I am not quite sure yet how to describe India. After a few travel delays, we arrived in Delhi Tuesday about 6am and then in Bangalore on Friday at about 3am. I struggle to find words to share my first impression as I firmly believe India can only be experienced appropriately when all 5 sense are fully involved.
For example, it is hard to explain the crowding, the sight of trash everywhere, the crazy colors or seeming chaos that surrounded me everywhere I walked in Delhi. The traffic is chaotic, you can see the random ox or cow in the middle of the street or try to avoid the packs of dogs that roam the streets. How do you explain the incessant noise of cars honking (because if you are driving it seems you have to be honking), the cries of vendors, children running on the street, cows, the women with a child on her hip begging for money to feed her child? You can almost taste the dirt and sweat that hangs in the air. The air can almost be felt as it is so hot and humid and you are constantly touching people as the streets are so crowded you can’t escape the masses. You can also almost feel the desperation in places as women with small children beg for money or the crippled men or women crawl through the dirt looking for someone to have pity and provide some food or money. But, the sense that thus far has been most overwhelmed in India is my sense of smell. It smells of rotten trash, urine, feces, food cooking, curry, and decay. Sensory overload seems to be the theme on so many levels as I walk the streets. Abject poverty is heart-wrenching to see face to face. I cannot hide from it or only visit the suburbs as it is everywhere I turn.
The lack of city planning that is so common in India leaves me feeling claustrophobic with nowhere to escape the crowded environment or the masses. Having a population of one billion people could also have something to do with my sense of always being surrounded. Ah India, I’m not sure yet whether I will love it or hate it. What I do know is that this will be a month of realizing I am very blessed for all that I have and having to look into the darkness and brokenness that is life for millions around the world.
