<p>His tryst with Bengaluru started four years ago when he came here as a confectionery chef. It was to make ‘Baklawa’, the Arabic sweet, that Waji Houshe from Damascus, Syria joined a Lebanese restaurant here.<br /><br />However, after working there for about two years as a contract chef, he found greener pastures in the city. “Now I own a confectionery outlet called ‘Baklawa Sham’,” he says. His idea was to let everyone in the city get a taste of this healthy sweet.<br /><br />“Bengaluru is a beautiful place to live. The number of parks and gardens here make it a relaxed space. I love spending time in the lap of nature. Over the years of my stay here, I have made many Indian friends and spend most of my leisure time with them. Thanks to my friends, I have already visited all the sightseeing locations in the city and that includes Cubbon Park and Lal Bagh. I have also got a glimpse of the nightlife here,” says Waji.<br /><br />Waji also loves watching movies and often spends his holidays catching up on the ones he missed.<br /><br />He is a fan of Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif and looks forward to watching their films. However, his favourite movie is ‘PK’, which, he has already watched more than 15 times.<br /><br />Ask him what he misses about home and he quickly says, “Family! I haven’t seen them in the last two years.”<br /><br />However, being in Bengaluru for a few years has only nourished his love for the city.<br /><br />Waji says, “I love Bengaluru as my second home. It has given me a lot of good memories and great opportunities. One thing that attracts me to this place is, unlike in my country, people here respect each other a lot. That’s not all, the helpful nature of everyone you tend to meet instantly makes you fall in love with this city. I have also picked up a few words in Hindi like ‘bhaiya’ and ‘jaldi’. I can understand Kannada but it is difficult for me to reply. So I am working on that now. Knowing the local language is important for my work too,” says Waji.<br /><br />His love for travelling has made him journey outside the city too. On most of the weekend, one will find him travelling to either Mysuru, Goa or Nandi Hills.<br /><br />And while on the move, he loves to try out the different cuisines. He says, “I like the food here, though initially, it was a bit difficult for me to adjust to the spicy food, now I can’t do without it. I enjoy having ‘mushroom manchurian’, ‘chicken 65’ and ‘masala dosa’. I try to prepare them as well but I still have to master the tricks.”<br /><br />“It has been four wonderful years of my stay in the city and I don’t have anything to complain about. I am looking forward to staying here longer and if I get an Indian citizenship, I am definitely going to bring my family here,” he sums up.<br /></p>
<p>His tryst with Bengaluru started four years ago when he came here as a confectionery chef. It was to make ‘Baklawa’, the Arabic sweet, that Waji Houshe from Damascus, Syria joined a Lebanese restaurant here.<br /><br />However, after working there for about two years as a contract chef, he found greener pastures in the city. “Now I own a confectionery outlet called ‘Baklawa Sham’,” he says. His idea was to let everyone in the city get a taste of this healthy sweet.<br /><br />“Bengaluru is a beautiful place to live. The number of parks and gardens here make it a relaxed space. I love spending time in the lap of nature. Over the years of my stay here, I have made many Indian friends and spend most of my leisure time with them. Thanks to my friends, I have already visited all the sightseeing locations in the city and that includes Cubbon Park and Lal Bagh. I have also got a glimpse of the nightlife here,” says Waji.<br /><br />Waji also loves watching movies and often spends his holidays catching up on the ones he missed.<br /><br />He is a fan of Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif and looks forward to watching their films. However, his favourite movie is ‘PK’, which, he has already watched more than 15 times.<br /><br />Ask him what he misses about home and he quickly says, “Family! I haven’t seen them in the last two years.”<br /><br />However, being in Bengaluru for a few years has only nourished his love for the city.<br /><br />Waji says, “I love Bengaluru as my second home. It has given me a lot of good memories and great opportunities. One thing that attracts me to this place is, unlike in my country, people here respect each other a lot. That’s not all, the helpful nature of everyone you tend to meet instantly makes you fall in love with this city. I have also picked up a few words in Hindi like ‘bhaiya’ and ‘jaldi’. I can understand Kannada but it is difficult for me to reply. So I am working on that now. Knowing the local language is important for my work too,” says Waji.<br /><br />His love for travelling has made him journey outside the city too. On most of the weekend, one will find him travelling to either Mysuru, Goa or Nandi Hills.<br /><br />And while on the move, he loves to try out the different cuisines. He says, “I like the food here, though initially, it was a bit difficult for me to adjust to the spicy food, now I can’t do without it. I enjoy having ‘mushroom manchurian’, ‘chicken 65’ and ‘masala dosa’. I try to prepare them as well but I still have to master the tricks.”<br /><br />“It has been four wonderful years of my stay in the city and I don’t have anything to complain about. I am looking forward to staying here longer and if I get an Indian citizenship, I am definitely going to bring my family here,” he sums up.<br /></p>
