What Is Love?

This episode is with and about one of the major inspirations to this podcast: Shipra from India. I met Shipra and her husband, Himanshu, in the beginning of 2020 and was delighted to see what a harmonious couple they were. When they later on told me that they had an arranged marriage, I was shocked as my own stereotypes backlashed on me. Love has so many faces that finding it does not always mean following the same path. In this talk, we will entangle the concept of forced and arranged marriage, talk about the promising constellations of stars and finally see how finding a partner for an arranged marriage in many ways is actually not that different from going on a dating platform to check out various candidates according to your preferences. Shipra will also talk about uncomfortable moments, how she sees the relation between love and marriage and what kind of marriage she is imagining for her kids. As in any other episode our guest is sharing personal experiences which can be taken as an inspiration to unfold new perspectives on a controverse topic.

Today we will paddle over the Atlantic Ocean and disembark on the Brazilian shore, directly in Rio de Janeiro, where we talk to Anderson. The voyage does not end there but takes us further, connecting people from Israel, South Africa and the United States, leading all the way to London, UK. Anderson’s story shows how love can take unexpected turns. Some decades ago, he lived with his wife and his two sons in Rio de Janeiro. Now, he just moved to London with his husband and their daughter. What has happened in between? Anderson’s honest way of telling his story permits us to see how love can take unusual paths and breaks down mental borders of who we can love and what to expect from life.

In this third episode we travel back in time and peek into a niche of the bouncing eighties standing its ground in one of the most rigid environments at that time: The South African Apartheid regime. We talk to Kim and Sipho, the leading members of the band i&i, who have fought for decades to break down racial and cultural boundaries. Sipho, a black Rastafari, shares his memories of being in love with Emma, a white woman, when love between people with different skin colors was still a crime.  His story reveals that love can be a powerful substance, filling the cracks in a system based on hatred and fear. Kim shares her thoughts on love as powerful weapon even between strangers and on how to find a balance when loving people who have hateful attitudes. If listening to the i&i intro song also left you hungry for more good vibes, check out the band on Spotify, Google Play or Soundcloud.

This episode will lead us to the Southern tip of Africa, and we will look at love in the context of race and culture.  The history of South Africa is marked by great racial injustice. For decades it was forbidden by law to engage in interracial relationships. Now, a quarter of a century after Apartheid ended, many interracial couples still struggle as not everyone accepts love between races. However, sometimes the gap between races is as thin as hair. After listening to the podcast, you will know that this is meant quite literally. Khine, a young black woman from Cape Town talks about her relationship with Lars, a white man from Germany. Their relationship is hence unusual in many ways, crossing not only races, but also cultures and continents. Khine’s story - as any story told in this podcast - should not be seen as a generalizing example of how love is or should be in a certain context but rather as a way of how love can be.

Most of us might have heard of the Sudan in a geopolitical context.  This episode wants to leave the geopolitical questions aside and zoom into the picture to look at how love and relationship can be lived in the Sudan.  How do young people date in Sudan?  What role plays religion or family when it comes to love and relationship? Mo is our guest today. He has grown up in Sudan and now lives and studies in India.  Thank you for setting some spotlights and giving us food for thought, Mo!