I. Read the text.. I’m happy that my lucky stars brought me here

I. Read the text.

I’m happy that my lucky stars brought me here

My name is Bikash Nahar. I came to Minsk from the Indian town of Calcutta 27 years ago.

As a student I was quite good at chess and very often I took part in various competitions where I met a lot of nice young people from the USSR. We made friends and thus I got interested in the Russian language and culture. And later I decided to continue my education there.

I came to Minsk in December, 1986. My first impressions of the city were unbelievable! I had never expected it to be so bitterly cold - about 30 degrees below zero! Since I wasn’t used to such weather, of course very soon I had a bad cold and was running a high temperature.

Before coming here, I didn’t know much about Belarus. It turned out to be very cosy and welcoming. I was impressed by people’s friendliness. Despite my poor knowledge of the language at that time, I always felt comfortable here.

In fact, the Belarusians and Indians are very similar. Both the nations take pride in their history, deeply respect their parents and their Motherland.

I like Belarusian people and enjoy Belarusian nature. My wife is Belarusian and my children were born here. In the mornings I work at the Komarovski market, or Kamarovka, as they say, where I sell Indian goods and in the evenings I teach yoga. If necessary I translate, because I know six languages: English, Russian, Hindi, Bengali, Urdu and Farsi. All this is not just business, I take a lot of pleasure in it. Yoga is a great hobby for me, and I’m proud to have 65-year-old ladies in my Yoga club.

I live in Minsk and I love it! It is a wonderful and very clean city. I also enjoyed my visits to Grodno, Slonim, Mozyr, Mogilev and Vitebsk. Every summer I go Slavianski Bazar.

Belarusian culture appeals to me very much. When I was younger I used to go to the circus with my kids. My daughters loved the circus! But now we are more into ballet. The ballet here is great! We all love it. I also believe that dance enriches person’s inner world.

Belarusian sport impresses me all the time. Although Belarus is a dozen times smaller that India, sport here is developed far and away better. I believe that the Belarusian president does a great job in the sphere of sport. If I had a chance I would shake his hand and thank him for giving young people such an amazing opportunity. Maxim Mirny and ViktoriaAzarenko are my favourite sportsmen. Isn’t it great to watch them win? If I have time I always watch sport on TV.

I like Belarusian cuisine very much, even though I’m a true vegetarian and I eat neither meat nor fish. That is why Belarusian Draniki is my favourite dish. My wife and I often cook national Belarusian and Indian dishes.

I feel that Belarus is my second native country. I live and work here, my family are here with me. I’m a Belarusian citizen and am proud to be so. I’m happy that my lucky stars brought me here one day.

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