of the internet could be much more than what we could ever fathom.
Anyway, now that he has become something of a minor celebrity here after being featured
in "The Hindu" (inarguably one of the best English newspapers in India), I guess I can work
on some posts on him.
But for now, I would just be content sharing with you what 'The Hindu" has to say about him. The article can be found here. But experience tells me that links usually change, get removed
and so on, which means in the future it might be difficult to look up the article. So, just to be
on the safer side, I quote the whole article below.
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Article & photo courtesy : The Hindu, dated 3-Jan-2009.
GOING NATIVE
Heart and home in Chennai
The city feeds Belgian Peter Van Geit’s passion for beaches, blue skies and tourist spots.
FASCINATION FOR ALL THINGS INDIAN Peter Van Geit
Peter Van Geit likes beaches and blue skies. But, in Belgium, the sky is persistently grey.
The European country is partly bounded by the North Sea, but sunbathing on its 60-km
long beach is possible only for three weeks. The rest of the year, temper atures are down
to zero or sub-zero. “As summer is incredibly short in their country, many Belgians vacation
in southern Europe,” says Geit.
Unlike his countrymen, Geit has found a way to escape Belgium’s dingy climate forever.
He lives under clear blue skies since 1997, when he migrated to Chennai. As IT resources
were scarce on both sides of the Atlantic, multinational company Barco (‘Scientific Atlanta’
now) looked at India to set up operations involving creation of digital cable TV applications.
Chennai & Bangalore were hot contenders. Looking back, Geit is glad Chennai won the race. Living in the city feeds his addiction to the beach. Six years ago, he built a beautiful house,
just walking distance from the Palavakkam shoreline. There is a lot in this beach house to suggest that this Belgian is completely hooked to India. Plain white Indian marble overlaid
in parts with designs that are clearly Indian. The wall betrays his interest in paintings with Indian themes and the fact that he has found love in India — Geit’s girlfriend Kamala is from Andhra Pradesh.
Kamala, the beach, blue skies, plenty of tourist places to go to, and Indians’ helpfulness are
what’s keeping Geit in India. The year after he landed in Chennai, Geit bought a 500cc 1998
Bullet, which he used mercilessly to get a first-hand experience of the Indian countryside and scenic locales. He would put the bike on a train to Delhi and then go a-riding to places such
as Leh and Kardungla. He has done the same in South India. There are few touristy parts of Kerala he has not visited. “India has a fascinating range of geographical features. In contrast, Belgium is a flat country. There are no hills. To vacation, you have to wait for a short summer.”
As Geit undertook these biking tours all alone, he only had unfamiliar natives to help him out
of messy situations. When his 500cc bike broke down in Thrissur, a local family took him in.
As the necessary spare part was not available in the town, a young member of the family was sent to Coimbatore to buy it. “Indians seldom turn away a foreigner in need.” In comparison, Belgians are usually closed to foreigners. “Following a few immigrant-related crimes, Belgians are wary of people from other lands.”
Less of a lone ranger now, Geit tours with groups. This change happened in 2004, when he founded ‘Chennai Trekkers’. At first patronised by his colleagues at Scientific Atlanta, it has grown into a 1,600 group that organises a trek a week. The treks now and the bike rides
earlier have helped him understand his adopted homeland so well that he has lost the sense
of being an expatriate.
PRINCE FREDERICK
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