India thoughts

I collected together my thoughts, observations and comparisons to life in the UK during three weeks in India. A little insight into my brain.

Already I think differently to what I thought when I wrote each section, so I’m very aware these are not well rounded or particularly knowledgeable points..just what I thought at the time. Its interesting how when you’re away you learn so much that changes your perspectives that even a few days can change things completely.

On the surface India is chaos and madness. The more time I spent there the more things made sense but I definitely still think it’s a bit mad.

I’d struggle to live in India. I like English life too much. But, at risk of generalising East and West, I also don’t think the West is best. Our culture is so detached from the spirit of life – from our heart, soul and why we’re here. Western society seems built around our minds, productivity, science, exponential growth and consumption. I hope that in its growth in the global economy, the East doesn’t forget the spirit of life like the West did. Imagine a world where we combined science and spirit.

This also applies to health care. Western medicine is amazing and life saving. For example if you are injured and need surgery, western medicine works wonders. But it has its limitations as it treats based on individual symptoms. Eastern medicine treats holistically. I’m talking about ayurveda, Chinese medicine, Acupuncture, etc. It treats the cause rather than the symptom. In western culture it seems that we have so many diseases or symptoms that stem from imbalances in the mind and gut that are deemed untreatable because western medicine doesn’t account for the whole picture (IBS anyone?). As discussed in the Spark in the Machine, a book by a western doctor who also trained in Chinese Medicine, we are just proving processes at a cellular level that Chinese medicine practitioners have been using to treat illnesses for centuries. I have no clue how they know without scientific investigation, but the point is, they know. I’m grateful to have learnt about Eastern medicine in recent years.

The people who don’t fit in are often the most interesting. These people have the audacity to own their beliefs and do their thing despite what the crowd says and how the crowd judges. I’d rather find out more about that person than someone who squashed themselves to fit societies mould. I’m forever learning not to judge a book by its cover.

Kindness is universal.

Poverty and unthinkable suffering is global. Its in the West but its more visible in the East. Our national support system fails some people but its better than nothing. Which seems to be the case in India.

A smart phone seems like an integral part of Indian culture now.

Lots of people want to take my picture because I don’t look Indian. It makes me very uncomfortable as strangers come up to me in the street and just say “selfie?”. It’s like I’m a celebrity but all I did was have white skin. I’m very privileged that this is the most discrimination I’ve experienced in life.

The roadsides and rivers banks are covered in rubbish. Mainly plastic. First thought is how has so much land become a rubbish tip? Second thought is that in the UK we only recognised the environmental issue with plastic recently, so I can’t really judge. Third thought is that the roadsides are the visible reality of our global consumption. The West uses more non-biodegrabale and non-recyclable materials than most Indians but we throw it “away” into a waste management system that means we don’t have to see it. Our unsustainable consumption and waste production has been brought to our attention as a result of climate activism, but the results of our consumption is still relatively ‘out of sight, out of mind’. For this reason I don’t know if we’ll be able to do enough, fast enough. I recently found that plastic bags are banned across India. Sure there are questions surrounding the environmental impact of other kinds of bags but in a country that seems to have a big waste management problem this seems like a very environmentally responsible move. Which has made me think, maybe having such a visible waste problem will mean that more sustainable materials and a more sustainable economy model will come from the East. The issue is more visible so the maybe the motive to find the solution is stronger.

Driving in India is total madness. The only rules seem to be drive mainly on the left and beep your horn a lot. Driving into the face of incoming traffic is totally acceptable. In this area, I think west is definitely best.

I really like masala dosas.

A lot of Indian schools are English Medium. For some of the Indians I met, English is the first language. India has removed any language barrier that could havee prevented it interacting in the global economy. Genius.

Most native English speakers are very lazy when it comes to learning languages. I also think we start learning them too late. I’ve met people from all around the world and a lot speak the language of their country, English and maybe another too. I can barely remeber basic French.

There are peaceful parts of India. I’m glad I got to spend time there.

Prices are usually much higher if you’re a tourist. Paying much more than locals to get into a temple or historic attraction seems fair enough to me. But paying more than double the price for a scarf feels like I’ve been taken advantage of. Knowing how much things should cost is hard. Bargaining is a valuable skill. And even if I pay half the first price I’ve probably still overpaid.

India is so vibrant and colourful. From the way people dress to how the lorries are painted.

There’s more to life than meets the eye. Or in fact any of our five senses. Just because we can’t sense it in a way our brains can understand doesn’t mean it’s not there. Call it gut instinct, intuition, a sixth sense, universal guidance, energy, or God. There are many things our intellect can’t quite put its finger on. And probably never will. Science is based in intellectual understanding so can only prove so much. Its a different kind of understanding. Just a feeling I guess.

India is a very big place.

The world is a very, very big place with a lot of things I don’t understand. There are a lot of things I will probably never understand but each time I put myself out of my comfort zone I understand things a little more.