India: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

November, 2024

Ever since I was a young girl, I have felt an inner pull to India. My grandparents and mother were born in Bombay, and my father has done business in India for almost 40 years. Growing up I heard so many stories about the “good days” in India and what my grandparent’s lives were like within the lively Jewish community of Bombay; it sounded like a world so different from my own. Twice a year, my dad would travel to India to meet his rug suppliers and would come back with many stories and always a new journal for me to write in. I have collected these journals for years, and poured my own life adventures into their pages. I guess you could say, a piece of India has sparked my love for writing. 

As time went by and we got older, both my sisters took long trips to India, getting closer to this place that always felt so distant yet so special to us. They too came back with their own adventures, stories and anecdotes of their love for India, and naturally my desire to visit grew stronger. Fast forward to the age of 32 and planning our trip around the world, I knew it was my time to visit India and see it all for myself. And honestly, it has been more than what I always imagined. 

India is a true testament of a “country of contrasts”, from the quiet peaceful Himalayan mountain villages, temples and yoga centers, to the chaotic and bustling smog covered cities, there is something special for everyone. And in a country so big and diverse, it is easy to loose yourself among all of the colors, sounds, smells, smog, more smells and people… people… people…. SO. MANY. PEOPLE!

Again, everything, everywhere, all at once. 

India is a contender with China for the largest population in the world with over 1,400,000,000 people (and that is likely an outdated census!). That is almost 4x the population of the United States, and you can imagine that with a growing rural population, the number is actually far higher but undocumented. You can feel the magnitude of this massive population, not just in the physical bodies around you, but in the people׳s mentality and observing the way that things work. For example, people are very pushy by nature and it can feel quite impatient, but then again, with a population so large you have to be pushy or you will be one of the millions left behind. Similarly, prices are INCREDIBLY cheap and I was shocked to see that there are still places in the world where you can get multiple things for under a dollar. Then I remind myself, with a population this large and majority living in poverty, the prices must remain this low. 

We had the opportunity to get a taste of the different sides of India. Starting in the slow and peaceful Himalayan mountain range, we visited the home of the Dali Lama and hundreds of Buddhist monks who reside and meditate on the hills of Mcleod Ganj. Due to the Dali Lama’s exile from Tibet, this region has become a “little Tibet” with thousands of Tibetans now living in india to be close to their living god. I learnt a lot about the Dali Lama, his fascinating history and the Buddhists’ mentality (a separate blog post in itself!). In the mountains we lived the “shanty shanty” life as we moved from village to village from McLeod Ganj, to Dharamkot, Manali and Kasol, into the beautiful Parvati Valley and to  quainter villages of Tosh and Pulga. Even the street dogs had rastas in their fur, laid back and living the sweet mountain life. We explored  freezing water falls, climbed steep hills to remote temples, walked among dozens of cow gods and their skid marks of poo to sacred hot springs, and enjoyed the slow and peaceful village life of the Himalayas, with mountains as far as your eyes can see. 

We didn’t know it at the time, but we arrived in India during one of the biggest festivals of the year. For days in the mountains I kept hearing loud bangs, booms and firecrackers being set-off all around us. Not knowing why, or when they would happened, I was spastically jumping out of my skin a few times a day. A group of friends hanging out on the street and “boommmm,” firecrackers would go off 2 feet away from you without warning. You jumped in surprise and quickly turned the corner only to be met with “bammmm”, another group setting off more loud sparklers an inch from your feet. No matter where I turned, and honestly, deep into the night, we fell asleep to the not so gentle bams and booms of the streets. I did not understand why this peaceful mountain town, home of the Dali Lama, was tormenting me. And whyyyy was everyone so obsessed with fire crackers!?!

It was a humbling moment when I discovered, Gab, this ain’t about you sister, it’s DIWALI, the Hindu Festival of Lights!! And during Diwali, it is tradition to be loud, proud and shoot your fireworks into the sky day and night…. for 5 days straight! Ok… me calming down…. now I get it. Once I finally understood that this was a festival of lights, a religious tradition, and it was all in the good spirit of the holiday, I finally got into the Diwali festivities and each boom and bang held a new significance. On the last day of Diwali once I had  gotten my bearings, wow, was the grand finale remarkable. For hours the sky was lit up with hundreds of fireworks in an explosion of colors. And for the first time in 5 days, I fell asleep to the sounds of booms and bangs with a large smile on my face. 

