India

India is a little spark of nirvana shining through a plethora of chaos.

India is ignorance and wisdom at the very same moment barely inches apart.

India is noise and pollution masking immense suffering, joy, and inner peace.

India is colours, smells, flavours, languages, and cultures all fused into a melting pot from which order elusively emerges.

India is me on both a good and a bad day alternating at the pace of a thumping heart.

India is clichés of Westerners like myself seeking something beyond abundance, comfort, and order.

India is the friends you make along the way.

The map is never the territory; and equally any description of India falls short of its actuality.

India is untouched by time yet ever changing.

India is a sliver of freedom that inspires you but can’t be grasped.

India is the fragile balance between tradition and modernity, where the past mingles with the present, setting course for the future.

India is the wisdom of the sages and the laughter of children playing on dusty fields.

India is the persistence of the farmer, the gushing sounds of the Ganges, and the resilience of its every heart.

India is contradictions and harmonies, blending in a dance that never ends.

Epilogue

India will always have a special place in my heart. I spent a total of about 7 months in the years 2008, 2015, and 2022. In those years, both India and I changed and developed immensely.

At the end of my last trip, while waiting to board my flight back home from Mumbai, I could feel the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I started writing this to capture my insight into India through the gush of fleeting emotions.