How is it possible for a country to both frighten and beckon you? This is the case with India, a country that has it all. A place where the pleasant and the uncomfortable coexist in every corner. Crossing its borders is not just a geographical journey; it’s accepting a transformative agreement, because India, if you allow it, transforms you!
The trip that wasn’t
I don’t know exactly where my connection to this country began, but I always felt its pull.
The first time I made plans to visit, something happened. Fate threw me a curveball. I had bought my ticket, but due to a visa delay that held my passport longer than necessary, I missed my flight and the plan was canceled.
Honestly, I was scared because I had heard many negative things about India. However, I was determined, so as soon as I had the visa in hand, I bought another ticket. Three months later, I arrived in India.
The arrival
I arrived at night, and the first thing that greeted me was pure chaos: the cacophony of honking horns, motorbikes dodging cows, the dust. It was exciting, like stepping into an action movie. Soon after arriving, I realized my fear was unfounded, and that, using common sense, India is a perfectly navigable country for a woman traveling alone. What’s truly frightening isn’t the environment itself, but what the environment evokes in us.
Chaos as a School
India is for the brave. To explore it, you need to be able to let go of control; otherwise, it can be overwhelming.
I like to draw an analogy between this country and Greek mythology: India, in a way, represents Tartarus (the place where shadows dwell and everything we refuse to confront). And I don’t make this comparison negatively. In the Western psyche, we live “protected” by facades of order, hygiene, and predictability. India shatters all of that.
It’s a place that raises your dopamine and cortisol levels simultaneously; a cocktail of emotions where one part of you screams, “No way!” while the other whispers, “Wow, that’s amazing.” Beyond that: “The food is so good!”, “Oh, how cool!”, “Oh no, no!”, “Take a deep breath!” It pushes all your buttons at once.
You don’t need to sign up for a spiritual retreat; being in India is the spiritual experience itself. It’s the place where the environment forces you to look at your own reactions. If traffic drives you crazy, India confronts you with your lack of patience; if dirt terrifies you, it confronts you with your need for control.
Pollution and the immune system
One of my greatest lessons in India was understanding that “no one dies from dirt” (and with this I don’t mean to deny the real problem of pollution, especially water pollution).
It’s very common for first-time visitors to India to get sick, but it’s nothing serious. For me, it’s simply an update to the immune system: a natural vaccine for the body and soul. As they say, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
My lost home
Something very curious happened to me. Every time I met someone new in India: they would almost immediately say, “You look like you’re Indian.” But it wasn’t just them who perceived something familiar. When I saw their faces, I could recognize the features I saw in my native Venezuela.
That familiarity made me reflect on the similarities we Latinos share with some Asians. And I understood perfectly why Christopher Columbus thought he had arrived in India when he “discovered” America.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t an experience exclusive to India, because it happened to me a lot in most Asian countries. In Thailand, they thought I was Thai; in Cambodia, that I was Cambodian. I felt like a chameleon.
Contrasts, animals, and endless surprises
Far from being perfect (that country doesn’t exist), India is a giant of over 1.4 billion people where each state is a universe unto itself, with its own language and culture.
What I love most about India, after its food, is the almost surreal integration with wildlife. Although seeing cows eating garbage in the big cities is a bittersweet image, there’s something magical about that lack of boundaries. In Romania, a bear might appear in your backyard; in India, it could be an elephant, a monkey in a temple, or a camel on a random road. It’s like living in a zoo without fences, a raw and beautiful coexistence with nature.
Final invitation
If you have the opportunity and the inclination, go and explore it for yourself. I guarantee you’ll never see the world or life the same way again, because India, if you allow it, transforms you.
It’s a country I’ll keep returning to, and one I highly recommend exploring with an open heart.
