Dichotomy

India is a dichotomy in the purest sense.

I arrived home yesterday from my travels in Nepal and India. If it wasn't for compartitively cheap airfare out of Delhi, my travels would have been limited to Nepal. India was never on my radar. It was not a place I had much desire to visit. No real reason for that. It just never interested me.

My time in India was short, but full. In my three days in the country, I saw three major cities and had a variety of experiences. At the end of it all, my conclusion? India is....India. As far as I know, there is no place like it. It's a dichotomy from block to block and person to person.

Varanasi, arguably the holiest city of the world, is the destination of millions of pilgrims every year. Each day, locals and people from all over the world come to participate in the holy ritual of bathing in the Ganges river to wash away their sins. Holy water? Maybe. The water has 1.5 million faecal coliform bacteria per 100mL of water. In water that is safe for bathing this figure should be less than 500.

In India, cows are revered and monkeys are praised. Dogs? The only thing they are worthy of is a beating.

Shoes are removed as you enter homes, buildings, and places of worship to keep the area clean. If you need to relieve yourself, the gutter on the side of the street is an acceptable and common place to do so.

India is home to a third of the world's poor with over 40% of the population living on under $1.25 a day. India is also fourth on the list of countries with the most billionaires (USD) - behind the US, China, and Russia.

A local man told me that, "Nine out ten Indians are bad people. They are dangerous. The other one [Indian] is like Ghandi."

This is India.

Did I love India? Yes, parts.

Did I hate India? Yes, parts.

In the end, India is India.