In India

So we have finally moved lock, stock and barrel to Bangalore (well..the barrel is still on a ship somewhere). Its literally 5 days since we landed in the country and we are now bang in the middle of a full-on honeymoon period. Here are the top 5 highlights currently:

1. Weather?—?Its almost always between 70–85F. No sweat, no heat, no discomfort. Makes you feel like you are wasting your time going to work and should be out in a park somewhere!
2. Rains?—?I was born in India and one thing I miss when living in California were the torrential rains. Monsoons here are a sheet of wall that hit the streets. You can spend hours in the patio, listening to the pitter-patter of rain over warm cups of chai (or some good wine)
3. Mangoes?—?I am ODing on Mangoes currently. I eat them at Breakfast, eat them at Dinner, eat them for snacks. Banganpalli, Alphonso, Badami, Malboa, so many varieties, so many flavors!
4. Fresh Bananas from the neighbour’s garden?—?We literally landed and the next day, our new neighbours passed a bag of fresh bananas plucked from their backyard over the fence. Its not about the bananas, its about the incredible feeling of community. A friend (Canadian transplanted into Bangalore of all places) dropped by with a box of food knowing we are still struggling to cook at home. Folks keep calling to check on us. We feel incredibly loved here.
5. Convenience?—?I feel things get done in a different way in India, but they get done pretty efficiently if you know the system. Need refreshed ATM card, no worries, the bank guy will drop by your home. Need to get clothes laundered, text someone and they show up in 5 mins to pick it up. Need food, hundreds of deliver Apps abound.

Now I know we are observing India for a bit of a position of privilege and its probably not as convenient or seamless for everyone (that’s a topic for another day). But right now, we are happy to have chosen this adventure. We love the people and love the experience. Its great to move countries and reinvent yourselves.

Somewhere along the way, I went to US and over time, it became home (and is the place I will end up after I am done with my adventures). But today, it feels beautiful to be back here in India, rediscovering the country where I was born. India sometimes get a bit of flak and some of it is perhaps rightfully so, for there are abundant socio-economic issues here. But what we tend to overlook is that there is an earthiness to its people, that if you look beyond the creaking infrastructure and the mindless red tape, there is a society that is aspiring to succeed while it holds on to its sense of community and tradition.

More soon. Mangoes are waiting…

https://medium.com/@punitsoni/in-india-139b93d39a0f