My trip to India in 10 Frames

"Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even beaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

-Anthony Bourdain

Wow.

How hard was it to pick just ten frames to summarize my trip. Soooooo hard. But limiting myself to a specific and small number of images forced me to narrow in on what, for me, marked the most meaningful parts of my journey.

I wanted pictures that were more than just pretty, I wanted ones that captured my experience in as honest a way as possible. So while the close-up of the elephant being fed bananas might have been ‘a showstopper’ it got ousted by the picture of me drinking coffee.

Why?

Because I had that coffee every single day. Multiple times a day. It become ‘more’ a part of my transcontinental experience than did the elephant, however beautiful he was.

So without further ado…

Frame 1: Monkeys in the City - We were fresh to Delhi and all the anxiety and fear of the unknown (and I had a lot before I left – recent news of political unrest, travel clinic suggestions to wear a face mask due to the rising pollution levels, scary stories about how unsafe it is for women) had almost immediately dissipated upon my arrival. I felt safe, and happy, and strangely at home. No sooner did I forget I was a world away, when a monkey jumped down from a tree beside me to eat an ear of corn. What?!!? I had anticipated monkeys at the animal sanctuary we were slated to visit in the South toward the end of our stay, but I was not prepared to have one land next to me on a busy store lined street.

Frame 2: South Indian Coffee - I became addicted to coffee with chicory while in India, so much so that I brought a jar home to enjoy (now near gone). According to this interesting article I found when trying to explain this (badly) to a friend, mixing chicory with coffee started in France sometime in the 1800s as a way to ‘stretch’ coffee during times of shortage; the process eventually made its way to India. An added bonus was drinking it out of fun fancy metal cups.

Frame 3: The Van - The van was to become a second ‘home’ to us on this trip. I’ll never forget our first ‘interaction’ with it – the one where we all stood waiting (on the wrong side). It was near midnight; we were jet lagged and slap happy after a 13 hour flight. And there we stood like idiots until Rahul was like “ummm wrong side guys. You’re in India now.” We spent a ton of time in that van – sometimes 6 hours a day - making our way from city to city. We covered lots of ground, both in the physical sense, but also via our conversations. Rahul and his mom rode with us from Delhi to Haridwar and we discussed everything and anything: politics, food, literature, education, social ills, yoga, the generational divide. My time learning about where we differ, as well as overlap was by far one of the highlights of the trip.

Frame 4: Country of Contradiction - I love the juxtaposition of this place. The seemingly randomness. And yet, somehow it all works together - almost seamlessly. An anorexic cows stands alone on a corner. A pile of rubble makes its place beneath a bright bouquet of balloons. A man blows bubbles from the middle of an intersection medium and a woman walks a herd of goats along the highway. The gray haze of the city disrupted by the pinks, blues, and greens of clothes hung on a line, the overflowing bags full of beans and spices - reds, yellows, whites, the vibrant orange of marigold garlands. Pops of color bring the country alive. Children joyously flying kites atop flat roofs surrounded by crumbling walls. It is in these details that you feel the heartbeat of this extraordinary place and allow yourself to fall in love.

Frame 5: Taj Mahal - It is not one of the 7 Wonders of the World for no reason. When I saw the Taj through that first arch, my breath literally caught. Tears started welling. I was moved in a way that brought Emily Dickinson's words immediately to mind: “Oh world I can not hold thee close enough.” I was enraptured. I was speechless (I’m NEVER speechless). I’ve been fortunate enough to see many beautiful sights – the Pyramids in Egypt, the Colosseum in Italy, the Cathedral of the Spilled Blood in Russia – none moved me in the way this did. After our lesson about the translucency of the marble, I now, indeed, need to go back to see this wonder at sunrise and sunset.

Frame 6: Spirituality - This picture of the family on a motorbike that I snapped is getting framed in my home! I loved seeing this little hand holding a mudra in the midst of all the Old City Delhi chaos (if you've been there, you know what I mean. If you haven't - see video below). Incesseant honking, a billion cars, bikes, motorcycles, and people in a constant state of merge, and not an inch of spare room to move. This picture speaks to the deep spirituality that I associate with India. To managing to find a way, and hold sacred space even when there is seemingly none.

Frame 7: Yoga - Talk about good energy. It was a constant undercurrent at Hinterland Village. 3 plant based meals, 4 hours of yoga, and massages each and every day. I felt hugged, and kissed, and loved, and protected, and completely enveloped by the plants and the people in this place. I left with this reminder from my time with teachers there."We remain light. We are atma."

