India. This place makes you think, man. It's so mixed and different everywhere you go. From state to state, crossing 50km over the border, the scenery, food, dress, religion and particularly the language can change dramatically. It has been a blessing that English has been widespread through the sub-continent. Not having the language barrier has allowed us to learn more about the people living here than in any other country we've visited, especially during the long hours on the trains, buses and stops in between.
As our friend, Dustin, said (I'm paraphrasing), "India effects you, deeply." And he was right. He, of course, is not talking about the lime-colored Tea Plantations of Kerala, the glowing Golden Temple of Punjab or even the perfectly symmetrical Taj Mahal of Uttar Pradesh. It's her people that effect you - all in very different ways, positive and negative.
We have heard many travelers generalize the whole of India based on their encounters either in the North or South parts, assuming the entire nation is of the same mind and character. I believe this to be a great misunderstanding. Not just because it's simply not true (are New Yorkers the same as Texans?), but for obvious reasons. Just like in any relationship, your baggage can unfairly impress certain attributes on someone new and completely unrelated. Naturally, this mostly pertains to negative interactions, which can potentially alter or even halt your receptivity to new experiences and encounters.
We've definitely had our share of badgering and harassment from vendors, autorickshaw drivers and those asking for a spare Rupee or two - it's to be the case in tourist-soaked cities where foreigners are no longer novel but profitable, where the income of many merchants solely depends on sales to foreigners - but good or bad, I can speak for Matt when I say, "We love India!"
We've never been to a place that has made us really think and reevaluate our own role in the World - as a person from a wealthy nation, with an income 10 fold more than most here, as someone with the freedom and opportunity to decide your own path, and lastly, as a human being in regards to morality and ethics.
- (Now, I would just like to pause here for a moment, as I'm aware this all sounds a bit dramatic, but I've tried several times trying to come up with commentary on architecture and scenery for a post, but I'm falling short. All my most memorable moments have involved people, again good and bad (it hasn't all been peaches and cream), and through this evokes candid, raw emotion. So, that's what I'm going with.)
This country is indeed all about emotion and contradictions - I feel this out of all the stereotypes is most true about India, even more so than how "dirty" it is - after 2 months here, we still haven't seen the elusive person who decides to pop a squat, do the doo, go #2 right next to our feet. We still have one more city to visit - Varanasi - before we leave. Maybe we'll witness this phenomenon there - we know he exists, we just haven't met him yet.
Because more than anywhere else we've visited, India is a place where the journey truly is what makes it so extraordinarily unique, not the destinations. Not to say there aren't exquisite natural and man-made wonders here, but you can't simply just see her sites. You have to interact with her people.
