Visited India after four years, in Jan 2022 and had some thoughts…
Felt a new kind of vibe in India this time. May be I did not observe it on earlier trips but there is level of surplus in India it seems that is incomprehensible to the naked eye. From food on the thousands of thelawalas(the current season was Guava) to the sheer number of food joints, to food varieties, to number of chais i had in a day to number of relatives and friends I wanted to visit to the number of political narratives, news items( 100 in a minute or something like that), to number and varieties of birds in Bharatpur bird santctuary, to number of patangs followed by lanterns filling up the sky in Jaipur on Makar Sankranti… and on and on and on… India is indeed a land of plenty.
It goes on , to the number of ads that Akshay Kumar appears in to, the level of pollution in Noida to number of Hotels to number of natural wonders, religious places on every corner… just every thing seems to be endless in numbers. This contrasts quite interestingly with the US where one gets overwhelmed by the size of things… from dishes, to people, to national parks to …Donald Trump’s ego, but not so much by their preponderance.
This variety and plentifulness of life’s music playing out in full force and Eastman colors reminded me of a safari on Tanzania, in Gorongoro crater wherein the density and variety of life forms coexisting and interdependent is absolutely off the charts.
This Over the Top manifestation of life, mostly human and its derivatives creates a vibrancy that is hard to sidestep. That is India’s unique gift. A fantastical, gorgeous, overwhelming state of existence that is unmatched to any other place I have visited. Throw in the tens of thousands of years of history and a people that is as intelligent, as hardworking and as multidimensional as any you will find anywhere in the world, you have a shining jewel on your hand. You will have to squint through the haze and wipe the dust some… but India is not magical and romantic just from far away like a screen siren is. It is real and brasstacks and fabulous from up close like a beautiful woman in its prime is. You just gotta have the eyes for her.
I also saw and felt a sea change in the mood and narrative taking hold :
1. Finishing of many large infrastructure projects such as highways. I went fron Noida to Meerut in about an hour on a 6-8 lane highway, in less than half the time from from earlier. This is happeneing all over the country. Another 6,000 km expressway with 12 helipads just got inaugerated by the Pakistan border. And these projects are being completed in 1-2 years. Magical. (Thanks to Nitin Gadkari)
2. Make in India Arms and ammunitions. indigenous supply is being build rapidly, with factories in many states. Armed forces are being pushed to give contracts to indigenous suppliers. Mahindra and many others are getting in on the action. Fabulous. (thanks to Modi and Shah for building self reliance after all these years of importing even basic firearms and ammunition). International manufacturers are being forced to manufacture high tech in India with tech transfer if they want to sell to India. Arms exports up by 300 percent in last five years, latest being a 100 million plus contract to Phillipines for missiles. Jai Ho.
3. People are looking back at Indian Civilisational roots and taking pride. Earlier many did not care and many did not know. Now there is a bounce in the step on being Indian. Economy despite Covid is hyper active and productive, getting stronger every day.
India is also stepping up to support its neighbors like Sri Lanka that got caught in well designed debt trap schemes of Chinese, while not being afraid of taking a hardline stance against Pakistan and China that mean harm to our country and its people.
Was very refreshing.
Where we need to put effort in our own homes and circles is to coherently call out the amazing aspects of our civilisational roots. In the fact that anyone with any faith can reach the top of the mountain. That we are taught to be kind to all living forms and not to cause violence against even a tree if we can help it and a belief in the eternity of life, and it being not a explotative phase on earth that we pass through for some higher heaven. Simple but phenomenally grand ideas that have sown together that nation for millenia, causing it to be one of the only surviving, intact civilizations from all history, with cities like Varanasi where the same Arti, by the Ganga, worshipping the umbilical cord of life and prosperity that Ganga has been, for thousands of years, is still happening while nearby IIT is churning out engineers that are running the largest companies in the world.
Feeling totally blessed to have been born there and have a view of its magic.
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