Incredible India!

"So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked."

Mark Twain

This past month, the India YAVs went on a tour of North India to better understand the diversity and the rich cultural heritage of the country. Every region, every state of India is different, bound together only by the legacy of British colonial rule. Kerala is in no way a fair representation of all India, just as Texas is not a fair representation of the other 49 United States. Within many states, there exist many different peoples, religions and languages. Even though we traveled for a month around North India, we saw only a small part of the country. We tried to see as much as we could, but knew that we were missing a lot.

On this journey I visited 8 Indian states, spent about 140 hours (almost 6 full days) on different trains, walked countless miles and heard six different languages. There is no way I could do justice to everything that I saw or all the experiences that I had in just one blog post, so here is a summary of my 1 month tour:

• Agra: I saw the sun rise and set on the Taj Mahal and explored the ruins of the beautiful Agra fort. I learned that with the right people and the right reading material, a 40-hour train ride can actually be fun.
• Jaipur: I climbed up to a small temple famous for the monkeys that congregate at sunset and learned how to charm a cobra (the trick is to remove the teeth). While trying to eat as cheaply as possible, I became acquainted with the delicious Dal Makhani (pulses slow simmered in ghee).
• Jaiselmer: While staying in the city that must have been the inspiration for Agraba (in Disney’s Aladdin), I marveled at the intricate carvings that covered several Jain temples. I rode a camel into the Thar Desert and slept outside under a canopy of stars after singing Simon and Garfunkel’s “Cecelia” with our camel driver.
• McLeod Ganj: I indulged in the cool mountain air and enjoyed the sight of thousands of Tibetan prayer flags waving in the breeze. I could not escape some famous cricket players (and their fan clubs), but did get a glimpse of His Holiness the Dalai Lama!
• Amritsar: I spent hours wandering around the Golden Temple (the holy center of Sikhism) and shared in the community meal called langar. This was one of the most spiritually stirring experiences I have had in India. I also witnessed the amazing Border-Closing Ceremony between India and Pakistan.
• Mussoorie: I attended a hilltop carnival in the foothills of the Himalayas and could (just barely!) see a snowcapped peak in the distance. For the first time in more than a year, I had to wrap myself in a blanket to ward off the cold.
• Haridwar: I waded in the Ganges among thousands of pilgrims, which helped me to escape the burning heat of the sun.
• Delhi: I visited a massive mosque and meandered through several Mughal tombs. I paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at his last home and the spot where he fell. I learned how to haggle with rickshaw drivers and shop owners.
• Goa: I chilled on the beach and tasted some delicious seafood, cooked tandoori style. I basked in the familiar scenery of South India, and enjoyed the warmth of the Indian Ocean.

After a month of sleeping on trains, frantically calling hotels to make reservations, catching 4am buses and adjusting to the unique chemical composition of North Indian food, it felt great to come home to Kerala. The coconut trees seemed to wave hello to us as we rolled into Kerala and the skies treated us to a beautiful thunderstorm. I had already fallen in love with this small and relatively inconsequential state, but a month of North India fixed Kerala’s place in my heart.

I am incredibly happy to be back in familiar places and surrounded by familiar faces. I returned to my work on Monday with an energy that a month ago I hadn’t thought possible. It didn’t hurt that the girls at Saanthwanam ran out to meet me and nearly knocked me over with the force of their hugs, or that the women’s faces at Asha Bhavan broke into huge, bright smiles when I returned. Though it had been fun to roam, it was good to be back home.

Sunrise over the Thar Desert in Rajasthan

Cynthia making friends with a cow Jaiselmer, Rajasthan