Many of the best trips for me involves what is really a journey in time; moving across borders and ending up in a place where the issues of the day are turned on in my head. India has been one of the most eye-opening, one which I find myself on my toes constantly, where every corner presents a learning opportunity to take-home. Over the course of my time abroad, I have met numerous visitors to India who find themselves easily provoked by the hygiene, overwhelmed by the never-ending masses of people at every corner of the city and largely perplexed by the rampant poverty across the country. Personally, I find it captivating. After all, my point of travelling is to leave a comfort zone and experience something different. The brains and hands behind the construction of the numerous forts and palaces in Rajasthan fascinates me. Or the rice farmer who is up earlier than the sun every morning for the last two decades still puts me in constant admiration. Pictures and words can hardly do them justice. India alone would be a life’s work, and you probably still won’t be done understanding the differences between regions, ethnicities, cuisines and traditions. One thing that amuses me was how much attention an outsider would receive simply by walking along any busy street. It becomes quite a hassle after some time, with the unending questions of my name and where I came from. Yet, amidst all the crowd and noise, if you truly took time to observe what’s around you, there is so much to takeaway. The young waiter serving me my tikki masala dinner in a dust-filled back street in Delhi also attends classes at his local university in the morning. His childhood mate now studying in the States is a teaching assistant at Stanford. The lady selling silk and fabric in Bundi has a son finishing college soon. Anything less than perfect grades would be frowned upon within the village. India is, truly, a world of its own. The blazing heat and petrol-smelling streets would likely be a constant headache. But aside from all of that, the culture that drives many of them, the sheer resilience to keep thriving no matter the circumstance: perhaps this, as much as how negative the country is portrayed in today’s media, is India’s hidden gem.
