I’ll be home this weekend. A question I’m anticipating is: “How was India?” and I’ll probably say something like, “India was great!” And from that I want you to infer … all the things.
….the 3-day family wedding. The palaces and forts and 5-star dinners. The museums and sightseeing. Driving in autos and using Uber. Crossing the road. The unimaginable traffic – cars, trucks, autos, 2-wheelers, push carts, bicycles, people walking, cows, water buffalo. The temples and shrines and priests who spooned holy water into our palms. The jungle retreat and safaris and luxury lodging. The coracle ride given by a local village man and the group of young boys we attracted. The looks, the stares, the kids touching me and adults taking my picture. The food. All the food from different regions in India. The two days I lost in bed thanks to a Lyme flare-up. The four days I spent on a diet of scrambled eggs and toast while my stomach recovered from rich wedding food. The kind Muslim man who gave me his chair in front of a fan in his streetside shop so we could wait for our ride out of the heat and out of the view of people passing. The Christian man who explained how his two young kids go to Hindu school. The village of sculpturers and the road trip to get there. The way things work (hot water heaters, showers, shopping, driving, traffic, walking on the streets), the different words for different things (lift, slippers, drips, geezer, dustbin, wash room, doubt, shift, dickey), and different car brand names (Honda City, Toyota Etios). The morning I spent at a journalism institute. The Ayurveda massage and the herbal oils and the two young women who softly sang a prayer over my body before beginning.
But mostly I want you to know that I want you to experience this world for yourself. As a journalist and storyteller, I am often my audience’s eyes and ears for a lot of things, and here I find myself wanting to take a million pictures and videos to get you as close to the scene as possible, but no amount of my efforts can bring India back to you. My camera captures only a miniscule frame and even the videos can’t translate how CLOSE that car was to hitting us and no amount of still imagery can capture the smells that come wafting through the Indian air … how every inhale on the street brings a different odor. If you don’t like one, exhale quickly and breathe in again for a different (better) smell.
I’m bringing home from India what it needed to give me. Space. Time. Rest. Reinvigoration. Creativity. Ideas. Energy. Spirituality.
I can’t bring home the things you might need. For that, you will have to come here. You will need to walk the streets, retreat to the forests, savor the dishes, stand in grandeur, converse with new friends, absorb.
Absorb and be absorbed. I think that’s the heart of a traveler. Appearing in places with no expectations, a clean slate, and allowing the country, the people, the sights and sounds, the animals, food, technology and social issues paint a lively picture on a blank canvas.
“What most surprised you in India?” It’s a hard question to answer because I didn’t come here expecting to find my Western way of life or thinking. I came here for India and to experience her for all her Indian-ness. No pre-conceived notions or expectations. No culture shock. Just absorbing. Appreciating other people’s way of life halfway around the world. Acknowledging we don’t have it all together in the U.S.
I’ve taken something from every experience, making it difficult to answer, “What was your favorite part?” Of course, there are highlights and favorite days. Naturals Ice Cream. Golconda Fort. Kaav Safair Lodge. The jungle. Food. Family. Together they make a collection of moments, days, memories, and they’re all my favorites.
Ending a trip and returning home is tough for me. It’s tough to say “returning home” when, for the past month, someplace else has been your home, so I’ve been saying “returning to the states,” or “returning stateside.” It’s a nod to the nomadic soul I have, a tip of my hat to the restless energy that lives within me that can find the comfort of home in a myriad of places.
It’s not a matter so much of returning home. It’s more like returning, and then relaunching again soon.
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