I went away. Now I’m back. Life at home continued without me. My return flight, with layovers, starts at New Delhi’s wonderful new airport and ends too many hours later in Virginia with my wife waiting near baggage claim. I am so happy to see her! I’d toured India with her 25 years ago; this was the first trip back either of us had made. The intensity of India is unmatched, and, while there, I was constantly reminded of her.
She was as happy to see me as I was to see her. On our drive home she updated me about this and that, decisions were explained, events recounted. I struggled to find a way to share my experience. As we neared the interstate exit for home she mentioned we could attend our daughter’s soccer game—it was the playoffs. Exhausted but willing—you know the feeling—I agreed that we should indeed attend. Friends and other parents greeted me, and recognized my travel-weary look. They asked polite questions about the trip. But how can I explain what I felt? Their paths had continued, mine ended and began somewhere else.
Gary Snyder charges the traveler with the responsibly of telling a story to bring home lessons learned while traveling. But I struggle. The impressions are more profound than my ability to write. I was overwhelmed—but in a good way—I hope you know that feeling too. India is full of contrasts: wealth/poverty, sickness/health, opportunity/hopelessness, beauty/filth, intensity/serenity, tears/joy…. Here are three illustrations:
- I was interviewing waste pickers living and working in Mumbai’s largest waste dump, the poorest of the poor doing the lowest of the low. A few hours later I was checking into a hotel more luxurious and with far better service than the upscale hotel where I stay when I teach in Washington DC.
- Packed into a motor rickshaw dodging cars, busses, motorcycles, pedestrians, bicycles and ox carts—hundreds of people in the space 4 or 5 cars would occupy in the US, all moving, honking, living, breathing, and yearning. Thirty minutes later I’m sitting on the balcony of a swanky restaurant with menu and atmosphere emphasizing local foods and organic cuisine, rivaling anything at home. We were the only westerners; the clientele is the burgeoning Indian middle class.
- Reading the morning paper and witnessing at every turn the nearly impossible task of a willing but overloaded democratic government struggling to meet the infrastructure needs of one of the fastest growing and most rapidly urbanizing countries in the world. Sitting in the offices of NGOs with proven commitment, capacity, and experience assisting everything from planning and management of public transportation systems, rural water systems, and food safety to toxin testing programs.
Sharp contrasts can either disorient or bring clarity. Do you know that feeling? How can I tell a meaningful story about it? I’ll write a few blogs and try.