I had always thought of India as exotic and colorful and have wanted to go there for a long time. But it was much, much more than I had anticipated: rich in culture and history, steeped in myth and tradition, complicated, mysterious, mystical. It's past is far too complex to absorb, it's present evolving in a whirlwind too extreme to comprehend from just a short scratching of its surface. It's myriad traditions are as bewildering as the secret passageways of its palaces. And any place you might turn your camera is a composition wild with color and diversity. Even though traveling there is difficult, and getting there expensive, I'm very glad I went. I wasn't disappointed. The easiest way to summarize is to steal an idea from my friend, David, and make my own list of adjectives I think apply. India is crowded and noisy, busy, cacophanous, rude and pushy, dirty, poor, disgusting, sad and struggling, impossible, exhausting, incomprehensible, gorgeous, courteous, polite, ancient, dusty, brown, pink and orange and red and yellow and acid green, monotonous, colorless, scary, soothing, friendly and obtuse, smelly, melodious, energetic, and so much more. It's a place of extreme extremes, a genuine adventure, an experience never to be forgotten.
As I travel more - if and when I do - I'll try to keep this blog going. And maybe I'll just add some ordinary thoughts to it from time to time. Thanks for following along. And stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment