When we stumbled out of the Bangalore airport Sunday morning, bleary-eyed and eager to start our adventure, the stench of sewage swept over us. Ah, the smell of India! Or one of many smells in this sensory-overload place.
Many things reminded me of my first trip to India almost exactly four years ago, when I visited Hyderabad with a group of Western Kentucky University journalism students and professors. I was overwhelmed by the madcap traffic, the bleating car horns, the piles of trash on the streets and the free-roaming cows and dogs eating it. I took my first autorickshaw ride and drank cup after cup of sweet, milky chai.
Two days into my second trip, I appreciate the now-familiar sights, sounds and smells. This venture will show me much more of the continent, as we will travel to Mysore, Pondicherry, Goa, Chennai, Delhi, Varanasi and Allahabad.
Here are three new things I’ve learned already:
- Not all of India drinks tea. Here in the south, coffee is the preferred drink. They call it “filter coffee,” and like chai, it’s typically served with large doses of milk and sugar.
- Although many south Indian women still wear saris, young women here are increasingly adopting the salwar kameez, a tunic with pants. Young people consider it more modern.
- Sandalwood trees are protected, due to over-harvest. You cannot cut down even a sandalwood tree on your own property.
I can’t wait to see what else I learn in the next week and a half.