It was in December my good old friend Boye came to me with the proposal. I had just weeks earlier handed in my master's thesis in Middle Eastern History at the university, and was in full holiday mode back at my apartment in Bergen. Subconsciously I knew this was the time when I needed to figure out "what to do with my life" as they say.
"What about travelling on an adventure to India for a few months?" He asked me this as if it was the most natural thing to do after finishing up our years long bondage within the institutions of higher education. It didn’t take me long to get back to him and say, 'Yes, why not.' He knows me very well, and this was probably exactly what I needed.
We were packed and ready in the first week of February 2023. Flying with Turkish Airlines was quite pleasant, with good service, and the pleasantness aboard the plane didn't really prepare me for the culture shock of landing in Delhi for the first time. Loud horns, dust, large crowds and screaming tuk-tuk and taxi drivers, are a big part of your first impressions in Delhi. It's a reason why many say the first thing Western tourists should do after touchdown in India is to head for the more relaxing parts of India, and not indulge in the screeching roar of the 26 million people residing in Delhi.
We got ourselves out of Delhi with the help of an agent from Kashmir, (his name was Omer and we will get back to him later) and then we headed on a train straight for Jaisalmer, far Westwards into Rajasthan the state of the many Kings (Raja) and kingdoms/lands (sthan). I'll never forget my first impression of Jaisalmer, it was like a page ripped right out of Arabian nights. Although the Marwari speaking Jaisalmerians don't, as far as I know, have any close relation to Arabic culture (which I'm very intimate with after many years of studying Arabic culture and history), but their architecture, clothing and desert climate give off somewhat of a familiar vibe to me. Same, same but different, as my Indian friends say about me coming from a Chrisitan tradition and them being Hindu/Muslim.
I want to continue telling about my adventure as Boye and I travelled through Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and back to Delhi. But first, you might be wondering why this travel blog is called 'Revisiting India' and not 'I Once Went to India'. In the 1.5 years since I was in India on my 3 month long adventure, I have thought a lot about going back to the land of 650 languages. In fact I'm in the process right now as I write, of planning my next trip to this beautiful land which is more like a continent with its hugeness and diversity, stretching across its many different climate zones.
I've missed the endless smells of spices in the grand markets and my attempts to recreate the varied and exquisite tastes of Indian cuisine, I have to admit, pales in comparison to the authentic originals I tasted during my 3 months in India. The people I met in India also stand out to me. The many opinions on life and philosophy that Indians wholeheartedly love to share with friends and strangers alike stand out to me. Also, India is a place so rich in cultures, religions, languages, philosophies, lifestyles and opinions that you can easily satisfy your curiosities about all things within this magnificent land of so many peoples.
My plan is to go back on adventure to India, and I'm headed back in the beginning of 2025. This time I want to experience parts of the North, some of those states I visited last time, but now in a winter climate. Which is a climate I'm very familiar with, hence my roots in Norway. I've decided I want to write this travel blog which will both be a place for me to reminisce about my many joyful experiences last time I visited India, but also for me to describe the process of planning my trip back, and also come my departure date, describe my revisiting of Northern India. More blog posts will follow shortly. To any and all readers, have the best of days!