I was in India for a month, far too short of a time to get even a sliver of the depth of the country, but Brian did a wonderful job cramming a wide range of sites and experiences into such a short time. I couldn’t have had a better guide. He’s fluent in Bengali and knows enough Hindi to give the rickshaw drivers and creepy hotel men a good laugh. He had wonderful perspective on how cultures, languages, economic landscapes and religions fit together. I could go on and on. For those of you that don’t know Brian Heilman he’s on his second year in India, this time working for AIF (American India Foundation). Thanks Brian. I’ll start by stealing a quote straight from his site explaining one reason why Brian chooses to return to India:
The experiment that has taken place on the Indian subcontinent for millenia is exactly the planetary experiment that is only now beginning to pick up speed. India's past and present is the planet's future: people of myriad ethnicities, languages, religious beliefs and economic blessings cooperating under a single banner for the good of all. This is certainly the "glass-half-full" approach to India's history and lessons for the future, but I am not alone in ascribing to it. And I am very excited to be returning to a culture where I can fruitfully participate with people of such vastly and fascinatingly different cultural experiences.
This was a trend that ran through the majority of our trip. How do people of such different economic, social, cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds coexist? And are they doing so successfully?
I met up with Brian in Mumbai and took a taxi to a nice suburb where I could read, relax, explore and recover from jetlag while Brian finished his mid-year meeting with other AIF volunteers. The last few days in Mumbai we stayed in a ritzy flat in the center of Juhu, where the Bollywood stars, including Brian-love Rani Mukherjee, live and hang out. Here was one economic extreme. I have only a blurry memory of the first few days. I was exhausted and overwhelmed by the movement of the city.
We took a train to Delhi where we were to celebrate Christmas. In coming to India over the holidays, I thought that I was sacrificing the holiday season for the sake of this trip/experience. A sacrifice I was more than willing to make. Christmas, however, turned out to be one of my favorites. Though Christianity is a tiny minority in Dehli, the exploding population means that even tiny minorities are represented by millions of people. Christmas eve at the Dehli church was a riot. Remixed X-mas classics were met with santahat-toting dancers. It was far more energetic than masses that I grew up with.
On Christmas morning we met with some of Brian’s friends to visit, decorate and entertain at an HIV orphanage. A heartbreaking, but terribly fun experience. It was fun to supply even a small amount of attention to these kids that seem to desperately crave it.
While in Delhi we met up with our two travel companions, Grace & Brian’s mom. We spent a number of days buzzing around Delhi in Rickshaws between touristy sites, religious temples (of at least 4 or 5 different religious) and intimate little restaurants and city corners. Between Delhi and neighboring cities, we visited several ancient and prominent mosques, the Taj Mahal, a Sikh Gurdwara, a the Baha’i Lotus temple, sacred Hindu sites, ancient Mogul cities/forts/temples (where we randomly stumbled upon a few long lost SJU friends).
More memorable than nearly anything we explicitly visited was the overall vibe of the city. The city is just alive with buzzing rickshaws (both motor and cycle), cows meandering through the streets, disorganization and millions of people seeing potential to make money from tourists. While I expected to see adverse poverty, nothing prepares you for and intimate interaction with the countless homeless, diseased and impoverished people. It is difficult to digest these conditions and not feel a degree of guilt. I’d like to say something deeper and more meaningful, but I think that interactions of this sort can only be processed on a personal level.
We finished up the trip with a visit to Brian’s tiny village of Katna (Murshidabad) and to Calcutta. In Calcutta, a city very close to Brian’s heart, we visited an orphanage for street children (where Brian began his India volunteer experience) several of the cultural centers and saw our first Bollywood film. Brian’s school in Katna is a wonderful place and he is adored by students and teachers alike. My brief visit to the village itself reminded me of the Indian counter-part of Ann’s village in Panama. It was was a great change of pace from the hectic and slightly uncomfortable city streets of Delhi. That is… until I got deathly Ill. I was the sickest I have ever been in Brian’s village. I’m not sure what I ate, but I spent 3-4 days on Brian’s floor saying, “Oh god…. Oh shit….this sucks” in between my countless trips to the bathroom. The trip out of Calcutta was another adventure entirely. Several random occurances worked against our favor and Calcutta was in mass chaos the one day we needed to travel across it. But I’ll leave that story to Brian’s Blog.
I could go on and on, but I’ll stop here. India isn’t a place that can be summarized. I think you should go.
If you want to read more, Brian and Grace posted some on their respective blogs:
The End of the World
Brian Heilma
Grace Brogan
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