In a new book, a diplomat’s wife recounts a funny anecdote from a party while posted in Switzerland

The thirty-odd years spent abroad as a diplomatic spouse were interesting, to say the least. Besides the upheavals created by moves, settling down in different homes, domestic help problems, endless entertainment and numerous schools for our son, every new city in a new country made one’s powers of observation go into overdrive. On average, it took about three months to settle down, and thereafter, everything novel was experienced, thought about and discussed.

For me, the greatest reward of a peripatetic life was to note the cultural differences between life in India and the ways of another country. All of the countries we visited as a family either made us vehemently affirm what we believed in or modify our previously held convictions, making us less judgemental about what we saw around us. There were some epiphanies too, especially regarding our Western-oriented education, which had led us to unquestioningly believe in the superiority of Western ways. There were some encounters with insidious racism that made our blood boil before it could cool by understanding the ways of history and its consequences.

The White race would always be the White race, and it was up to us to find ways to come to terms with this fact....

Read more

News