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If Indian food is a religion,
then I'm a follower |
On our way back to Delhi, in the fading light of a long, lethargic day in the car, a white on red sign came up repeatedly as I was gathering my thoughts on India. It said: “Six laning in Progress. Any Inconvenience regretted.”
One of the small pleasures I’ve had on this month long trip to India is reading signs which almost invariably have a spelling mistake. A good one I read recently was ”Jents Only” printed on a watered down piece of wood in front of a tiny barbers shack with no door, 2 swiveling chairs that must of seen the time of maharajas and a strong smell of barbers cream. Anyway that’s where I got my haircut in Pushkar. It was a swift, professional haircut followed by a 10 minute ayurvedic head massage for the joke price of 150 rupees (3$).
The sign added something to my experience.
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| No Vanilla in the sky of Khuri at sunset |
“Six laning in Progress. Any Inconvenience regretted.” To me that’s India in a nutshell. At this point I must confess my knowledge of India is based on a short and limited experience in the country. To understand what I mean let’s go back in time a little. I think it is fair to say the Indian “sub-continent” is a political miracle. It went from 532 kingdoms during WWII to 1 country in 1946. It is also a testimony to the greatness of what can be achieved by visionary leaders.
But then again as someone said: You get the politicians you deserve.
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| Alleys in Pahar Ganj, Delhi |
Like a poem by Baudelaire or a Nietzsche philosophy book, India can be be intimidating at first. Its depth, complexity and diversity so hard to grasp for a child of the "culture pub" (advertising generation) like me who is hammered with the message that appearances are what matters. The numerous scammers, touts and hawkers probably won’t help either. You get suspicious and even cynical pretty quickly around here. But once you get past that and if you are lucky enough to have time to meet and enjoy a non commercial relationship with Indians it is worth it. We met here with people like Dr Vandana Prasad, who is among the most generous, spiritual and graceful people I have met.
The feeling I had when sharing with these people was privilege and it somehow made me feel at home, among all this exoticism, bright colors, startling smells and human chaos.
Trying to understand what I love about India, it is simply its character and dignity; I guess that's what reminds of my home "La France". It reminded me of my best friends favorite movie quote: “Just remember the sweet is never as sweet without the sour”
Take Care,
Will
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