India – I can’t help falling in ❤️ with you

India – I can’t help falling in love with you ❤️
I categorically stated I would not buy an I ❤️ India t-shirt…and indeed I didn’t …….a carpet, a broken ships compass, lots of pashminas, spare toothbrushes, a book on Gandhi and all those souvenirs I just can’t carry and will end up leaving here, but still no I ❤️ India t- shirt.
However……
“wise men say only fools rush in” – but I am no a fool (some would disagree) but even so it did take quite a while for me to develop a measure of romantic feelings for you dear India.
As we were driving along on our second to last day our driver asked us if we wanted to listen to 40 English love songs or 40 Hindi love songs – we chose English, but they all had a slight Hindi twist – swaying along to UB40’s I can’t help falling in love with you ala Hindi, I was jolted into reflecting my time here….
The pots and pans, sarees and silks, marble and sculptures, chicken tikka masala and fish vindaloos, jewellery and junk and markets galore have left an indelible print on my mind.
As I sit in a bar by the sea with a number of 650ml bottles of Kingfisher beer intus – listening to amazing live music – English love songs sung by an Indian couple so obviously in love.. – “looks like we made it” and we did indeed. Our passage to India (or at times Indias passage through me) has been rough and smooth, tough and cool, challenging and rewarding. We have been met with nothing but kindness and respect (in Dani’s case desire more than respect ) – I suppose anything else would’ve been weird 👵🏼 nice but just weird….anyway moving on…
There’s a few things I’d never do again – like sleep on a houseboat or stay in a Delhi hostel, but visit India again – I think I would – maybe differently but definitely again.
My dear colleague Ankita from Mumbai, thank you for your travel tips. Dear India thank you for your amazing, colourful, hectic, busy, thriving, dusty, communicative, enriching and inspiring country.
May we meet once more.