We had spent almost the whole of our diplomatic career in the Middle East so when my husband Ishrat was posted as ambassador to Brazil this was going to be a complete change. 'Why is Fate taking me to Brazil?' I asked myself. I found a kind of answer in the end.

In June 1996, after a journey of 23 hours we landed in Brasilia and once again faced a language problem. Very few people understood English! We started straight away with private classes in Portuguese and did our homework diligently.

Eighty percent of the country's population lives along the coast. To open up the interior, the new capital, Brasilia, was built in 1960. It is a model of town planning, but still too young to have developed its own character. It is on a plateau and the extreme dryness in winter (June) gives people nosebleeds, and also labaryntitis as I found out first hand. The fluid of the inner ear dries up and causes dizziness. Dizziness or hallucination? Why does everything look larger than life, with a highly suggestive, sensual undertone lurking about? People from every social level are very body-conscious and walk with a languid tension, proudly displaying bronzed limbs. But they are also obsessed with the many paths to the spiritual and mystical world. Our Swamis and Gurus have an enthusiastic following.

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