'India has two extremes'

Expat Zone

Bangalore has time and again emerged as the best Indian city when it comes to the quality of living for expatriates. Metrolife interacts with Yana Lewis, an expat from the UK, to find out about her life here .

They both have a mind of their own and live by very strong ideologies. They are certainly very different from each other but confess that it is this difference that brought them together. Yana Lewis and Devang Bhanushali have been married for ten years and have adapted to each other’s ways just as well as they would adapt to new places and situations. 

Yana was born and raised in the United Kingdom for most of her life and Devang was born into a Gujarati family. Unlike most foreigners, Yana detests Western ways and finds more space and freedom out here in India. She found something missing in her country.

“In the West, everything is predecided and people stick to a routine. There’s chaos out here in India but it’s organised and nothing is predetermined. That’s what I admire the most about this country,” explains Yana.

Devang’s parents are quite liberated and don’t conform to traditional ways and that’s precisely why they didn’t think twice before accepting Yana. “When my family learnt that Yana was coming over to the house, my brother stocked the fridge with Pepsi and every conceivable junk food, little did they know that Yana is more of an Indian and quite unlike a Westerner,” observes Devang. The couple have been living in India for ten years now.

Yana is a fruitarian and adheres to a simple, yet wholesome diet. Being an Indian, Devang has his roti and dal and largely sticks to a vegetarian diet. “It’s a big ‘no’ to meat, milk, cheese, butter... the family steers clear of it all. It’s healthier and you feel revitalised after every meal,” she adds.

Yana and Devang have a three-year-old daughter — Jazmine. “Our daughter hasn’t had a drop of milk. I think a handful of sesame seeds contain more calcium than a glass of milk.

She’s a vegan and prefers fruits to anything else. She’s been raised on a very simple diet,” explains Yana.

Yana and Devang first met at a gym where she used to teach yoga. “I still remember that my interview had appeared in one of the papers on that day and Devang was reading it when I entered the gym. He passed a rather sarcastic remark... to which I gave a befitting reply. That was the beginning,” laughs Yana. 

They dated two years before they were married at a temple in Banashankari. Recalling their initial days together, Devang says, “I always wanted to marry someone with a mind of her own. I didn’t want a wife who would spend most of her time in the kitchen and agree to everything I had to say. I found the perfect woman I was looking for in Yana.”

As for Yana, she says that she has travelled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and met so many different kinds of people. “But Devang was easy-going and quite unlike a typical Indian male. His family was warm, he gives me my space and is very supportive of whatever I do,” she informs.

She says it’s the extremes that she was attracted to the most in India, “On one end you have the slums and on the other end are posh buildings. There’s so much colour, energy and vibrancy in every part of the country. Here, children are raised in a natural setting rather than being trained and conditioned in a certain manner,” she avers.

The couple have been living in the City long enough and say they prefer keeping to themselves in their spare time. “Things are more organised out here. We never spend time in the malls because it’s so crowded, we would rather stay at home,” says Yana and adds, “we’re a very quiet family.”

Yana started her dance studio- the ‘Yana Lewis Dance Company’ and Devang runs the ‘Fitness and Fairies.’