Dina Weber & Cyriac Thomas
What happens when German Christmas traditions meet an Indian family, or Spätzle finds its way into a kitchen in Mysore? For Dina Weber and Cyriac Thomas, food is one of the many ways their German-Indian relationship has evolved. Their story explores what happens when cultural differences become part of daily life and how a shared home can make room for both.
By Prathap Nair
When Dina Weber first arrived in India almost ten years ago, she never expected to stay. A backpacking trip after high school turned into volunteering stints on permaculture farms, which then turned into a life in India. Today she runs Sapa, one of Mysore's best-known bakeries.
She met her partner, Cyriac Thomas, through work. A kombucha brewer from Pune, Cyriac first contacted Dina hoping to supply his brand, Umami Brew, to her bakery. Dina recollects that at the time, his number was saved in her phone as “Vendor – Sapa.” What began as professional exchanges soon slipped into casual texting, and eventually into something else altogether. They have been together for two years and now live in Mysore, Karnataka, where they run hospitality businesses and navigate a relationship shaped by food, work and culture.
Getting to Know Each Other
For Dina, who had previously been married to an Indian partner, returning to dating in India was not straightforward. During her divorce, she wondered whether she would eventually have to return to Europe to find a partner. “I felt that a lot of men were still very concerned about parental expectations,” she said. Meeting Cyriac shifted that assumption. “He makes it very easy to understand his perspective—and he’s equally curious about mine. There’s a constant exchange.”That curiosity ran both ways. Cyriac, who grew up in India in the 1990s, found Dina’s upbringing fascinating. “German childhood, German parenting, even German humour,” he says with a laugh. “It is often very literal. Sometimes she makes a joke and I know it is a joke — but I can see her waiting for everyone else to understand it.”
Food became one of their earliest connections. Before meeting Dina, Cyriac admits that his understanding of German cuisine was largely limited to beer and sausages. Living with Dina changed that perception. Dishes from Dina’s South German upbringing — including Spätzle, roulade, goulash and Christmas cookies — began appearing in their Mysore kitchen. Dina grew up in a household where jam was homemade, fruit came from the garden, and cakes were rarely bought from a shop. Recreating those flavours in India, sourcing specific cuts of meat, and adapting recipes to local ingredients have become both a challenge and a ritual, she says.
Parenting Across Cultures
One of the biggest changes in Cyriac’s life came through Dina’s daughter, Marta, who was six when they began dating. “I never wanted children,” he says. “But seeing Dina with her daughter changed something in me.”
German parenting, as he experiences it, is built around trust and autonomy. He recalled being startled when Dina casually handed Marta a knife to cut vegetables. “An Indian parent would hover,” he says. “Here it was: this is the knife, this is the vegetable—learn.”
For Dina, one of the moments when she felt closest to Cyriac had little to do with cultural differences and everything to do with emotional ease. While struggling with the weight of words like “divorce” and “single mother,” she remembers him making a gentle joke — not dismissive, but light enough to ease the burden. “He made me laugh without denying what I was feeling,” she says. “That mattered.”
Everyday Cultural Differences
Cultural differences continue to appear in everyday routines. Dina finds India’s strong social networks — remembering birthdays, returning containers filled with food and never showing up empty-handed — beautiful, but not always instinctive. “German socialisation is different,” she explains. “You don’t necessarily need to remember a hundred personal details about a hundred people.” Cyriac, meanwhile, still laughs at her habit of putting her legs up on the couch.More profoundly, Dina says she has learned how deeply Cyriac values loyalty—not just romantically, but socially and professionally. “He draws boundaries very clearly,” she says. “Sometimes I think someone is ‘in’ when they’re not.” Cyriac, meanwhile, says Dina’s gentleness has influenced him. “I’m more reactive,” he admits. “She processes, reflects, and then speaks. I’m trying to become more like that.”
Christmas, Reimagined
Cyriac’s family has embraced these traditions wholeheartedly, drawn as much by the food as by the warmth. “They get a very different Christmas,” he says. “And honestly, we’re all happy with that.”
Finding Home Together
Despite living in India for ten years, Dina says she has never truly felt like an outsider. “India feels like home,” she says. When she visits Germany, she misses India’s street life, noise and spontaneity. She adds that being foreign can sometimes come with unexpected freedom, as social expectations do not always apply in the same way.At the end of most days, their life narrows into something small and shared. After Marta goes to sleep, they sit on the balcony or in the garden, smoke a cigarette or have a glass of wine, and talk. “It’s when we catch up,” Cyriac says. “Otherwise, we’re both working all day.” Their relationship shows that building a home together does not mean erasing cultural differences. Instead, they have created space for both traditions in their everyday life.