BREAKING. WHITE MAN SHARES THOUGHTS ON INDIA AFTER SHORT VACATION
Whoever called the psychedelic experience ”a trip” must have been reminded of a recent vacation to India. The parts of India we visited (the Golden Triangle) have been an unmitigated sensory overload and constant and total chaos - food that makes every other culture seem incredibly bland, the constant noise, the polluted air (some of the dirtiest on the planet), the striking poverty, the litter, the colorful and detailed religious displays, beautiful clothing and rich history, the music, and animals everywhere (everything from elephants to cows to dogs to parrots to snake charmers). There really isn’t anything comparable to it in America. The closest experience I can think of is a state fair at night, maybe after a few drinks - lights, noise, people, food, trash, constantly swirl around you without any real sense of order. The population density is much higher and most people walk so even small towns are filled to the brim with people (and animals). Roads may be two lanes but traffic will be in three or four.
Imagine waking up in your hotel to jackhammers, and hearing stray dogs howling outside. You open the curtains and see piles of garbage in the streets and a light blue fog obscuring the city. You open the window and quickly realize it’s smog - your first deep breath of the day is filled with diesel and smoke. Walking outside you immediately feel like a piece of bread thrown in a koi pond as people approach you on the streets. Then you turn a corner and you see goats and cows walking freely, and an old lady making small dishes with their manure to prepare for an upcoming religious festival. To your right an old man makes chai on an old wooden stall with milk he purchased around the corner. Tuk tuks swarm around you and beep incessantly like a swarm of geese letting each other know their location. You walk across a bridge that is basically turning into a dirt road as the Asphault remains in disrepair. You see a slum below under the train tracks with children laughing and women in colorful clothing and veils. You hop in a Tuk Tuk that shakes violently on the uneven road as you pass young men pushing giant carts of fruit, another making fresh rotis over an open flame, and more chai. A huge whiff of incense wafts in from a nearby temple. At the first stop light a sex worker, who is a man dressed as a woman approaches you and wishes you a blessing. The driver quickly notes “they have two careers. Astroligst during the day and another at night. Don’t worry they just want to wish you a blessing. Give them a few rupees.” At this point you’ve been outside for about half an hour. Welcome to India.
While we were only here for a few days, we experienced everything from frightening nightmarish conditions (a group of drunks swarmed us when we stepped out at a local market) to exhilarating (just hop in a Tuk Tuk in busy traffic for this) to blissful (walking through the mosques, centuries old forts, or the Taj Mahal or simple things like chatting with nice people about their lives over tea).
Religion was also a much deeper part of life here. While the US has churches on every corner there isn’t much on display outside of a typical cross necklace or something. We only real dress up for sports. Here large mosques and temples are at the center of town and are filled with people. For many their clothing will signal their beliefs. Stores will regular have statues, art work, incense, or prayer rugs. While it was clear there was a lot of superstition (lots of talk about good luck and good fortune for doing certain ceremonial religious acts) but people seemed very sincere in their devotion and Iiked to tell us about what they believed.
Whoever called the psychedelic experience ”a trip” must have been reminded of a recent vacation to India. The parts of India we visited (the Golden Triangle) have been an unmitigated sensory overload and constant and total chaos - food that makes every other culture seem incredibly bland, the constant noise, the polluted air (some of the dirtiest on the planet), the striking poverty, the litter, the colorful and detailed religious displays, beautiful clothing and rich history, the music, and animals everywhere (everything from elephants to cows to dogs to parrots to snake charmers). There really isn’t anything comparable to it in America. The closest experience I can think of is a state fair at night, maybe after a few drinks - lights, noise, people, food, trash, constantly swirl around you without any real sense of order. The population density is much higher and most people walk so even small towns are filled to the brim with people (and animals). Roads may be two lanes but traffic will be in three or four.
