JOIN US'My passion really is travelling'
India is not new to Ariel Pollock. It has always opened a window of experiences for her even as she continues to explore the different facets of its cities. Ariel, who is the Public Affairs Officer at the US Consulate General in Chennai, was in the city recently for the ‘The Migratory Cultures’ art project, which collects regional stories of migration from around the world and shares them here through photographs and video projection in urban spaces. In a tete-a-tete with Anupama Ramakrishnan, Ariel speaks about her connect with India and its people, her experiences as a diplomat and the secret behind her rather poetic name.
If you retrace your diplomatic journey, when and how did your connect with India begin?
I applied for a fellowship with the State Department and did not think about becoming a diplomat until I got this assignment. My first assignment was in Ethiopia and I remember cheesy stories. We had these international dinner and movie night. We were watching ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and eating pretty much North Indian food — in Ethiopia — and I remember saying ‘I want to go to India’. And I went. The first time I was in India, I was in a different job. I thoroughly enjoy this particular job. We interact so much with communities to learn about what their interests and concerns are and find out where those interests and concerns connect or intersect with our policy priorities. Then we work with them to create spaces where we can find solutions or create dialogues around some of those issues.
This is your second time serving in South India...
Work has really helped me see so much more of the region, so much more of the people and have more discussions on interesting topics. I have always felt an affinity for South India. Reminds me of where I am from — New Orleans. Everybody here is like an extended member of your family. And that’s how things are where I am from.
How did the ‘The Migratory Cultures’ art project happen?
It is really funny how the project came to me. I was on leave back in the US when I was sent two proposals to bring American artistes over — one to look at issues of migration and immigration, the other to look at data mining. And I thought it was so innovative and creative to fuse our design and technology to talk about such important issues that I jumped at it immediately. we are excited be part of it.
When you are not into your diplomatic work, what would you be doing?
I love movies and reading books; I am a member of the book club in Chennai. But my passion really is travelling and I love music, dance and art; anything that exposes me to another culture; anything that I’ve not experienced before because that makes me a more well-rounded person.
How are you adapting to Indian food?
I love the food here. I don’t have too much of a problem with spicy food. I grew up in New Orleans where we have a lot of spicy food. But I particularly love South Indian food and I know I am in Bangalore but my favourite is Malayali food. I love the sea food and the ‘appam’ and all that.
To wrap up, could you narrate the tale behind your name. Were your parents admirers of Shakespeare?
I wish it was that poetic (laughs)! My father is a physician and when I was in medical school, my mother was expecting me and he had a classmate whose wife was also expecting. She was born a few days before me and they named her Ariel. My father loved that name and they took that name — Ariel. Interestingly enough, when I went out for my first assignment to Ethiopia, I found that my name meant ‘Lion of God’. Ethiopia has a lot of history in it, they have a big lion statue and different stories that date back to Christianity. And my father looked at me and said ‘I knew I picked the right name for you’.