One month in India
Today is exactly one month since I first stepped onto the Indian soil. I haven't written much for the last couple of weeks, not because there is nothing to say, but because there is so much that seems to go far beyond my ability to express myself in any language I happen to know. The more I learn about this country, the less I feel capable of putting into words what I am finding out about the local people and customs and, by contrast, about myself and the cultural influences that have defined me over the past three decades. In some sense, it is a profound experience of self-rediscovery from a completely different point of view.
Also, before I forget, I would like to mention that you can now go and browse a few hundred shots that I've taken so far, courtesy of Yahoo! Photos. Just keep in mind that no camera can do India justice. Not even remotely. The Indian experience is full of bizarre sounds, overpowering smells, and chaotic perpetual motion, which even the most advanced photographic instruments are completely incapable of capturing and digitizing. Snapshots can make for pretty posters to bring back as memories, but they hardly give a fair idea to anybody else of what it would have been like to stand in the middle of it all. Simply put, you just have to experience it firsthand.
Conversely, unlike the hustle-and-bustle of the everyday life, old ruins can be captured quite realistically. So for a taste of the exotic side of India, look at the Hampi and Badami sections. And for what appears to be an accurate representation of what the country side of two or three millennia ago might have looked like, check out the Road to Hampi album.
And now, I am leaving on another weekend trip to a town called Mysore and a Tibetan settlement nearby. I'll reply to your comments when I get back on Monday.
Also, before I forget, I would like to mention that you can now go and browse a few hundred shots that I've taken so far, courtesy of Yahoo! Photos. Just keep in mind that no camera can do India justice. Not even remotely. The Indian experience is full of bizarre sounds, overpowering smells, and chaotic perpetual motion, which even the most advanced photographic instruments are completely incapable of capturing and digitizing. Snapshots can make for pretty posters to bring back as memories, but they hardly give a fair idea to anybody else of what it would have been like to stand in the middle of it all. Simply put, you just have to experience it firsthand.
Conversely, unlike the hustle-and-bustle of the everyday life, old ruins can be captured quite realistically. So for a taste of the exotic side of India, look at the Hampi and Badami sections. And for what appears to be an accurate representation of what the country side of two or three millennia ago might have looked like, check out the Road to Hampi album.
And now, I am leaving on another weekend trip to a town called Mysore and a Tibetan settlement nearby. I'll reply to your comments when I get back on Monday.