Imagine waking up in your hotel to jackhammers, and hearing stray dogs howling outside. You open the curtains and see piles of garbage in the streets and a light blue fog obscuring the city. You open the window and quickly realize it’s smog - your first deep breath of the day is filled with diesel and smoke. Walking outside you immediately feel like a piece of bread thrown in a koi pond as people approach you on the streets. Then you turn a corner and you see goats and cows walking freely, and an old lady making small dishes with their manure to prepare for an upcoming religious festival. To your right an old man makes chai on an old wooden stall with milk he purchased around the corner. Tuk tuks swarm around you and beep incessantly like a swarm of geese letting each other know their location. You walk across a bridge that is basically turning into a dirt road as the Asphault remains in disrepair. You see a slum below under the train tracks with children laughing and women in colorful clothing and veils. You hop in a Tuk Tuk that shakes violently on the uneven road as you pass young men pushing giant carts of fruit, another making fresh rotis over an open flame, and more chai. A huge whiff of incense wafts in from a nearby temple. At the first stop light a sex worker, who is a man dressed as a woman approaches you and wishes you a blessing. The driver quickly notes “they have two careers. Astroligst during the day and another at night. Don’t worry they just want to wish you a blessing. Give them a few rupees.” At this point you’ve been outside for about half an hour. Welcome to India.
While we were only here for a few days, we experienced everything from frightening nightmarish conditions (a group of drunks swarmed us when we stepped out at a local market) to exhilarating (just hop in a Tuk Tuk in busy traffic for this) to blissful (walking through the mosques, centuries old forts, or the Taj Mahal or simple things like chatting with nice people about their lives over tea).
Religion was also a much deeper part of life here. While the US has churches on every corner there isn’t much on display outside of a typical cross necklace or something. We only real dress up for sports. Here large mosques and temples are at the center of town and are filled with people. For many their clothing will signal their beliefs. Stores will regular have statues, art work, incense, or prayer rugs. While it was clear there was a lot of superstition (lots of talk about good luck and good fortune for doing certain ceremonial religious acts) but people seemed very sincere in their devotion and Iiked to tell us about what they believed.
Because of the fast growing population, there is a surplus of labor and wages are very low (around $150/month for basic jobs) with an expectation you will work for 12 hours a day for 6 days a week. Maybe 7 if you live on site. Because of this, people hire a few more people and consequently service was off the charts. They are able to provide an experience that simply isn’t possible and with a level of quality that is vastly better than what you’d typically find in an emerging economy. This is also what daily life is like for upper class citizens. It’s not uncommon to have multiple staff members at a home. I spoke with a couple guys who noted they had five staff members. They noted they had a lot of difficulty adapting to life in the US where they had to do their own laundry, cook for themselves, and drive around on their own.
The economy also functions very differently. There is no Amazon or Walmart. Small businesses are everywhere - on every corner are little shops filled with merchandise and craftsmen who have been carrying on their traditions for generations (this seemed to be a very big source of pride for the business people we met). At the markets, dozens of similar shops will cluster together providing everything from bridal clothing to hardware to marble statues. Whatever you want, you can find it. On the off chance you can’t, someone can probably make it, and likely within a day or two. Because of the low wage, the hustle is very very real. It was rare that 5-10 minutes would pass without someone asking us to buy something or utilize one of their services. Despite this, delivery was also better than the US. With the proliferation of Tuk tuks shop owners could easily get something to your hotel in 10 minutes. I ordered a custom shirt from a bolt of fabric at 5pm and when we returned to our hotel at 9:30 it was hanging on my door.
While I certainly can’t say everything was all pleasant it was an incredibly interesting experience and I am grateful I had the chance to see it firsthand. With a billion people and centuries of history each part of India is very different. We hope to come back and see the country again.
Also sorry for the long post! I had three cups of coffee, a six hour flight and no WiFi. 😂
The economy also functions very differently. There is no Amazon or Walmart. Small businesses are everywhere - on every corner are little shops filled with merchandise and craftsmen who have been carrying on their traditions for generations (this seemed to be a very big source of pride for the business people we met). At the markets, dozens of similar shops will cluster together providing everything from bridal clothing to hardware to marble statues. Whatever you want, you can find it. On the off chance you can’t, someone can probably make it, and likely within a day or two. Because of the low wage, the hustle is very very real. It was rare that 5-10 minutes would pass without someone asking us to buy something or utilize one of their services. Despite this, delivery was also better than the US. With the proliferation of Tuk tuks shop owners could easily get something to your hotel in 10 minutes. I ordered a custom shirt from a bolt of fabric at 5pm and when we returned to our hotel at 9:30 it was hanging on my door.
While I certainly can’t say everything was all pleasant it was an incredibly interesting experience and I am grateful I had the chance to see it firsthand. With a billion people and centuries of history each part of India is very different. We hope to come back and see the country again.
Also sorry for the long post! I had three cups of coffee, a six hour flight and no WiFi. 😂
@motupack26 Have different cultures***
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