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Astobeexpecteditisalwaysdif2iculttoputintowordsthevarietyofsensations,

experiences,andoutrightwondersthata2irsttriptoIndiacanconjure,especially

foraWesterner,andallthemoresoforanAmericanofSouthernextraction.

IwasnotcompletelyunfamiliarwithsomeaspectsofIndiaanditscultureandhistory.SincechildhoodIvebeenfascinatedwiththeimagesofIndiawhichwere

regularlyevokedbyawholehostof2ilmandtelevisionportrayals,allofwhichI

mighteasilysaywereasslightandsuper2icialasonemightexpectgiventhesource.

Butaswithmostculturalclichsevenintheseearliestencountersthroughthe

media,therewasmuchtruthharboredwithin.InearlyadolescenceIbecame

fascinatedwithIndianmusic,throughitsinroadsintoWesternmusicviathemany

popstarswhoexperimentedwithsitarsandtheassociatedragaforms.Artistslike

GeorgeHarrisonofTheBeatles,DonovanandevenJohnColtranebecame

enamoredwiththecreativepossibilitiesthatthisaspectofIndiancultureopened

uptoWesternmusicians.AsayoungadultIdiscoveredthe2ilmsofSatyajitRayand

fellinlovewithhisutilizationofIndianstorytellingtraditionstostructurehis2ilms

andbythismeanstotellverymodernstoriesre2lectingthegreatchangesthat

weretakingplaceinPost-IndependenceIndia.Inshort,Iwasnotcompletely

unfamiliarwithanumberofaspectsofIndianculture,buteventhiscouldnot

preparemefortheexperienceswhichIencountered.

Eventhelongordealofthe2lightcomponentofourtravelwaseye-opening.

Intotalwespentnearly4hours,andwentthroughfourairportstoreachthe2irst

pointofourentryintoIndia.WedepartedthroughourlocalNashville

InternationalAirportand2lewontoCharlotte,thentoChicagoandontoFrankfurt

andthen2inallyintoDelhi.Ive2lownafairamountintheU.S.butneveroutofthe

country.

Thelayoverof2ivehourswehadintheFrankfurtairport,oneofthemostmodern

inGermany,gaveusallplentyoftimetoexplorewhatafulloninternationalscale

airhubhastooffer.Iwasnottoosurprisedthattherewouldbeagreatvarietyof

restaurants;Japanese,Turkish,,Italian,Chinese,aFrenchbistro,anAustralian

stylebeerandburgerplace,aswellasiterationsofmostoftheAmericanfastfood

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begantoapproachtheouterareasofDelhi,sometwentyorthirtymilesout,I

begantonoticethroughthewindowofourplanehowtheabsenceofanylightson

thegroundbegantochangeintoasmatteringoflightsscatteredaboutina

seeminglyrandomway.Thecolorsofthelightssuggestedthattheywerebothofelectricaloriginaswellasfrom2ires.Initiallythepatternsoflightfollowed

