I’m regularly told that I give a bad image of India (the horror stories and all that). Here is some of the nice stuff that I never write about. Things I like about India:
- the rivers
- poha
- riding on the back of Madhav or Shinde’s bikes
- the shopping stalls near Laxmi Rd
- walking in the university campus
- going to the movies
- mad shopping binges
- kathi rolls and kheer kadam from Radhika’s
- chay
- the smell of incense and fresh coriander
- people who smile at me or compliment my dress
- rickshaw drivers who go by the meter
- chatting with people on the train
- coloured clothes and cloth
- travelling by train
- shopping
- changes of plans and surprises when they go the way I want them to
- painted signs and boards
- rangoli
- sari bags
- krack cream
- the dampness of the air on arrival in Bombay airport
- kulfi and gulab jamun
- butter naan and butter chicken
- the warmth
- having all the time in the world to take my bath and eat my breakfast
- glass bangles and silver anklets
- reading for days on end
- children in school uniforms
- eating on the kitchen floor
- the cup of tea offered by the internet café manager because I’m waiting for the end of the power outage
- Hindi and Indian English
- negociating seating arrangements and luggage storage with fellow train-passengers
- sticking 46 large stamps on the 6.5kg book parcel I’m sending home
- the Kal Ho Na Ho ringtone on Anita’s cellphone
- sweet-smelling flowers in the night
- Hindi music in the car
- chay with milk straight out of the goat’s udder at Taramai’s
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