I made it home quickly and safely. My beloved husband is already tired of my constant kisses and pats. My sweet dog is thrilled to have me back but her loyalties seem to be mixed. Seattle is sunny, clear and busting with Spring flowers. It's as if the city is trying to convince me to stay home forever more.
My friends and family ask, "so what tell us what happened that you didn't want to publish on the blog! Surely, there must have been some stories and sights you left out?" Of course, space and public interest demand a certain bit of editing, but I have to say that the trip was amazing from start to finish. Returning to Delhi gave me a better perception of how much I had adapted from when I first arrived vs. when I had travelled for a month. I was much less agog and more comfortable with the traffic, the touts and the wandering livestock. One other traveller I met from Portland expressed it best. "The Indian tourists' dilemma ... Is this the cow to photograph?" India offers so many tiny moments that you want to capture and remember. There are stories passing you while you are just sitting in the train station or taking a break for a Coke.
The highlights? Just being there and taking this trip I have always dreamed of. Being able to meet and share family recipes and local foods with women whose wisdom I will always treasure- Ushi's warm heart and iron strength in Delhi, Bavna Singh's elegant hospitality in Jodhpur, LeeLu Roy's smile and easy laugh in Kochi, Rajashi's knowledge and insight of tradition, and Bandana Gupta's natural skills and friendship in Kolkata. It is not just their recipes I will keep forever.
The downside? I was strangely unaffected by the poverty. I found the varied lifestyles fascinating. I was ready for it and was rarely moved - unlike many of the travelers I met. I'm not sure if that is good or bad. Perhaps the biggest shock to me was the pollution. I am unaccustomed to seeing bathroom activities performed in such public places. I've always been offput by senseless littering and spitting. But the most disturbing sight for me was a huge tanker truck openly unloading a stream of thick, black sludge right into a tributary of the lush, green backwaters of Kerala. This was done not secretly in the dead of night, but openly and unapologetically - with a chemical plant in the horizon. The air is dreadful. Not just from the vehicles and factories oozing smoky black exhaust, but from the many, many small fires. I saw people gathering firewood in the heart of downtown Delhi. My first breath of Indian air was full of smoke. On every street the random trash is neatly swept into piles of refuse - it is grazed on by wandering cows, goats, stray dogs and the clever crows. The combustables are then burned and whatever is left, mostly plastic, blows into fields and trees.
And the worst part about the pollution in India? Statistically it is not India, but the USA that contributes more carbon annually to the atmosphere. Our pollution, our poverty, our squalor is quite simply better camoflauged.
So there you have it! My travelblog is now complete - but it has been fun, so I may start another thread of recipes, food stories and of course, future trips!
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