My last 35 days

The images of the trips are not necessarily the ones that I was able to captures on camera. I wish I could take a picture of the little shops: the one with just the space for the old shop owner and his sewing machine, an old black Singer as my grandmother’s one, the other next to it that sold from cell phone to battery and who knows what else, then the textile store and the carved statues of all dimensions. The most memorable are the markets, of a rare beauty of colors and abundance, the mini banana hanging all around the stand, and the flower stall close to the temple. Oh the jasmine smell is so incredible! I put some of my hair last night, and every time I was doing a head movement the smell come to me. Now I understand why all these women have it constantly as part of their hairdo. It is the appreciation for little things that makes Indians so special, their easiness to communicate, their smoothness in staying close to each other with gentleness, they refusing aggressiveness, they are amazing me! Going back to the Western world it seems really painful right now. I feel to connect to a level of humanity that seems so much more harmonious. Even the food in the plane is good and I just realize that you can almost judge a country by the quality of the food in the plane! (That’s say a lot about the US where now they don’t even serve you any food at all!) I could spend hours watching the people, and for some much the landscape has its interest, the cities have not. Small and medium size towns have grown in big city almost overnight without any rational urbanization, however they don’t have the feel of the city but little town attached to one another, with their little community and temples and neighbors. The man I was talking to at the airport just confirm it, wherever you live in India you are immediately part of a community, everybody knows you and you know everybody. So at the end it does not seem inevitable that as people become more urbanized they have to become more individualists. Probably young urban couples will not choose to share the household with the husband extended family as it is traditionally done but it doesn’t mean that they don’t do their outings together. The restaurants always set up this long table which means that large groups are common. My impression of India is that is a positive country and their attitude is contagious. The ex president died few days ago and he was considered such an inspiration that he was able to unite an entire nation, the number of posters I saw about him was unbelievable and it was decided an official day of morning with every school and office and most of shops and offices closed. They have a way of assembling a nation at a personal level. Politically their biggest problem is Pakistan, economically China, and internally the corrupted politicians. Everybody seems to agree on these three points. They know their country is moving forward, and probably their biggest asset is to have instilled in society that education is the way to move forward not only as individual but as a nation. I am fascinated by their mix of common sense, traditions and tolerance. In NY tolerance is translated in indifference, here is on respect for others. That same man at the airport tells me that they like to celebrate all holidays even the ones that don’t belong to their tradition or religion. That means something! I have to come back, I am not even gone yet but I have to come back.

Many of them

It is difficult to imagine a country as populous as India, 1.2 billion individuals living with their cultural, religious, language differences but feeling all very Indian. When I think numbers: if only 10% percent of the population starts traveling that's 1/3 of the US population, if there is a political gathering of Rahul Gandhi 250.000 people are expected, if only 5% of the population is highly educated that's basically more than the population of France. It is an indication of power, it is a lot of people who think, operate, work, get going, get by, pray at the temple and talk about good karma, and has a smile to share! However even big cities retain a certain village feel, people gather under a tree for a chat, there is that kind of interaction that you only see in small communities. The power of India is in their unity.

Rajasthan stays with you

At the end of this tour in Rajasthan my best memories besides the impressive forts are the messy markets, the unpaved streets, the colorful saris, the animals walking undisturbed and the desert with his harshness and beauty. When just few hours of rain changes the color of the land and the spirit of the people, you know that you are in a different part of the globe with other priorities and other values. I don’t quite get the Indians with their obsessive sense of having good karma, however karma is luck but also harmony with the rest of their surroundings. As any proud cultures they seem very pleased when you value theirs but they are curious about yours and very amused when they realize how different the West is. They think they understand the West because of colonialism, tourism and the many Indians emigrants but I don’t think they realize the depth of our differences in looking at life. Now I understand why the Indians stick together in their community in the US, what really can they share with an anglo culture?

The mother cow

It is really true that Indian cows are different, they have regalia! I thought I would have seen some very skinny cows, and there were some in the desert and some roaming through trash, but mostly they were heavy, beautiful creatures been part of Indian life. I have never seen so many varieties of cows however they all share that gentleness and that serenity as if they knew that they will not be someone's dinner. I resent that nobody explain me when I was a child the reasons why that even if at that time many Indians were probably starving they would not eat the cows. There is a very logical explanation, the cow will give me milk forever so it is the mother of this land! The cow will ensure the survival of humanity so Hindus consider them sacred because they simply are. In India I start loving cows too, I start looking at them with another eye, with another degree of appreciation.

Kids in India

I have never seen a kid in India throwing a tantrum or for that matter crying and this is the good part; however there is a bad part to it: kids are little men and women with responsibilities and sometimes real jobs. Even if our driver tell us that the government makes real efforts so that every kid attends school and they give money to the family if a girl attend school until 16 years old and they also distribute free lunches. In the desert I saw kids walking in the dunes 7 km to attend school with 50 kids per class but carrying a very neatly written notebook. I also saw the kids working as our guides, it was deplorable and I had to be vocal about it with the person in charge, that besides the human side it was also bad business. However, those same kids were going to school next day, surely a bit tired but those kids are no kids. They are already grown-ups taking on themselves life difficulties! However they had smiles on their faces and we played on the dunes and in that moment they were kids again in need of a playmate and a mom.

