4 : To the Land of Atatürk

I had just from Singapore and joined REC. I had barely completed a year there when a teacher I knew at the NSS Engineering College in Palakkad sent me an email asking if I was interested in working in Turkey. He had been working in Turkey and Cyprus for years, and based on his invitation, I was assigned to Çukurova University, Adana, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Just as a student friend had helped me go to Singapore, here too, friendship created a new opportunity. Turkey was experiencing acute difficulties due to uncontrolled inflation, but the desire to see new places led me there. Although there were some obstacles in getting leave from the REC, I finally left.

Then and now, there is no direct flight from any airport in India to any airport in Turkey. One must travel via Mumbai, Bahrain, and Istanbul or Mumbai, Dubai, and Istanbul. Flights are available with Emirates and Gulf Air. We booked Gulf Air. The flight departs from Madras (Chennai). Since most flights to foreign countries depart very early in the morning, we reached Madras the day before. The flight was at 9 am, and we arrived at the airport at 7 am. However, getting into the airport with our luggage was very difficult due to the number of people who came to see others off. We somehow managed to get inside. That's when we realized why there was a rush. Very old people, above sixty to sixty-five years of age, wearing only one white dress, were sitting in rows with their identity cards hanging around their necks. Looking at their condition, it was clear that many of them had swollen feet and other ailments. But they forgot everything in the joy of going to Hajj. There was a Saudi flight just before ours. That explained the crowd.

When we boarded the plane from Bahrain to Istanbul, all my wife felt was sadness. Although I was reluctant to go to work without her, she became disheartened when she agreed. She even abandoned her desire to see these sights. When the plane landed in Istanbul, the disappointment reached its peak. We missed the connecting flight to Adana, the place we were supposed to go. Luckily, we were relieved to know that there was another flight two hours later. Four young men who had left Kochi had joined us from Bahrain. They had come to work in the Merchant Navy. It was after nine o'clock at night, and it was cold. In any case, when she boarded the plane, she was completely terrified. We reached Adana in an hour. A fat man, who looked about sixty, took the boys with him. In her agitated state of mind, my wife couldn't even ask the names of the young men. It seemed that no one would come to pick us up. It was past eleven o'clock at night. While she was worried about what to do, we heard a call, "Mohan." It was a likely colleague who had come to pick us up from the university and was waiting outside with his car. She felt a pang of guilt and was ashamed of the moments she had spent on the plane. She said that she had imagined many times that the news of an unknown Indian couple being murdered and their corpses on some street in Turkey would appear in the next day's newspaper. In any case, after midnight, we reached the University Guest House, shivering in the cold.

Silk Saree and Bindi on my forehead in Turkey

I was talking in the car with my friend who had come to pick us up at the airport. Although the conversation was in English, my wife couldn't understand much because of the difference in accent. My friend Abdu must have been at least thirty years old. From what he said, I understood that he was living with his second wife, who was nine months pregnant, and that he had left her with his mother and father. We arrived at the guest house very late at night, and he took all our belongings to the room himself; only then did he go home. He said he would see us in the morning. We did not expect Abdu to come the next day. We fell asleep due to travel fatigue. In the morning, we were woken up by a knock on the door and the call of 'Sir.' When we opened the door, it was Abdu, and it was only eight o'clock. He must have noticed our sleepiness and tiredness and said he would come back at ten o'clock. We were getting used to the new place. We would stay in the guest house for two weeks. After that, we would have to find our own place to stay and move out.

The guest house serves three meals a day. In the evenings, people came as families. My wife's sari and bindi on her forehead attracted everyone. On the first day itself, a beautiful Turkish woman came up to her and started talking. She asked, "Are you Hindustani?" They said that India has always been a friend to them and that their daughter is named 'Shiva.' I told them that 'Shiva' is the name of a Hindu god. They knew that. No matter how much I told them, the beauty of my silk saree was always the main topic. Thus, the saree quickly became popular. It was in great demand. My wife had to get  more  bindi from our country.

Çukurova University Adana

Çukurova University is a government-run university in Turkey. This institution is located in a beautiful place. It is a large university with all departments, including engineering and medicine. There is a lake nearby. The campus is surrounded by a blue sky. Beyond it are the mountains. If you keep gazing at the scenery, you will forget everything. Since Saturday and Sunday were holidays, we had time to see the places. An English professor and his wife who had joined my department were with us in the guest house. They had come to Turkey from England in their own car. They both knew Turkish well, as they had worked in Turkey for several years. That was a great help to us. We went to immigration and the police in the English professor's car to arrange work permits and other things related to our work. His wife and my wife started going for small purchases—biscuits and juice, etc. We were also able to go to the university in the English professor's car. When the new teachers join the job, they can stay in the guest house for a month, and then they have to look for a house on their own and move. So, we went to Adana city for several days to look for a house, and with the help of Abdu, we found a house in Adana city before the time came to vacate the guest house. Two large rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. With Abdu's help, the very next day we got the most necessary furniture. Houses in Turkey usually have glass windows, so there were no curtains.