'I love everything about the city'

Many visit India to learn about the culture and to explore the different cities, but Carlos Rodriguez had a different mission. Hailing from Ibi, in the state of Alicante in Spain, Carlos decided to come to India 12 years ago to learn English.

“Spanish currency is very expensive in places like the UK and the US, so I chose to come to India to learn.

I didn’t know anything about the language when I first came here; it took a while but I’m quite confident about my English speaking skills now,” he says.

After travelling back and forth between the two countries, he decided to make Bengaluru his home two years ago with his wife Paromita Dhar. “I first came to Bengaluru in 2010 with a friend and fell in love with everything about the city — from the weather and trees to the lakes. I realised that it’s a lot more comfortable to live in as compared to Delhi or Mumbai,” he explains.

Carlos works as a freelance teacher of Spanish in international schools as well as a consultant. He says, “Since my wife and I are freelancers (she is a cinematographer), I am exposed to the vibrant culture of theatre and art in the city. Our weekends are usually filled with activities that are a part of our work and if we do get time, we head out to watch some performances.”

He met Paromita a few years ago and they got married in 2012. His parents came down for the wedding and got to experienced a slice of the country too. He recalls, “There’s so much to do in an Indian wedding. We had a Bengali style wedding and the celebrations were so grand. Everything — from buying the sari, meeting the parents and ‘mehendi’ ceremony — was very elaborate. All this was new to us but we were excited throughout the whole process.”

The couple went back to Spain for a year before they decided Bengaluru is where they want to stay. “That time period was refreshing for us as we were able to decide what we wanted to do in the future. It helped upgrade the quality of our life. So when we came back to Bengaluru, we saw the city through new eyes,” he says.

But the changes over the years are dulling the sheen of yore, especially the increase in pollution. “Even the people who moved here just three to four years ago are complaining how much the city has changed. I know what they are saying as I have been travelling to and fro for almost a decade now,” he expresses.

That’s why he does terrace gardening as a hobby. He says, “I know it’s not much but I’d like to contribute to the greenness of the city as much as I can. My garden includes vegetables like tomato and bottle gourd and even lemons.”

Talking about his life in Spain, Carlos says, “There are a lot of similarities between India and Spain and that’s probably one of the reasons why I enjoy this place so much. My wife and I have similar thoughts on family bonds and relationships. We are also easy going people.”

However, he says that Spain is peaceful and less polluted, a factor which he misses sometimes.

He adds, “I do miss the food there sometimes as I don’t get that here. But don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Indian food! When I first came here a decade ago, I couldn’t handle the spice level at all. But now, I’ve grown very fond of the spicy dishes. Bengali cuisine is my favourite though.”

Carlos visits his hometown every couple of years to spend time with his family and to enjoy all the things he misses from there.

As the couples’ jobs takes them places, will they continue their stay in the city?

“I love everything what the city has given me and thankfully I’ve never had a bad experience. However, I do have a few complaints like the Metro not being accessible throughout the city and aggressive growth in population. Still having said that, I feel very safe here and right now, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”