My Travels in Books: India

I’ve wanted to start this series, or what you would call it, for a while now, but getting books has been a bit slow going. But then this book about India sort of fell into my hands, and I thought it was a sign to get this show on the road. India was also the first “big trip” I did, so it seems fitting that it should kick off the series. 

The book I’ve read about India is “Holy Cow! An Indian Adventure” by Sarah MacDonald. 

I thought this book was fiction based on a personal experience in India, but it turns out it was actually a non-fiction book about the author’s two year residence in India. In the book she shares her journey towards inner peace, and all the stumbling blocks along the way. 

I went to India in 2004, and the book was published in 2002, so our experiences were not that far apart in time. India has probably changed in the 10 years that have passed since I was there, but I suspect the essentials have stayed pretty much the same. And I feel like the book captures the essentials of the country, at least as I experienced it. The heat, the crowds, the dirt, the poverty smacks you in the face as soon as you step off the plane, but once you power through the culture shock, you also find vibrant colors, hospitality, amazing buildings, beautiful scenery (outside the cities) and a great (and sometimes a bit invasive) curiosity about you. 

Street life

I went to India with a charity organisation to teach English in village schools in-between traveling the country. This gave me the opportunity to experience the country in a way I probably would not have, if I had traveled alone. We were a group of 14, and we stayed in India for 3 months, dividing our time between traveling the country, mostly the north, and teaching in the schools. We stayed in the village where the schools were for about half the time and settled into village life. The other half of the time we spent white water rafting, hiking, on a tiger safari and sightseeing at the Taj Mahal and in cities around the northern parts of India. 

As mentioned above this was my first “big trip” and the first time for me stepping out of my comfort zone. I feel like going to India to find yourself is a bit of a cliche, but maybe there is a reason for that. Coming from a Western country India is so very different from what you are used to, and I think that difference is essential for your selfdiscovery. It needn’t be India in particular, but it should be someplace exotic and different. Finding yourself in downtown New York is probably possible, but it might take a while longer, since you won't be THAT far out of your comfort zone (unless you are not from a Western country, in which case downtown New York might be just the thing for finding yourself). I certainly did learn a few things about myself on this trip, including that I should not be so scared of leaving my couch, that if I just pushed myself a little bit I could get to know new people and that the rewards of travel far outweigh any bad things that come with it (like the jetlag, the bad tummy and the culture shock). And finally to just get my ass off the couch and DO IT! Get active in planning, buy those place tickets, book a hotel and just go! You will figure the rest out at some point, and the unknown is not necessarily something to be scared of. 

India has many festivals. This one is Diwali,
the festival of lights

As far as the book goes, as I mentioned above I think it captures the essence of India quite well, concerning the culture shock and the difficulties of trying to make a life in a place that is so very different from where you are coming from. The author, Sarah, tells of her struggles trying to fit into the Indian community where she lives, and the struggles of her long-distance relationship. She comes to India because her journalist boyfriend is stationed there for 2 years, and she decided to come along. Meanwhile he is often away for long stretches of time, and following a dangerous illness, Sarah decides to try to find the meaning of life and death. She searches all the major religions present in India at that time including Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and a few others to boot. I think this search for the meaning of life was interesting, but it also seemed a little unfulfilled in the end. She goes to all the religions and talks to priests, gurus and ordinary practitioners, and for each new religion she seems to find her place. But then the ugly side of organized religion rears its head, and she flees to yet another religious sanctuary. This continues all throughout the book, until she finally reaches the conclusion that she can take something good from each religion and kind of make it fit her own life. I felt like that was a bit of a cop-out. I am not saying you have to pick a religion (or no religion) and stick to all the rules in that particular religion, but it just seemed like she really wanted to find a specific religion that had it all, and when she realized all organized religions have downsides, she just dropped it, instead of finding one that resonated the most with her and sticking to it despite its troubles. Furthermore each religion seemingly got a very short trial periode, before she ditched it and moved on to the next one. 

Holy man

I also had a slight issue with the timing in the book. She told us all about her trips to seek enlightenment, but the in-between parts of her staying at home and doing something or other, were handled in a very few sentences. This led me to believe that she did in fact travel almost all the time, but suddenly a year had passed, even though she had only been traveling for a few months at the most. It just felt a bit disjointed, and the timeline was not very well established. She also seemed remarkably lucky in the fact that all the gurus etc. she went to meet just happened to be in India for a short time, between other engagements, and she could go meet them at their ashrams or wherever. Once that had happened a few times it seemed a bit contrived. 

But I did enjoy the book. I ended up giving it 2,5 stars out of 5 on Goodreads. And I would recommend it for anyone contemplating going to India. I thinks it paints a truthful picture of Indian customs and society, at least how it was when I was there. It will give you a perspective that guide books just don’t seem to capture, even if they do warn you about the possibilities of culture shock.