when i talk to Tomoko Kikuchi, I barely guess that she is Japanese. She speaks better Hindi than most of us. Befuddled, I switch to English. After emailing the questionnaire to her, I expect her to answer in English. But again, I’m stumped as she writes back to me in fluent Hindi. For someone who last read chaste Hindi in school textbooks, reading her answers, transcribing them and deciphering their meaning is a Herculean task. Over the next two days, her life story interests me deeply and what prompted her to make India her home 21 years ago.

Tomoko Kikuchi at the launch of Neerav Sandhya Ka Shahar, Sakura Ka Desh -- the Hindi translation of a popular Japanese manga comic -- at the Japan Foundation in New Delhi last month