This is a collection of 10 stories I reported on, as part of the India-Germany Media Ambassador Fellowship, 2017, organised by the Robert Bosch Foundation. As part of this Fellowship, I spent three months in Germany from May-July 2017. While the first three weeks were spent in South German University town of Tuebingen, this was followed by a month and half of work stint at the integrated newroom of German daily, Die Welt, in Berlin. Here’s the list of stories across genres that I was able to deliver.
Energiewende and public co-operation
Germany is one of the leaders when it comes to using renewable energy. India, despite being a warm country most time of the year, barely scratches the surface when it comes to using Solar Energy. What are the lessons India can learn from Germany on this?
House hunting scams in Berlin
My first German-language byline. I explored the various scams that are rampant on Berlin’s house hunting websites. These are based on my personal experiences of finding a flat in Berlin – it’s tough.
Germany loves rockstar Barack Obama
On Kirchentag 2017, Barack Obama and Angela Merkel had an informal chat in front of the Brandenburger Tor. My report.
Why CCTV cameras are not appreciated in Germany?
At a time when Indian cities were bragging about putting a city under CCTV surveillance, Germany provides an interesting contrast. I explored that aspect in this story.
Bhangu Brothers: Hamburg’s singing taxi-drivers
This story had started to form in my mind in 2014, but it was only in 2017 that I realised it. Lovely and Monty Bhangu are two Punjabi brothers, who moved to Germany in 1984. They are taxi drivers in Hamburg who love singing. They even made a music video predicting Germany’s 2014 World Cup win, a month before it began.
How ReDI School is helping qualified refugees get those tech jobs?
The first of my five-part series on the Refugee Crisis looked at a digital school that’s helping qualified refugees ace those tech job interviews in Berlin.
A Berlin walking tour by Syrian refugees..
In the second installment of my Refugee Crisis series I went on a walking tour with two Syrian refugees who drew parallels between’s Berlin and Syria’s history…and how we have learnt nothing.
Berlin gets a taste of Syrian cuisine
In the third installment of the Refugee Crisis series, I profiled Jasmine Catering Service, a mother-son business venture that wants to bring Syrian cuisine to Berlin’s startup-party buffets.
Rebuilding lives in Germany
For the fourth installment, I profiled three refugees living in Germany from different walks of life and how their life has transformed after taking that decision to leave their war-torn homeland.
Life at a refugee centre at Berlin’s abandoned airport
In the final installment of the Refugee Crisis series, I reported on what life was like inside one of Berlin’s largest refugee registration centre – the discontinued Tempelhof Airport.
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