"So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked." --Mark Twain
In the next few posts, i'll be going back in time to my 25 days in India.
The architectural journey my school embarked on began in the the south, travelling by rail and bus up north, stopping in nine cities out of seven states.
India is made up of 26 states in total, home to 1.1 billion people, divided by 14 official national languages (on top of multiple dialects), 7 major religions, and 6 main ethnic groups.
Its Caste system can be categorized into 5 main groups - the Priests, the Warriors, the Merchants, and the "Untouchables" (now called "Gods Children" thanks to Mahatma Gandhi).
With 5000 years of history and such diversity in a country, it is difficult to showcase with my limited pics & talent the spirit and reality of India. But spirit and reality India certainly has, an overwhelming, mind-blowing, conscience-stinging sense of it.
Concurring with those who've travelled to India before, one can never be physically-mentally-emotionally prepared enough for India: it is a world of contradictions....where logic takes a whole new dimension, and truth stares back at you much more vividly than you'd ever bargain for.
I've been physically-mentally-emotionally challenged by India...it has taken me on a roller-coaster ride where I was moved, exhilarated, puzzled, saddened, frustrated, amused, awed and provoked (in thought only). We were all spent, and ready to head home.
For now.
There's no doubt in my mind that i will head back there someday...not just to rediscover India, but through it to rediscover me.
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