Disclaimer: The obvious deviation from topics related to the new year romanticism and bombastic optimism is well intended. Not to be too cruel, before we begin, happy new year 2013 :)
I've been to Torino many times, the city famous for the mighty Fiat, the peppy Martini, the luscious Lavazza , the heavenly Ferrero (who also make Nutella, by the way), and of course the super awesome football team Juventus! I would definitely add Sonia Gandhi to the list, becasue in India she is more famous than all the fancy things Torino is proud of, put together. She may not be as glamorous as Carla Bruni, who is also from Torino, but hey, that's a whole different story.
Alright, who doesn't know Sonia Gandhi. Seems like a silly question about arguably the most (current) powerful person of a country that consists the sixth of the world. To my great surprise, not a lot of people knew who she was in the very province she grew up since she was 3. Especially young people. A very close friend of mine, who lives in a town bordering Orbassano, jumped in disbelief when I told him that they were almost neighbours. If one read Wikipedia, or one had been following the series of political events during which she almost became the prime minister of India, one would know that she was raised in Orbassano, close to Torino or the less beautiful anglicized version -Turin, in Italy.
Thanks to Luca, I have the luxury of visiting La bella Italia, more than twice a year. The last time I visited Torino for Christmas break, we decided to drive around to take advantage of an unusually sunny December day. On the highway, between Torino and Val di Susa, I saw a sign board saying Orbassano 4 km, and my curiosity took the next exit to get there and see Sonia's family town.
I was slightly disappointed to see the lack lusture, rather boring town, which fell short of the usual Italian beauty. I then learnt from Claudio that the large part of the current town was built only 60 years back around Fiat's operations. The automobile giant now has a large research facility in Orbassano.
The lack of activity due to winter vacation made the city even more sullen, and we could only find a few women perambulating around the city center with their toddlers.
We approached one of them to ask if she knew Sonia. Her eyes brightened up and she was so happy to claim that she not only knew Sonia, but also was her distant relative. Precisely, her brother in law's cousin married Sonia's sister. We got more than we asked for, and to test her claim asked if Sonia's family still lived there. She said yes, and confidently gave us detailed driving instructions, and even confirmed the family's last name- 'Maino'. We thanked her and followed her advice with a little bit of scepticism.
However, the nice lady was indeed telling the truth and we stopped right in front of the 'Maino' mansion. It was big, but nothing spectacular or ostentatious for an Italian house. I was tempted to ring the bell and say hello, but Luca stopped me from doing so. Well I still think, they would've offered us coffee, if they knew I was Indian. It would mean nothing in Italy, but in India I could've always said, I had a coffee at Sonia's house. Maybe I could try next time, and see if I could get a coffee or a restraining order! Crazy winter holidays eh?!
I've been to Torino many times, the city famous for the mighty Fiat, the peppy Martini, the luscious Lavazza , the heavenly Ferrero (who also make Nutella, by the way), and of course the super awesome football team Juventus! I would definitely add Sonia Gandhi to the list, becasue in India she is more famous than all the fancy things Torino is proud of, put together. She may not be as glamorous as Carla Bruni, who is also from Torino, but hey, that's a whole different story.
Alright, who doesn't know Sonia Gandhi. Seems like a silly question about arguably the most (current) powerful person of a country that consists the sixth of the world. To my great surprise, not a lot of people knew who she was in the very province she grew up since she was 3. Especially young people. A very close friend of mine, who lives in a town bordering Orbassano, jumped in disbelief when I told him that they were almost neighbours. If one read Wikipedia, or one had been following the series of political events during which she almost became the prime minister of India, one would know that she was raised in Orbassano, close to Torino or the less beautiful anglicized version -Turin, in Italy.
Thanks to Luca, I have the luxury of visiting La bella Italia, more than twice a year. The last time I visited Torino for Christmas break, we decided to drive around to take advantage of an unusually sunny December day. On the highway, between Torino and Val di Susa, I saw a sign board saying Orbassano 4 km, and my curiosity took the next exit to get there and see Sonia's family town.
I was slightly disappointed to see the lack lusture, rather boring town, which fell short of the usual Italian beauty. I then learnt from Claudio that the large part of the current town was built only 60 years back around Fiat's operations. The automobile giant now has a large research facility in Orbassano.
The lack of activity due to winter vacation made the city even more sullen, and we could only find a few women perambulating around the city center with their toddlers.
We approached one of them to ask if she knew Sonia. Her eyes brightened up and she was so happy to claim that she not only knew Sonia, but also was her distant relative. Precisely, her brother in law's cousin married Sonia's sister. We got more than we asked for, and to test her claim asked if Sonia's family still lived there. She said yes, and confidently gave us detailed driving instructions, and even confirmed the family's last name- 'Maino'. We thanked her and followed her advice with a little bit of scepticism.
However, the nice lady was indeed telling the truth and we stopped right in front of the 'Maino' mansion. It was big, but nothing spectacular or ostentatious for an Italian house. I was tempted to ring the bell and say hello, but Luca stopped me from doing so. Well I still think, they would've offered us coffee, if they knew I was Indian. It would mean nothing in Italy, but in India I could've always said, I had a coffee at Sonia's house. Maybe I could try next time, and see if I could get a coffee or a restraining order! Crazy winter holidays eh?!
1 comment:
We are very proud of your visit to ORBASSANO. We also felt that it would have been very nice had you gone to their house. Better time in your next visit. I read ur blog as a novel. I was so much impressed about the way you presented
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