... borrowing from Lora ... a vivacious redheaded spunky expat I had the pleasure to meet during the early months of our time in Delhi.
... her words mimic those that I can imagine writing myself. They touched me when I read them a couple of months ago, as they packed up to move ... she's given me permission to share it with you ... enjoy.
India. We leave India tonight, and it marks the end of a great adventure for us.
What a grand adventure it has been! With much excitement to move to our new home and begin a new discovery, it is with pulled heart strings that we leave what has been our home for two years. Hard to believe it has been two years; once said, it amazes us that it has actually been that long. It feels rather short in time as all of the days seemed to have sped by seamlessly.
In the time that we have spent here, we have seen so many sights that, spoken of otherwise, we would have found difficult to believe. The people that we have met have been some of the most colourful people we are sure we will meet in our lifetimes. The experiences we have had will never leave our memory, nor will some ever relinquish their scars; this past two years we will cherish for all our days.
India’s ability to dig deep into one’s depths of emotion is uncanny.
The majestic feelings one gets standing on the threshold of the Taj Mahal soaking up the story of great love, death and deep sadness that is embedded in its marble structure is unforgettable.
Fighting to manoeuvre through the streets of Old Delhi, in hunt for that one essential oil that is guaranteed to calm your nerves in the day to day chaos of life in Delhi, is to experience a battle of survival that is exhilarating yet most frustrating.
Listening to the small children at the car’s windows beg for money with such small voices of pitiable charm and persuasion can bring up confusing emotions of irritation and sympathy.
Choking on the soot-filled air of winter, watching the burning of the plastic and garbage that creates such pollution, one wonders with anger how a nation can be so ignorant of the damage they inflict on their environment.
Struggling to walk through the misshapen aisles of a market, hoping to avoid the slimy running sewage of animal innards as it seeps along a trough at your feet, covering your nose with the flimsy tissue you found in your purse so as to block the gagging smell of slaughter going on all around you, it is disbelief and fear that overtakes you as you try ever so quickly to find your needs to purchase and evacuate the area.
Observing the beauty of the ceremonies that play out every single day and night as men, women and children offer up their praise and worship to their gods in displays of light, fire, and music and chanting, makes one introspective and wonder of their own spirituality and its place in life.
While guilt sneaks into the back of your mind, you cannot help but wonder if one’s own culture and upbringing is seen as welcoming and honouring as the welcome and honour an Indian will favour a stranger when entering their home.
Road rage like never experienced on any other road or in any other situation before, overtakes your senses when trying to manage a short trip of 2 kilometres that ends up taking thirty minutes; disbelief at the utter chaos on the roads and complete lack of attention to road rules and courtesy can make you a true vigilante.
And then there is the caste system that continues to exist, exasperate and confuse us with its existence.
Ah. All the things that make India, India. Most certainly a country to experience, come what may.
So, in only hours now, we will get in to our hired taxi and make the bumpy trip to the airport and then check in for our flight. Within 4 days time, we will have left this side of the world, landed on the other side, found a new apartment in New York City, shopped for some items for the new place, received our shipment of personal belongings sent from Delhi, and no doubt will have had to shovel a bit of snow. Such big changes in such short order!
With our hearts full, we want to say a very warm thank you to all of our friends here in India that we have been so blessed to have met and made. Wherever our paths take us in life, it is our hope that they cross once more and we can reacquaint ourselves again.
We bid you all adieu and wish you all the very best that life has to offer. A saying apropos to this would be ‘lang may yer lum reek’.
We shall miss you all.
