mama india - india photo diary

if someone had asked me a couple years ago where i saw myself travelling, india would be close to the last place that would have drifted through my mind. a mix of stories overheard and media reports led me to the belief that india was a place unsafe, unsanitary and unappealing. then without apparent rhyme or reason, sometime last year i felt this sudden pull to visit this crazy country. if there’s one thing i’ve learnt so far, it’s to listen to those calls of the heart, even if they don’t at first make sense. my first few hours after stepping off the plane i remember just having the deepest appreciation for listening to the voice that told me to come here. exactly where i was supposed to be.

i’m yet to find the words to explain all that india is. i think it’s a place you either love or hate, but either way it seeps its way deep into your heart. there’s nothing that compares to the functioning madness and captivating beauty of this country. there’s so much life everywhere you look it’s intoxicating. the streets are filled with the richest colours, sounds and smells. street stalls oozing with the sweetness of chai and the smell of chillies wafting down pavement. 

from the markets of old jaipur to 16^th-century palaces. the ghats at varanasi, where life and death coexist simultaneously in such a striking way. hindu pilgrims bathing down the river from the burning bodies of the cremation sights. where the energy was raw, intense and almost palpable. to walking around local villages in tordi, sharing smiles with a mutual understanding of our completely different backgrounds but shared humanity. my time travelling around north india was filled with magic around every corner.

i fell so deeply in love with this country that in five days i’m actually returning. this time to dharamshala to first do my next yoga teacher training. then wherever the wind takes me after that. it’s all happened very last minute, but my heart feels really good about it. i’m both terrified and exhilarated to have a one-way ticket and no plan of when i’ll next be home. it’s a huge leap of faith and one that i’m so excited to surrender to. here’s to chasing more magic.

A xx