Thank You, India
Insights from 8 Days across 3 cities in India
As I write this, millions in India and worldwide are celebrating Holi, widely known as the Hindu festival of colors and an annual celebration of spring with cultural and religious significance.
I was reminded early this morning in a group chat with several colleagues. The “Happy Holi” greeting reminded me of my visit to India a half year ago—and that I’d yet to chronicle my trip.
I traveled to India in October 2023 and spent 8 days across 3 cities. This was a business trip but we went early to spend a weekend in Delhi seeing the sights before traveling to Chennai and Bengaluru for the work portions of our travel.
Below are several photos and some reflections from this trip. The pictures give a sense but India has a way of amplifying your visual sensory experiences with a richness of sound, smell, taste, and touch along with the optics.
DELHI
One of our first stops after arriving in Delhi was Raj Ghat, a memorial complex that houses the tomb of Gandhi.
India Gate felt impressive, much like a Washington D.C. monument.
We could not only see but feel the long history of Qutb Minar.
Several historic Mughal emperor sites are near Delhi, including Red Fort (or Lal Qila).
THE TAJ MAHAL
Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, the creator of the Taj Mahal, said it made “the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes”. Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore described it as a “teardrop on the cheek of eternity.”
CHENNAI
Though not planned, we arrived in Chennai during the week of Ayudha Puja, a holiday with observances for paying respect to the places we work and the tools that enable our daily lives, such as office equipment, vehicles, bikes, etc. I was honored to be included in our office’s puja observances and spend some time in the city and on the waterfront.
BENGALURU
Bengaluru is one of India’s tech hubs and is the capital and largest city of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. This was a fun and interesting part of the trip for me, as I was able to meet and spend time with several work colleagues in person for the first time.
CRICKET WORLD CUP
By coincidence, the ICC Cricket World Cup was taking place across India while I was visiting. Though I recalled from years ago the Disney movie “Million Dollar Arm” and that Cricket was popular in India, I had no idea how big and popular it was until I was there and started to engage in cricket sports talk with my Indian colleagues.
The sports fan in me felt right at home. After all, wasn’t I doing all I could to find ways to watch my hometown Buffalo Bills while I was halfway around the world?
THANK YOU, INDIA
Singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette sang about spiritual awakenings following her trip to India in her 1998 song “Thank U”, and I join her, in gratitude and appreciation.
Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence
Thank you, India.