Rina Alluri
Home without borders
(05.12.2023)
Geographically speaking, Rina Alluri is at home on no fewer than four continents. She was born in Mumbai, India, her Father's country of origin. She first grew up in Nigeria and then migrated to Canada. She lived in Switzerland for over a decade, now lives in Salzburg and teaches and researches in Innsbruck. For the peace and conflict researcher, "home" has little to do with countries and nations. "For me, home is above all where my partner and my children are," she says, "but I also feel at home in Canada and in the Philippines, my Mother's homeland. Or in France, where I've just visited family."
A life of travel
So it's no wonder that travelling is a recurring theme in Alluri's life - both professionally and privately and on a small and large scale. Her field of research has regularly taken her to a wide variety of places around the globe, from major cities to crisis regions. She spends her holidays in France as well as in Sardinia, Canada and the Himalayas. And she commutes between her adopted hometown of Salzburg and her workplace in Innsbruck by train. "It's time that I really enjoy," she explains, "to communicate with friends, to work a bit, of course, but also to read and write." Without such a fixed time slot, this would sooner or later fall by the wayside in everyday life between work and family with two small children.
Poetic development
In addition to novels, poetry and authors such as Audre Lorde and Nayyirah Waheed are high on her reading list. But Alluri also writes herself. She finds motivation and inspiration in her immediate environment: her brother Hari is a writer who has already published four books of poetry. "I'm not quite there yet," she says, "but I've already published a some poems in the past year and a half. And I hope to finish my first poetry manuscript next year." In her poems, Alluri deals with themes such as origins, relationships and – what else – conflicts. "Writing has always been something very personal for me," she explains. "I've been keeping journals since I was ten years old. And that developed further until I arrived at short stories and poems."
Reverence and sports
However, Alluri doesn't just find poetry in words. She is also fond of landscapes - especially mountains and bodies of water. "I've been living in the European Alps for a good 16 years now," she explains, "first in Switzerland, now in Austria. Mountains, forests and water have always been important to me." On the one hand, she is interested in physical activity - hiking, climbing, skiing and more. On the other hand, she also finds mental challenges and relaxation in nature. "In the mountains, it's the now that counts. When you're hiking on a path or climbing a rock, you're focused on that very moment and that very place. It's pure mindfulness," she says. At the same time, she finds the landscape deeply meditative: "Rocks and water are both forces of nature, even if they couldn't be more different. I enjoy the connection to the elements. They remind me how small and insignificant I am and yet how vulnerable nature is, despite its abundance."
The desire to move
Apart from mountain sports, it is her multicultural background that offers Alluri many ways to find balance, equanimity and, not least, outlets for her urge to move. She has been practising yoga for a long time - and is also a teacher. She also has a passion for music. "My childhood in Nigeria probably gave me that. But it also runs in the family. We all love music," she says, "I enjoy listening and dancing to a wide range of genres, from hip hop and R&B to jazz, afro beats and bhangra. A friend of mine is part of the organising team for the Flavourama festival in Salzburg," she says. Every year, hip-hop and house dancers from all over the world come to the street dance festival. "I look forward to it every year."
(Author: Daniel Feichtner)
