I Went to India After 7 Years!

My mom and I were living in Poland and she received a Polish Residence Permit on 13th April for a duration of 3 years! We wanted to visit India so we booked a flight for the next day. We flew on 14th April and reached India on 15th April at 9:00 am.

I never thought I would start appreciating a few things I used to complain about.

There's a saying about India:

Once you drive a car in India's traffic, you can literally drive anywhere in the world! In my whole life, I have driven a car maybe 6-7 times during 2014-2015 whenever my friends allowed me to drive their car. During my current trip to India, my uncle let me drive his car and I just loved it! No one follows any rules, you need to find your own space and you need to be extremely brave + unbothered if you wish to drive in India. I highly recommend everyone reading this to drive in Europe and compare it to driving in India.

Yes, it sounds shocking but it's true. Usually, in a middle-class Indian house (not an apartment), a lot of people are always entering and leaving your house. It could be the cleaning lady, the maid, the maid's children, neighbors, the driver, the nearest shopkeeper delivering something, or even the roadside barber. There is so much trust that so many people enter your house and nothing ever gets misplaced or stolen.

Ever since I arrived in India. There hasn't been a single hour when I was alone. I have been meeting my cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends for the last 9 days but I still haven't met 80% of my family. Yes, we have huge families!

Even if I am traveling alone on a train, random people next to me will start talking to me and it never feels like I am alone. I believe this is how people should be. We should talk to one another.

Yes, most of us do not have much but we are happy and we believe in living in harmony.

That's it from me this week.

© 2023 Kunal Dutt.