26 Jan India, a country of Color, Chaos & Contrasts-by Su Hilty
Su Hilty, once a multi-talented creative Senior Executive with a unique background in training, sales, marketing and retail/wholesale management, now dedicates her life to giving back to the organizations and associations that nurtured her throughout her career. Inspired by a love of design and art, Su embarks on an adventure of a lifetime to India.
INDIA – A COUNTRY of COLOR, CHAOS & CONTRASTS
Su Hilty
I went on my first adventure to India this past November and was more than a little nervous. Would l like the food, the people, the traffic, the filth? Would I get Delhi Belly or worse? Would I love it or hate it?
Prepared with medications and advice from family, friends & industry colleagues off I went with 2 other best friends. We joined our small group of 10, led by the world renowned Gerry Ellis, photojournalist and nature guide who created this bespoke trip just for us. I could go on and on with stories about Incredible India, but let my pictures do the talking.
COLOR was everywhere…orange, saffron, bright or curry yellow, cobalt blue, turquoise plus all the colors of the rainbow. It was in the saris that adorned even the most rural of women tilling their fields, visible in the birdlife that we encountered in 7 National Parks and painted on buildings & monuments across the northern part of the country.
CHAOS reigned. Never have I encountered traffic like this. It is every man, woman & child for themselves. No one looks as they pull out into the stream of humanity. This includes, people sitting on the side of the road, walking through traffic often with loads of “stuff” on their heads, bicycles, motor scooters & cycles, people peddled rickshaws, motorized Tuk Tuks, cars, buses, overloaded trucks, goats AND the sacred cow. These revered cows can be in herds, in small groups resting in the middle of the road where they relish the diesel fumes and the air from the traffic flowing around them keeping flies from biting, or shoveling through the garbage to find any tasty morsel. Who knew?
How many people can you cram on a motorcycle? While I did not capture it in pictures, the answer is 6!
CONTRAST is clearly evident in this country crammed with 1 Billion people. Once we went through the gates to our hotels, it was an oasis of calm and tranquility, while outside was continued chaos & cacophony. It is the haves and have nots, the merchants and the merchant princes, the royalty and the untouchables, the cheek by jowl living versus the open & manicured spaces.
To sum up the trip and the experience- Incredible! And the answer to everyone’s question is YES, we did see tigers…
No Comments