To Feel India, The fervor of its People

To Feel India - Part One

Its People
“They say a deer wakes each morning knowing it has to run faster than a tiger to survive this day, and a tiger wakes each morning knowing it has to outrun the slowest deer to survive this day.” Wheather you are the deer or tiger, an Indian or a Traveler, you must wake each day ready and running,.. to have, or be had.

Much of the city landscape is plain brown dirt, but look beyond the dust and you will observe much more. Look for the layers of color, take in the odors, hear the sounds of work and play, feel the fervor of it’s people. It reaches out and grabs you, it shakes you, it caress you, it excites you, it draws you in and then throws you out. You wake one day to wonder and amazement and the next to frustration and disgust. It’s becomes a test of strength, a driving force to understand, to conquer, to know and feel the beauty of India. But to know India, you must first feel India on the streets, in the markets, down the back alleys, in the temple, on the local bus and in the home. Wheather you like it or not, you will surrender yourself to India, searching for a way to exist in an extraordinary world created by and for it’s people.

The intensity of dealing with people in India, doubled with the harsh surroundings can only be softened with having an open mind and a new set of eyes that filter out the rough exterior and focus on the softer human side.

The Elegance of Women
All women are alike yet the women in India are unique, adding an exceptional fresh element, to a well worm culture. They paint the countryside in rainbows of color, and harmonize the streets with the jingle of their bangles Even the most fashionable foreign clothing will look shoddy next to the elegant flowing sari that drapes across their rich chocolate skin. A hot sun glistens on exotic faces working the fields with high cheeks, slender nose and raven dark hair pulled in a neatly oiled braid. The gold pierced nose stud and scarlet red blessing on the forehead, make their features unmistakably Indian. A pair of intense brown eyes can welcome your presence or sear a dagger of grief through your heart. Life in India takes it toll on the body, but their femininity remains in the sway of a woman’s walk, gracefully balancing a jug of water atop the head and a babe nestled in the curve of her waist. You’ll find women working the market, the fields, and even on the constructions site, but the responsibly of the family lies also, in a woman’s resolve to the home, her husband and children.

The Innocence of Children

Children grow up early in India and are entertained by a marble, bottle cap, or a smile and wave. You can hear fading ‘hellos’ as you ride by their shanty homes and see little waving hands and faces in the shadows. When you stop and walk with them, they will grab your hand and skip alongside, giggling a few sentences they’ve learned in English, and then run off laughing hysterically at themselves. Like all children, but especially in India, the mere existence of their smiles and laughter will lighten your heart and temporarily dismiss your hardships. But after long days of constant haggling with street children over postcards and jewelry, followed by relentless begging for your coins, candy or pens, the innocence you first felt for them becomes lost in exhausted defeat at the days end. Luckily a new morning will re-establish the purity that remains in the young, and can not be disguised by their disheveled appearance or basic need for survival.

The Dignity of Men
The family is highly regarded in India and men will win over the love of their family within the home. But step outside and you’re hard pressed to see the softer side. With nearly a billion people in this country, there is enormous amount of competition in the business workplace, and men wrestle their way to the top in order to keep a position in society. Or perhaps it’s the lungi (sarong skirt) that many men wear, that make them feel the need to demonstrate their masculinity but agreeably so, Indian men are stereotyped as being aggressive and macho.

As a woman, I get disgusted at how they’ll physically push me aside, and force themselves to the front of a line. If I’m not being ignored, the opposite will occur. Even dressed in long discreet clothing, I begin to feel like prey in a jungle of hungry men. Additionally, the dignity displayed amongst the males makes them unapproachable, but in time they will yield a commonplace respect, that still has to be earned. After being sized up and accepted, join a group of men for tea and follow if you can, their self proclaimed accomplishments in the amusing bubble tone of their accent, and sideways bobble of their heads.

Compassion for the People
I have much to learn about the Indian people, and at times I’m sure I misinterpret their motivations. My impressions are weighed on the triumph or failures that make up my day. Many days are maddening, so at times I place this judgment on the people instead of my own inability to deal with circumstances. It is true, the energy of the streets will weigh on your days like a home of fighting or negativity will wear down its family. The constant haggling, aggression, strife, and desperation of its people leave you full of the same emotions. It becomes a process to cleanse yourself of the destructive energy to give way to compassion and understanding. You have to look beyond the behavior, and find the cause. The frustration I feel on the streets of India is caused by the necessity to run faster than a tiger, or outrun the slowest deer.

To have or… To be had.