India has given us Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Ayurveda, shampoo, chess, chai, yoga - which is practiced the world over - and so much more. It’s the home of complex systems which have been
written about before. By better writers than I. How
dabbawalas in Mumbai deliver boxed lunches called
dabbas by hand and by bicycle, every day all around the city - without the assistance of modern technology, making them the envy of corporate-owned services across the globe. The laundry, flower and pre-dawn newspaper delivery systems are similarly remarkable.
India also has cities that showcase how many shades of indigo can exist. So many! There are flaxen step wells. Plum-colored saris with gold embroidery. Emerald forests of trees in Sikkim and swaying palms in Goa. So many shades of salmon or sienna on fort walls, facades and bare earth. Thick strands of tangerine-tinted marigolds…
India is a celebration of the full spectrum of color on planet Earth.
Yet for every one image I’ve seen or taken like that, I close my eyes and see a dozen that are beautiful faces. 😁 The man in a Mumbai market who gave me a fragrant rose for no other reason than to be kind, the guide who took me to his local chai stand that tourists don’t usually visit, the female hot air balloon pilot safely navigating us over misty rivers at dawn, the enterprising young owner of an ancient family guest home, the GM of a resort who took the time to help us learn about Chaat and Pakora, the chic owner of a boutique in Panaji where I bought a necklace and a gold ring, the man in the blue shirt [
below, middle] who asked me to take his photo and tell people that India loves visitors,
the woman who created the
embroidered pillow that I move with me from room to room - a reminder of the duality of life and of two places I love. ❤️