Russian woman in India lives with seventy street dogs.

Polina Dog Rescue Varkala
  / polina.polina.501233  
WhatsApp +91 85905 94960

Maison Sangham (Annebelle from France)
[email protected]
WhatsApp +33 688 569 672

Polina is a Russian woman who sold everything she owned to save the street dogs of Varkala, India. I spend the morning at her rescue centre to find out more about what it takes to keep more than seventy dogs who are often wounded, malnourished, and mistreated. We talk about the costs of such care, the commitment, the mental strain, and physical fatigue it takes to manage such an enterprise. Polina is an exceptional woman who has a type of character and strength not seen in many expats living in India.

Taking lunch I meet four young Indian women college students taking in the tourist sights of Varkala and I ask them if their approach to life and what they want for their future is in any way different to that of their mother and father’s generation. India is in very good hands if these confident young women are any example of what India’s future might look like.

Annabelle is a 57 year-old French expat married to an Indian man who sees India as her forever home. She has almost finished building her new home which incorporates three studio units for rent and an enormous rooftop area for healing and yoga sessions. Annabelle gives us a tour through her home and a peek into her life as an expat in India.

Finally, I tell the story of how I was approached by a reality television program to appear on their next season, and I how I purposely blew the last meeting because it wasn’t my thing.