I came back from my trip to India yesterday, and I have a lot of thoughts that I would like to type out. India has assaulted my senses and my sensibilities so much that these thoughts shoot in and out of my mind and I can never focus on one thing completely without being dragged off down a different thought, and even that is much like India. While you’re in traffic (the worst traffic I’ve ever been in, by the way) you zoom by some of the most amazing buildings I’ve ever witnessed, and some of the most heart-wrenching scenes of poverty you can imagine. But before you can focus on any of that, you’re already trying to make sure you don’t hit the scooter with three people on it riding in front of you, or making sure the bus full of people – with people on the roof, and hanging off the side – isn’t about to run you off the road. A land of incredible opportunity, as well as incredible limitations. And get this; all the while I was meeting my girlfriend’s parents, getting to know her family (and extended family, and friends, and servants, and friends…oh boy), so I really didn’t even have time to focus on that properly. But luckily, Moulsari’s father is very knowledgable about India, history as well as the different cultures that live and thrive within its borders, and is always willing to talk about it. So I feel I got a crash-course, and it’s slowly sinking in.
I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Jain, and all their brothers and sisters, Palash, Praachi, Mayank, Gautam, Pooja and Saleem, for making me feel very welcome in a country so far away from – and a family so different than – my own. More as I collect my thoughts.
