Tattva

When I first envisioned going to India, many thoughts would rush to my head. It was a mix of different ideas and feelings about India, what will it look like, what it will be like to live there for an extended period of time, anticipation about the food, and so on. With all these different ideas and expectations, there were some emotions that also ran through my body during the few days before I left: excitement, anticipation, anxiety were the main ones. I had seen India before on T.V. and in pictures, but it’s never the same as being there in person. So when the plane took off from Newark Airport, I thought to myself I’d finally see what Bharat really is. I also kind of wondered if I’d get to see a Bollywood star on the street like a normal person, while on the tours, but I seriously doubted that.

 When I landed in Bangalore, then I seriously started feeling the excitement, anticipation and anxiety because I was finally there. When I was on the bus leaving the airport, I looked around at the scenery: not too urban, very rural, lots of vegetation, and it reminded me somewhat of Guyana. I also felt comfortable ever since I landed in India; I didn’t feel out of place at all, and it felt calm and relaxing to be there (except for the traffic, but it was fun to watch the diverse forms of transportation and the ensuing chaos on the roads).

After attending Vishwa Sangh Shiksha Varg, a 3-week leadership training camp in Hyderabad, I went on tour with 20 others who also attended the camp. The tour was aptly called “Bharat Darshan,” as we spent one full week visiting different places in South India, many of them with vast historical significance behind them. We went to many different temples of varying age, some, such as the Ranganath Temple in Mysore, over 1000 years old. Other places included the sacred Bala ji Temple in Tirupati (near the exit was like a human compression chamber made of other humans, lots of fun), Mysore Palace, which is an immense and beautiful palace with a rich history, the Golkunda Fort in Hyderabad, Belur, and many others. In one week, I visited four different cities – Hyderabad, Tirupathi, Mysore, Banglore, and the Hassan district. It was very inspiring and empowering to be at the spots where great events in our history and of importance to our culture took place. Actually seeing all these places helped me connect to my culture in a stronger, more vivid way; this was a feeling shared by all in the group.

We also had the chance to visit a few sewa (community service) projects run by Hindu Seva Pratishthan in Bangalore. Among these were Narendra Nele, a shelter for children in slum areas, Aruna Chetana, a school for children with special needs, and Anaath Shishu Nivaas, a home for children who are orphans. It was amazing seeing the dedication and selflessness with which the volunteers worked for these projects. The atmosphere at these places was positive and serene, and every single child looked happy and well cared for.

While visiting all these places, I also bonded a lot with all the others on the tour. We were constantly traveling, talking, sharing experiences, telling stories, and learning from one another. It was really a great experience and pleasure to be with these people, people who felt the same way about Bharat and Hindu culture as I did. There was never a dull moment; even when making long trips to different places, the atmosphere was so relaxed and light, and there was always lots of laughter.

 Leaving Bharat was definitely a sad experience. I felt that I made a connection with both the people and the country; it was difficult to let this go. The day before I left for New York, I walked around Bangalore for a while, doing some souvenir shopping for my parents and brothers, exploring around, and just taking in the atmosphere, trying to make the most of the remainder of my short time in India. The entire time on the plane, I was reminiscing everything I had done the last month, all the experiences, the fun times, the friends I made, etc. When I landed in the US and reached home, there was a mixed reaction. It felt good to be home, yet at the same time, I also wished I was back in India. Overall, my first trip to Bharat was definitely a memorable, touching experience and I look forward to going back.
 
Suraj Bassit is an undergraduate student at the City University of New York.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 7:10 am and is filed under Editorials/Reflections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.