I think one of the reasons you really have to visit a place to understand it, rather than simply reading about it, is that for the most part research and reading just gives you the big picture. And while getting a general perception of a place is a good thing, what I always miss are the little details that completely endear a place to you. I love noticing the little things about a place that make it special, and that is something you can only get from seeing it for yourself. So I thought I would do a blog post about some of those things- details that might be overlooked in the usual big-picture blog post. So here you go, random thoughts on what I love about India!
- Ok so it probably doesn't come as much of a surprise that one of the first things I started noticing was the language. And I don't just mean Hindi, I am talking about the difference between American and Indian English. I can't help but notice the way things are structured and phrased, and there is something really fantastic and interesting to me about Indian English. Basically Indian English consists of a lot of direct translations from Hindi that add a bit of a confusing flourish to the language. My favourite example is a teacher at school, who in response to a student chewing his fingernails snapped, "Hey! Don't eat your fingers!" Then there is the accent itself, with its unexpected puffs of air, accentuated consonants, and warped vowels. In short, I never tire of simply listening to daily conversation.
- Massive metal monstrosities flooding highways, couriering boxes of paperclips or burlap sacks filled with Iowan potatoes, while common-place in America, would seem in India like technology on display in an art museum. For one thing, there aren't really "highways" for them to drive on, but the main point that I am trying to make is that Indian trucks actually bring something interesting to the table. They are all painted bright colours, often with designs criss-crossing from one side to the other, or thin chains draped along the bottom decoratively. Then on the back each of them says something along the lines of "Horn OK Please" in elegantly slanted letters (yet another example of the comedy of Indian English). But my favourite bit of all is the horn. Rather than the constant grating honk of an American semi, the trucks play little bits of Bollywood songs on loop, turning the roads into an animated musical.
- Men walk around holding hands (or just pinkies) because why wouldn't you express how close you are to the people around you? Those stupid stigmas you would find in the west, that frown upon showing affection for they people around you, thankfully don't exist.
- Facial hair, and lots of it. I'm talking perfectly sculpted curly moustaches galore. Or the carefully trimmed straight across kind that I am starting to think is an official part of the watchmen uniform cross-country.
- There is a festival to celebrate the cows and buffaloes and how much they do for farmers, in which they paint their horns lots of bright colours. So still these big animals meander through the city with bright red or blue bursting out of their heads.
- Bright pink turbans. Just walking through villages they are everywhere, and to the average westerner they seem like a huge contradiction (traditional...and bright pink?) but they are perfectly commonplace.
- Possibly the most characteristic Indian mannerism, which week by week will creep up on you until you become an irreversible convert- the Indian head bobble. Whether it is a sign of ascent or a friendly greeting, I dare you to come to India for more than a month and not find yourself head bobbling every once in a while.
- My parents will I'm sure remember with chagrin my childhood days when I would let go of all inhibitions and belch completely openly. Well I can now say I was just being multicultural, because the feeling towards burping here is much more relaxed.
- The majority of people drive motorcycles, not cars, so you frequently see motorbikes with guys holding bizarre things on back. One person is driving and the one in back is carrying a rolled up rug, giant picture frame, roll of cables, or a live goat. You name it, someone has found a way to transport that on the back of a bike.
- Standard male attire between ages 15 and 30: dress pants, flip flops, and some brightly coloured (often metallic) shirt, generally button down. Yes, it is a pile of contradictions.
- Every house in town is painted some bright colour like pink or turquoise. So you can tell exactly how old a building is by how far the paint has faded. Towns like Jalna become a sea of pastels with the occasional island of vividly fresh paint.
- While in the United States a child might get excited about seeing a dog walking in the street, animals of all kind are so commonplace throughout cities that there is no need. Dogs, cats, pigs, goats, cows, and water buffaloes wander around, at times halting traffic, and simply spend their days rifling through street-side garbage. The occasional camel or horse wouldn't even be that uncommon, and in bigger cities I have even seen elephants being led through the streets.
- If there is ever an accident on the road, somewhere between fifty and a hundred people will just flock to see what is going on. They have absolutely nothing to do with what happened, but they were either hanging out at chai shops, or have pulled their bikes to the side of the road simply out of curiosity. They look at the scene, talk amongst themselves, and create the most intense bottle-necking traffic possible.
- The smiles. In India, you encounter some of the most genuine smiles on the planet. Simply greeting people you may have never even met before might just make your day.
No comments:
Post a Comment