India: Final Thoughts

I saw this preview with one of the movies I saw at the end of the year and I have to say, I can not wait to see it. A lot of things India started popping up on me at the end of the year as if God was telling me that this was right.

As my first journey to India comes to a close, I have been reflecting on my time here. I have learned a great deal about India as a nation, the people, the culture, and the food. And all have honestly been fantastic experiences for which I am thankful to have had—even the out of the ordinary ones. I never turn down an experience in life for I learn so much for them. For that I am grateful.

India is a very interesting place. It is not all beautiful—sanitation is an issue—people literally pee on the side of the road--all the time, there appear to be no litter laws, animals roam wild and free, and then there is the traffic. While they claim to have very few accidents, traffic is a mess and never goes above 40 mph. Also, lanes are loose term as they really do not exist either. Right of way is whomever gets their first or honks the most and loudest—there is a lot of honking. I have come to the point where I just look out the windows and not ahead as I have almost had a heart attack one too many times! The earth of India (or at least in Chennai) is brown and green pretty much every where with random spots of color. The trees are not very tall with lots of skinny palm trees and green wild shrubbery, but this place is fairly devoid of color in nature. And quite frankly, dirty. There have been more than a few moments where I just do not want to touch things, but then you have to for whatever reason, and you get through it…with some Purell and bottled water. A great deal of the nation lives in what most Western thinkers would consider poverty or lower class. I have found that it is nothing to see a fairly large, pretty house and literally, right in front of it, a little hut made out of metal sheets and a grass door—and that is someone’s home. For some people the family car is really a little motorcycle. It is not uncommon to see a mom, a dad, and at least one child on these motorcycles. Car seats? They are non existent. This is one of the hardest concepts for me, a mom of a little one in a car seat, to grasp. But here, that is a way of life and not questioned--and a lesson in humility for me.

The trailer that I have here is for “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” which really says so much to me. There is a line in the trailer where Tom Wilkenson and his wife are talking and she says, “How can you bear this country? What do you see that I don’t?” And he says, “The light, the colors, the smiles…it teaches me something.” I am choosing to be Tom in this situation, I want to be taught.

On the exterior, it is very easy to see the things about India that do not exactly make it a vacation destination, but then you take a look around and see that there really is beauty—it just may be harder to see than others. I have seen some of the most beautiful and colorful silk and cotton sarees that you could not even begin to image. Every single one of them is beautiful, and the fabric exquisite. It makes me wish I knew how to do anything at all with these beautiful pieces of fabric. The silk scarves, the handmade rugs, mats, wood carvings and so much more, are really works of art. As much of it is hand made, most things are truly unique. It is not like going to a store in the United States and seeing shirts that come in multiple sizes and colors, but literally going and seeing one of a kind product. There is something to be said for that. See these beautiful flowers?

Image Source

They are pops of color sold on the side of the roads…and sometimes hanging on cars and outside buildings in celebration of a wedding. It is the little things that you look for that makes the journey so incredible. But the beauty that I have enjoyed the most has been the beauty of the people that we have been with the last three weeks. They have been beyond hospitable in making sure that we have been well taken cared of, have answered all of our questions, and have shared so much of their culture and beliefs with us. It has truly been inspiring to be around these people and to know how much pride they have in being Indian. Sadly, it is something that Americans take for granted all too often and sometimes, I feel as though our national pride is missing. Then I come here and for a lot of people, pride overflows. I love that.

At the end of the day, it is all a matter of perspective and the one you choose to look at to see with your eyes. While I do see the un-pretty, I can also find the beauty in where I am and what I am doing. I am thankful for that. I am thankful for this opportunity to see, meet, and be part of a community that makes the world different and more interesting.

Thank you for coming along on this journey with me.