The Indian community in Germany is growing fast, especially in Berlin. How difficult is it to find a new home in a foreign country?
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00:00 A brand new city to call home, Berlin has been a big change for Amit and Yogita Kamalapuri.
00:13 They're among some 10,000 Indians in the last year alone who've moved to Berlin.
00:18 It's a chance to make new friends from familiar places.
00:22 They may come from all over India, but are bound by a shared culture and memories and
00:26 a need to support each other.
00:35 We follow Amit on his journey to make Berlin home.
00:51 The slower pace of life - that's the first thing Amit Kamalapuri noticed in Berlin.
00:58 Life in the German capital is a far cry from his bustling hometown of Pune in India.
01:04 Back home, Amit felt like he was always on high alert, always in a race to an unknown
01:09 finish line.
01:11 But here he gets to breathe.
01:15 It's quite rewarding, you can focus on yourself, be it health, be it learning.
01:24 It's a historic city by all means and it's great to be here, meeting people here, the
01:32 experiences, how Berlin has changed.
01:34 Now you're a part of it.
01:36 So it's a great feeling for us.
01:40 Rituals are becoming important to Amit too.
01:45 He never performed this morning prayer or puja back in India.
01:49 It was always his mother's task.
01:51 Now in Berlin, he finds comfort in this Hindu ceremony.
01:58 As does his wife Yogita.
02:01 It's always a great start for the day and just puts you probably in the right mood,
02:07 right track for the day.
02:10 Finding the right place for this piece of home even played a part in their house hunt.
02:16 We visited a lot of apartments.
02:17 Of course, Berlin is a difficult city to get an apartment in.
02:22 But whichever apartments that we visited, the first thought used to be that, okay, where
02:28 is the place for our ritual, for our puja?
02:31 Home-cooked Indian meals are a comfort too.
02:34 A lentil pancake here, a special nutty halwa for dessert there.
02:39 It makes Amit's first time living away from his parents a bit easier.
02:43 It turned out really well.
02:44 I don't think I'll be able to study after this.
02:48 But the move to Germany has also been a new chapter for their relationship, their first
02:54 independent home to themselves.
02:58 We knew each other before we got married.
03:01 But when you live all by yourselves, you are trying to battle the daily struggles, right
03:06 from which cupboard should we choose, how should we manage the finances?
03:11 It's an altogether new way of understanding your partner in a different way.
03:16 I think the bond between us has kind of grown stronger and deeper.
03:22 That way.
03:23 So that's what Berlin did to us, in a sense.
03:27 Amit, a data analyst, and Yogita, a product manager, are amongst a surge of Indians who
03:34 have moved to Berlin recently.
03:37 An estimated 10,000 have arrived in the last year alone.
03:41 Some are students.
03:42 Many, like Amit and Yogita, are young professionals.
03:47 Germany is in the process of easing requirements for work visas to draw talent from countries
03:52 like India.
03:54 It remains a popular choice for those looking to emigrate, despite the challenge of the
03:59 language.
04:00 We have a kind of fraser.
04:01 So the way they speak and the way we pronounce is quite different.
04:07 And then therefore, we say, ah, we couldn't understand anything.
04:11 And that's where we really struggle in the listening part.
04:18 Both Amit and Yogita took up studying German in their universities back home in India.
04:23 Years later, it made their move less daunting.
04:27 Amit liked how the language sounded.
04:30 But that wasn't Germany's only draw.
04:33 Germany is something a little close to us.
04:37 My father, he studied mechanical engineering.
04:39 So he always had this in his mind that, OK, German engineering, German working culture.
04:44 So that kind of also built up the whole narrative for us that, OK, maybe we can try Germany.
04:51 Yogita echoes Amit's feelings about a better work-life balance here.
04:56 We're always in India, you know, on our toes.
05:00 So there's always something that there's some sort of silent race that we are always running.
05:06 And I think that here in Berlin or in maybe in Germany outside, the two of us, we learned
05:14 to sit back and relax for a while.
05:18 It's OK to take a break.
05:21 Breaks outdoors are, of course, getting a bit harder to take.
05:25 One thing we find a bit still difficult is the weather.
05:28 So even right now, it's a little cold for us.
05:32 Fortunately, the couple have found warmth.
05:35 This evening, they visit their new friend Digambar.
05:40 He moved to Berlin five years ago.
05:44 Everyone here hails from their home state of Maharashtra.
05:48 They share a common language, food and festivals.
05:51 So you're coming for that Diwali programme?
05:54 Yes, yes, yes.
05:56 I heard there are a lot of programmes.
05:58 There are going to be like six or eight Diwali celebrations in Berlin.