sporadicallytheedgesofvillagepathsandstreetsthatweremostlynotstraight,

butratherroughlyalignedtothecontoursofthehills.SoonIcouldseethe

traditionalgridoflightspositionedalongcitymunicipalstreets,andeventhenI

couldstillseeclearsignofnight2iresattheedgesoftheseareas.Asweapproached

Dehlitheintenselevelofnighttimelightpollutionbecameapparent,and

immediatelygavethesenseofwhatapopulouscityitis.Theamountoflight

pollutionquicklymademewonderhowmuchenergythecityrequiredatanygiven

time,evenatnight,andbywhatmeansthatitwasgenerated.Evenasweexited

theplaneIcouldsmellsomeevidenceofthepollution,butbythetimeweexited

theterminalintothehotandfetidlatenightairthefullbruntoftheproblemhit

oureyesandnostrils.Icouldimmediatelyfeelmychestconstrict,asmylungs

respondedtoboththeheatoftheair,theheavyparticulatesandfoulsmellsinthe

air.Iaskedourhostiftherewastrashbeingburnednearby,andhetoldusthat

mostofthesmellwasfromthecoalandgasburningfuelplants.Withmuchofthat

IassumedcomingfromtheBadarpurThermalPlantwhichwasover0kilometers

away.Mixedalltogetherwithinthecoalburningsmellwasthatofindustrialwaste

incineration,burningtrash,cookingoil,andnodoubtthatofcremations,andother

religiousactivitesastheofburningghee,candlesandincense.Ihavenever

smelledsucharichandcontrarycombinationofpleasant,unpleasantandoutright

noxiousodors.Onceweexitedtheairportandenteredourvanwhichwouldtake

ustoourhotelitbecameclearthatahugesourceofthepollutionwasthemassive

amountoftraf2icandthegreatvarietyofvehiclesburningafullrangeoffuels,with

clearlylittleornogovernmentoversightinplacetoreduceeitherthekindsof

pollutiongeneratedorthenumberofsources.Everypossiblekindofvehiclewas

ontheroadswithus,aswellasawholehostofanimals,alsoleavingtheirownkind

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ofpollutionintheirwake.LaterIdiscoveredthatcontrarytomyinitial

expectations,mostoftheparticulateairpollutionisnotfromvehiclesbutrather

fromIndustrialactivityandroaddust,alongwithanumberofcoalburningpower

plants.

OneofthemostmovingexperiencesIhadonmytripwasourvisittooneof

theNGOschoolswhichprovideahome,lifeskillstrainingandbasiceducationto

homelesschildrenthathavebeenrescuedformthetrainstation.Ithaslongbeen

thecasethatthetrainstationiswheremanypoorparentsleavetheirchildren

whentheydecidethattheycannolongercareforthem.Ourtriptototheschool

provedtobeafullspectrumexperience.OverthecourseofthedayIfeltmany

emotions,fromsadnessandangeroverthetreatmentthesechildrenhavesuffered

ashomelessrunawaystoheartwarmingdelightovertheirjoyinourvisit.Our

approachthroughthedilapidatedlocalneighborhoodreinforcedforusthekindof

basiclifestrugglesthataresocommoninIndia.Theairwasheavywithdustand

smokeandthestreetswerepiledwiththetrashanddebris.Amangydogfollowed

alongbehindussnif2ingaroundforanystrayscrapsoffood,settingagainthetone

forthedayofhowlifehereisastruggleforallcreaturesgreatandsmall.The

schoolbuildingseemedsolidthoughsparebutwasclearlyinneedofavarietyof

repairs.Thesecond2loorwalkwaytothemainclassroomslookedoutovera

graveyardofbrokenandabandonedmotorcycles,bicyclesandthehullsofold

tuck-tucks,theimageofwhichremindedmethatallofthechildrenhereatthe

schoolhadalsobeenabandonedinonewayoranotherbytheirparents.Asmall

gardenareainthecourtyardbelowthewalkwaysoftenedthefeelingofruin

aroundtheschoolbuilding,asitbuzzedwiththeactivityofparrots,chipmunks,

dovesandmynabirds.Asweapproachedthedoorgoingintotheclassroom,Ifelta

waveofsadnesssweepovermecoupledwithnotalittleangerasIthoughtabout

thestoriesIhadreadconcerningthesechildrenandtheabusestheyhavesuffered

frombothfamilyandstrangers.Butuponenteringtheroom,thesefeelings

recededquicklyunderthebrightsmilesandhappyfacesthatwerequietlywaiting

foruswithobviousexcitement.Iwasimpressedimmediatelywithhowwell

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behavedthechildrenwereespeciallygiventhehighstateofanticipationand

curiositytheyallexhibited.Theyseemedgenerallyclean,healthyandwellfed,

thoughsomeofthemhadtheoldsoullookintheireyesofclearlygonethrough

someveryterribleandfrighteningexperiences.Buteveninthose,theirfaceswerenowbrightandfullofhappydelightwithourvisit.Afterinitialintroductionsbyall

