{"id":1122,"date":"2016-05-10T16:55:56","date_gmt":"2016-05-10T16:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthdevour.com\/blog\/?p=1122"},"modified":"2016-05-03T09:26:02","modified_gmt":"2016-05-03T09:26:02","slug":"india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/truthdevour.com\/blog\/india\/","title":{"rendered":"India"},"content":{"rendered":"

The diversity of lifestyle, coupled with its complex religion and classes held an al<\/strong><\/em>lure that pushed me passed my comfort zone and into the cultural immersion of India.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I venture into lands\u00a0unknown in order to live a life\u00a0colored with unique\u00a0experiences.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Do you ever wonder what it is about India that draws countless people to depict it as the place to visit for spiritual awakening? It’s hard to pinpoint precisely what it is for me. If I was to take an uneducated guess, I would lean towards expressing that it holds a certain charm that draws me into believing the impossible is indeed\u00a0possible.<\/p>\n

There is a sense of chaotic order to the hustle and bustle of the larger cities. Cows roam freely eating the garbage while\u00a0creating rack and ruin in the shops as they see fit to randomly enter. I was told by one lady that it was considered good luck to have a cow enter her market stall, whereas\u00a0the stall owner opposite her tried to discreetly usher the cows away. She had decided the mess and loss of product they caused\u00a0far outweighed the luck she was receiving.<\/p>\n

\"Gods<\/a>

Walking down a market lane. (Photo Credit: Truth Devour)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Indian<\/a>

Organized chaos. (Photo Credit: Truth Devour)<\/p><\/div>\n

In the urban landscape, I found the architecture was equal parts surprising and downright scary. I had received an offer to visit a family who lived in this five story tall super narrow leaning tower of Piza building. To provide you with some context, I lived in a five\u00a0bedroom two bathroom old country farm house on seventeen acres on my own. When I\u00a0entered this abode, I was amazed with the\u00a0amount of people who lived in the ultra small confines of this narrow concrete structure. The\u00a0grandparents, a husband and wife, two children under the age of six with one on the way and an unmarried sister, all lived there. It was humbling to know that I occupied a house that was filled with ‘things’, and here they were a family of seven plus another child en route, making life work in space no greater in size than an average westerner’s lounge room.<\/p>\n

\n

‘The wonderment of perspective’<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\"A<\/a>

Float – Carnival festival in Goa (Photo Credit: Truth Devour)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"India<\/a>

Oversized paper mache puppets (Photo Credit: Truth Devour)<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the things that I truly admire about the people of\u00a0India is\u00a0their commitment to the use of bold vibrant colors. \u00a0When I attended the much anticipated Carnival festival in Goa, I wasn’t sure what to expect. In essence, it is a well orchestrated \u00a0display of floats, coupled with singular people hovering about in random costumes.\u00a0\u00a0I saw an Indian Charlie Chaplin walking toward\u00a0me while a man in a ballerina suit complete with an un-manicured hairy chest fluttered on by. It was eclectic madness with no apparent flow of commonality in theme, and yet it all somehow works. The celebration lasted for three nights and four days and was\u00a0far tamer than it sounds.\u00a0Either that or I was hanging in the wrong circles. Mostly, what I witnessed was people in uplifted spirits celebrating with their family and friends by sharing a meal, singing and dancing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI travel to find\u00a0pieces of me within each\u00a0experience.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u2015\u00a0Truth Devour<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Homeless<\/a>

Homeless dog in Delhi (Photo Credit: Truth Devour)<\/p><\/div>\n

During my travels, I heard about a growing trend in what is known as laughing\u00a0yoga (Hasyayoga). I was curious about it and decided to track down a club to join them in an hour of chuckles. In theory,\u00a0the\u00a0practice of\u00a0prolonged voluntary laughter is based on the belief that\u00a0it\u00a0provides the same physiological and psychological benefits as genuine\u00a0laughter. Attending a session proved to be\u00a0one of my favorite travel experiences. Picture this, I was the only foreigner attending that day so most of the\u00a0participants used me as an unconscious focal point. Here I am surrounded by a group of strangers who were\u00a0staring at me while smiling. I looked at their faces looking at me and couldn’t help but begin to laugh. Much to their delight my natural expression of laughter is so, let’s call it\u00a0‘unique,’ that when they heard my rambunctious bellow, they all quickly transitioned from forced laughter into hysterical\u00a0laughter. I mean we lost the plot laughing at the sound of me laughing. The exchange of energy was amazing. Our streams of\u00a0tears were the signature\u00a0expression of joy. Honestly, I could feel it rejuvenating my mind, heart and soul.<\/p>\n

‘It\u00a0starts and ends with you’<\/h2>\n
\"Washing<\/a>

Washing booths for rent. (Photo Credit: Truth Devour)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Dirty<\/a>

Dirty water, white sheets. Tis one of the great mysteries of life. (Photo Credit: Truth Devour)<\/p><\/div>\n

When I stumbled upon the washing booths, I was fascinated by what I saw. \u00a0Firstly, there wasn’t a female in sight. All the booths\u00a0are run by men. They scrubbed the clothes, dipped them in the water and then proceeded to vigourously whack them numerous times on the concrete wall in front of them. They repeated this process over and over, occasionally checking the item.\u00a0I’ve never seen white clothes come up so clean before. It was visually\u00a0mesmerizing\u00a0to watch them in action. They relentlessly labored over each article of clothing in the same way for the entire day.<\/p>\n

\"India<\/a>

Cow & Cart – Mumbai (Photo Credit: Truth Devour)<\/p><\/div>\n

Initially, I intended on spending a little over two weeks traveling about to get a taste of what India had to offer. This quickly became extended to six weeks, then eight. I reluctantly returned to Australia thereafter to tend to some existing commitments. When I boarded the plane to leave I recognized that my first trip to India\u00a0would not be my last. I have graced her soils\u00a0a few times since and had even updated my last will and testament to hold the request to have my body shipped to Varanasi so it may be burnt to ashes at\u00a0the foot of the Ganges and released unto its waters.<\/p>\n

What can I say, there’s just something about India. It is an enchanted place\u00a0filled with endless examples of the impossible being possible.<\/p>\n

Blessings – Truth Devour<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Direct<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The diversity of lifestyle, coupled with its complex religion and classes held an allure that pushed me passed my comfort zone and into the cultural immersion of India. 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