Inspiration from India's Beauty

3:08pm, Thursday, May 28, 2009

I’m basking in the beauty of India as I slowly float along the backwaters of Alleppey in a private houseboat. The expansive murky river ripples by quietly while lines of tall coconut trees go past swaying to the gentle Indian breeze. Birds glide and sing through the pale blue sky lighted by the warmth of the sun and decorated by fluffy white clouds. My friends Alex and Tapasya peacefully take an afternoon nap after a delicious South Indian feast just freshly prepared aboard by the chef. The boat operator and deckhand sit at the front of the vessel as they “talk story” behind the wheel. My heart and mind are still, and I am happy. It almost seems like a dream too good to be real. But then, I remember and realize where I am. I’m in Kerala: God’s Own Country.

As I take in the great beauty of this place, I’m filled with a simple, powerful, and deep sense of tranquility, inspiration, and meaning. This feeling is what beauty does to you. At first, beauty overtakes you and places you in complete stillness. Later, beauty compels you to share the richness of the world with others. It calls you to live life in all its fullness and motivates you to help humanity reach similar experiences of real meaningfulness.

For the past couple days and the rest of the week, my life can be summed up by three words: “just going places”. I am taking in India for all that it is without any level of responsibility or obligation. And as a person who is so driven to make the most of my abilities, talents, and resources to better the lives of others, it’s almost difficult to simply sit back, relax, and get treated like a king (feasts three times a day, amazing accommodations, on-demand transportation and services).

But then, I justify this incredible vacationing: life is about balance. Right now I am balancing all the “work” in my life with some play. By taking some time for myself to soak in the world’s beauty, I will find more time to passionately serve others to remove its ugliness.

So I am excited to continue my life of “just going places”. Yet, I feel it already. I feel the even greater and deeper excitement to unleash all my building inspiration to share life’s beauty with others.

Shock to the Senses

I made it to India. I’m sitting and sweating in an extremely hot and muggy internet cafe “somewhere” in Bangalore. It’s actually more of an internet “cave” right now, ever since the lights and fans went out about fifteen minutes ago. The sounds from the honking horns of frantic rickshaws and buses and from mooing cows make for a surreal background soundtrack as I type this blog post.

Alex and I arrived in Bangalore at 3:30am this morning. We proceeded to seek the help of a travel advisor at the airport who found us a travel lodge near the Central Bus and Train hubs in the heart of the city. Price per night for the two of us: 450 rupees, or $9USD, or 1/11th of the price of our lodge in London.

The moment we exited the airport, I was rushed by a group of taxi drivers who circled around me all vying to get my business. Instantly, I knew I had made it to India. After a 45 minute bus ride, we jumped onto the awakening street. It was a complete shock to all my senses. The sights, the sounds, and the smells overwhelmed me. I saw street vendors preparing their fruits and flowers for the day and wild dogs lying lazily along the sidewalk. I heard buses zooming by and people speaking Hindi. I smelled the strong and repugnant aroma of the streets, a mix of vehicle exhaust and cooking Indian food.

Dodging past speeding mopeds and weaving through throngs of passing pedestrians, I found myself in an utterly new and unfamiliar world. People looked at Alex and me, the only non-Indians on the street, with great almost child-like curiosity. After departing the bus, we decided to trek our way to the lodge. This ended up being a poor decision. We painfully had to lug our heavy bags over two miles through skinny side streets all while hoping we were walking in the right direction as we asked over half a dozen strangers for directions.

I plopped onto the hard bed in our room at the lodge physically and mentally exhausted from the trek. My senses were completely shocked. Taking a deep breath in, I told myself, “I made it. I finally made it to India”.

Six Hours to the Start

In just about six hours, I will be in a plane officially commencing my exciting summer adventure to India. As close as my departure is, the fact has yet to sink in: for the next ten weeks, I will be experiencing life all the way on the other side of the world in a completely new and foreign country and culture. And I don’t think this fact will really sink in until I finally step foot in India. Until I find myself walking down the bustling streets of Bangalore meandering through busy crowds only half-conscious after nineteen hours of flying.

As someone who has never traveled further east than Arizona (no joke, it’s true), my adventure begins immediately. I am excited just to know I will be flying over parts of the United States I’ve never flown over! Soon enough, for the first time in my life, I will be in Europe during a layover in London.

Once in India, my friend/teammate/travel partner Alex and I plan to simply take each day as it comes. For two weeks before we migrate to Hubli to begin project work, we will be exploring South India first-hand and itinerary-free. Thus, at this point, I really cannot say what these next two weeks will bring–sounds like an adventure to me.

All in all, my true excitement and sense of adventure really comes from this belief: in six hours, I will officially have begun what will be a life-changing experience. Through this experience I will see things I have never seen both beautiful and ugly and live life in ways never before lived both familiar and alien. Through this adventure, I will learn and grow more than I could even try to imagine.

Preparing for India

I can't believe that I am already done with my first year in college. If college goes by this fast every year, I will be done with school in no time!

Now that school is finished, I have all my time to prepare for India. Learning how to use this blog, making toiletry runs to Target, and getting my prescription for Larium, as well as many other tasks, will fill the hours of the coming week. I can physically prepare myself by making a to do list and crossing everything off as I complete it, but mental preparation isn't as easy. When I traveled to India last year I could not believe the devastating level of poverty before my eyes. What singles me out as special, that I am able to live my privileged life in America while so many people in India live in the slums? I have found no answer to this question, and I am sure it is a question that will fill my mind once again when I return to India.

Updates about the project to come.

The Countdown to an Adventure

It's Wednesday's morning, 5:17am. Minutes ago, I uncharacteristically awoke from a deep sleep in the complete darkness of my room. I then proceeded to simply lay in my bed, trying but failing to go back to sleep. My mind was too busy with the prospect of my up-coming adventure: ten weeks of living, learning, and serving in India.

In just seven short days, my USC Global Impact friends and I will embark on what will truly be an adventure of a lifetime. The excitement within me is almost beyond words. I mean, this excitement got a college student like myself to willingly wake up even before the sun got up! So, here I am: sitting at my desk in the calm of my plain Los Angeles apartment, writing with an Indiana Jones-like excitement for this up-coming adventure to the exotic lands of India.

What excites me about this summer is knowing that I will be fully immersed by a whole new culture, people, and lifestyle all the way on the other side of the globe. What excites me is the opportunity to truly experience and grow from the "most beautiful and most ugly" place in the world. What excites me is the chance to pursue my life passion for creating meaningful change in the lives of others through social entrepreneurship.

Mostly however, what excites me most is knowing that when I write in this blog seven days after all is said and done, I will have gone on an adventure that profoundly changed who I am.