thechildrengivingtheirnamesandourstothemaswellwedividedintosmall

mixedgroupsandbegantoplaywiththem,mostlyinmakingvariousfoldedpaper

toyssuchasanimals,airplanes,boats,2lowersandhats.Ithinkwecouldhavedone

nearlyanythingwiththemandtheywould'vebeenhappy,buttheydidseemto

especiallyenjoythefoldedhatsand2lowers,andhavingthemcoloredon

afterwards.Theywereallquicktopickuponhowtomakethefoldsbuttheyalso

seemedtoreallyjustenjoytheclosequartersattention,andwouldoften

immediatelyaftersuccessfullyfoldingapaperplaneorhat,bringanotherpieceof

paperandaskformetoshowthemagainhowtodoit.Theyverymuchreminded

meofsomeofthechildrenIworkedwithattheVanderbiltchildren'sclinicinthe

waythattheyweredelightedtohaveanadultgivingthemcompleteandundivided

attention.Ialsonoticedhoweasilytheygavethemselvestotallyovertothe

experienceofourinteractions,theireyesallwidewiththatcompletelyinthe

momentlookofattentionwhichonlychildrenatplay

seemcapableof.Eachchildexhibitedanauthenticandimmediategratitudein

theirfacesfortheleastthingwewoulddowiththem.Giventheearlydeprivations,

Ifeelthisre2lectedtheirnaturalhungerforpositiveregardandsimpleadult

affection.Inwatchingthemplay,theirfacesbeamingwithjoy,itwasasifwehad

giventhempearlsandjewelsinsteadofcrayons,paperhatsandplanes.The

teacherswereimpressiveintheirabilitywithaquicklookandpointingofa2inger

tointerruptanysuddeneruptionofroughhousingoroverlyloudbehavior.Again

ourexperiencesatheschoolmadeitabundantlycleartous,thatchildren

everywhere,especiallyunderprivilegedchildren,havethesameneeds,desiresand

hopesfromtheirsocialenvironment,whetherfromfamily,orcaregivers.Thereare

certainfundamentalthingsinlife,andespeciallysointheearlyyearsofchildhood

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thatcanmakesuchaprofounddifferenceinhowwecometoknowwhoweare

andwhatwemayaspiretobecome.Insettingsliketheseofcourseweareforcedto

appreciateourowngreatfortuneinhavingthelivesthatwedobackhome,but

moreimportantlyweseehowevensmalleffortsmadeinearnestcancompletelyandpermanentltytransformalifeforthebetter.Icountthisasoneofthegreat

giftsandrealizationsofthisfantasticjourney.

InclosingIcanonlysaythatanymeredescription,eveningreatdetail,canhardly

encompassthefullnatureofthecomplexlevelofsocialandspiritualinsightthatis

catalyzedbyanencounterwithsuchanalienandstillyetfamiliarcultureasIndia.

Thoughweonlyvisitedoneofthemanyprovincesofthisvastcountry,therewere

nativeIndiansfromeverystate,aswellasmanyobviousforeignerslikeourselves.

Ineverfeltlessthanwelcome,anditoftenseemedclearthatthelocalresidents

whereverwewerehadnearlyasmuchdelightandcuriosityaboutusaswedid

them.

OneofthemostamusingincidentsIhadduringourtripwaswhenmyself

andtwootherstudentswereclimbingthenarrowtowerofaMosquecomplexand

wewereaskedbysomelocalswhowerecomingdownaswewentup,wherewe

werefrom,weallchimed..America,andnotmissingabeat..herespondedwitha

thumbsupsign,andsaid:ohAmerica..verygood..MonicaLewinsky...!whichof

coursetotallycrackedusup..notBillClinton,orGeorgeBush..orevenBarackObama,

butMonicaLewinsky.Thisjustcompletelybroughtintotightfocuswhata

connectedworldwelivein,andhowallhumansareunitedacrosstimeand

distanceintheirfascinationwiththefoiblesofthemightyandpowerful.More

notablethoughisasimilarsenseoftheunityofhumanspiritinourencounters

witheverydaypeopleandespeciallychildren,thatweallaspireforand2ind

happinessandcomfortintheverysamethings.Toexperiencethisandknowitas

truefaroutsideourownpersonalrealmofsocialandethniccontextisoneofthe

richestandmostprofoundrevelationsthatwecaneverhaveacitizensofthis

amazingworld.Ifeelveryhonoredandthankfultohavebeengiventhis

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opportunitytohavethisexperiencethroughtheTnCISprogram.Iwillsoonhavean

editedversionofsomeofthevideoIshotduringourtravels,andIlookforwardto

sharingthiswithourTnCISrepresentativeshereatVolStateandwiththeof2icein

Knoxville.Ihopeaswell,inthefuturetobeabletotakeanotherjourneywiththeprogramto

furthermystudiesandtocontinueenteringintothewondersofhumandiversity

thatareprovidedbythisprogram.