April 27, 2010

Exactly a year ago today, India changed me.

Strapped in a 16 kilogram backpack and a heightened common sense, a 12-hour flight and transit from Singapore to Chennai to Delhi, a prepaid cab ride, and an unforgettable rickshaw experience, I found myself in Pahar Ganj in its 47 degrees of ‘slumdog’ heat.

In this ultimate hippie trail stop, I checked-in Vivek Hotel after an hour of heated (both literally and figuratively) argument with the receptionist. The 600Rps room was a ticket bound for 6 feet under. It only had one switch for…everything. And yes, had to sleep with the lights on to keep the breezer (because to call it air-conditioning would be an overstatement) running.

Even with two months worth of travel research and preparation, fear still got in the way. Solo travel can indeed be a brutality if you find yourself with no one to face these fears with. (Cheesefest right there, bear with me.) Sitting on the edge of the bed, I remembered something I read from the NG Store in Vivo City:

“One never seduced by a foreign culture can ever appreciate the fetters of his own. Life, after all, is a journey – a voyage of discovery. Why not take the high road?” –Thomas Abercrombie of National Geographic

So…. take the high road, I did. (Plus the fact that that room was giving me claustrophobic attacks.) I went out to take in some fre… air – whatever particulate matters it may have had.

India, on a silver platter, serves a diverse experience of visual, auditory, and of course, olfactory sensations.

It was 7 in the evening and I resisted the temptation to purchase out of impulse and lust. I went to a photo studio instead so I could have my picture taken. It was a requirement for getting a new sim card.

If you would have wanted to contact me a year ago, my number was +919953966812.
I was waiting.

Moving on (a slap of subtext here)… I was wandering along the long stretch of Pahar Ganj, eating a part of what this silver platter had to offer.

Sporting an unintentional dishevelled hippie look, I stopped by at one of the shops when an Indian guy offered me a seat by the road. I don’t remember exactly how and why but I accepted. He started asking a lot of questions about my travels, about home and family. I would have been somewhat hesitant to reveal these things about myself (more so to a stranger) but then I saw and felt a spark of genuine interest. The conversation transpired from basic information to matters of love.

His name is Bhabha, 24 years young, ready to have his heart opened again.

He asked me if I’ve tried chai masala. I would’ve said yes if CBTL’s chai latte counts. And then he asked, “Would you like to have a cup of tea with me?” It was his Aladdin’s version of “Do you trust me?”

And so I gave him my hand and jumped (or just really got out of the seat, still in doubt and fear). It was already 10 in the evening and the chai shop was a few blocks from where we were.

Not to sound overly dramatic but I seriously wanted to turn back and run for my life. I was in a new place, I barely new this guy, and I didn’t even know how to say “Help” in Indian if things went awry. Every survival instinct in me had been urging me not to take a step further until I heard Leonardo de Caprio’s voice narrating these lines from The Beach:

“So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience.”

It was dark and we had to pass through dingy alleys without the slightest idea where this stranger could take me. That’s me sucking in the experience… and it was worth it.

You see, it was only then it dawned on me that when Bhabha said he wanted to have tea with me, he meant it. He said he was glad that I accepted his नमस्ते Namaste (welcome). He welcomes foreigners without asking for anything in return. He only wants people to have a good and lasting impression about his home. That is why a person’s first day in India is the most crucial.

It has always been said that India is a country of contradictions and extremes. Yet it is in the contrast of things that India has found and changed me. It has sharpened my senses and my instincts. It has blessed me a lifetime of humility. And most importantly, it has stripped me bare from all my fears. If I say anything more only limits India. It is a place someone has to experience firsthand because India allows you to create your own interpretation of it. And it is at its best with another round of tea.

If I hadn’t taken the high road, I may have not fully tasted everything that this silver platter had to offer. And I am more than glad I did because I met Bhabha along the way. Although I know I will never see or hear from him again, I do believe that that our 3-hour friendship is the kind that is set in time forever. The kindness of this stranger welcomed me to what is now – and ‘til the cows come home, my India.

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