I am meeting up with my friend B and her husband, and since they are foreigners currently living in India, I am more or less expecting to be taken care as if I were a lost little child.
B is coming with me on the trip to Rajasthan and Punjab, then I'm accompanying her husband to an Indian wedding up in the Himalayas, before spending a few weeks visiting Amritsar, Shimla and Dharamsala on my own.
B is coming with me on the trip to Rajasthan and Punjab, then I'm accompanying her husband to an Indian wedding up in the Himalayas, before spending a few weeks visiting Amritsar, Shimla and Dharamsala on my own.
As a women travelling alone I have tried to pack rather unflattering clothes, and I've also invested in a "wedding ring". So you can now call me "Mrs Fox". Or "Mrs Lynx". Or both. It all depends on whether you decide I got married in Utah or not. The only thing left to guarantee my privacy is a large size safari hat, a sawed-off shot gun and a tame tiger trolling behind me. Plus a few stern looking Sikhs carrying my luggage, just to send off the lovely wibe of British megalomania. It might at least ensure me a seat on that train.
Even with a plan and tickets in hand, India can still frustrate, intimidate, and exasperate. Trains are late. Flights are cancelled. Buses are crowded. Indians are noisy. people urinate publicly. Grown men spit, fart, and belch loudly. Touts rip you off. No one gives you a straight answer. "How much longer?" is always 10 more minutes. Tasty food makes you sick. Poverty is rampant. Children beg. Animals are neglected. Traffic snarls. Pollution chokes. The stench overwhelms. Officials are corrupt. Cops demand bribes. Women are confined by a conservative culture. Crowds touch and grab. Men stare. Horns incessantly blare. Filth and trash obscure beauty. Random people photograph you. Whether the factual answer is yes or no, you will likely be told yes.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest lesson we have learned through our last year here is that India just needs to be accepted as is and she's not going to change anytime soon for anyone. Despite what you desire or expect or organize, India will simply do as she does. And really, India's idiosyncrasies and sheer foreignness can be part of her charm when taken with a sense of humor and quite a few grains of salt. In so many ways, India is the most wonderful and charming country we've been to...so much to see, so much to take in and experience. A rich culture and a history blended from indigenous culture, Mughal influence, British rule, and recent globalization. The temples and mosques are amazing, the people generous and friendly, the clothing bright, the cultural traditions fascinating and engaging, the regional differences stark and complex, and every place new and unique. Monkeys abound in urban and rural areas; festival elephants occasionally wander through the street and camels are put to work; sadhus meander, philosophize, and smoke chillums; Hindus, Shias, Sunnis, Sufis, Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Sikhs, Ba'hai and Jews worship; tradition and modernity clash, intertwine, and complement. Smells, sounds and sights mingle and often overwhelm. It really is a place like no other. India is not a place you can change, but she will very likely change you. B and Husband