India: First Impressions

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from India. Our reason for adding it to our list was pretty simple - how can you go around the world without seeing India? It’s just too big, important and interesting a place to skip. However, to be completely honest, I don’t know that much about India. Sure I know some basic geography and history, and unlike Africa, India actually makes into the news every once in a while, so I have some idea about current events. All of this knowledge is very superficial though, so I arrived in India basically an empty vessel, anxious to learn as much as I could. My education began at the airport.

Holy cow!

We arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi) at 2 am on the 24th. Let me tell you, 2 am is a really inconvenient time to arrive in a new country. We didn’t have a hotel lined up, had no local currency, and no Indian sim card for our phone. To make matters worse, all the ATMs in the airport were out of order. We were pretty tired at that point, and although the airport was very clean and modern, the thought of sleeping there didn’t really appeal to us, so we got to work. I changed some US currency for Rupees (we keep US cash with us for this kind of emergency), Colleen got a sim card and some prepaid minutes for the phone and we contacted a hotel that would take us, so by about 4 am, we were on our way. The taxi ride from the airport to our hotel was my first glimpse of India. Even though it was dark and I was tired, I was doing my best to drink it all in. Having arrived directly from Africa as we did, I couldn’t help but notice the glaring differences. Streetlights, traffic signals, 6 and even 8 lane highways, highrises, factories, shopping centres, parks, you name it, Delhi had it. At first glance, this could be any big city in Europe or North America I thought to myself… Then we passed a guy riding an elephant.  I did a bit of a double take, then checked with Colleen to make certain sleep deprivation hadn’t got the best of me - she confirmed the sighting. I should stress that this was not some side street or a dirt path, it was on the main road from the airport. Any thoughts that India might be just another humdrum destination were further put to rest when we arrived at our hotel. Colleen had to alert me to the fact that a cow was bearing down on me from behind as I got my bag out of the taxi. I suppose I knew that cows are sacred and wander the streets in India. It is one thing to know something intellectually, but being chased by a cow on a deserted city street in the early morning hours is something else altogether.

Delhi Sunset

We spent the next few days in Delhi soaking it all in. V.S. Naipal once said “There is little subtlety to India”. Based on my first impressions, I would certainly agree. As a matter of fact, I might go one further. In my short time here so far, I’ve not seen any evidence of subtlety whatsoever.  Everything seems to be at the extremes, good and bad. From the colourful saris worn by the women to the heaps of garbage in the streets, from the fantastic flavours of the food to the awful smells of excrement and garbage in the streets, from the beautiful temples and mosques to the decrepit buildings of old Delhi, from the serenity of the park at the India Gate to the cacophony of carhorns and yelling in the bazaars, everything is over the top. It all seems to hold together though, and even has its own peculiar sort of cachet, and even some real beauty. My personal favourite is the light. I don't know if it's the dust or the pollution, but there is always a haze or a fog hanging over everything. The sun is difused by this haze so that everything is bathed in this soft sort of orange - pink colour, especially at sunrise or sunset. It's really fantastic.

Street in Old Delhi

I think Colleen summed it up fairly well in her own inimitable way. We were in an autorickshaw (sort of a three wheeled motorcycle taxi) on one of the main roads in Delhi. It was a busy street with three and four story buildings packed tightly together on both sides of the street, shops and restaurants crowding the sidewalks, which were themselves crowded with people. The whole area had a feel of metropolitan hustle and bustle. Colleen turned to me and said “You know, this place is a lot like Queens (NYC)”. Just as she finished her observation, we passed a wagon being pulled by a galloping cow, the driver on the cart whipping the cow, exhorting him to greater speeds in an effort to keep up with the traffic. Colleen looked at the cart, paused, then said “I take it back, this is nothing at all like Queens”.  I hope that in the time we have here, we can get a better understanding of India, because from what I’ve seen so far, this is a pretty special and amazing place.

The Red Fort, Delhi

We’re in Rajasthan now, touring the medieval forts and palaces of the maharajas. Then we’re on to Amritsar, Varanasi and then Kathmandu.

Michael

Pearl Palace Hotel
Jaipur, Rajasthan,
India

PS Happy Diwali!