“Do you see the moon standing over there?

There is only half of it to see,

And yet it is round, and fair!

So it is with several things

That we mock confidently,

Because our eyes see them not.”

 

That is the English translation (source: http://german.about.com/od/literature/a/Der-Mond-Ist-Aufgegangen.htm) of my favourite stanza from the German song ‘Der Mond ist aufgegangen’ written by Matthias Claudius. I was introduced to this song by Jens Augspurger, a close friend of mine from Mannheim, Germany, who is also doing the Peace and Conflict Studies course in Pondicherry. He tried to teach me the tune but I found it difficult to learn that. Somehow, I managed to sing it in a way that seemed comfortable to me, and attempted to pronounce the German words as accurately as I could. Jens read out the English translation of each stanza.

This was on October 13, the day we celebrated our superhit Kartoffelsalat gathering at Banana Cafe, the lovely restaurant run by our friend Senthil Raju, who is also part of the local Kulturstudier management in Pondicherry. The serendipitous thing that evening was the sudden power cut that made all the lights go off, and the only light available was that of the moon. It was the perfect ambient setting for our collaborative performance piece. For a Mumbai person like me, the opportunity to experience the beauty of a moonlit sky unhindered by urban pollution is quite a rare thing; so a Pondicherry evening of the kind I just mentioned was indeed special.
The idea of this gathering was initiated by Jens, who loves cooking and enjoys serving the food he prepares with great delight. This is how he framed his invitation to the gathering on our Facebook group: “In Germany there is a tradition that will be delivered from generations to generations. It says: If someone invites you for dinner, bring Kartoffelsalat (Potato Salad) with you even if you were not asked to do that. Germans have the ability to produce salad out of everything. If you are asked to bring something, you will suggest bringing Kartoffelsalat. However, if several people are asked to bring something, the most honorable one will be asked to have the pleasure of serving Kartoffelsalat. This will usually be an alpha-woman in the group or the grandmother. But it also happens that you may sometimes find yourself at garden parties, dinners or BBQs with ten other people and ten other Kartoffelsalate, humbling variations that will tell stories of whole family dynasties as every family will have its own recipe. Tomorrow it will be my pleasure to prepare some Kartoffelsalat in a ceremony-like process, as lots of generations did it before.”
He spent the entire morning looking for the right ingredients in the local Sunday bazaar, and whatever was not available was picked up from the neighbourhood supermarket. By evening, we had some sumptuous Kartoffelsalat, which people kept requesting more of. The entire cafe was filled with conversation and laughter, and Senthil’s kitchen (which offered the regular items on the menu) was perhaps the busiest ever. The guests enjoyed themselves and stayed on for hours. And before they said their goodbyes, they left generous tips for Jens to donate to a charity or a good cause.

 

That night, feeling happy and content, I went to bed with the moonlight in my eyes.

Chintan

Photographs by Eowyn Evvastri Ruud-Olsen