Well, I was in India for a full month and I had a great time. It was definitely a pleasure to experience a culture different from my own. It has been noted by past historians and travelers alike that India is such a land of contrast that it is more continent than country. I was able to take advantage of these contrasting "societies" all the more since I actually traveled from South to North. And because I booked my trip through an agency that prides itself on giving you more than just a "television" image of the country I was able to stay at the homes of the locals. There I ate their food and slept in their beds, along with being able to sleep at the Forts and Castles used by some of the former ruling Maharajahs.
I started in Madras and this was unfortunate since the city was a complete shit-hole and it gave me an unjustifiably negative impression of the country to start off my trip. With few exceptions, most cities in India are like that of most other Third World cities I would have to imagine. Offering all the problems that plague the cities of the developed First World (i.e. ethnic tension, social stratification, economic depression and exploitation, unfathomable pollution) but to a much greater extent and with few of their benefits.
There were, however, some positives with visiting Madras. It seemed as though that city had some of the craziest auto-rickshaw drivers in all the country. Believe me, if you ever happen to go to India auto and bicycle rickshaws are the only fun means to travel. It seems as though every time you travel with them you almost come to a near fatal crash. I LOVED IT!!! Unfortunately, the whole trip I myself never actually got into an accident but my sister was lucky enough to have experienced one. I found it especially rewarding to encourage the drivers to go faster and move against incoming traffic whenever possible.
It was also in Madras that I was introduced to SIT and TIB, standing for "Standard Indian Time" and "That's India Baby", respectively. When I arrived at my hotel in Madras I asked for the time to set my watch. One person told me 9:40, another 10:20. In other words: time is of little consequence in that country. That incident in itself perfectly captures SIT and TIB, though both decided to tag along for the ride most of the trip. Some of my most memorable instances of TIB are as follows:
1) Watching a slapping match between two auto-rickshaw drivers on the side of the road
2) Seeing a dog with a cut in its back 8 inches long and at least 3 inches deep ( I'm sure it only had a couple hours to live when I saw it)
3) Seeing a ton of animals with broken legs that the people refused to euthanize or treat
4) Vendors chasing westerners down the street trying to sell them things
5) My auto-rickshaw driver fixing his engine by banging on it with a big rock (hey, it worked!)
6) Malnourished cows and dogs sleeping in the middle of busy intersections
7) Indian teenagers constantly asking to take pictures with me on their camera and asking for my email address
8) Indian people always standing in circles around me everywhere I went. In fact, one time a crowd of at least 60 people started to stand around us and many of them came to me and started asking questions. At one point I said one of the Indian boys sitting near me was my brother as a joke. The crowd let out a big approving roar. The police, who are very protective of Western tourists, however, thought we were being threatened and came out with a big stick and started literally beating the shit out of some of the locals in the crowd to get them to leave us alone. It wasn't my first time seeing the police beat and steal money from the locals and it sure as hell wouldn't be my last
9) Watching a man have his motorcycle blessed by a Priest. It was later explained to me that as a consequence of the Hindu ethic of receiving blessings for everything, many of the people felt safe to behave in a reckless manner and failed to take responsibility for their own actions. So if that biker were to go out, get drunk, not wear his helmet and get hurt it would likely lead him to conclude that the Priest performed a poor blessing. Not that his own actions were irresponsible. Old superstitions exemplified by that practice and the continuing influence of the caste are difficult to undo despite massive government efforts being undertaken in India to do just that.
10) Finally, in one of my favorite instances of TIB I was able to see a dog and monkey almost get into a fight. It started at one of the train stations where a monkey wanted to come down and get some food but some bitch dog got her man to come and chase the monkey away. The monkey returned and they literally stared each other down for at least 5 minutes. It was great entertainment although they sadly never did fight. I would guess that if it were to come to blows the monkey would have kicked the dogs ass cause monkeys are so much faster and they have more means to fight.
While all the incidents of TIB were great entertainment the highlight of my trip would still have to be experiencing the culture of the more remote and indigenous regions of the country. Places like the Backwaters in the state of Kerala and people like the Thoda found in the town of Ottey offered me a different perspective on existence and living. There were definitely some negative aspects of my trip to be sure. My camel ride through the desert in Rajasthan was absolutely a horrible experience. The poverty and pollution were no fun to confront and my near constant diarrhea was a pain in the ass (pun intended). But overall I had a great experience and look forward to my next trip to another land.