Thirty five days until we depart on what I hope to be one of the greatest trips of our lives. India seems to be a magical place of extreme beauty and chaotic grace. Does that even make sense? Probably not.
When people ask me: Why India? My response tends to waiver between cookie cutter answers about adventure, challenge, or “discovery”, or simply a jumble of vague terms, trailing off into an awkward silence, and overall, a general lack of coherent explanation.
The truth is that it’s been an interest of mine for awhile now. I think it has to do with the utter difference between Indian culture and our own. In that light, this attraction doesn’t seem quite so unusual. In the course of reading (and re-reading) some of my favourite Indian authors, I’ve come across a couple general themes of which I believe ignited my interest in India.
1) “Unity in Disunity”:
In a country of over a billion people living in relatively close quarters to one another within the umbrella of corruption, disorganization, and general contempt and distrust of the authorities; why don’t they all kill each other? Considering the amount of diversity within that populace (religion, caste, language, etc.), the ramifications of that question is compounded.
2) “Chaos Making Sense”:
India was once described to me as “chaos making sense”. When I look at films set in India, or read Indian literature, or speak to those who have returned from there; I can’t fathom how any of it could actually “make sense”. But, somehow, it works. I guess this theme really boils down to perspective.
3) Diversity:
For anyone whose had any experience with India – through media or direct first-hand experience – this should be pretty self-explanatory. There’s a reason why India is sometimes referred to as the “land of extremes”.
For these reasons, my imagination has always seemed to gravitate towards India, but the timing has never seemed quite right. Do I have enough time and money to see/experience a solid chunk of India? Could I do it justice? Am I physically (mentally) prepared for the trip? Those are all questions of which I have pondered for the last five or six years in anticipation for the trip we am finally about to embark on.
Now, that it’s hear those questions have re-emerged. But, I guess you can’t have an adventure without a little bit of uncertainty.
I’ve decided that it’s best to go with no expectations at all.
