"That's why I will always love India"

volga_volga

ha-ha. point taken, rab.

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IVAN

his one happened, not in India but back home.

I was walking on the main square in Zagreb when I heard the voice of a street paper salesman reciting the names of the papers and magazines he was selling.

He was a gypsy and was chanting in a very similar fashion like the Hindu priests chant Sanskrit hymns in the temple, and during Pujas. Same intonations, same pitch.

It was an endless repetition of the same "mantra", and I felt like transported to a temple during Puja.
I kept hearing "Om Namo Bhagavate..." and similar chants in my head.
Concentrating on the rythm (and not the words) I entered in a trance like state and experienced a total synesthesia, al my senses were filled with some past impressions of India.

It was a magioc moment.

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sboivin

I was having a conversation with men on the train while my girlfriend was sleeping. After 30 minutes of "which country?", they started to ask me question about my girlfriend. One teenager started getting specific with me:
"She's really pretty, did you choose her?",
"Yep" I replied,
"Must have been difficult?",
"It took me 15 years" I replied
"Did you havd sex with other women while you were searching?"
"Well yes..."
"How many times?"
I tried to refocus the conversation on "which country", but it was too late. For the 2 hours left we had on that trip. He kept smiling at me, and looking at me like I was some kind of god. It was my first and only time I was looked upon like that.

albaruni

I respect a woman's right to a life.

albaruni

even her's .

albaruni

dido ...even dido has a right to her life...

SitaParityaga

I was up in the hills on a bus ride outside of Nainital. The bus stopped so all could have a break. Took a walk "up the trail" to the womens' area, and on the way back slipped and fell into one of those notorious thistle plants.

Felt like I had stuck my arm into a hornet's nest. It was such blinding pain all I could do was scream and run wildly back to the bus. Once there, I was surrounded by the most compassionate faces....one guy grabbed a bunch of limes out of one of those big glass containers of lime drink, and squeezed them on my totally welted arm.

the lime thing helped a little....but what really got me feeling better was how all these people were so incredibly caring towards me.

In times of need, I believe people everywhere can show their compassion to an injured person. Just the same, I have never experienced quite this level of good old humanity outside of India.

Now that I remember the story...I'm going to start
a thread on the notorious thistle!

Travelingbhat

So everyone knows how bad Delhi can be for touts and ripoffs this story can only be described as miracle because I cant believe it happened to me.

I picked up a rickshaw in front of my hotel in Delhi and went shopping. I so happened to catch the same rick on the way back and had him drop me off at the tailor shop near the hotel. When i went to pay for the tailoring and lo and behold my purse was not with me. I had all my other shopping bags but my big purse which had all my credit cards, passport, couple of thousands of rupees in cash. I freaked out. I soon realized I must have left it in the rickshaw because I had paid the driver from the back of the rickshaw and last saw my purse there (this was when i first arrived in india 1998 on my big backpacking trip, i learnt the lesson of the moneybelt etc... after this episode)

So on my way back I am crying because how in the heck am I supposed to find the rickshaw driver to check. How am I going to get all that stuff replaced...How on earth could I manage? How was I going to explain all this to my parents on that collect call to USA?

I walk back to my hotel and see that the rickshaw driver is there, waiting for me as he found my purse in the back seat. I WAS STUNNED and simply moved by his honesty. I gave him a huge tip and thanked him generously for bringing all my stuff back. Nothing was stolen , nothing touched. He remembered my hotel and came to give it to me.

He saved me. Only in India.

DianeN.

That's a great story. What a coincidence that of all the rickshaw drivers you managed to get the same one twice!!


I have a story that's a little similar. Iin the temple in Pushkar I was giving some small coins to the beggars on the steps...but I didn't have enough to give everyone so I just sort of slipped a few coins in quietly. But then someone started shouting "madam! madam" I felt, oh no...now all the beggars will want me to give them money. I pretended not to hear. But the shout got louder! My friend turned around....the beggar is chasing us with my wallet in her hand! I was so shocked that I had dropped my wallet. I gave her only 20 rupees...but after my shock wore off I regretted sooooo much that I didn't give her 500 rupees. I was tempted to go back to the temple later...but how could I call out "which one of you was the one that returned my wallet?" So after that, I made it a point to give to all the beggars.
If anyone goes to Pushkar....please drop a few coins to the beggars on the steps of the temple on my behalf.

Bryan

Another on a similar note
On my first trip i carelessley lost my passport
Jumping to the wrong conclusion I blamed pick pockets etc etc
In actual fact it was my own stupidity and it had dropped out my pocket in the middle of Calcutta

Done the usual and reported the loss and hen went to the embassy and ordered a new one

Three days later went to pick it up and to my utter amazement some kind soul had handed in to the police station who then passed it on to the embassy!!!!!!

I like Calucutta beofre this happened and have now developed an absolute love of the city and the Bengalis

Bryan

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(As come it will for a' that),
That Sense and Worth o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree an a' that.
For a' that, an a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That man to man, the world, o'er
Shall brithers be for a' that.
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Dennis-M

I ran in a little shop just hours before boarding the train from Varanassi back to Delhi , while reaching for my money to pay the food an a gentleman next to the counter about 2mtrs 10 wearing a huge tulband reached toward my bag to see what food stuff I had I quickly grabbed the bag from Him " turned out he is the owner of the shop and wanted to see what I had in my bag so he could charge me for it fire was in his eyes he shouted : do you think I was going to steal something from your bag??!! before he could take another verbal shot at me , I reached out and padded him on the belly like he was an old friend an said : no I was afraid you were going to eat all my food and smiled the fire in his eyes vanished and he started laughing very load, I noticed that when you touch some People In India they can turn from angry to very friendly

skell

Very diplomatic of you! And quick thinking too.

I hope I'll be able to keep my cool under similar circumstances.

bijapuri

back in the days when there were no R$500 notes, and no ATM machines, I would usually change all my money after arrival. the banks would hand out big bundles of stapled together notes. One time I dropped one of these stacks of 100's on a railway platform while running for the train. A man came running after me with it. It turned out he was on the same bogey as me!

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Utube fuzzy logic:
http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=bijapuri&p =r

bijapuri

part 2:
after thanking him profusely, this man noticed a blonde in the same compartment, and proceeded to try to seduce her with the old lament of "Indian women won't let you c@me in their mouths, is it true that you western women will?"

From the sublime to the ridiculous . . .

skell

How irresistable!