I love my India… you can find this phrase printed on stickers, T-Shirts and posters in tourist shops all over India. I love this statement, because it is just so true!
I think I have to explain something about my blog. I am writing about “my” India. India is a little universe by itself. There are as many Indias as there are Hindu gods, 33 million of them!
The country consists of 28 states, every state has its region, there are 22 official languages and there is a great deal of dialects, too. Each place has its own culture and traditions. It could be compared to one of those Russian Babushka dolls, something always contains something more and you never know where this ends.
If you come to India, what you see, live and experience not only depends on where you go, but also on how you travel, with whom and who you meet.
So when I talk about my India, I refer to my personal experiences. You might go or have been to the same places but have a completely different opinion.
My India is influenced by its village people, the backpackers, the freaky travelers, old and young hippies, spiritual seekers, more or less trustable Sadhus, budget hotels, local buses and sleeper class train trips and the simple but complicated things. I have little contact with modern Indian society and the big cities. Maybe because I don’t feel attracted to it, since this is what I miss the least from back “home”.
Sometimes people in Europe ask me “How is India?” There is no answer to this question. India is full of contrasts at all levels. I think that it is what you make of it or what it makes of you, which in the end is the same thing.
A couple of times I went to a Mall in Delhi and in Varanasi. There was a doorkeeper at the entrance to make sure only “acceptable” people would come in. I guess he let me in, because I am European, as I looked anything but acceptable in my shabby hippie travel clothes. But I only realized that when I saw the pretty, modern Indian girls inside the mall in their jeans and tight T-Shirts and the young guys with the latest haircuts, cool sunglasses and brand-name shirts.
In my India the dress code kind of loses its importance and after some months of hardcore travelling, you don’t even notice anymore that your clothes have several holes or that what once was white has turned into an undefinable shade. And one ends up hanging out with people who just look the same, so you don’t realize this until you meet someone who is “acceptably decent”.
The best thing of the mall, that I imediately enjoyed, was the aircondition as it was terribly hot outside. I was no longer used anymore to all the artificial bright lights and it took some time to get adjusted to all the sparkling and shining windows and the high gloss polished floors. I went to enjoy the shop windows and it felt as if I had been beamed into another reality, which felt somehow familiar to me. All the shops and brands you can also find in any mall in Europe were there and on the top floor there was a huge foodcourt and cinema halls. I even bought a cup of expensive Italian ice-cream. I stood at one of the big glass walls overlooking the street and looked down.
Suddenly my ice-cream didn’t taste that good anymore. Out there were the stuffy, grey pollution, the sweaty Rickshaw drivers waiting for passengers, dirty street-kids begging at the traffic light, scabby dogs sniffing around, pavement dwellers having a nap on the side of the dense traffic and cows chewing on plastic bags in the middle of the road. Yep, the real world, my India, was out there!
What I want to say is that I don’t intend to generalize anything, even if it sometimes might sound like it. Nothing is better or worse than the other thing. Things are just different, and so are experiences.
May your India be with you!
I moved to India 8 months ago and could not agree more with your post. I too get asked “How is India” and I am always at a loss to give an answer that encompasses everything I am experiencing. With so much variation in culture and life all over this big country there is just no way to answer that question, see all of it or even fully understand India as a whole.
Good luck with your adventures and I look forward to reading more about them!
Thank you! In which part of this crazy country do you live?
I just adore this post 🙂 so many of your sentences resonated with me! I have been travelling to India each year for 12 years now. People always ask me why I love “my India” so much? It is as you say the “simple but complicated things” make us love it so much! It is very hard to explain that to someone who hasn’t visited India. I like you stick to the mainly rural areas and all my fondest memories are from these places ~ Lakshmi x ps gosh I love your blog…
Mother India has a special power of attraction 🙂
You should come up here to Almora one day, I am sure, you would like it!
Reblogged this on Lakshmi Loves To Shop and commented:
Uma’s blog Himalaya Cakes is an amazing story of love…please check out all her posts and videos for a wonderful insight into life in the foot of the Himalayas ~ Lakshmi.
Ohh, Lakshmi!
It makes me really happy that you enjoy himalayacakes!
It is my pleasure…I hope by re-blogging a few more people might get to enjoy your delightful Himalaya Cakes 🙂 Lakshmi x
Did you notice at the malls that there were mostly only men’s clothing stores too? I went to one mall when I was in Varanasi, and I got so bored.
I saw many ladies stores as well, but yes, more stuff for men. In the end I was so overwrought with all the shops that I didn’t even really look at them anymore. Local stores in India are so much more fun, there you can find everything, but nothing 🙂
The only good thing in a mall is that you don’t have to bargain (I’m really not good at that!)
Thanks for your great information, the contents are quiet interesting.I will be waiting for your next post.
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