200 Days in India

Impressions of the “real India experience” The first three words that came to my (extremely tired) mind when I left the airport were: Heat. Noise. Crowd. Then the first (rhetorical) question: Did I really want to come here? And the first realization: Namaste in not useful at all in Tamil Nadu. Daily crowd I left from -15 Celsius degrees and arrived to 30 degrees – well equipped with winter clothes. With 0 rupees in my pockets (as far as I knew I could exchange money only in India) and without a drop of water (but a lot of good advices on where and what can I drink), it was a great warm-up for my body to bear with the humid heat of Chennai weather. At a first glance it seemed to me that this city never sleeps; between 4 and 5 in the morning there was so much noise in the front of the airport as in the middle of a rag fair. What I first heard was a mixture of human voice, a variety of honks and the sounds of awakening nature. And the crow

Do you ever dream about going to a place?  A country, a city, a beach, a mountain? I did. About a lot of places, but there was one more persistent than all the others and that had a special place in my heart. I have dreamed - and daydreamed - for more than 10 years about traveling to India. You might ask why - as a lot of people did - but there is no answer. Although the idea was born in my head when I was a teenager – the passing days, months and years gave no rational explanation for my desire. … Maybe because I’ve found the concepts of Buddhism and Hinduism absolutely fascinating. … Maybe because I was so many times amazed by the richness of colors I associated with India. …Maybe because as the time passed I have found out that a lot of people whom I find inspiring also lived here for a while or at least visited this country. Or I might have wanted to see if I am really capable of turning my desires into reality. Last year I have felt