06:04 Cooking and eating familiar foods together plays a big part.
06:07 Here, the friends prepare some vadas, a popular Indian snack made of potatoes.
06:13 Luckily, Indian groceries are easily available.
06:16 It allows for a taste of home.
06:22 We knew how it is to be in a new city, new place.
06:26 And when we see someone from our area, our country, getting connected, just to be there
06:34 for them.
06:35 It's a great, great feeling and kind of reassuring for us that we are now part of this big community
06:41 and that's why we feel at home.
06:45 Some of the people here moved to Berlin three decades ago.
06:49 These connections are a handy way to learn the ropes.
06:53 From dealing with German bureaucracy to finding each other new apartments.
06:57 For Amit, the Digambar and his wife Deeksha now feel like family.
07:03 And offering that comfort to the couple is important for the hosts.
07:07 I always think when my daughters grow up and they go in some other country for education
07:13 or jobs or anything, if they feel lonely, it will be really bad.
07:19 So that is my motivation to always connect to new people and make them feel that comfortable.
07:26 Yogita hasn't been home since their move.
07:29 She says her and Amit's families are very grateful to this new Berlin family.
07:33 You never visited in the last one and a half years.
07:35 I think we are giving them too much love.
07:38 Their parents started cursing us now.
07:44 Yet they don't want to isolate themselves.
07:47 We don't want to live here in ghettos because that's not why you come to a new country.
07:54 You come to a new country to explore, to integrate, to learn their culture or maybe also impart
08:01 some of yours.
08:03 And imparting Indian culture is a key part of the intention behind the Sri Ganesha Hindu
08:08 Temple in Berlin.
08:12 This is the entrance of the temple which we call as Rajagopuram.
08:16 It has been started in 2009.
08:19 The temple has been a pet project for Wilburnathan Krishnamurthy, a member of its executive committee.
08:26 He explains the unique details of the structure with a passion.
08:30 The Hindu gods on the facade, the way temple artisans flown in from India worked for years
08:36 to carve every detail right here.
08:39 But it's also caused delays.
08:41 That is the reason we are waiting because in the cold country's time, the Indian workers
08:45 cannot work.
08:46 The Indian workers working with bare hands, so they are telling it is too cold for us.
08:52 Another reason for delays is the financing of the project.
08:56 It relies entirely on donations.
09:00 In the past, limited funds have held up construction.
09:04 Now in its 14th year.
09:08 But with the surge of new arrivals and a growing demand for a place for worship and rituals,
09:15 the finish line is finally in sight.
09:19 The Indian community before 20 years, it was very less.
09:23 Now it has been increased double and double.
09:25 So we are now in a better position to get the donations to complete the temple.
09:33 It's the finishing touches now.
09:35 The floor heating for the cold winter and the final deities will be brought in from
09:39 India by sea.
09:41 Krishnamurthy says the inauguration is planned for next summer.
09:47 But already the grounds of the temple are a place of togetherness.
09:51 Hundreds gather on a cold November evening to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of
09:56 lights.
10:00 Amit joins in as well.
10:02 With his wife Yogita already on her way to India for their first visit home, the temple
10:08 is a place to celebrate the festival with the community instead.
10:18 And this is already a familiar place for Amit.
10:21 Every month he attends prayer gatherings here.
10:30 He says it gives him comfort and confidence to be here.
10:34 Namaste.
10:35 Namaste.
10:37 We wish you a very happy Diwali.
10:44 Happy Diwali.
10:45 Happy that Indian community is awesome.
10:48 Of course, and it's always warm to be here.
10:51 It feels very homely, very close to our home, our country.
10:57 Organisers say everyone should feel at home here, even if they are a curious passerby.
11:03 That's why entrance costs for these events are kept low, says Krishnamurthy.
11:08 Everybody is welcome because our temple is open for everyone, not only for the Hindus.
11:15 Over 25,000 people of Indian origin now live in Berlin.
11:20 There are 10 times as many spread across Germany.
11:26 Sharing their culture is important for them.
11:33 That's the beauty of this place, that everyone comes together, but not as different communities,
11:39 but as one community.
11:41 And that's what I've always loved about back in India and here also.
11:46 So that really kind of makes me feel that, okay, there is hardly any difference.
11:53 Diwali is the most important festival in the Hindu calendar.
11:57 And this is Amit's second Diwali away from home.
12:02 He's excited about being on his way to India soon for his first visit since his move.
12:10 It's a trip he has waited for for a long time.
12:14 But it's been a much easier wait than he'd expected.
12:18 [Music]
12:28 (upbeat music)