India — a cultural kaleidoscope.

I have been looking forward to visiting India for a long time and for a number of reasons: my love of Indian food, my fascination about the spiritual Hindu religion/tenets, the colorful images of the landscape and people, plus a strong desire to see how a billion people interact, operate and move through life on a daily basis.

I received two types of reactions when I first mentioned I was going to visit India (from people who have visited India) “You will love it” and/or “You will be shocked/disappointed”. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts at the end of my picture collage.

India is a photography oasis and with so many pictures taken during my 10 day trip to three cities (Mumbai, Delhi and Agra), I found it very hard deciding which ones to post – I hope you like my selection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some images of the Mumbai trains and stations. The trains have separate cars for woman and children ONLY (for safety purposes). Woman can ride in the unisex cars but usually when accompanied by a male friend or boyfriend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here were some of my everyday street scenes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every Indian city I visited showcased countless street food venders and markets selling everything imaginable. Many times I wanted to try the very fragrant, visually appealing and authentic street food, but unfortunately my hyper-hygienic side could never quite mesh with my adventurous “I have to try that” side!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted to share pictures from Mumbai’s Dhobi Ghat, the world’s largest outdoor laundry. To this day, hospitals, hotels and commercial businesses still send their garments to this well oiled centuries old business. Each concrete pen has its own flogging stone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flower markets were beautiful and plentiful throughout every city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How could one go to India and not pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of my food selections (apologies for the dim lighting)…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On route to visit the iconic Taj Mahal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I sit back and think more about my trip to India, I cannot find that perfect one-liner to express my overall experience.  When I return from my excursions, my friend Flavia likes to ask me to express in three individual words how I felt about my trip…I was tongue tied after this trip and I struggled in one of those rare moments in expressing my thoughts — which I guess is a statement in and of itself about my trip.

I really enjoyed my on-on-one conversation with the Indian people (e.g. my public transportation comrades, small shop owners, fellow shoppers and restaurant diners, etc.) – they were all very bright, passionate, helpful, engaging and sincere.

I loved all components of my Indian food experience – from confirming traditional favorites to discovering new favorites – conversations surrounding the Indian culinary world and the pride shown by the people making their food come alive.

The colorful fabrics used for the Saris and Punjabi suits worn by the women of India are simply beautiful. Seeing this splash of color throughout the day and night added instant happiness to an environment that is more about surviving than living.

You can see technology is being implemented whenever possible; for example, the underground metro system is really nice – it needs more trains because commutes have become too long with so many stops on individual lines — but the operational aspects and equipment of the system is spot on.

I found very few moments (one or two) of what I refer to as traveler’s peace — a time were you can move throughout your day with a sense of calm that everything is refreshingly new and comfortable, no crazy surprises seem to be on the horizon and you can simply enjoy the fact that you are experiencing another culture with no protective shield up or on — emotionally or physically (strong body language).

During this trip, I always felt I had to be “on” because of the overwhelming begging and solicitations as you walked the streets and entered shops. The constant haggling over prices for all services and products (e.g. taxi fares, bottle of water, etc.) even in the nice hotels you felt pressure to tip with every interaction, or use extra energy in navigating the staff’s recommendation of using “their friends” for services because they would give you a “special deal” — you always felt like you were being worked over.

There was a sensory overload with the poverty factor. I (we) have seen poverty before but this was a different level of poverty, it was something you could not escape by walking around the corner to a new and more western setting of normalcy — this poverty was palpable ( all poverty is) but the scope and depth of this poverty was jolting.

For the second time in my life I felt the uncomfortableness, the uneasiness and pressure of being a minority (China being my first experience). Sure at times, you enjoy the celebrity feeling because of all the attention but those moments are few and far between – like being asked to have your picture taken because it’s rare to see a white person, these moments are easy and fun. Unfortunately, you mainly feel the intense starring from onlookers when walking down the street, or walking into a store, restaurant, public building, train or metro car. You feel and/or experience the room/area go silent because of your entrance – your every move being watched, analyzed and talked about – this is a very strange and uncomfortable because you hear the whispering going on around you, but you don’t know if it is good or bad whispering?

India has many layers and for me, traveling India was a kaleidoscope of emotion — a rational and intellectual tug of war. India needs to be on everyone’s bucket list because India will push you outside of your comfort zone and challenge you on how you see, interpret and interact with individuals who are probably living in a different economical and social world than you.

No other travel experience has made me appreciate Marcel Proust’s very profound quote so much… ” The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes”.