THIS IS MY INDIA!!

I AM CURRENTLY IN BANGALORE. SORT OF....I BOOKED A HOTEL ONLINE AND ALTHOUGH IT IS ONE OF THE NICEST HOTELS, EVER, IT IS 30 KMS FROM THIS I.T. CITY. SO I HAVENT AND WONT SEE THIS PLACE AS I HAVE BEEN HOLED UP IN THIS LOVELY HOTEL FOR 3 NIGHTS RECOVERING FROM A SINUS COUGH AND COLD. ROHMANN HAS THE SAME SYMPTOMS ALTHOUGH HE IS IN NEPAL. THIS COLD DID BRING AN AMAZING FEVER SO I WAS VERY HAPPY TO BE IN WARM AND CLEAN PLACE. IN THE MORNING I BEGIN MY SOUTHERN JOURNEY. I FELT THAT I WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT MY NORTHERN INDIA EXPERIENCE BEFORE I SWITCH CHANNELS.
BEFORE COMING TO INDIA I DID A BIT OF RESEARCH AND SPOKE TO MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRAVELED HERE AND WERE FROM HERE. THERE WERE MANY GOOD STRORIES BUT MOST OF THEM LEFT ME FEELING LIKE I WAS IN FOR A HUGE SHOCK. I DIDNT FEEL THAT HUGE SHOCK.
I HAVE FOUND NORTHERN INDIA TO BE A BEAUTIFUL PLACE WHERE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE COEXIST IN SOME KIND OF HARMONY. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE OFTEN LITTERALLY SHOULDER TO SHOULDER AND YET THERE ARE VERY FEW HARSH WORDS OR FIGHTS. CHILDREN RARELY CRY AND ALTHOUGH I HAVE NOT FOUND THE INDIAM PEOPLE TO BE THE FRIENDLIEST TOWARDS US, THEY SEEM HAPPY IN THEIR OWN WAY.
I HAVE HAD THE AMAZING OPERTUNITIES TO SPEAK WITH SOME LOCAL WOMEN AND MEN. I KEEP HEARING THE WESTERN WORLD COMING IN. AND IN SOME VERY GOOD WAYS AS WELL AS SOME NOT SO GREAT. CHANGE IN SOCOETY CAN HAPPEN SO QUICKLY THAT THE OLDER GENERATION SHUDDERS,THEN BANG THE NEXT GENERATION IS AND IT IS LIKE IT WAS 'ALWAYS LIKE THIS'.
I SEE THAT HAPPENING NOW IN INDIA. SO MANY MEN AND WOMEN ARE WELL EDUCATED AND HAVE ACCESS TO GLOBAL INFORMATION.
I DONT KNOW HOW THIS WILL HELP THE DESTITUTE, THOSE POOR HUNGRY ILL PEOPLE WHO BARELY SCRAPE THROUGH EACH DAY. BUT THE MIDDLE CLASS/WORKING CLASS...THERE ARE BIG FAST CHANGES COMING THERE WAY!
I CANNOT STRESS HOW IMPRESSED I AM WITH A CULTURE THAT CAN LIVE SO CLOSELY WITH EACH OTHER....I OFTEN TALK ABOUT KEEPING 'A CANADIAN' DISTANCE IN A QUEUE...HA IMPOSSIBLE. TO CANADAIANS IT LOOKS LIKE IT IS MADDNESS AND SHOVING BUT TO THE INDIAN PEOPLE IT IS ORDER AND ROUTINE.
BEAUTIFUL.