Traveling in India

The rigors and rewards of travel are something that I have come to live for. Each trip presents new and difficult challenges and when traveling, I find myself more aware of my surroundings, and ultimately, more in touch with myself. So as I prepared to leave my friend?s house in Hyderabad and set out on my journey through South India, I knew that I would have to put into practice all that a life of traveling has taught me; and in turn, I would be rewarded with wonderful surprises and treasures.


Just getting out of a city of 6 million people was a breath of fresh air. As the bus passed through the Indian countryside, all I saw were great expanses of agriculture: row upon row of chilies, eggplants, oranges, grapes and cotton. Goats were herded down the road by barefoot farmers while women carried massive loads upon their heads at an outdoor brick-making operation. I watched as a girl collected cattle dung and formed it into patties next to one of many roadside graves that dot the landscape.

Large irrigation channels appeared and I knew I was near Nagajuna Sagar, the largest masonry dam in the world. In the end, it was not the massive dam or giant lake that would stick in my memory; it was the children. For on my trip to the island of Nagarjunakonda I would be joined by a group of 60 schoolchildren. The boys wasted no time in meeting me, setting about me with unbridled enthusiasm and curiosity, all at once attempting to shake my hand, learn my name and guess my nationality. For the next 4 hours there was a constant procession of children around me, all clambering for my attention and having their turn offering me their names, handshakes and questions.

When departure time came, I walked alone down the right side of the path like a star on the red carpet with 60 screaming fans on my left as a teacher tried to maintain order. I boarded the boat with every eye upon me and sat down on an empty bench. One outgoing boy saw the opportunity and jumped on it, nearly landing in my lap. Within seconds every seat around me had filled, and as jostling for positions began, I had to remind the boys to "Relax, relax" which they murmured to each other, copying me in the cutest way but not heeding their own advice.


I answered every question the boys could think of, the most common of which was "America is a rich country?" As an American I find this is one of the hardest stigmas to shake. For how do I convince a poverty-stricken child that I'm not rich as I show them their photos on a fancy digital camera? First of all, I must be humble and honest. The truth is that a poor man in America would still be well off in India and each of these children live in poverty that would appall even the most unfortunate in my country. But the fact is that just being rich does not make a person happy and I would challenge anyone to find a group of 60 schoolchildren in the States as happy, healthy and well-mannered as the ones on this boat. So I try to help the children understand that they are more fortunate than they know and that they should feel proud, not poor. For the beauty in the eyes and smiles of these children is not born of money, but love.

As I walked around the island's museum with one of the teachers, observing Buddhist ruins that date back to the 2nd Century BC, I apologized for stealing the children's attention away from their school trip. He laughed and instead thanked me, telling me how happy he was that they had a chance to meet such a noble American. He explained to me that in India "Guest is above God" and that the children would take away far more from meeting me than they would looking at these ancient artifacts.

In my first 2 weeks in India, I experienced this time and time again. For though it is me who had come to seek and learn, my position as a guest and as an American allowed me many opportunities to teach and explain. I was impressed with my own insights, considering my lack of education, income and career often puts me at a disadvantage in the States. Yet, this experience was further reinforcement that sometimes the greatest knowledge is not learned in the classroom but found in the world all around us.

Sad to part ways, I joined the children at temple where they were having lunch. I was given a heaping plate of curried rice and vegetables. I sat among the boys, but it was the girls who giggled the most as I ate the spicy rice with my hand. The heat must have shown on my fair skin because even the teachers were laughing. I was offered some water after lunch, but when I went to drink, the water went down the wrong pipe and exploded out of my nose and mouth nearly drenching the poor girl who had offered it to me. All 60 people or more present were in tears with laughter. And now it was no longer the spicy food to blame for my rosy cheeks; it was sheer embarrassment.
I had come to this remote part of India to see the world's largest masonry dam and the island of Nagarjunakonda with its ancient Buddhist relics. But as I hopped into my rickshaw and waved goodbye to my new friends, I knew that they were the reason that life had brought me to this place and reminded me just how lucky I truly am.