I didn’t know anything about what would happen during this trip. I had never been to India before or to Asia… There was only one thing I did wanted to do: going to Varanasi [Benares], the Holy City… Its name attracted me like some few others in the world: Samarkand [Uzbekistan], N’Djamena [Tchad], Vladivostok [Russia], Buenos Aires [Argentina] or the Cape [South Africa]. I’m sure you know about this feeling, about these cities which are already a legend even if [or maybe because] you never had been to. For some reason Varanasi was part of them in my mind. I did want to go.
I was told by everyone something like: ‘This is your first trip in India. You might be chocked about what you might see there…’
Someone didn't. He first listened... It was on a week-end afternoon, saturday or sunday. We were talking, on the phone via skype about my coming trip in India… I was still in Paris while he was in Bengalore where he used to work and live. He told me he visited the city once, few years before. He didn’t tell me about his own trip. He didn’t ask me why I wanted to go nor tried to discuss it or dissuade me from going… He just said: ‘it would be an experience…’
