Kashi in Berlin

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Kashi in Berlin

Vishnu D’banerji

NotionPress

5 Muthu Kalathy Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 600005

First Published by NotionPress

Copyright © Vishnu D’banerji 2013

All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 978-93-82447-64-1

This book is sold subject to condition that it shall not by wayof trade or otherwise, be lent, resold or hired out, circulatedand no reproduction in any form, in whole or in part (exceptfor brief quotations in critical articles or reviews) may be madewithout written permission of the publishers.

This book has been published in good faith that the work ofthe author is original. All efforts have been taken to makethe material error-free. However, the author and the publisherdisclaim the responsibility for any inadvertent errors.

To,My mother (Priti Kana Banerjee)

AndMy in-laws (Mukherjee Family of Varanasi)

Dedicated to Chandan Mukherjeeand

To those Germans who died or were injuredwhile crossing the Berlin Wall

Preface

Chandan Mukherjee was acquainted with me veryclosely, since both of us stayed in the sameneighbourhood. I became more interested in him, whenI came to know that he had been in Germany (East) forlong seven years. During those days, traveling to anyforeign country, especially Europe was a dream cometrue and a person having lived for such a long timethere, would have raised curiosity in any Indian at thatmoment.

During our long chats, he used to narrate his experienceon the backdrop of prevailing communism and as howhe befriended German girls, who were impressed bythe stories about India. Later, despite being a son of acommunist leader, he had to leave East Germany fordifferent reasons. Then, there was the fall of Berlin Walland unification of Germany resulting scattering of therepublics of USSR into independent nations.

Being born in Varanasi, Chandan was influenced bytypical rituals of Hinduism. When he went to EastGermany, communism overlapped his Hindu spirit andhe was merged into it for some time, till he saw the realface behind it. He felt that India is a free country whichmay be very poor, but the people here can expresstheir anger against authorities unlike East Germany.For Indians, the family bonding is very strong unlikeWest Germany where materialism rules over any moralvalues or spiritual values.

His views about spirit of communism, Westernmaterialism and Hindu spirituality impressed me andculminated me to convert his emotions into a novel.

I wish that Chandan, Ashok and my father-in-law wouldhave been happy to read this novel as I felt that Ishould have completed this project before their saddemises. May God rest their souls in peace!

Vishnu D’banerji

New Delhi

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Some of real characters shown in this book have beenchanged to fictitious names but the names of prominentpolitical figures featured in this novel are kept intactdue to their prominence during prevailing globalcommunism. Most of the events as specified in the bookare related to the activities undertaken by my in-laws atdifferent points of time and chains of these events haveled to a fiction.

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It was an early aurora in West Germany. Sunlightcould not slice open heavy clouds, veering over blue

sky. A big layer of fog surrounded FrankfurtInternational Airport, one of the fussiest airports in theworld, plunging the airport building. Despite that foggysunup, international flights were setting down and weretaking off from the runways. Flights were never broughtto a standstill here, either from taking off or fromarriving. All over the world, passengers throng thisAirport, being gateway to West Germany. Whereastourists from affluent nations like United States andother European countries came to take pleasure of theirearnings, others arrive here for their businessconsultancy. Being a big economic power, thebusinesspersons and technocrats all over the worldcame here to acquaint themselves with the latesttechnical know-how and training in technologies.

Amid the sachet of fog, the airport authoritypronounced arrival of Lufthansa flight from New Delhi’sIndira Gandhi International Airport. The flightchanneled mostly Germans and Europeans and a fewIndians. Among Indians, there was a young computerengineer from Varanasi, the holy Hindu city of India, bythe name of Kashi Nath Mukherjee.

Kashi came here for training of about a month incomputer course and to cement business deal for Centil,the upcoming computer hardware company in India, forwhich he had been on the job. Centil’s German partner,Zeir, was stationed at Bonn, capital of West Germany.

Centil was a textile company having a big share intextile industry of India. The company craved for moredesigns and more varieties in textiles and wanted to

expand after having initiated computer business earlier,but of now, Kakkar, the owner of Centil wanted hiscomputer business to expand and to establish farther.For his textile too, Kakkar did not want to enumerateon other computer companies. Therefore, he postulatedto go beyond his computer department, to recrudesceinto a company.

Kakkar contrived to put a firm foot in computerbusiness, at a time, no Indian firm dared to establishthem in computer business. He wanted to be selfsufficient in computer technology and programming.

It was at a time, when the license raj was atits zenith. Under that raj during mixed economy (amixture of capitalist and socialist economy) espousedby first Prime Minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru, noforeign firm was countenanced to operate on its own asSizuki had a partner Maruti, Toshiba had Anand as itspartner. So Centil found a German partner. Zeir agreedto train personnel from Centil in advanced computerprogrammings, which were hardly heard in India.

When senior personnel from Zeir landed at NewDelhi, at the outset they did not reckon Kashi, despitebeing a blue-eyed boy of Centil, as he had coiffed adegree from the communist Germany and not fromother Germany in the era of cold war. India was hitchedbetween two super powers - United States and SovietUnion. West Germany was a trustworthy friend ofUnited States and East Germany was a puppet of SovietUnion. Germans were forced to hate their counterparts,after failing to establish the third Reich and acrimonywas interposed by those superpowers - West Germanshated East Germans and communist Germans did notlike capitalist Germans.