I also like the trash

The first thought arriving here was "Oh my! I also like the trash", my friend Stefania says because it must remind us of the Southern Italy of our childhood where not everything was so polished and the markets were a bit disorganized and certain streets were not paved. In the States trailer houses and trash irritate me because I see solitude behind it, here it feels like it doesn't affect people's spirit. Those little stores one after the other are nothing like strip malls, there are real community of people that watch out for each other and nobody care if there is nothing fancy around but they provide what they are supposed to provide. Clearly this is not the perfect country but it is my kind of imperfect!

India's lesson to the world

We are visiting a fort after another, powerful in their style, a temple after the other, extremely peaceful with people swarming around like butterflies. The temples won this country its dignity, the forts eventually proved their inefficiency. Gandhi was great in the sense that he conveyed the message to the West; the East was ready for his philosophy. The simple Namaste, peace be with you, it doesn’t translate as I see you later or I hope to see you soon or bye … it means wherever you go be in peace with yourself (and with others). It is not about the individual relationship of two human beings, it is about the relationship with the universe. According to Indians be happy can only be a common experience and not an individual one. The women feed the cows from their hands and the cows don't try to get more from the pile of grass that is right there, it waits for its fair share ... also the cows know.

I succumb to kindness

Indians have that ancient kindness that probably has taken centuries to refine to an art form or better a way of life. People in the street are looking for your eyes and once you reciprocate their look they reward you with a generous smile. The connection is done, two souls have met for that brief moment and it is sufficient to warm your heart. I don’t think they realize how special it is, especially when you live in a society where people go out of their way to avoid each other look (and thank god for smart phone that makes this all operation a lot less awkward). The relationship with their body is also very accepting; an old lady in Pushkar during her bath in the holy lake was showing, I must say, impressive boobs for her age, so naturally that it was barely noticeable. I went to an ayuredic massage and really there is no the ritual of covering any part of the body that it is not involve in the massage. The body is part of the harmony with the rest, it is not to be covered or changed, it carries your soul, at the same time they take good care of it, and they all seem pretty fit! No gym fit but good food fit! It is known that Indian driving is pretty crazy and unruly, and honking is as common as accelerating, however no one insult each other, no one seems particularly stressed when cows, tuktuk, cars all meet at a roundabout, somehow they all know the rule of conduct and the flows of traffic continues. Unless there is an accident in the highway, at this point everybody from the nearest village drop whatever they were doing to participate to the event as they do for ceremonies. I have been here a week and every day I am astonished by how humans interact in this part of the world.

Animals and India

Today we took a ride with these poor elephants up to the Amber Palace (it is the thing to do when you have two kids and it's hot). I realized that the top trunks of all these elephants have a white dotted spot of different shapes and sometimes also some part of the ears. Now I am intrigued, so I asked our guide, very casually he tells me they are bleached so that they can paint over the white spot for the festivities. In fact I see some elephants painted, probably the ones that were just returning from some celebration. I have no idea what does it do to an elephant but I doubt it is pain free. The incredible part is that those same people feed the ants and the pigeons for good karma! The water buffaloes are used for work but not the cows, the cows and the goats steal the pigeons food that people put in specific places. The monkeys are also sacred because there is a Godmonkey, so to get rid of them in urban area they introduce a black monkey that terrorizes the others. It is a human-animal chain of sharing, taking, borrowing, the concept of individuality has a very fluid form. For example I ask our driver if small farmers get together in cooperative, he said: Well no but they help each other! What the hell they need a formal cooperative for? (That's what I am thinking, he would never express himself that way)

Colors and beauty

I am truly fascinated by the 500 million saris, they are all beautiful and different, all worn with their individual grace. I am becoming the saris' stoker and take as many pictures as I can. Saris represent the spirit of India: diversity, colors, elegance, sensuality and warmth. I don't think a non-Indian can reproduce that same elegance. However what it is even more amazing is the decoration on trucks...I have never seen before personalized decoration on bit up trucks that transport humans or merchandise according to need.

Nothing is incompatible

India is everything you imagine but mostly it is what you don't, you learn very fast that beauty doesn't exclude chaos, that difficulties don't prevent people from smiling, than a hot humid day doesn't allow you to be in a bad mood, it is the random act of kindness in the subway of the young man who gladly leave his place to someone else. It is certainly life at a different level, it is a life that has not forget its humanity! My first approach to India was from the flight from Moscow to Delhi, this Sikh man totally polite and gentle asked me if putting a mask over the eyes was some religious ritual or it was for meditation. I answered that it was just to block the light and get some rest, he was clearly disappointed, so I felt like adding "I guess it is good for meditation too". Practicalities of life have to take a spiritual dimension and need to find a place in a ritual. From the time we stepped into this country it has been a serious of gentleness, even from the driver that waited for us two hours as the plane was late. Our recommended Bed and Breakfast owner become instant adviser/protector of our whereabouts in Delhi. Oh my... it is always so easy to get used to good things! We are also being diligent tourists, however it is not the monuments that impress you, it is the people, the colors of the saris and the women of all ages and wearing with such elegance. I might add the Indian traditional men clothing are very distinguished too! I am starting my love story with this country