Delhi is one of the greatest historical cities, among several of the world’s civilisational centres. It’s a city with layers and layers of historical remnants — this is how Diana Mickeviciene, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania, describes the national capital.

Mickeviciene is no stranger to Delhi — she studied here and this is her second diplomatic posting to India. She is a career diplomat with 30 years of experience in Lithuania’s diplomatic service, having served before as the Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Lithuania at the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, and the Minister Counsellor (Deputy Head of Mission) at Lithuania’s Embassy in India.

Mickeviciene holds a BA in Philosophy, an MA in History of Culture and Social Anthropology and a Diploma in International Relations (all from Vilnius University). She has also been a lecturer on South Asian history at the Institute of Asian and Transcultural Studies at Vilnius University and is involved in academic activities in India Studies.

In her previous diplomatic posting in India in 2011-2014, Mickeviciene took a special interest in researching historical links between Lithuania and India, especially the Indian chapter of the life of famous Lithuanian traveller and scholar Antanas Paskevicius – Poska who went to India on a motorbike in 1931 and spent five years studying and working at the University of Bombay, the University of Calcutta and the Indian Museum in Calcutta.

She is fluent in English, French and Russian, is an advanced beginner in Hindi and Spanish, and studied Sanskrit at Vilnius University for two years. She has completed a beginner’s course in Mandarin.

Festive offer

Mickeviciene spoke to The Indian Express for the sixth in a series of interviews with Ambassadors about Delhi — their home.

Edited excerpts:

How long have you been in Delhi?

Almost two years now, but I’ve been to Delhi before. I studied in the city twice. It is also my second diplomatic posting. It’s my sixth year if you count it in totality.

One place that you love to visit often?

It’s difficult to name one… but a really special place which I discovered many years ago, and sometimes go to, is Khirki Masjid.

Does pollution in Delhi bother you? How do you deal with it?

Of course, air pollution is a big problem. It bothers everyone, including me. We all deal with it by staying indoors and wearing masks. Honestly, I feel very sad staying indoors, especially now when the heat has subsided… It would normally be an excellent time to explore Delhi’s monuments and parks.

Three things in Delhi that have stood out during your stay?

Street food… my favourites are samosas in a dhaba in CR Park… I’m really in love with golgappa. (The second) would probably be a day in Old Delhi… a visit to the city without (seeing) Old Delhi would not count… And the third thing is greenery and trees. During my current stay, I started something I never did before… studying trees… we walked with a tree teacher, and I got books, started collecting leaves. I use my app, ‘plant net’, which tells you what trees it is (from). So that’s one new obsession, but I think it’s been very pertinent to Delhi because it is generally green. I did two series of walks… in different parks across Delhi. I can now identify neem and shahtoot and several other trees.

Memories or encounters with people in Delhi that you will remember?

Plenty! Because I can speak some Hindi, I can strike up a conversation with anyone. But I’m a historian and I love history… I studied Delhi history, so I will join many trips led by historians or historical guides. Sohail Hashmi is my favourite travel guide in Delhi, and interacting with him has always been a pleasure. And we also had a common project with him. We went to Tughlakabad.

Then… many interactions with people, whose names I might not remember…

Go-to places to eat?

Many. I generally like all Indian food, it is very diverse. Traditional Delhi food would be probably associated with Old Delhi, Karim’s… I have to make my annual pilgrimages to Karim’s, once or twice, to have their Nihari which is my favourite.

But at home, or what I have in people’s homes, is always far superior to any restaurant… my favourite is Baingan ka Bharta. I still insist my home makes the best Baingan ka Bharta in the whole of India. But when I said it in an interview several months ago, people started sending me their own Baingan ka Bharta, saying ‘iss ghar ka baingan ka bharta khaao’.

Now, I also like South Indian food. My favourite place is Naivedyam in Hauz Khas Village.

I’m very happy that there are lots of places… that offer street food in a restaurant environment, so I can bring in visitors and friends who come to visit. Golgappa served on the streets is very spicy but in the restaurant, it’s very moderate and my friends can enjoy that whole ritual. Sweets in Old Delhi are also very good… Rasmalai is my top favourite.

What would you miss when you say goodbye to the city?

The food… I will definitely miss Delhi’s ruins because, in my earlier stays, I was very focused on the historical monuments, unmarked, unvisited ones…

Now, since I’ve discovered trees, I think I’ll be missing those as well. I walked several times with ecologists who were telling me about what used to grow, what grows now, and how they are trying to re-convert the areas. For example, in Gurgaon, the Aravalli biosphere. I learned a lot and I try to tell people about the Lantana, the invasive species, which infected the foothills of the Himalayas… how authorities and ecologists are trying to eradicate it as it overshadows local flora…

How would you describe Delhi to someone back home?

Oh, that’s a question that requires some preparation. So it is the city of millennia, where people have lived since mythological times, you could say. I’ve been lucky to see the excavations at Purana Qila to witness their oldest layers. So, I would say this is the city, which has layers and layers of historical remnants.

… It’s also a very green city, so I think I would mention greenery as well. It is also the city that has layers of modernity blended in very beautifully with the layers of old times.

The last thing I would probably mention is that it’s a city that saw a lot of suffering, displacements, and wars… since I studied Delhi’s history, I also know Delhi has been plundered… traditions have been almost eradicated… and yet it always bounced back. To sum up, Delhi is one of the greatest historical cities of the world, on par with any other ancient Capital or major city of any country. Delhi is definitely among several of the world’s civilisational centres.