Alexander Luthra is one of the few people in the world who does not feel like taking a holiday. At the the Art of Living Ashram in Bangalore, where Alex serves and teaches meditation, he has found his calling.
Alex first came to Bangalore in 2004 as a part of his all-India tour after graduating from high school.
“I studied oriental philosophy in high school and I wanted to see it for myself,” he says. “Since I was organising meditation courses, I managed to see different parts of the city. I loved Brigade Road and its cafés and I loved watching movies here because it reminded me of home, a little bit.”
He finally moved to India in 2007 as a graduate in Journalism and New media and Indology from the University of Leiden in Netherlands, after another visit in 2006, when he decided to stay.
“When I first came to India, I happened to attend a rudra pooja at the ashram. I was amazed by the effect of the mantras, which put me in deep meditation. I liked it so much, but I didn't know how it worked. So I wanted to learn how to chant it.”
After moving to Bangalore in 2007, he started learning the pooja. He recently returned from a trip in Sri Lanka where he conducted the rudra poojas.
“I found my stay so fulfilling here. The climate in Bangalore is lovely. It's almost like a continuous summer compared to Holland.
“The people are so friendly, open and ready to help, though sometimes too inquisitive. I found that Bangalore was cleaner than the other cities in the South that I visited.”
Alex also loves Indian culture including its cuisine. “I'm very happy eating rotis and paneer. I love the idli and dosa and sweets like kaju katli, laddoo and payasam.
“The fresh fruit juices, especially, are amazing. I still have a glass or two everyday. I've also noticed that you can get almost any kind of cuisine in the restaurants here. I've been to Little Italy and I thought the pizzas and pastas were authentic.”
But his list of favourite places has changed since his first visit in 2004. “Where I stay, I feel more at home than I felt in Holland. But I love visiting this Banyan grove in Chamarajapet. It's so peaceful there and the trees are so beautiful.
“Whenever I go to the city, I make it a point to visit the Vedanta bookstore. There are so many kinds of books on all my favourite topics. There is also this restaurant called ‘Sree Sagar' in Jayanagar that my friends took me to in 2004. It remains one of my favourite restaurants even now.”
But the public transport infrastructure and the pollution is something Alex, like most people in the city, finds difficult to deal with.
“Some of the buses are so bad that I think they're just going to fall apart. The pollution is also really bad. Each time I to go the city and come back, I have to wash my face because there's a thick layer of dust on it. But I'm a positive person, so it's hard for me to find too many problems.”
Part of the reason, he feels, is because “contributing to the society is so fulfilling”. “I have found the contentment that most people keep looking for. So I wouldn't trade it for anything. Why settle for something less, when I have all the fulfilment here,” he says.
