Enlightenment of India

This has been an amazing trip. As you can tell that I've been rather absent from blogging. Hehe... Guilty as charged.

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Well, it has come to an end of my awesome journey in India. And I'm flying off back to reality tonight. Back to my work, to my paintings and my family and friends. Which I also missed dearly.

I made some new friends on this trip which I hoped to keep in touch and will be able to travel with again. I made some new discovery, about myself and my new perspective in life. I would say, it has been a really enlightening trip.

India, overall, has been more wonderful than I had anticipated.

Well, I had anticipated the pollution, the dirtyness, the touchy men, the sleazy pick up lines; but what I didn't anticipate was how insusceptible I was to Indian food. With all the Indian cuisine and curries I've been scoffing down on a daily basis, I was surprised I didn't even catch a single belly bug.

Though so far I've avoided street vendor food but I have taken food from stranger's hand and ate the whole glob down; to be fair, it was in a temple, and one of the cleanest temples I've stepped in in my life. Those sikhs can really keep their holy places clean.

I've been to the slums, and stepped over piles of children's shits (literally), gazed at the railway tracks in which they filmed "slumdog millionaire", calculated their living cost in those hands-me-down shabby shelters (which would range between 250-400 rupees, not more than RM24 per month), and more kids than I could count running everywhere, asking for 2 rupees for a photo of/with them; or a bottle of coke, or juice, or some candies. Anything you have was a luxury to these kids.

I will hold these memories dearly to my heart as I pack to leave for the airport, later tonight.
The toughness and harsh reality of poverty as a reminder to my blessings; and the wondrous cultural exposure that was so different to my own, or to anywhere I've ever been.

Either way, India has successfuly captured my heart. I felt myself falling in love with every growing seconds of staying in this country. I still know very little of this place, as I have admitted before; and despite that, it did it for me. With that I will depart with a heavy heart, hoping one day I will return, and soon; with more adventures in mind, more generosity to give and more stomach for their exotic spiciness.

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5 kissed Nicole

  1. Hehe.. am glad that you felt it the way.. I absolutely love India..

    India did change my life and everything else.. The poverty that perpetually ravages the nation did not stop the people from being happy, if not happier than the ones in the developed nations.

    Don't have mobile phone? No problem
    Don't have a car? No problem
    Don't have internet? No problem
    Don't have high tech toys? No problem
    Don't have LCD TV? No problem

    We (Indian people) are still happy and enjoying what we can and what we have..

    Their generosity despite their lack is what really touched me..

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  2. Dear Nicootan,

    Beautiful thoughts shared by a beautiful person. Rarely have I seen people who have not fallen in love with India once they have visited. You are only bound to back and share more wonderful experiences about India.

    regards

    Shailesh

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  3. Y U NO UPDATE???

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  4. i'm actually reading this from india right now. sadly i can't say i agree 100% with your sentiments on india. i'm probably going to get some hate for this, but i find it slightly depressing in India. I knew this would be a poor country but i honestly expected the main city itself to be much like kl. i was rather shocked by what i saw to be honest. the contrast you see between the rich and the poor here is just too glaring. you literally see 5 star hotels next to slums! i am guilty of living in comfort most of my life and back home in malaysia i have very little interaction with those less unfortunate. I am not completely lving under a rock of course so i am aware that a lot of malaysians are living in poverty too. But back home, i can sort of forget about them, after all, out of sight, out of mind. But here, it is just not possible to ignore the fact that the world is unfair and that there are ppl out there without the bare necessities. and i find myself feeling slightly depressed each time i go out. I feel very guilty that i'm living in comfort and also angry at myself for not bothering to do anythng about it. I know this should probably inspire me to help, but it is just too overwhelming. So yes, i would rather live in ignorance and ignore the fact that there are poor ppl out there instead of actually doing something and helping them out.

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  5. India has myriad historical and beaches and beautiful hill stations. You can different culture, people, religion, customs and festivals. One thing I must say, be careful to unknown person, they could hurt you.

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