Granted my experience in India is limited to the Delhi airport, the drive from the airport and 6 weeks in Rishikesh. Regardless, I wanted to update you on my opinion of India. I was warned before I came here that I would love it and hate it, that it is the land of extremes, it would break me down and build me back up, that I would see a lot of poverty and dirt (and beauty), among other things. And I'd say that is pretty much true. I absolutely love India when I am doing yoga as the sun rises, sitting in a cafe reading a book, climbing a mountain to see a temple, watching young kids play cricket or see a mama cow licking her baby cow. But when I come out of the bubble and step in a fresh pile of cow dung, almost get run over by a car, see an old man peeing on the side of the street, get stalked by creepy guys who want pictures of white girls, smell the rotting garbage that is EVERYWHERE and am harassed by store clerks... it's hard to stay blissful. When the 5th street vendor yells "Hello madame, come madame, fresh chai madame, best chai* in India, good price just for you madame..." it takes every happy yoga vibe in me not to yell back "I hate chai and don't call me MADAME!". But I will say that the harassing is not nearly as bad as I have seen in other countries. I think St. Lucia was probably the worst. Here at least, if you say no people tend to leave you alone and move on to the next person. And I am in Rishikesh, which is a happy tourist town. Some of the stories I heard of Delhi were so disturbing that I decided to change my travel plans. Also, I found out that the Taj Mahal is the most visited place in the world. So that means there must be a million pictures of it already. I will just instagram one of those, avoid the crowds and pretend that I went ;-).
Being in India feels like stepping back in time. It kind of reminds me of Guyana but with 100 times more people. You need to carry a headlamp with you at all time since the power goes out multiple times per day. Like you are taking a shower and then all the lights go off... this happens often. The roads are very thin, usually the width of one and a half cars. But there are cars going in both directions, tons of motorcyclists and scooters weaving in and out of traffic, street vendors pushing huge tables of items to sell, cows, dogs and TONS of people also walking on the road (since there are no sidewalks). And the cars honk like crazy, nearly giving me a heart attack or running over my foot every time. I have seen multiple walls built in the past few weeks. All of them made with 3rd of 4th generation bricks brought in by young boys carrying as many bricks as they can on their heads. The concrete was mixed by hand... everything is done by hand. Even carrying dirt is done with the use of horses or donkeys. Many roads are too small for vehicles even so they use animals to transport. Here's a pic:
What I love about India (or at least Rishikesh) is the sense of community. People here work hard and they work long long days. Everyone knows everyone. If you go to the corner store, the post office, the stationary shop, etc., it's always the same shop owner working, usually from 8am to at least 9pm. And when the power goes out all of the store clerks hang out together in the street and talk. There are no distractions of modern technology, they form real bonds. When someone gets a flat tire, everyone helps. When someone is pushing a trailer of cement by hand up a hill, others jump in and help (see photo above). You also know where you food comes from (for the most part). It has not been processed and sent all over the country. You get your fruit and veggies from local farmers (there is no meat at all in this town) and everything is made fresh. It might take awhile for your food to be made, but nothing is frozen (mostly because they can't keep things cold with the power going out unless they have a generator) and it feels like the path from the ground to your body is much shorter. My yoga teacher was telling us about how when someone dies, the whole community comes together together to hold a ceremony. Neighbours make food, store clerks provide necessary items by donation only and friends and neighbours take care of all the details so the family can just mourn. He could not believe that in the Western culture we hire people to do these things. He felt that we use every opportunity to make a profit and commercialize everything. It was hard to disagree with him.
So yeah at this point, I still have mixed feelings but I do like it here. I am getting used to the smells and the people, becoming really good at bargaining, and am slowly discovering off-road pathways that may take longer but that don't have cars honking focing me to jump out of the way and step in cow shit. I leave on Thursday for Mysore (in Sourthern India). I hear that Southern India is totally different and more modern... might even be able to show my shoulders in public :-O.
Until next time...
~Amanda :-)
* Chai (or Masala Chai) is the drink of choice in India. It is black tea brewed with tons of spices. Most people love it.
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