It was the early '70s and I had recently graduated from my school in Delhi. The trend among youngsters in those days was to take up small casual jobs in trade fairs and exhibitions to earn some pocket money, and I loved Pizza! Nirula's was the only restaurant in Delhi then which served Pizza and it was the height of 'cool' to be seen there gulping down pizza and coke!
So, like others of my age, I took up a small job at the Italian stall of the International trade fair as a host cum usher. Within a few days, I found that I could broadly follow what was being spoken by the Italian nationals. This sparked my interest in the language. Then I discovered that the Italian consulate in Delhi was giving free classes in the Italian language and I lost no time in joining up. By and by, I was assigned to Italian tourists and business visitors as an interpreter cum guide. Around this time, as was the fashion, I got myself an Italian pen-pal! You must remember, those were pre-internet, pre-smart phone days and the only way to communicate cheaply was by letters. I was young, footloose, fancy free, and I dreamed of a Sophia Loren lookalike in my life!
Eventually, I joined an Italian University for BBA and spent many years working in Italy. I could travel around the world, explore and do many things that my classmates back in school could only dream about!
Kajal Chakraborty