This blog title is a shout out to Kim (Hi Kim!), a travel friend I met, because I totally just coined her subject line that she used when describing her 2 months in Bali. Thanks Kim! Kim actually is traveling Asia also for 6+ months, and has a very creative and fun blog, "Adventures in a Mid-Life Crisis," at http://thelmalooksforclues.blogspot.com. Check it out!
I couldn't think of a better title in describing India, so here are my top 10 things I love about YOU India!!
1. Organized Chaos. Those are the 2 best words I can use to describe India. Seemingly contradicting, yet so appropriate. For a country with more than 1 billion people, it is surprisingly organized, efficient, and functioning. Yet, it is totally chaotic and crazy. The train system is a perfect example. The train system in India is not only has the world's cheapest fares but also has the world's most extensive networks. All the trains I took were fairly on time and had a nice "organized chaos" way of getting tickets and navigating around the train stations, which is a feat in itself.
2. The Colors: I met someone this lady from the US that worked for HP and did package designing. Her team was in India and basically she was there to see where HP printers were being set up and color schemes, such as which colors would appeal to the Indian homes and offices. When she was telling me this, she looked at me with such exasperation, saying "the thing is, I couldn't think of any color that would 'fit.' Here there are just so many colors, everywhere!" I almost laughed (didn't want to be rude), but that is what I, and many other people, love about India! The brighter the better here! From the painted bright blue or pink houses to the bright colorful and beautiful sari's and garlands in the hair, the colors are absolutely spectacular and it could make any drab, dirty, polluted city look beautiful.
3. The people- Generous, proud, warm-hearted, patient, polite... I could go on and on. The patience and politeness is what stands out the most. How often to you hear, "excuse me madam.... would you mind if I XXXX" or "Can I have your permission to take a picture with you?" (umm really, I think I've been in hundreds of pictures. At first it used to bother me, but then again, I've taken plenty of pictures of locals and it is nice that they at least ask...especially as politely as that!). And as we are used to the "NOW" in the States, here people can wait for hours and not even hint at impatience or frustration. Okay, I admit, I have had my fair share of unpleasant interactions (aka rickshaw drivers), buuut for the most part, again, I can't get over how generous and welcoming the people are! It's unfortunate that they sometimes can get a bad reputation of being ruthless, pushy, or competitive, but hey, in a country of 1 billion plus people, it has to be the survival of the fittest! The people here in India especially looooooove foreigners, and if you become friends with them, even if it is just a brief discussion, they will invite you to their home, feed you endlessly, push the family out of their only room to accommodate you as they cram in one room (that happened to be once)... and be totally fine and welcoming of it. It's not just pleasing us, it is wanting and having the desire to have you feel welcome. It is soooo sweet!!!
4. Optimism about the future - I got a hold of this book called Planet India (yes, with all my "down time," he he, I've done a ton of pleasure reading. Author is: Mira Kamdar), and it really portrays India in the now and future. This fact is what I found most remarkable, 1/2 of India's population, yes, that is 1/2 a billion, is under the age of 30. Imagine almost the entire population of the entire US, and then some.... being under 30. With the globailization that is going on, the youth is eager, excited, proud and optimistic about the future. I got into a brief discussion about this with a rickshaw driver of all people, and he said, literally " ", "You will not like this, but American is coming down and India is moving up." Of course I was immediately insulted, but then saw some truth in it. NOT to say I don't believe in America or have faith in our power, buut in many aspects, it is on the brink of global power, economically, financially, you name it. Need I say one word, "outsourcing" or ven medical tourism to prove that point?
Before the young would go oversees and stay there. Now more and more are either opting to stay in India and receive education, or if they do go abroad, they come back and have well-paid jobs. There is soooo soooo much opportunity here!!! I have a friend that came to the US for his graduate education, did extremely well, and then said, "I've met all my goals and have reached a plateau with what I can do here. India has much more growth and opportunity" and he moved back. I was astounded by this, but it is very realistic. In the States we are not as optimistic as we used to be, we fear job security, however here there are plentiful jobs (they definitely have, what I call, "up-size" versus downsizing: you will have one person to take an order, one person to grab the item, one person to wrap it, and one person to ring it up. Hey, you have to have jobs for 1 billion + people). The other thing is that India has learned from our mistakes. In the States we take up 6% of the world's population, however we consume 30% of the earth's resources. India is trying to balance this or come to reasonable terms to have resources. If they become like us, that would be a disaster so I hope they succeed in this big venture! With India being the 2nd-fastest growing economy next to China, but unlike China, because India is the largest democracy in the world, it has greater assets.
5. The Food - Masala dosa's, chapati's, dhal's, thali's, roti's, paneer's, need I say more? Okay, as you see, I was mostly in the South, but I also love the Northern Indian food also. Delicious and satisfying. I've gone through phases of being a vegetarian, and each time I've been more than pleased how many veg options there are.
