“Indcredible India” was plastered all over the airport and all the tourism brochures and travel agencies I saw as I entered India. Before I left the airport full of brown faces I wondered what I had gotten into, and I had no idea that I would discover how incredibly complex, confusing, overwhelming, diverse, and beautiful India really is.
I stepped out into air that was much cooler than I had left in Thailand- the dry heat there gives the air a chance to cool down when the sun leaves each night. That was a welcome change to the sticky heat that has become normal in Thailand, especially during hot season right now. We got into a taxi cab that looked like it belonged in the UK and headed into crazy traffic full of honking horns, cows, and people everywhere.
Seiks wearing turbans, Muslims wearing clothes that remind me of men’s pajamas, and women wearing beautiful sauris- bright, confident, vibrant colors garnished with flashy bling detail.
Smells on the street in India are as diverse as the people. Smells of sweet and spicy chai followed by fried bread that reminded of my grandma’s doughnuts were interrupted by the smells of diesel, urine, body odor, and dust. My senses were overwhelmed for much of the week.
I traveled there with Kristi and Catherine, 2 colleagues of mine at the school where I teach.
Kristi had a friend named Sarah who lives in Delhi and served as an incredible hostess to us during our time there. She and her roommate Susie warmly welcomed us into their home and shared with us what they had learned of India and it’s people. I learned a bit about arranged marriages, the caste system, and the different religions that have significant numbers of followers in India. As I listened I learned how thankful I am that I was not born as a female in India. Women are traditionally viewed as property there, owned either by their father or their husband. Certainly not all Indians think this way, but many do. Many women are beaten there, and statisticians suspect that far more are beaten than there are cases that are reported. God certainly has blessed me by being born a female in the US- a country where I am able and even encouraged to get a college education and to advocate for myself. What a gift.
So anyway, we stayed in Delhi for 4 days and got to explore that city a bit and the neighboring city of Agra, home to the Taj Mahal. The drive to the Taj was incredible in itself. Our cab shared the four-lane highway with camels pulling carts loaded with stacks of hay 15 feet high; with cows, goats, numerous rickshaws, bikes, and women walking, carrying huge bundles of unknown stuff on their heads. Wild. Then we got the to Taj and it was just as beautiful and impressive as I would have imagined. We just sat and looked at it for a long time. It is perfectly designed- totally symmetrical, and you can enjoy that from many different vantage points- through different corridors and doorways surrounding the actual structure. It was amazing. I’m so thankful I got to see it.
Then we headed Northeast to Nagaland, a Northeastern State of India that is not very similar at all in culture to the rest of India. The Naga people look more Mongolian or Chinese with beautiful almond-shaped eyes and lighter skin. It is an amazing place with an even more amazing story. The Naga people were head hunters about 150 years ago, then a few missionaries showed up, and through them, God loved a whole group of people into relationship with Him. Nagaland is now considered a Christian state, with approximately 90% of the people claiming to be Christians. Though many of the Nagas are Christian only in name rather than having a personal relationship with Christ, it was truly a gift to see what the God can do through the lives of a few Christ followers who obey his call to offer hope to the lost.
My Naga friend named Asha was an incredible hostess to us during our time there. She showed us around Dimapur, the commercial city in Nagaland, and then she took us to her homotown of Kohima, which reminded me of cities I’ve seen in Nepal- houses nestled high on hills, supported by stilts and stacked on top of each other. I ate naga food- rice amnd different kinds of stewed meats and vegetables- with my hands Naga/Indian style ☺ with Asha’s beautiful family. What a gift.
I also got to meet the women Asha works with and serves in Dimapur. They are women left to work as prostitutes, unable to find any other work in a city that doesn’t have enough jobs of all of its inhabitants. They are beautiful women who are having their dignity restored to them by getting to make greeting cards, aprons, and oven mitts.
There is a doctor and a counselor who come and volunteer their services to these women, and each Friday Asha facilitates a time of fellowship for the women to come and gather. They pray together, worship, and share their hearts and needs with one another. It was amazing for me to get to go and see this group of women whose needs are so great and to know that I am in a position to help them. Certainly working as a teacher on my salary, there are many who have more than I, but I am far wealthier than many of these women could ever hope to be. I was made aware of the responsibility I have to meet these women’s needs as I am able and to offer these opportunities to those around me as well.
Travel in India was pretty interesting. We often used these things called autos- big three-wheeled vehichles that have room for 3 small sized people to sit in the back seat and one driver in the front.
We also took taxis, planes and trains. Our train ride is the backdrop for one of the coolest stories I get to tell about God’s perfect provision for his daughters on this trip.
After standing in line and being cut in front of and edged out of the way for about an hour, I finally got to talk to the Indian woman behind plate glass who shouted at me that it was not possible to get air-conditioned seats, that the only things available were in the general class. Well I’m not about snobbery and normally this would be fine, but every travel book and seasoned traveler we consulted strongly discouraged getting general seating on the train, telling us that chances of theft were quite high and sitting quarters were quite close and could be commandeered by aggressive fellow travelers. Needless to say, my heart sunk as I heard that all we could get were the tickets in the general seating area. She told me to go to the ticketing office of the platform to see about getting a seat on the air conditioned train car that had beds. So there I headed, to meet one of the kindest Indian men I have ever encountered- bright white smile against his beautiful brown skin, kind eyes, and starched white uniform. He said he would do what he could to get us a safer and more desirable seat, and advocate he did. When the train finally arrived, he elbowed his way up to the conductor of the train- the guy with a huge printout of all the passengers. Sure enough, he got us 3 beds on the train, and we took off for our next destination.
I think that was one of the coolest pictures of God's nearness to us- how he saw and cared for our situation and advocated for us. It really was something else.
So I guess that's it. Such a gift to go, such a gift to be back in Thailand. Once again, who the heck gets to live like this??
