Façade

William Pretty

              

We are now over the halfway mark of this trip and I am already beginning to feel nostalgic for what I have seen and experienced. Looking back there are certain things I have come to learn about India and the way it operates, both the good and the bad. India is a country of subtilties, if you pass over them your view of the country will be amiss of its true beauty.

The main thing I have come to learn about India, and this is shared throughout all the cities, is to never take something you see at face value; it is a façade. Taking hotel Emirates as an example; it was finished and opened only a few weeks prior to our arrival and everything looked sparkling new. Yet, once you look past the veneer you see that very few of the light switches work, the shower drain is above the lowest point in the bathroom, so I couldn't take a shower unless I wanted my room to become a bath (this one is a sore point for me) and depending on their mood the blinds would either open and then not close or close and then not open. My favorite moment being a lengthened elevator ride with Aaron, when the elevator decided it had had enough for the day and shut itself off for a short 15-minute nap (something I can relate too) between the 3^rd and the 4^th floor. Or take Varanasi as an example, the effervescent Mr Tripathi seemed like he just wanted to help you and be your best friend, but it wasn't until after I had spent cumbersome amounts of my money that I realised he was so keen on us buying silk garments not because they were the best quality or a one of a kind, as he promised, but because the man was on a commission (another sore spot).

This also applies to India on a wider scale, speaking in terms of a city, that city is Kolkata. This was put into perspective during my last night there. During debrief the question asked was "life is full of." As I lay on the bed, thinking of what I was going to say, everything I had seen during my time there was running through my head. This culminated in me answering with life is full of hidden gems. For those that know me this may come across as a tad philosophical and profound, but after all the hardship, poverty, disease and depravity I had witnessed it was still easy to look past that and see gems hiding behind the façade. Depending on your point of view these gems could be the happiness through hardship shown by the Jungle Crow kids, many of whom have passed from orphanage to orphanage. Or the natives non-materialistic view they place on their lack of possessions but the strength to be positive throughout and intuitive in the manner they conduct their lives. I have gained respect for the people of India's' ability to utilize everything they have at their disposal, and the sense of family shared by neighbors and even those on the street when a taxi driver needs direction.

Ultimately, it is the little hidden things that make a country what it is, and the little things about India are what makes it special to me and so many others.