Sundargarh: Friendship brooks neither distances nor borders; certainly not on social media and sometimes in real life as well.
This was recently proved when one James Gavin David, a professor in a South Korean university, travelled all the way to Odisha’s Sundargarh district to meet his Facebook friend Ankit Pandia.
A resident of Ranghadhipar, Ankit had struck a friendship on social media with James, who originally hails from England, around three years ago. They soon started chatting on Facebook messenger and stayed in touch through WhatsApp and video calling.
The two became so close that they could not stop themselves from meeting. At last, James decided to travel from South Korea to Sundargarh to meet Ankit.
James is staying with Ankit at his home, eating Odia food and learning about Odisha’s traditions and culture. Enamoured with the experience, James is even trying to talk in Odia. He is also travelling with Ankit’s family to many places in the district and also celebrated New Year with the villagers at Ranghadhipar.
“We talked about Odisha’s culture, his hobbies and my hobbies. For Ankit, it was possible for me to visit India and travel here. I enjoyed here a lot. I loved everything here, especially the food and tea,” said James.
“We have got another son. James is treating us like his parents,” said Ankit’s father Chintamani Pandia.