Frame 8: Ritual and Ceremony - Witnessing (and participating) in the river worship ceremony was magical. The chanting, the lights, the purple streaked sky, the fast flowing river – energy pulsed through the place. Haridwar is of the most ancient cities in the world and a Hindu pilgrimage site, “known as the gateway to the gods where the Ganges flows from the Himalayan mountains” (thanks Lonely Planet). The beautifully put together offering baskets, the flickering of candles floating on the water, and the devoutness of the believers made it so worth the trip.

Frame 9: The Door - I pinned this pic of the blue and purple door on my visionboard back in 2015. I had no idea where it was from, only that it was someplace I wanted to be.

Fast forward 4 years and I’m now a certified yoga instructor (also on many a board, yet I had no clue I'd ever want to, or end up teaching yoga) and self-proclaimed woo woo girl facilitating wellness workshops around the city including one entitled Downdogs and Daydreams where I lead participants through a vinyasa yoga sequence and then we circle up and commit to paper our dreams for the future (our visionboards). As I prepared to give one of these workshops 8 months or so ago, I decided to bring in some of my own boards to use as examples. When I pulled up that original collage I had made in 2015, I got to wondering where that purple and blue door was from anyways. I knew I had grabbed it from an old pinterest board so I went to see if there was a place attached to this beauty. I learned that it was from a city called Jaipur in India. AND believe it or not, this city was on my Indian itinerary as one of the places we were visiting (until we booked the trip I didn’t even know Jaipur existed). The story gets even better though! When I was actually in Jaipur visiting the City Palace I was drawn to another beautiful door (apparently I have a thing for them), but this one was green. It was one of the “doors of the four seasons”. My group was in a rush to get to our next stop, but I felt some intense pull to get a picture in front of that green door. And so I did. And here’s where the story gives me goosepumps. A week after my return to the States as I was preparing to give yet another visionboard workshop I started thinking about that purple and blue door again. I thought “how dumb Kristina – why didn’t you make it a point to find that door when you were in Jaipur. What a good story that would have been”. And then I thought “omg what if that door was one of the other 3 doors in that square and I was right there and I missed it because I was frantic to get a picture in front of the green door.” I started scanning the backgrounds of my pictures to see if I could have somehow missed the door from my board so long ago. And as I began looking I realized that the green door I just HAD to get my picture in front of (and the only door in all of India I have a picture of) looked very similar to the purple and blue one. I put the pictures side by side and the details were all the same except for the color. I tagged my new found friend Rahul to inquire further:

YEP. SAME FREAKIN DOOR I POSTED 5 YEARS AGO ON MY VISIONBOARD and I didn’t even realize it until I was back home a continent away! Jamie – thanks for telling me I had to include this as one of the 10. I don’t know how I could have not rereading it. And, I know I cheated with a few photos for this item - but c'mon I had to.

Frame 10: My travelmates – I traveled with the most gracious, flexible, accommodating, funny, spirited bunch of friends (both old and new). When you spend that much time with the same people and add in long car rides, little sleep, missed flights, lost luggage things can go south super quick. Not with us! I can’t speak for them, but I didn’t have even one moment of frustration, annoyance, or anger the entirety of the trip. Quite the opposite actually – lots of laughter, joy, and love (“They don’t want to ride the elephant, they won’t to bathe the elephant….bahaha). Sarah what did those signs say again at the airport – don’t approach? I am laughing my head off in bed right now recalling some of these memorable moments, these inside jokes – you come with us – we need directions.

Stephen - thank you for taking such good care of us. For putting up with my neurotics, my goofiness, and my incessant need to talk. You gave me the gift of a lifetime. And my lovely Supriya who took care of me long before Steven and sent me off on this amazing adventure with a magic stone, some prayers, and homemade cookies - what can I say to you other than thank you, thank you, thank (reminds me of JMT) (or namaste Sarah...hahaha). You know that I adore you. Mauh!

This weekend marks a month since my return from India - a place of beautiful doors, perspectives, and people.

Several of you made, posted, sent the following types of comments to me privately, “You looked totally in your element in India…beaming from ear to ear in almost every shot…just had to say it was noticeably good for you” or “You look at peace and happy."

And they were right.

I was totally in my element and totally at peace and happy.

No filter to fake that ;)