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Wherever You Go There You Are
This quote, attributed to both Budhism and to Christianity, is so very true. As I begin to adjust to being in India and await the unfolding of my purpose here, I feel the weight of the ‘unfinished business’ I’ve brought along with me. I’m also aware from moment to moment of how incredibly foreign this culture is to me and how I look at it through the filter of my western eyes.
When I awaken in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep, as happened last night with jet lag still affecting me, I think of my business I left behind, in the very capable hands of my team, to take this sabbatical, of my relatives at home, and of my ailing friend. I haven’t disconnected from home yet on the one hand, and on the other hand I don’t know what the next weeks will bring on my journey as a volunteer English tutor.
In the daytime, the anxieties and ‘not knowing’ of the night recede, and I enjoy myself, visiting a few tourist sights. Yesterday was Connaught Circle, the upscale shopping area just one metro stop from the old Paharganj district where we’re staying, and today we saw the Red Fort, rode through the markets of Old Delhi in a bicycle rickshaw and ate in a restaurant populated mostly by locals.
Old Delhi, the original city, is the Muslim section of the city. It’s a very chaotic, very vital area, full of shoppers and workers, cars, auto rickshaws and bicycle rickshaws. (Note: Bicycle rickshaws have been outlawed in Kerala, South India because they’re considered inhumane by the communist government there, but they play a vital part in moving people and goods through the narrow lanes of Old Delhi.
All for now – I accomplished a lot today on only 4 hours of sleep but I’m fading fast!
I’ll post later on Touts and Beggars and How to Pace Oneself as a Tourist in India
