What is it about India? Much of it is crowded, polluted, poverty stricken; it gets so hot you worry your brain will melt; you can never get the right advice, directions or change; you have to watch every thing you put in your mouth, even making sure it's closed tight in the shower; the train is late, the car breaks down, the driver doesn't listen; your white clothes come back from the laundry grey; you see the same shawl for half the price, half an hour later; the thin, naked child turning somersaults at the corner breaks your heart; and the sight of an old woman carrying a basket of bricks on her head in the heat of the day fills you with stifled anguish.
And yet
The spices the sheer variety of them
cloves(laung),saunf,dalchini(cinnamon),black pepper(kali mirch),tez patta Curry leaves,nutmeg,turmeric,chillies,cardamom,ginger. When you dive into the streets and bazaars and let uncensored life swirl around you in every color, shade and gradation known to man. When you allow the humanity of an open hand to touch your heart. When you experience the famous hospitality of the east, captured by the phrase Atithi Devo Bhava (Guest is God),This is the land where so many beautiful souls were born
some like Buddha,Krishna ,Kabir,Mahatma Gandhi
..take a moment to pause and take a deep breath they walked on the very same land..maybe even where you are walking today? when you allow India in, she may never leave.
And you may not want to leave either.