6. Family/Community Bonds - An older man that I happened to be sitting to next to the bus, after he asked the usual, "where are you from?" "are you married?" And then asked "you travel alone?" And I said, "yes!" And he looked at me strangely and said, "everything okay?" as if someone had left me or something. I tried to explain to him that I chose to travel alone (well, more so because I couldn't find anyone to do all these travels with me). He said, "in India, we never travel alone. Especially woman. I wouldn't let my daughter travel by herself." I get that a lot, and everywhere I go, tourist sits or public transportation alike, it is rare to see less than 5+ family members traveling together. They have a unique and special bond and togetherness that has been lost in our Western World. A randomly met a couple of girls traveling alone to meet family, and I think every 5-10 minutes the phone rang with a family member asking them if they were okay, "they are scared for me" they both said. It was really cute to see. I especially liked it how some families almost adopted me as their own just so I wouldn't be lonely. Sniff sniff. Once, it was so cute, this older lady sat next to me on the bus, and after the simple common questions, she gently rested her arm on my forearm, and then leaned over to rest her head on my shoulder and then promptly fell asleep. It was sooo cute I could die! I was so touched by this because after like 2 sentences she felt comfortable enough for me to sleep on me. At home in the Western world we have that personal space wall and boundary and there is rare public touching, especially to strangers, that it feels nice when such a simple gesture like that happens. I wish my bag was more accessible because I would have loooved to take a picture :-)
Here is a typical scene at a bus station. The bus pulls up, there is a mad exodus both inside and outside the bus. Before even stopping, the people inside the bus are pushing and shoving to get out. Then the people from the outside are pushing and shoving in throwing things in the window to reserve a seat and or shoving their way through the door. It is ruthless and crazy, and each time I am thankful that I get out (or in!) without harm. However, once you get inside and have that seat, everyone is as sweet as pie. People hold each others bags, they are gentle in conversation, food gets passed around... it is just soo funny! So the sense of community here is lovely, but more so the township/village that you live in. People know each other, they help each other out, and it's nice. No wonder weddings typically have 300+ people, because really, everyone is family.
7. Ayurveda and yoga - Both of these things were "born" here and the Indians stand by their word. Have a cough, no Nyquil here, it's an ayurvedic treatment and natural tea. Have a random rash on your leg (ummm... twice that has happened to me) here is a natural soap, no medicated ointments here. Of course they have it, no doubt that the medicine here is CHEAP and effective, but usually first measure of a simple ailment is a natural one. Also, after doing my 1-week yoga retreat I realized I'd forgotten this mind/body connection we have. At home I'm a type A competitor, if I'm not sweating, it is not a workout. Here after I did meditation and different breathing techniques during some asanas (or movements) I realized how calm and focused I felt. I hope to keep up with the practice, and get in touch with the more "spiritual" side of things that locals are so good at. I might become a Yogi! hahaha! (no, probably not).
8. Ambition/motivation - When I did my volunteer work in Vellore at the CMC hospital, the staff got there at 8am... worked till 4:30 pm with a 1/2 an hour lunch, and then I had my lectures from 5:00pm to 6:30pm... for 3 weeks. Loooong days, but NO ONE complained (well, not that I could understand!) and (mostly) kept awake. Many told me that they want to learn to better themselves and obviously help the patients, and didn't mind having these looong days. They also didn't complain as much as we do (or hmm.. maybe its just me!). Again, as they grow up in such a competitive society, they work hard to succeed the best they can. I had also met a 16-year old local girl who was talking about how competitive schools were, not just the individuals,but the schools itself. At her school she is literally taking Yale classes, "I am 16, but in order for our schools to be ahead, we are using their curriculum, college-level material, when I am still in secondary school. But it's okay, the education will take me a long way and it's the way things are around here." Wow. There was also this 22-year old I met that was working on her 2nd masters and going for her phD.
9. Diversity: Landscape and People -
Landscape: Jungles, desserts, beaches, snow-capped Himalayan mountains, beautiful National Parks, forests, there really is everything here. As I noticed on my trip, there are more and more Indian tourists. I met this family and we were talking about travel (no surprise) and they seemed pretty well-to-do, and yet they said, "we don't need to travel anywhere else, we have everything here in our country! There is too much to do here as it is!" And they are right. I spent 3 months traveling a LOT of Southern India however only for about .2 seconds felt like I had seen a lot but then I kept on meeting people that would say, "what? You haven't been XXXX? Or XXXX?" You could really spend years here exploring and it wouldn't be enough. Love it!
People: Just in these 3 months, I went to 3 states in Southern India: Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Each state has its own language, its on music, its own style of wear (hair and sari's and more), traditions and costums... and even religion! Also, the landscape and weather is varied. And this is all of India, not just Southern. India has 200+ dialects and it is MUCH easier traveling India because most people speak English because of all these dialects. All and all, it is so interesting to travel because going into a new state sometimes is pretty much like going into a new country! Can be a little overwhelming sometimes because just as you get comfortable and somewhat familiar with a state, off you go to a new one and have to start all over.
10. Music - Ahh.... from the fun, festive upbeat Bollywood music to the traditional music to nice meditative yoga music, I really enjoyed all of it! Of course I also can't complain about the random bursts of singing you commonly hear too. :-)
I love you India!!! I'll be back!!
