God bless always

joelle

Miss you much,

J

How do you like the coffee?

secondly, i can say that i can relate to every word that you write except the ‘dead bodies everywhere’ bit.

everytime i’ve visited india, i’ve also viewed it from a tourist’s point of view despite being of indian ethnicity myself. i found myself trapped in the disconnect between the India that my parents (in canada) had left behind and told me about … and the India that I experienced. as a result, there have been plenty of times when I’ve reacted very negatively towards the country and have been touted a snob for doing so.

truth of the matter though is, like you correctly pointed out, nothing can ever prepare you for india. it’s not just physically draining but also emotionally draining especially for someone like me who has spent far too many years in the sanitized environs of north america. in india, there is poverty, chaos on the roads, exploitation at every level, filth, dirt, beggars, hawkers, cheaters .. u name it .. and every time i go there, i promise myself that i’d never go back ….. strangely, i find myself booking tickets again every year. part of the reason could be that my husband’s family lives there but mostly, it’s the color, the vibrancy, the life, the diversity that you mention. also, its amazing history despite all the negatives that stick out like sore thumbs. either way, i don’t disagree with your perspective at all. in fact, i find myself nodding along.

@ shreyas:
“I only wish you could spend more time exploring this wonderful country that i am definitely proud to be a part of.”

i am yet to see someone who is not proud of the country that he/she a part of through birth or voluntary naturalization. everyone thinks that their country is the most wonderful in the world.

“I guess the problem lies with us Indians not doing enough to showcase the real india to the world, dont u think???”

you mean the ‘good parts’ of india eh? the real india also comprises the view that tourists see. i’ve seen some parts of real india that tourists don’t see. i’ve seen maids at various middle class indian homes being exploited. i’ve seen them getting beat up by their husbands and later mistreated by their employers and they keep taking it. i’ve seen those workers being exploited. is that real india? or is that part of india real where they are killing off their daughters? or is that india real where daughters are regularly being prostituted for money? or forced into marriage at the age of 12 and made to bear kids with much older men and get beat up by them too? or the india where so many don’t have access to education? or the India where girls can’t go to schools because there are no proper toilet facilities at schools? what India are you talking? What real India? The real india of 5-star hotels? The real india of IT high -rises in hyderabad overshadowing slums on the side? The real india where people are okay with a young child serving them in a restaurant?

what real india?

Are you alluding to the Indian warmth of playing hosts to guests? well, that certainly gets disproved when your guests are cheated by lying hawkers. that also gets disproved when your guests have to live with the fear of getting raped. when some girlfriend of mine asks me if she should travel in India, I tell her strictly not to travel alone. Why should I need to if indians knew how to play good hosts?

I know I am indian by ethnicity and I have no qualms about it. I am glad I am born into a culture with a strong value system to keep me grounded as a human being … but I’d be the last one to get offended if someone to criticize anything wrong with my culture. I host a blog at http://unwantedgirlchild.blogspot.com where I write of female foeticide ….. something that’s prevalent mostly in the culture that i belong to ….and I’ll condemn it for as long as I can.

Macarena, I apologize for hogging your comment space. My take from a long time ago:
http://roopscoop.wordpress.com/2008/04/04/traveling-again/

All you Indians who feel this post is untrue should visit the villages of Bihar, UP and MP.

India has miles to go before it can be called a developed land.

We Indians cannot and should not argue of possessing a rich history as an excuse for having poverty and hunger in our land.

Ironically we’ve got most of our amazing history as a result of all those centuries of foreign invasions!

You always inspire me to continue to explore and travel the world. I absolutely love the pics from India. It brought back so many memories of my 2005 India trip. Say “hi” to your mom for me.

Your blog has a lot of relevant information. Life is truly a journey where we face a gamut of experiences from the most hilarious to the very bizarre. Please keep coming up with great informative posts. I really like to read about travel destinations all across the globe. I love experiencing cross-country cultures.

Thanks
Arzoo