Sitting on the long-distance train right now, is a perfect time to reflect on the world and what I am witnessing. For months previous to my departure to India, I could not even imagine what things would be like. I kept telling people that I had no idea what to expect. It is one thing to read as many books as possible, to hear what people have to say who traveled there personally, to read articles from the internet, and to learn about the culture, etiquette, and language. It is something completely different to be in the nation, to be part of the culture and traditions, the smell and colors, and to be just one person of the many people.
I remember being nervous that I would not be able to handle the heat because all I ever heard about India was the extent of the high temperatures. Nonetheless, it is fun to look back on those feelings now, and to know that I am here. Sometimes it is necessary to remind myself of that when I am stressed or overwhelmed. For a student moving from a small town, a twenty-minute drive on a tree covered road and seemingly traffic-less downtown to a city of nearly ten million people, the most densely populated city of India, I admit, it is easy to become overwhelmed and feel helpless at times.
However, at the moment, as the train speeds on the tracks, views of huts, car lights, and numerous people in and around rickshaws, hotels, and streets merge together, as the breeze of the cool evening air takes hold of my face. It may be too loud to converse at some points, but the noise of the vendors walking in and out, through the aisles is too evident to be missed. As of now, I have already seen water bottles, “cold drinks,” flashing, colorful postcards, samosas, coffee and tea, veg puffs, and baskets of numerous chips and biscuits. I will never go hungry on this train ride. The women in our compartment are as friendly as anyone, explaining with hand motions and few words of English the beds in which us three girls are to take. They talk in Tamil and smile at us as we have our own conversations.
Another man with “cold drinks” just walked by.
Along with the food and the veg puff I ate in the train station, there are those few things that I am still not able to get used to. It is only the mid-evening, a half-hour into our trip, and there has already been one polio-victim with a crutch making his way down the aisle several times. It is heart wrenching to think what his life is like, what his day to day routines are. I consider the fact that I am on my laptop right now, updating my blog; I feel a little sick. I think about how stressed and overwhelmed, how much I dwell on things, and realize that I am such a lucky person. I don’t want to write like I’m trying to be inspirational or extremely deep; yet, I am processing the fact that I am in such a wonderful place to reflect on the extremes of my experience. Along with the stress and worry come these amazing adventures. I am on a train as I type up this blog, or maybe it’s more like a journal entry, traveling to another city, and will be for the next fourteen hours. Yet, I have been looking forward to this moment, to the breeze in my face, and the time to only reflect and observe. I will be eating more great food and learning about a completely different place, in a different state, with a different language, and different traditions in a short period of time.
A couple days ago in class, with the many absent students including the scheduled project presenter, my professor had to do a “crisis intervention” as he called it. He had to improvise a lecture, to come up with one on the spot. What did he talk about? He talked about Mahatma Gandhi. While learning quite a bit about him, his leadership, as the “father of the nation,” preaching non-violence, vegetarianism, Bramacharya or self-discipline, and faith, my favorite part of the presentation was a quote by Gandhi which we ended on.
“There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.”
I liked this because I think it shows the somewhat silly concerns and apprehensions we may have. I am religious and do believe this; however, I believe what Gandhi was trying to get across was more than that. It could be having faith in God, many gods, no gods, faith in luck, faith in your hard work, or faith in the weather and Mother Nature. Whatever it is, there is a point in which you must stop worrying and dwelling on the past/future and let luck, God, or your hard work take control and allow your feelings to relax. I have always known that I dwell on things too much: constantly thinking about the next day, or the next stressful event. India has been a wonderful place to work on this; along with this train ride, Gandhi has put this in perspective for me.
I will end now before I eat my dinner, which is just coming by in crates, paratha with veg curry!! I can smell the curry and spices in the air. So much flavor in this delicious food! Yum!!
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