Delhi is among the best historic cities, amongst a number of of the world’s civilisational centres. It’s a metropolis with layers and layers of historic remnants — that is how Diana Mickeviciene, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania, describes the nationwide capital.
Mickeviciene isn’t any stranger to Delhi — she studied right here and that is her second diplomatic posting to India. She is a profession diplomat with 30 years of expertise in Lithuania’s diplomatic service, having served earlier than because the Counsellor on the Everlasting Illustration of Lithuania on the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, and the Minister Counsellor (Deputy Head of Mission) at Lithuania’s Embassy in India.
Mickeviciene holds a BA in Philosophy, an MA in Historical past of Tradition and Social Anthropology and a Diploma in Worldwide Relations (all from Vilnius College). She has additionally been a lecturer on South Asian historical past on the Institute of Asian and Transcultural Research at Vilnius College and is concerned in tutorial actions in India Research.
In her earlier diplomatic posting in India in 2011-2014, Mickeviciene took a particular curiosity in researching historic hyperlinks between Lithuania and India, particularly the Indian chapter of the lifetime of well-known Lithuanian traveller and scholar Antanas Paskevicius – Poska who went to India on a motorcycle in 1931 and spent 5 years finding out and dealing on the College of Bombay, the College of Calcutta and the Indian Museum in Calcutta.
She is fluent in English, French and Russian, is a complicated newbie in Hindi and Spanish, and studied Sanskrit at Vilnius College for 2 years. She has accomplished a newbie’s course in Mandarin.
Mickeviciene spoke to The Indian Specific for the sixth in a sequence of interviews with Ambassadors about Delhi — their dwelling.
Edited excerpts:
How lengthy have you ever been in Delhi?
Nearly two years now, however I’ve been to Delhi earlier than. I studied within the metropolis twice. Additionally it is my second diplomatic posting. It’s my sixth yr in case you rely it in totality.
One place that you just love to go to typically?
It’s tough to call one… however a very particular place which I found a few years in the past, and generally go to, is Khirki Masjid.
Does air pollution in Delhi hassle you? How do you take care of it?
In fact, air air pollution is a giant drawback. It bothers everybody, together with me. All of us take care of it by staying indoors and carrying masks. Actually, I really feel very unhappy staying indoors, particularly now when the warmth has subsided… It might usually be a superb time to discover Delhi’s monuments and parks.
Three issues in Delhi which have stood out throughout your keep?
Avenue meals… my favourites are samosas in a dhaba in CR Park… I’m actually in love with golgappa. (The second) would most likely be a day in Outdated Delhi… a go to to the town with out (seeing) Outdated Delhi wouldn’t rely… And the third factor is greenery and bushes. Throughout my present keep, I began one thing I by no means did earlier than… finding out bushes… we walked with a tree trainer, and I acquired books, began amassing leaves. I exploit my app, ‘plant web’, which tells you what bushes it’s (from). In order that’s one new obsession, however I believe it’s been very pertinent to Delhi as a result of it’s typically inexperienced. I did two sequence of walks… in several parks throughout Delhi. I can now determine neem and shahtoot and several other different bushes.
Reminiscences or encounters with individuals in Delhi that you’ll bear in mind?
Lots! As a result of I can communicate some Hindi, I can strike up a dialog with anybody. However I’m a historian and I like historical past… I studied Delhi historical past, so I’ll be part of many journeys led by historians or historic guides. Sohail Hashmi is my favorite journey information in Delhi, and interacting with him has all the time been a pleasure. And we additionally had a typical mission with him. We went to Tughlakabad.
Then… many interactions with individuals, whose names I may not bear in mind…
Go-to locations to eat?
Many. I typically like all Indian meals, it is vitally various. Conventional Delhi meals could be most likely related to Outdated Delhi, Karim’s… I’ve to make my annual pilgrimages to Karim’s, a couple of times, to have their Nihari which is my favorite.
However at dwelling, or what I’ve in individuals’s properties, is all the time far superior to any restaurant… my favorite is Baingan ka Bharta. I nonetheless insist my dwelling makes the very best Baingan ka Bharta in the entire of India. However after I mentioned it in an interview a number of months in the past, individuals began sending me their very own Baingan ka Bharta, saying ‘iss ghar ka baingan ka bharta khaao’.
Now, I additionally like South Indian meals. My favorite place is Naivedyam in Hauz Khas Village.
I’m very joyful that there are many locations… that supply road meals in a restaurant atmosphere, so I can usher in guests and buddies who come to go to. Golgappa served on the streets could be very spicy however within the restaurant, it’s very average and my buddies can get pleasure from that complete ritual. Sweets in Outdated Delhi are additionally superb… Rasmalai is my prime favorite.
What would you miss while you say goodbye to the town?
The meals… I’ll undoubtedly miss Delhi’s ruins as a result of, in my earlier stays, I used to be very centered on the historic monuments, unmarked, unvisited ones…
Now, since I’ve found bushes, I believe I’ll be lacking these as nicely. I walked a number of instances with ecologists who have been telling me about what used to develop, what grows now, and the way they’re attempting to re-convert the areas. For instance, in Gurgaon, the Aravalli biosphere. I realized quite a bit and I attempt to inform individuals in regards to the Lantana, the invasive species, which contaminated the foothills of the Himalayas… how authorities and ecologists are attempting to eradicate it because it overshadows native flora…
How would you describe Delhi to somebody again dwelling?
Oh, that’s a query that requires some preparation. So it’s the metropolis of millennia, the place individuals have lived since mythological instances, you would say. I’ve been fortunate to see the excavations at Purana Qila to witness their oldest layers. So, I’d say that is the town, which has layers and layers of historic remnants.
… It’s additionally a really inexperienced metropolis, so I believe I’d point out greenery as nicely. Additionally it is the town that has layers of modernity blended in very superbly with the layers of outdated instances.
The very last thing I’d most likely point out is that it’s a metropolis that noticed quite a lot of struggling, displacements, and wars… since I studied Delhi’s historical past, I additionally know Delhi has been plundered… traditions have been virtually eradicated… and but it all the time bounced again. To sum up, Delhi is among the best historic cities of the world, on par with some other historic Capital or main metropolis of any nation. Delhi is unquestionably amongst a number of of the world’s civilisational centres.
