Q&A: KALKI KOECHLIN
Kalki Koechlin, actor, on travelling, favourite destinations and living with an ‘identity crisis’
Q. While growing up, what was the preferred way of travelling—family road trips or something else?
We travelled often from Bangalore to Ooty. There were road trips on bikes with dad to Madhya Pradesh, and once to France, following dad around while he was hang gliding. A childhood trip to Manali is etched in my mind because it was the first time I saw snow. I thought it was cotton wool because that’s the word for it in Tamil. I was so disappointed when I touched it that I cried. At 18, when I went to London to study, I made a couple of trips to Portugal and Spain.
Q. You’ve done some travel-related work. Do you like to mix work and travel?
Now I see the value of travelling. My first solo trip was to Sicily—just after my divorce. It was great! You meet more people if you’re alone and see the place through the eyes of local people.
Q. ‘Where are you from?’ Do you hear that question a lot, particularly in India?
All the time. And people are thrilled if I speak in Hindi or Tamil. Sometimes I hear people talking about me—and they’re shocked when they realise that I can understand what they are saying. It happens abroad too: If I say I’m French, it’s ‘but you don’t sound
French’. If I say I’m Indian, ‘you don’t look Indian’. It’s a longlived identity crisis. I love to go to a place where I’m not recognised. In the South I’m less recognised. I love places where there’s no mobile phone network.
Q. Do you have a favourite travel writer or book?
Can Ernest Hemmingway
be called a travel writer? He travelled a lot. The Old Man and the Sea is my favourite.
Q. Your favourite state other than Puducherry?
I like Arunachal Pradesh, I’ve spent a lot of time there. I like the entire Northeast because it’s less explored, but Arunachal in particular. There’s a place called Sangti village on the Sangti river near Dirang. It’s extremely beautiful, no WiFi, hardly any electricity, and the water is pristine. My other favourite place is Karuna farms in Kodaikanal. Even to get there you have to get off a kuccha road. And then there are cottages and fireplaces.