written on the plane to Bhuj, after several days of traveling back to India from the US, where I spent a week with my family in Los Angeles.
I feel glad to be back in India. Compared to America, and especially LA, I love the human spirit that is felt here. Everywhere you go, you encounter people from all walks of life, engaging in any and all activities. Men combing their hair, girls chasing each other in school uniforms, women doing their laundry, people fighting, laughing, spitting, dreaming - and all around you, you feel the beat of life, you can connect to - relate to - love, or hate any and all of it. It makes you feel a part of this complex web of what it means to be human - in India, or in the US, or anywhere on this earth, it makes you feel a part of what it means to struggle, to overcome, to give up, to win or loose.
In LA, or America maybe, we don't see that, the stuff of life occurs in private spaces and the little time that is spent going from house - to car - to shop - to car - to house is often spent behind a facade of conformity, or normalcy, a sort of public face or public dress or social set of social norms that we've all agreed are acceptable and mostly non-imposing on our public sense of peace and comfort.
I'm not sure if this would make sense to any American who hasn't been to India, or some place like it (is there any place like it, really?) and I'm not sure I'm describing only my personal experience or something felt as real by many. But when I think about the past few days spent driving around LA, and the lack of liveliness that I almost internalized from my surroundings, I think this must be a kind of common experience that we have in America, but can't really point to it, or identify it until we've been jerked alive by a walk through the streets of India, made a connection with a stranger who invites you to his family's home, or experienced a pani poori stand where brothers and sisters stand on the street eating fried spice balls for hours on end.
There's something about the people, the society here that is so deeply genuine, so good natured and good-intentioned. I typically hate these kind of generalizations, but upon my re-entry to India, I really felt it and appreciate appreciate it so much more than I have before.
So, my dear India, here's to another three months. May your warmth and honesty allow me to recognize the importance of being open and sincere.
I feel glad to be back in India. Compared to America, and especially LA, I love the human spirit that is felt here. Everywhere you go, you encounter people from all walks of life, engaging in any and all activities. Men combing their hair, girls chasing each other in school uniforms, women doing their laundry, people fighting, laughing, spitting, dreaming - and all around you, you feel the beat of life, you can connect to - relate to - love, or hate any and all of it. It makes you feel a part of this complex web of what it means to be human - in India, or in the US, or anywhere on this earth, it makes you feel a part of what it means to struggle, to overcome, to give up, to win or loose.
In LA, or America maybe, we don't see that, the stuff of life occurs in private spaces and the little time that is spent going from house - to car - to shop - to car - to house is often spent behind a facade of conformity, or normalcy, a sort of public face or public dress or social set of social norms that we've all agreed are acceptable and mostly non-imposing on our public sense of peace and comfort.
I'm not sure if this would make sense to any American who hasn't been to India, or some place like it (is there any place like it, really?) and I'm not sure I'm describing only my personal experience or something felt as real by many. But when I think about the past few days spent driving around LA, and the lack of liveliness that I almost internalized from my surroundings, I think this must be a kind of common experience that we have in America, but can't really point to it, or identify it until we've been jerked alive by a walk through the streets of India, made a connection with a stranger who invites you to his family's home, or experienced a pani poori stand where brothers and sisters stand on the street eating fried spice balls for hours on end.
There's something about the people, the society here that is so deeply genuine, so good natured and good-intentioned. I typically hate these kind of generalizations, but upon my re-entry to India, I really felt it and appreciate appreciate it so much more than I have before.
So, my dear India, here's to another three months. May your warmth and honesty allow me to recognize the importance of being open and sincere.
i feel the same :)
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