Portrait of a sanyasi.

[Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi]

She is sitting in a café in backpackers’ Paharganj, busy over a plate of stuffed paratha and super-spicy mixed achar. The lunch accompaniments include a glass of steaming garma-garam chai and a pack of beedis. She is obviously a regular to the place, for the young café owner is chatting with her after the manner of a long-time acquaintance, addressing her respectfully as Mata ji.

In her 70s, Victoria grew up in Andalusia in Spain. She first arrived in India in the 1970s, and since then has been coming frequently to our land, often staying for long continuous stretches of time. Once she lived for a year in her beloved Kashi. Some years ago, during the Kumbh Mela at the Triveni Sangam, she got herself initiated into Hinduism, became a “sadhvik,” changing her name to Saraswati. Familiar with Delhi, she often stays in the city. This afternoon, Saraswati Giri agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences.

The principal aspect of your personality.
Very difficult question… I have renounced the worldly things. While I cannot entirely renounce the essentials of day-to-day living, such as money and water, I don’t have to be attached to them.

What do you appreciate the most in your friends?
Prem.

Your favourite bird.
In Spanish, we call it jilguero.

Your main fault.
My shyness.

Your favourite occupation.
Thinking.

Your idea of happiness.
Freedom.

What would be your greatest misfortune?
I have to accept everything.

Where would you like to live?
By the Ganga maa.

Your favourite poet.
Federico García Lorca.

Your heroes/heroines in real life.
I don’t look at the world like that. We all are important.

Your favourite food and drink.
Chapati, coffee.

The natural talent you’d like to be gifted with.
To have more empathy. Sometimes I don’t like certain people!

What is your present state of mind?
I’m feeling happy.

Faults for which you have the most tolerance.
Ignorance. When people are ignorant, they then make mistakes, and are hurtful to others.

Your motto in life.
To get more light.