An ostensibly well intended question. Since coming home, I’ve been asked this question in multiple different ways. Sometimes, it’s: “what was your favorite part about India?”, “where did you go and what did you do?”, or “what are your main takeaways from the trip?”, to name a few. I mean, what else would you ask a person that has just spent 6 weeks in India?
How are they supposed to know that the seemingly straightforward question has unfathomable depth to it? How are they supposed to know they’ve just asked a question riddled with nebulous sub-questions - like Russian dolls, except you have no idea where one doll starts and the other ends.
The question “how was India” frightens me, not because of the question itself, but because of what it makes me feel. It’s an indescribable feeling. Seriously, the only adjective I have for it is “large”. Right now, there’s no conceivable way to wrap my brain around the largeness of it all. The most I can manage is to reflect on India one day at a time. When I’m asked “how was India”, I’m reminded of the highest of highs, the lowest of lows, and everything in between, all in the same moment. It’s one disruptive emotional tornado filled with emotions from 42 days of living, with each day being the emotional equivalent of a normal week at home. In my regular life, I sometimes forget what I had for breakfast, so how do I describe those 42 days?
Trying to summarize India into a suitable explanation for Gen Z’s attention span is impossible. I think the chances of achieving world peace are higher. So, I say “good”. Or “awesome”. Or “life-changing”. Or “fantastic”. Or “beautiful”, depending on what I said the last time. I rotate through how I answer so I don’t bore myself with my own reply.
I hate this answer though. It frustrates me. It’s not an answer that pays proper respect to India and makes me feel like I’ve done something wrong. But it gets the job done. The person asking the question is satisfied and I suppose that’s good enough. Even if I did explain EVERYTHING, it would be such an esoteric explanation that only those that experienced India would understand. It would be wishful thinking on my part to hope for the corroboration of another.
But…
In saying this, I still try. This India journey is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I - and the other 23 unique individuals on the trip - grew from, far more than we could have ever hoped for. Returning from India, I feel excited to be in the privileged position where I’m able to share my experiences, large or small, with my friends and family. This is just a necessary preface so that a) you understand how difficult it is to answer this question, and b) to remove the pressure of feeling that I need to give the “right” answer.
So, how was India?
It defied expectations I didn’t have.
I didn’t expect the abundant greenery that adorns the land. I didn’t expect cows to freely roam the street so nonchalantly. I didn’t expect the directness in the way the locals communicated. I didn’t expect to see ingenuity of the highest quality. I didn’t expect to be chanting religiously as much as I did. I didn’t expect to see the most beautiful smiles from the most unfamiliar faces. I didn’t expect the constantness of piles of rubbish on the streets. I didn’t expect to be called Sir by everyone. I didn’t expect beggars to be as young as five years old. I didn’t expect such myriad diversity within the culture. I didn’t expect the richness of spirituality. I didn’t expect to be inspired by the people’s industriousness. I didn’t expect to find tranquility amongst the bombardment of stimuli. I didn’t expect to learn so much from the extraordinary people that surrounded me throughout six weeks.
It’s an impossible mission to say what India was like. It can’t be contained by any box and categorized by any labels. I guess if I were to try, I would say India was like a teacher - of gratitude, love, balance, faith, friendship, dignity, contradictions, and possibilities. Not all experiences were amazing and not all experiences were undesirable. But they were all memorable in their own ways.
While memories of what exactly happened are becoming harder and harder to recall, the feelings I had remain steadfast. I left India spiritually enriched and India left a positive mark on my soul - a mark that symbolizes the end of the current chapter in my life as well as the beginning of the next!
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