The northern mountains were beautiful, but to get to these beautiful remote towns we had to face many thrills and chills along the way. We drove along the most intense hairpin roads, with cars and cows coming from all directions and twists at every bend. While my knuckles turned white from holding on for dear life, the driver didn’t seem to bat an eye and expertly maneuvered around each cliff, cow and rasta dog that decided to sunbathe along the road. It was wildly impressive. 

The smallest village we visited in the Parvati Valley was Pulga, home to roughly 100 people. Nestled into the side of a mountain with a slew of small colorful houses, Pulga is a place that felt so remote, almost as if people went there to go into hiding and never be found. As we hiked into the village and made our way to our lodge, we heard a soft metal clanging, followed by an elderly man slowly inching towards us. I looked around to see 1. where was the clanging sound coming from and 2. why was this man was walking at a snails pace? Quickly we discovered the clanging was coming from his feet…and his feet were chained together in shackles! Who was this shackled man and why was he inching around the village in chains? If he was on the run, poor guy would not get very far! As he slowly shuffled away, we were left wondering, what on earth did you do to get cuffed in this village of 100, but this was Pulga, and the Pulga mysteries will never be revealed. 

Now….time for the Indian cities, a whole other beast to conquer! We were blessed to meet my parents halfway through our time in India and join my dad on part of his business trip through some of the northern Indian cities. I call this portion of the trip, “the trail of silk”, “the thug life rug life tour” or the “try not to die of pollution expedition”. All in all, after a very stubborn respiratory virus that took Gabe and I down, we did manage to finish the rug tour in once piece and learn a LOT along the way! 

We visited a handful of cities starting with Delhi into Varanasi, Agra and Jaipur and each city had its own unique charm. Delhi was an unbelievable spiderweb of roads, traffic, tuk tuks, smog, smells, sounds, honking, honking and more honking, 30 cent metro tickets, all sensations tingling your nose, amazing food, the most beautiful saris I have ever seen and the most insane and elaborate electricity siphoning imaginable. All packaged into one chaotic bow. Crossing the road was an absolute death trap and you MUST master the game of “human frogger” if you want to make it out of alive. I feel the chaos even typing this. 

Varanasi was also a busy bustling city with bazaar soaked streets, temples and of course, the mama Ganges! The most sacred part of the river Ganges flows through Varanasi and is home to the human cremations of 100-200 bodies daily. Hindus believe that all living things are part of a cycle of death and rebirth; our souls live on after death and will be reincarnated by taking on a new body. This cycle of reincarnation can only be broken and the soul freed when it reaches a state of enlightenment and when all bad and good karma have been accounted for. The Hindus also believe that a deceased soul can escape the cycle of rebirth through the cremation of their body and releasing their ashes into Varanasi’s holy river Ganges. Alas, the river Ganges flows with the ashes of thousands. 

With all of this activity, the Varanasi Ganges is heavily polluted having 2,000% more fecal matter in the water than humanly safe (!).

 It is an incredibly holy site for Indians so this poo poo does not stop people and cows from bathing, swimming, playing, conducting rituals and dare I say…. even drinking some of the sacred water. We walked the river Ganges and the daily cremations were being prepared all around us. Men clad in white body paint, instruments, flowers and candles scattered the river for the nightly sacred ritual. I saw a body covered in beautiful orange flowers being held on a stretcher moving towards the river and later we saw and smelled the effects of the cremation. We rowed out onto the river along with hundreds of other spectators to watch the fires burn and sacred ritual liberate the souls of the dead to their after world. 

Regarding the fecal water, during our boat trip a few drops flew into Gabe’s eye and he lived to tell the tale. So there you have it, Gabe is now blessed, and a little spray in the eye from the Ganges never hurt anyone 😉

In Agra we saw the Agra Fort and the magical Taj Mahal, a love shrine from emperor Shah Jahan for his third wife. The Taj was truly impressive and seeing this major landmark with my parents after our history in India felt even more special. The marble shone as bright as I always imagined. 

In Jaipur Gabe and I got super sick and only saw the walls of our hotel room 😂 better luck next time, but we finished the trip to India in Goa and finally, the incredible Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve which truly took our breath away. We booked it quite late but thanks to a cheeky gift of baklava to the park officers and help from our Indian friends, we were cruising through the jungle (Baklava for the win!). The reserve is home to hundreds of tigers; thick and dense, just like the jungle book. We got to see these incredible creatures in their cold, misty habitat which was truly something I will never forget. 

As we reach the midway mark of our travels, I understand more than ever how big and beautiful the world is. I feel lucky to be traveling with my eyes open, learning, experiencing and most importantly, living. 

Thank you, India 🤍 now I can finally appreciate what all of the generational hype was about.

Namaste, will be back!