicity of this woman. I said I would definitely do that. She was very happy and showed me her collection of Ganapathis and Shankas which otherwise, would not be shown to anyone. A privileged guest I was!

An interesting part of their family is the love story of Kusum and Pali. Pali fell behind Kusum when both of them were in school. He then asked her to marry him, she said okay. But problems cropped up a couple of years later when they were supposed to be married. Pali worked as a sea man on a ship traveling to quite a lot of countries at the age of 17! Kusum's mom did not like Pali and was reluctant to allow them to marry. Pali convinced her that he would take care of her and they got married in the absence of Pali's mother. She said she would not accept the relation for reasons unknown to me. The couple then fled the scene and went to Germany. Neither of them had a job. Pali has saved the money during his sailing days which helped them to go Germany. He was 19 and she was 17!! They then started learning the language and then managed to get jobs and settled down in Buxtehude.

They visit Sri Lanka once a year and everybody in their families are happy with the way these people have settled down. After going to Germany, Pali worked his way out to make money and managed to shift 30 people in his family from Sri Lanka to Germany! With the minimum education, he has done a commendable job regarding the financial help offered to other family members. Because of him, lot of people in his family got settled well in life and are self sufficient now. Pali and the top boss of the hospital are the only 2 people who drive an E class Benz to work. Kudos to you man!

With our company providing Onsite opportunities to a lot of people, I wish all of them to stay with the Perera's to help themselves and the family.

I will conclude the post with a PJ. It has been a serious post till now.

Q: Why do you think Pali offers such good hospitality to the guests?
A: Because he works in a hospital!! :)