Paris diary: Experiencing the Games in the City of Light
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Shilpa Nautiyal, a Mumbai lawyer, was hopping from train to train, venue to venue, cheering on the Indian team. She and her husband, Richie, an entrepreneur, spent up to Rs 40,000 each for tickets at some of the venues. It’s been worth it, she says, because she and Richie Khandelwal “live for experiences”. “That’s what life is all about — different places, different experiences,” says the Uttarakhand-born Shlipa. “The Olympics were on my bucket list. I just wanted to experience Paris 2024! The experience has been just wonderful — easily worth the few lakh rupees we spent on the trip.” Richie, meanwhile, went off to Belgium for an experience he craved — Tomorrowland music festival. “Earlier this year, we went to Norway for the Northern Lights,” says Shilpa. “We try to make time for travel every year, India and abroad.”
Cost of watching
We met Antoine, Gaspard, Edgar and Maxime, French students 20-21 years old, on a train to the football event. They were excited about the Olympics coming to their city, but the prices of the tickets left them aghast. “The price of good seats at the football venue is over 60 euros,” says Maxime, studying international business. The others laugh at him because he’s managed to buy a ticket for a ‘lesser’ match — the game between Nigeria and Japan women. “It’s what I could afford... 30 euros!” Maxime shrugs.
Sivakoti at Roland Garros
Ease of working
Julia Maria Comes e Carvalho from Brazil loves the life in Paris. Working for tech major SAP, how does she find the time off from work to spend so many days as a volunteer at the badminton venue? “It’s no problem — we have 40 paid holidays a year here in France!” says Julia. Then there’s sick leave, and other holidays as well, she says, and adds: “Back in Brazil, we work too hard — six days a week, eight hours and even more a day! In India, too... This I found when I started interacting with my Indian colleagues.” French labour laws are extremely pro-worker. An Indian Embassy official relates how an employee has been on unpaid sick leave for three years — and yet is protected against dismissal!
Maria zooms in
Cab business
Drifter from Mauritius
Anand Prayag, third-generation Mauritian, doesn’t know where his grandfather — or perhaps great-grandfather — was born before being taken to Mauritius to work in the sugar and indigo fields. “It’s probably Bihar where he came from,” says Prayag, 60, volunteering for the Olympic Games. He says, growing up, there was no curiosity in his heart about his roots. “Life was tough. It was hard work in the fields that my grandfather and father did,” he says, explaining the absence of stories he inherited. “After work, they found solace and rest in drinking. I don’t recall any stories that elders told us about where they came from,” Prayag says. “My life became better because I worked hard on my studies and became a policeman.” He moved to France some 20 years ago, he says. “Life was tough here, too. I managed to get by with odd jobs.” Now his heart is tugged by memories of home — Mauritius and, oddly enough, India. “It’s cold here for five months, you can’t go out, and even children don’t meet their parents,” he says. “Mauritius is sunny all year. I now want to return home.” He yearns to visit India — he wears an Om on his ear and religion draws him to the country of his forefathers: “I’ve been to Tirupati, and now I want to go to the new Ram Temple in Ayodhya.” — Rohit Mahajan