An Homage to India (a fictional piece) Part 2

Or you can watch nature have its way in India. Whether its in the form of half a century year old banyan trees growing resiliently wide, twisted, tangled and strong.; It’s shade guarding over little school children in their stiff white shirts, maroon skirts or shorts and ties, the girls with their hair carefully parted, braided and tied in white ribbons. Or strong mango trees with their sharp emerald leaves and green and yellow fruit hanging sumptuously, as if begging to be plucked and sliced and eaten indian style; kacha green mangoes with chilli powder and salt. Nothing else can satisfy a sour craving like that! Or the juicy golden yellow mangoes, so deliciously simple yet seductive in its ability to fulfill your deepest desires.  No candy can take its place, I promise you. You may even perhaps be taken by the pepper trees with its tiny red and green kernels or even the roadside flowering trees with their gorgeous blooms falling over itself, the colorful petals adorning the ground beneath them in the early mornings before the street -sweepers get to them, in bright chilli reds or golden lemony yellows or gorgeous blushing pink! And the coconut trees, and oh the fresh green coconut karikku! There is nothing like taking a break from a hot day to stop by a street stall selling them, giddy with anticipation as the vendor expertly cuts into it with his knife and then hands it to you with a straw and oh, the never ending cool sweet nectar that sleeps within its white shell. Even after the juice is done, you can hand it back to the vendor to be cracked open into 2 halfs and using some of the hide of the coconut itself, scoop up the soft white flesh and enjoy that as well; but if you are home, you must try it along with small bites of jaggery (a dizzyingly delicious sugar cane preparation) and have your taste buds be blown away by what you just sampled. No amount of rich restaurant cuisine can compare to such simple feasts!

Although in the summer, dust seems to cover everything in sight, it makes way to welcome the beautiful monsoon and the first rain, oh the first rains! Nothing can make the world seem more clean and vibrant than the first rains. The deep, vibrant greens and browns of trees and bushes, the clear blue of the sky, the dark asphalt of the road, people holding up umbrellas by the hundreds, in various colors and sizes. The monsoon seems to even clear the air and the first breath you take outside brings with it the scent I love, of freshly moved soil, as if the land itself is beckoning to be plowed and utilized, reminding you of mother natures bounty and her rich, welcoming arms.

Even just the colors of India are enticing. Never have I been to another country where a place as simple as the bus-stop can be a rainbow colored treat for your eyes! Saris draped and pinned down neatly by the older women, in every color and fabric you can possibly imagine from the classic cotton and silk saris in soft blues and combinations of lime green and orange or chilli red and ocean blue or emerald green and white, to the more easy-to-wear versions in chiffons and georgettes in brighter colors like fuschia, fire engine red or purples and bright yellows, with patterns galore and bead work, gold or silver threadwork, or even additional embroidery in a contrasting color adorning their borders. The churidars or salwar kameezes  worn with carefully arranged shawls on younger girls in just as many colors and patterns as saris and even more varying styles, changing with the trends of actresses in Bollywood movies, each hit movie bringing out a new ‘style’ being sold in stores and named after the movie itself. Can’t you picture it? The scrawny men and and women working in little street-side stores or the ones with matching uniforms in the bigger boutiques, throwing down a stack of clear plastic packets with the outfits in them saying, “This is latest styles ma’am!” from the “Dil to Pagal Hai”, “Bunty aur Bubly” to the “Saawariya Anarkili”, all there to cater to the desires of movie goers everywhere.

But for a moment let us return to the bus stop as we continue to see the neatly pressed school uniforms of children in white, navy blue, maroon, emerald green, dark brown or even blush pink, depending on their respective school’s dress codes, their rectangular lunch-bags slung over one shoulder and their water-bottle on the other, their book laden backpacks causing them to bend over from the sheer effort of trying to walk 10 steps with that incredible weight on their little backs. Even the men are liberal with the varying colors of their shirts in plaid (or ‘checks’ as they call it), stripes, paisley or even flowery designs.  I love how people here are uninhibited about choosing colors- the brighter the better.  You may say that this does perhaps lead to some awful choices but even still, I love that when I look down the street I can see a plethora of colors that can hardly be described as neutral. For some reason, it always makes me a little happy to see bright colors and in India, even more so.

Oh and the smell of spices in the market; the chilli powder, cardamom, cinnamon, peppers, cloves, cumin, fenugreek, turmeric, ginger, garlic and masalas of all sorts.

And  Just past the spice market, the fruit and vegetable one and you can always smell the ripe mangoes, chikkus, guavas, pomegranates and pineapples from a mile away. Even the colors of all the other available fruits, sweets and spices available in the market add to its already exuberant beauty.

The hustle and bustle of life in India adds to its beauty, the busy roads, the crowded markets, the loud people and vehicles. To be here is to feel alive. Nothing makes you realize this than making avoiding death at least twice a week a regularity if you chose to use the roads in India. This land feeds your desire to live, with its competitive people, its near death experiences, it vibrancy in color and smell and foods …makes you glad to be alive.

To be here for me, is to be home, to feel fully satisfied. I have lived, thus far, in three different countries and have never felt more peaceful in either of the others as I do here.