(Originally posted 25 April 2016) Before visiting India, we knew that it would be an assault on all our senses, all at once, all the time. With a population of over 1,3 billion (accounting for over 17% of the world’s population), you anticipate that it will be somewhat frantic.
So it seems logical to tell you about our Indian travels by breaking it down to our sensory experiences.
Touch
It is hot in India in April, and the temperatures we have experienced have ranged between 35°C (95°F) and 41°C (105°F). It is also very dry and dusty, with the monsoon only due to start in June. Luckily for tourists, cool bottled water is readily available to glug down, keeping you hydrated.
It has been impossible to keep camera lenses free of a layer of dust, but at least your daily washing of yesterday’s sticky clothes, now strung up across the bathroom, dries in no time at all.
Smell
The smell of spices, exhaust fumes, garbage and cow dung waft around you almost everywhere you go. Shopkeepers constantly sweep their pavements and keep their areas tidy, but the common areas in between have been declared a stinky no man’s land. As bulls and cows wander the streets freely, you must be careful where you step to avoid steaming dung.
Yet, walking down every street, you also get these wonderful aromas of tasty meals being cooked across the city. So when it comes to smell, in minutes, you can alternate between wanting to indulge in a gastronomic delight to walking past the next rank alley and wanting to hurl.
Sound
You can get by in most places with English. But besides Hindi, India has 19 other officially recognised languages, and according to the 2001 Census, it has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages.
Having said that, there is still one common form of communication that everyone uses obsessively – the car horn. Whether on a bus, tuk-tuk, or air-conditioned taxi, any movement can only be followed by continuous horn blowing. Everyone does it all the time, which makes you wonder why since nobody takes any notice anymore.
We have also come across wedding celebrations and Hindu festivals, which involve loud music and blasting fireworks. This noise, combined with the packs of barking dogs, the humming of air-con units and the blaring music from overly decorated tractors, makes a delightful cacophony for your ears.
Sight
We had vastly underestimated the scale and beautiful intricate details of the architectural sites we have seen. We have only visited points of interest in Delhi, Agra and across the province of Rajasthan but have seen more impressive historic sites here than in most of the other twenty-odd countries we have visited.
We were best prepared for the renowned Taj Mahal but were blown away by the other underrated forts, palaces, and temples, from the magnificent Mughal Empire landmarks to the grandiose mosques.
In Rajasthan, we visited the cities of Jaipur, Pushkar, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Udaipur, and each place had something mind-blowing for visitors to see. The detailed marble inlays, intricate sandstone carvings and colourful mosaic tiled floors and ceilings are exquisite and nearly impossible to capture effectively on camera.
Taste
We cannot say enough about the wonderful food we have had in India. The creamy kormas, spicy chicken tikka masalas, tasty mutton rogan josh, and buttery cheese garlic naans have me salivating just at the thought of it all.
We have not been too adventurous with street food for fear of catching some Delhi-belly, but there are good restaurants with reasonable prices around every corner. Lying in bed at night, you tend to regret finishing the generous portions. But bubbling away with heartburn, you dream of the culinary delights tomorrow will bring.
India has had its challenges for us, and you need to expect to meet cantankerous abrasive people who see it as their entrepreneurial right to take advantage of tourists. However, we have also met kind, generous people, who offer advice, share their food and invite you into their homes.
You don’t know what to expect from one moment to the next, which leaves us with mixed emotions. Either way, India is intriguing and worthwhile experiencing.
Featured image: Colourful saris worn by the women queueing for the temple at Amer Fort, Jaipur, India