Yesterday we were celebrating 70th Independence Day of India. On 1947, August 15, India got Independence and came out from British colonial system.With all the respect to this country and Indian nation, I wish India prosperity, economic growth, peace and unity.
India is the seventh largest country by area, and second-most populous country (over 1.2 billion people) and the most largest democracy in the world (at least this is what shows statistics).
It has one of the fastest growing economy, but at the same time there are many traditions and cultural habits which are not changed for centuries. India is the most incredible country which I have seen in my life. I don't want to write about politics, which is not my field, and there are many more interesting information which I can share with you about India.
From history and Bollywood movies we heard about India a lot. I don't think that there is someone who has not seen Bollywood movies at least once in life time. Those movies are so beautiful, so magical, so colorful, that looks like a fairy tale, but the reality which we collide with is entirely different. I don't say its good or bad, just only extremely different from movies.
Almost three years continuously I live in India, and the experience which I got during my stay here, can not be compared with somewhere else. I am so changed during this period, that sometime I can not recognize myself. and I am happy that those changes happened to me, otherwise I would have not been able to integrate myself with this community. Integration doesn't mean I have lost my tradition and culture, no, not at all. It means that barriers which were disturbing me to feel myself more comfortable in this country, now are almost overcome, and it was a long and difficult way to reach the place where I am now. Only people who have been in India at least once, will be able to understand my point.
When first time I visit India, cultural shock was following me during my three months of stay, I lost weight around 4-5 kg.It was in 2009, I didn't know English and even not Hindi, so it was very hard for me to interact with people and almost impossible to go somewhere alone.
First time in my life I saw so much crowd in Metro.
I was frustrated from extremely hot weather ( it was a summer season), and was very hard to adopt myself with Indian spicy food.
For those who never been in India, I want to say its a country which we can not explain with one word, if not only "incredible". Here we can see so many different things, which we can not see anywhere else in the world. Country which accepts more than four religions, country where every state has its own language, tradition, cuisine.Country of colors, ohhh Indian colors, (now I think I am unable to wear black clothes).
If you are planning to live in India you have to be ready to adopt yourself with noises, smells, heat, humidity, pollution, traffic, long traffic, huge traffic.
India is the seventh largest country by area, and second-most populous country (over 1.2 billion people) and the most largest democracy in the world (at least this is what shows statistics).
It has one of the fastest growing economy, but at the same time there are many traditions and cultural habits which are not changed for centuries. India is the most incredible country which I have seen in my life. I don't want to write about politics, which is not my field, and there are many more interesting information which I can share with you about India.
From history and Bollywood movies we heard about India a lot. I don't think that there is someone who has not seen Bollywood movies at least once in life time. Those movies are so beautiful, so magical, so colorful, that looks like a fairy tale, but the reality which we collide with is entirely different. I don't say its good or bad, just only extremely different from movies.
Almost three years continuously I live in India, and the experience which I got during my stay here, can not be compared with somewhere else. I am so changed during this period, that sometime I can not recognize myself. and I am happy that those changes happened to me, otherwise I would have not been able to integrate myself with this community. Integration doesn't mean I have lost my tradition and culture, no, not at all. It means that barriers which were disturbing me to feel myself more comfortable in this country, now are almost overcome, and it was a long and difficult way to reach the place where I am now. Only people who have been in India at least once, will be able to understand my point.
When first time I visit India, cultural shock was following me during my three months of stay, I lost weight around 4-5 kg.It was in 2009, I didn't know English and even not Hindi, so it was very hard for me to interact with people and almost impossible to go somewhere alone.
First time in my life I saw so much crowd in Metro.
I was frustrated from extremely hot weather ( it was a summer season), and was very hard to adopt myself with Indian spicy food.
For those who never been in India, I want to say its a country which we can not explain with one word, if not only "incredible". Here we can see so many different things, which we can not see anywhere else in the world. Country which accepts more than four religions, country where every state has its own language, tradition, cuisine.Country of colors, ohhh Indian colors, (now I think I am unable to wear black clothes).
If you are planning to live in India you have to be ready to adopt yourself with noises, smells, heat, humidity, pollution, traffic, long traffic, huge traffic.
India has its own rules in everything, and even if you are foreigner living here, you have to follow them. For example: even if you don't want you will defiantly learn some Hindi words, such as
"Namaste", " Kyase ho?"and than following question "thik hu?". Indian people are not aggressive and you will always meet their smiles in the streets, and almost everywhere you will hear the question:
"From where you are", and when you tell them from Armenia, most of the time you will get the next question: "where is it??"And when you start to explain whole the geography of Armenian land, finally you will get the answer : "oh its in Russia?" (but of course there is also people knowing Armenia very well).
By living in India you have to learn bargaining, because you will need it everywhere. You will learn to sleep under fan, and after sometime you will recognize that you don't even feel the voice of that fan, which was irritating you during first day of your stay in India. You will learn to take shower with cold water (at least sometimes).You will start to feel the difference between Indian masalas.
At least once you will try Indian street food.After sometimes you will recognize you have new words in your vocabulary, like "achcha", and the same time you move your head as Indians use to do.
You will see so many dogs everywhere, but it will be hard to see cats (I still don't know why its so, but its like this).You will need to remember all religious celebrations, even if you will not, they will remind you, because there is always someone from other religion living just next to you.
50 kilometers will become a near distance for you and traveling 30 stations by metro can be everyday itinerary.
From one side desert, from other side mountains, somewhere 45+ C, in some other place -10 and more.
You will see people who are very religious but the same time they believe also superstitions. They are always hurry, but always late.
You will see too rich and too poor people, some of the people are highly educated but some other part is extremely uneducated, and as long you will live here you will not be able to understand how is it possible so much differences in one country. And you don't even need to understand, ether enjoy your life in India, ether go away.
As long you live in India, everyday you will reveal new things for yourself.
I can write a lot about India, but once you need to see and live in India,to get that life-changing experience.
India has became a second home for me,when I go out from this country I miss everything, and want to come back soon. May be this is the magic of this spiritual land, which amaze thousands of tourists per year. Now it changes, develops very fast, but still it stays as one of the most famous tourist destination in the world.
Happy Independence Day India, Stay as Incredible as You are.
JAI HIND
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