Incredible India

Looking back at the twelve days I spent in India, I think of curry chicken. Yes indeed, there is some resemblance between the country and its food. I mean it’s definitively special, tasteful, spicy, even unique, but sometimes it’s just too hard to digest.

First impressions were disastrous, starting from the moment I breathed in the viscous, hot, polluted air of New Delhi. If air had calories, this one would be an equivalent of a Big Mac covered with candy and whipped cream. As we got off at Main Bazaar, we had to fight our way through to the hostel. We found ourselves surrounded by children grabbing our arms and asking for money and strangers proposing taxi services or basically misguiding us. The cherry on the cake: a cow pissing in the middle of the market place. Well, that’s probably the healthiest thing to do in that area, having in mind the aroma coming from the public toilets just around the corner…

The electricity system of the guest house that killed the charger of our laptop

Second day: still adapting myself. Especially to the roads with no pedestrian zones.  That’s the most stressful part. Walking in India means trying to find your path between motorbikes, rigshaws (local open three-wheeled taxies), dogs, bicycles, other pedestrians, cows and, of course, cow shit. You can already imagine the smell, but the sound, well, that’s just another story. Every automotive device beeps intensively trying to get others out of their way. The beeping is not the classical one, but rather reminds of a conversation between dozens of crazy chickens.

In general, I found Indians to be very insisting without being aggressive. Once I was walking down an especially crowded road, really tired after a night spent in a train and two hours of walking under the sun. I felt a bicycle bump against my leg several times. My nerves got out of control and I started yelling and swearing. When I turned around, I didn’t see a rude face of a confident man, but a child who looked really scared because of my yelling. Insisting and trying to get through must be something written in their genes or survival guides. Similarly, they insist when trying to sell something or staying on their spot when you ask them to move so that you can take a picture. Never aggressive, always smiling.

Long  story short, the only thing I liked about New Delhi was leaving New Delhi. The next town we visited, Pushkar, was a lot more charming. It had a lake with many temples around it, as well as mountains, one of which we climbed just before sunrise. Pushkar is the place I enjoyed the most in India for the quietness it offers.

After Pushkar we visited Agra to see one of the world’s seven wonders, the Taj Mahal palace. In constrast to most  palaces, it doesn’t shine and shimmer with gold. It is majestic and modest at the same time, revealing the preciousness of stones it’s made of only in the intimacy of moonlight that makes them glow. Marvelous place.

The Indian adventure ended in Varanasi, a town a lot bigger than Pushkar, but also on a river surrounded by temples and ghats. Some of them are burning ghats used for cremation. People are burned next to strangers watching, cows walking around and children bathing in the holy river. That’s where you get to watch how death is part of life. It doesn’t terrify or disgust you, but has a stupefying effect.

Nothing to tell about the last two days in India, spoiled by a food infection, the regrettable and yet so frequent happening the country offers to its visitors. Looking forward to the fresh air of the Himalaya.

UPDATE : Follow Lara through the crazy streets of New Delhi!

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1. Gallery: A glimpse of New Delhi

Tags: Delhi, ghat, India, New Delhi, Pushkar, Taj Mahal