Today I fell in love with India.I loved it before, but today I fell in love with it. Our tentative plans today were to go to the Agra Fort and then head out of Agra to go to another town. Fortunately, we didn't have any reservations so we weren't bound to anything. On our way to the fort, I noticed a random, tiny sidestreet that looked kind of interesting. Sarah was game for walking with me to check it out so we started back, thinki
ng we would go just to the end of the one we could see and then head back out, continuing on with our plan. We had no idea.
ng we would go just to the end of the one we could see and then head back out, continuing on with our plan. We had no idea. Once we started in, we realized pretty quickly that this was where the Indian locals in Agra shop and hang out and meet up and do their errands. We were, qu
ite literally, the only tourists in sight. And suddenly it was like a different world. Nobody was trying to sell us anything, noone was yelling out to us, there wasn't anyone trying to pull us into their shops. There were just real people, going about their real lives. There were mothers gazing adoringly at their babies, schoolchildren walking home in their uniforms, people buying and selling from each other, cows in the street, rickshaws squeezing through impossibly narrow spaces, women dressed in beautifully bright-colored clothing, authentic street food, people running their businesses.... it was such a complete and absolute pleasure to be in there, winding our way in and out of
so many streets, feeling for the very first time like we were seeing the REAL India.
ite literally, the only tourists in sight. And suddenly it was like a different world. Nobody was trying to sell us anything, noone was yelling out to us, there wasn't anyone trying to pull us into their shops. There were just real people, going about their real lives. There were mothers gazing adoringly at their babies, schoolchildren walking home in their uniforms, people buying and selling from each other, cows in the street, rickshaws squeezing through impossibly narrow spaces, women dressed in beautifully bright-colored clothing, authentic street food, people running their businesses.... it was such a complete and absolute pleasure to be in there, winding our way in and out of
so many streets, feeling for the very first time like we were seeing the REAL India. Of course we stood out and people noticed us, but the way they approached us and talked to us was different. There were kind smiles and pleasant hellos, but they didn't want anything more than that from us. They were too busy going about their business to be bothered with u
s. Which is exactly how we wanted it.
s. Which is exactly how we wanted it. Along the way, we passed lots and lots of schoolchildren. Nearly all of them called out "Hello-o" (they have a very particular, endearing way of enunciating it). All of them smiled. Some giggled and nudged their friends when we said hello back. Some came up and shook our hands. Others wanted to touch our arms covered in henna. And a few of the really brave ones approached us to
ask us to take their pictures. When we did and we would then show it to them, their huge smiles were the most beautiful things I have seen since being in India. Today for the first time, instead of seeing the filth I truly saw the beauty. Instead of seeing only people looking to get something from me, I saw genuine kindness, generosity and w
onder at the strangers among them. Instead of only differences, I saw the things we have in common.We spent hours there, walking through that bazaar and learning to truly love this country and its people. We missed the fort, but we didn't care.
No comments:
Post a Comment