During the cold war, India’s balance was tiltedtowards the communist block of Warsaw Pact countriesled by USSR. On that milieu, USA wanted a closerproximity to USSR through Pakistan, which spraineda beggar at their door. But, India, like two non-

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aligned countries, Egypt and Yogoslovakia, assayed tocorroborate balance between two blocks by establishingbusiness with western economic powers speciallyGermany and Japan. Under the circumstance, no WestGerman would ever like any connection with a personhaving communism in his mind. That was the reason,Zeir German partners did not like Kashi, whom theythought to be a communist. When Kashi unwrappedthat he had been expelled from East Germany, afterraising anti-Lenin and anti-Marx slogans, Zeir peopleembellished sympathy to him.

More than their affinity, Germans found Kashi tobe savvy, hardworking and a practical person thanhis ill-rated academic background. Earlier, when Kashiintercommunicated with Zeir men in German, they hadkicked him downstairs as they thought that an Indiantrying to be closer to them. Instead, Zeir men optedEnglish over their own language to have interactionwith Kashi. Kashi was more comfortable in Germanthan English, as he would speak erroneous English thaneven Germans verbalised that language. With comfortlevel on both sides, Kashi won the hearts of Zeir’sGerman supervisors. Later, they interacted with Kashi inGerman only as he would place many innovative ideasto them.

A disgusted and baffled Kashi found a solace inCentil. After his riddance from the communist Germany,he got a new lease of life in that capitalist firmwhere his work got agnised in Indian computer market,despite his incomplete degree in computer engineering.His aspiration to go back to East Germany was nowa forgotten chapter. His memories associated with EastGermany and that of Kristina, evanesced away from hislife. He had forgiven his friend Anadi’s father Rajnath,who refused to get his daughter Asha married to him,after his gibbousness from East Germany.

His fortune struck back again. His tattered dreamof going back to Germany was glorified but not to

Vishnu D’banerji 3

East Germany but to West Germany. During his regularvisit to Centil, Piotr Baker of Zeir was very muchimpressed by Kashi’s innovative ideas, his intelligenceand his entrepreneurship. Centil appointed him as VicePresident, feting him for his hard work which he putin the company. Both Kakkar of Centil and Baker ofZeir were very much ingrained by allegiance of Kashito his work single handedly. Kashi carried out not onlyproduction aspects, but also the commercial facet of thecompany in the market, by showcasing new ideas to theclients.

Baker cherished to fasten ties with Centil further, inorder to put a firm foot on Indian soil. They wanted totrain some employees of Centil in Germany. Obviously,Kashi was their first pick, as he had no discommodewith German language. Further with the training, onbehalf of Centil, he would have to sign contract withZeir.

Kashi had never cogitated to visit Germany again,but his stargazes came true when Lufthansa in which hewas jaunting, arrived at Frankfurt International Airport.On that part of Germany, his soul-mate lived. But hewas not sure, as where she lived.

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II

Kashi scaled down the elevator colligated to theairplane. With his handbag, he accosted

immigration counter, to complete abidance. The staff,manning the immigration counters mouthed Kashi inEnglish. Airport personnel in Germany generally speakin English to passengers, except to those belonging toGermany, Austria and some Scandinavian countries. So,West German immigration official spoke.

‘Show your passport, Sir!’ German immigration manexacted. Grossing through the passport, official askedhim the quotidian question.

“What is your name, sir?”“Mein name ist Kashi Nath Mukherhi.”Plain German dialogue by an Indian flabbergasted

the immigration staff. Undaunted by Kashi’s rejoinder inGerman, official asked him again in English.

“You are from India! Is it not?”“Jah! Isch komme aus Inde (Yes. I am from India).”By now, the German staff was totally amused at

uninterrupted German speaking by Kashi. Bestowed byKashi’s talk, the officer dissertated in German.

“Woher wissen Sie so gut Deutsch (How do youknow such a good German)?”

“Isch lebte in Illemnou (I was in Illemnou).”“Illemnou! Ost-Deutschland (East Germany)?”“Ja!”“Sie waren in Ost-Deutschland (You were in East

Germany).”German immigration officer was nostalgic towards

dark skinned persons including Asians and Africans.Abhorrence towards colored men and women,administered by the great dictator Adolf Hitler was

still in existence in Western part of Germany. NormalGerman population was indoctrinated by Hitler’sversion of new unified Deutschland and his definitionof supremacy of pure Aryan race over other Europeanraces of Anglo-French origin. Somatesthesia of Aryansbeing supreme, could not be wiped out from the bloodand skin of German people, despite Germany’s debacleby the Allies jibing USA, USSR, France and GreatBritain.

That German immigration officer was born andbrought up in the state of German Reich in its westernpart under captivity of United States, France andEngland, who had taken the charge of protecting theirenclaves. The officer was very proud to be of pureGerman origin and therefore he hated dark skinnedpersons and communists. So, he charged Kashi directly.

“So, Sie sind ein kommunist (So, you are acommunist)!”

“Ja! Ich war (Yeah! I was).”“Ich was mittels (I was means)?”“Ich habe den kommuni’s mus in der Gesamtheit

verworfen (I have discarded communism in totality).”“Warun (Why)?”“Because, I propagated anti-communism there in

East Germany. I was kicked on my ass by those Sovietslaves.”

Kashi was expelled by East German communistauthorities for propagating anti-communism from aplace by the name of Illemnou, a small town nearErfurt in Deutsch Demokratischen Republik. That sonof an Indian communist leader was actuated by theemotions and affective disorder, suffered by his Germangirlfriend Kristina, whose father who was setting aboutto startle over infamous Berlin Wall to cross over toWest Germany, was shot dead by East German Guards.That upshot, led to torment of Kristina who founda soul mate in that Indian student having come to

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Kashi in Berlin