South-Asia leaves hardly anybody untouched! For somebody who has grown up in Europe, India and her neighbours pose  a challenge: A hot and humid climate, unbelievably crowded conditions in cities, wide-spread poverty and massive environmental  destruction. But the open-minded warmth and hospitality of the people, their rich cultural and spiritual  traditions, and above all the simultaneous and generally tolerant co-existence of diverse ways of living and world views have  greatly attracted me to this cultural milieu since more than twenty years. Through my publications I would like to contribute to  a better mutual understanding between people in Europe and South Asia.