There is only one way to accurately describe India: sensory overload.
Everything is colorful and bright from the clothes, to the buildings, and even the buses. The city is loud with people selling things, cars beeping constantly, and dogs barking endlessly throughout the night. Smells are potent, both good ones and bad ones. It’s amazing, but also very overwhelming at times.
Clothes being sold at a local market in Calcutta
I experienced a moment the other day when my senses were so completely overloaded that I couldn’t take it anymore. Ananda took us out to a small village on the outskirts of Calcutta to a man’s house to relax for the day at his pond, fishing and chatting. It was about an hour and a half away, which seems like nothing, but if you remember anything about what I said riding in a car in India is like, you will understand.
It was an hour and a half of weaving, honking and suddenly stopping. As we passed through smaller villages, people and animals surrounded our vehicle with overpowering sights and smells. Cows are everywhere on the streets because they are holy in Hinduism, so they just roam freely throughout the country. In fact, we almost hit a cow head on the other day. Our driver slammed on the breaks, and I thought I was going to go flying straight through the windshield. My theory is the cows know a car would never hit them, but they like to test it sometimes just to make sure.
Cars passed us so closely in the opposite direction it looked as if we were going to have a head on collision with them too. It wasn’t long before I started to feel extremely nauseous. On the way back to Calcutta after lunch at the house, I tried to control myself for the car ride, but as soon as I got back to the house, I couldn’t control it anymore. I threw up, but luckily I felt immediately better.
It’s strange because I never get motion sick at home, even when we go out offshore fishing on our boat. That’s what made me realize that it wasn’t just the car, it was everything that was going on with my senses, in other words, complete sensory overload.
Life in India is just so much more vibrant than anything I have experienced in the United States. The food is spicy, the beer is heavy, and the scarves are beautiful. That is the only way to sum it up, although I think the longer I am here, the higher my sensory thresholds are becoming. Things aren’t that spicy to me anymore, the beer is pretty drinkable, and I now wear scarves with anything, no matter how bright and patterned they are. I’m definitely seeing a whole new side of myself here, and I’m welcoming that girl with open arms.