Wednesday, October 22, 2014

The world say’s Namaste!



Travel and me, we have a love hate relationship. 
As much as I love to wander off and explore, am also a sucker for familiarity. It takes exactly 102 hours for me to secretly start missing home. I can’t obviously say it out loud to myself and others but I know that I secretly do.


Food, I miss the most. Sure I have my ghatiyas, my theplas and my kachoris to keep me company, but that stash is in case of strict emergencies only. Siri find me an Indian restaurant I say. The husband gets mad. You want to eat paneer in Switzerland? One more time if I have to pretend to like that God damn Raclette, am going to lose it. Am like a little child when I come across food from my land when am away from it. Like for the time when I saw a vada pav stall near Rhine falls, Switzerland or when I came across a dosa vendor on the streets of Melbourne. But the best feeling is when you see non Indians savor local Indian food with equal love as you, that's when you realize that the world is more Indian than we think.   


People, are something I love most about my travels. A conversation with strangers and exchange of intellect  is something that I dig. I yap away with the locals while my husband holds a poker face reading she doesn’t belong to me.
I love my exchange of stories, and people narrating them are even more than enthusiastic sharing them. When I tell them that am from India, it’s like their eyes light up. It’s a great felling when someone from Finland knows so much about the land where I come from. Or to know that an adorable little couple from Germany is saving up to travel to Varanasi. Or for a French maitre d is a big fan of Bollywood. It’s a proud feeling to represent the phenomenon called India.These experiences only reinforce the fact that the world is more Indian than we think.
 I want to share this exact experience with you. So when I decided to write for this prompt, I got my friends and my friend’s friends form around the world to tell me how India has rubbed off on them.

 Here’s what they had to say:


Marisole, United Kingdom.

Miranda, USA

Malini Jagnaraine, USA

Amaris , USA

Harry, Paris.

Edwin, Johannesburg.

Diana, USA.

Teodra, Switzerland
Paul Mlynarczyk, USA.

Nidia, USA.

Michael Stewart, USA

Chad Philip, USA
Lawrence, Australia.

Christian Simpson, USA



Moyl Clydera, USA

Nina Moritz, USA

Brian Farrell, USA
C.J Hanekamp, USA

Diego, USA.



And I’ve saved the best for last,
Somewhere in a bar in Queenstown New Zealand, while a firang bartender muddles a mean Mojito, I notice a tattoo on his arm. I flipout when I  find that he has खुश रहो inked on his wrist. This picture truly defines the fact that the world is more Indian then we can imagine (sorry the picture is low on quality as i was high an alcohol)




The above post was inspired by the More Indian than you think campaign by Lufthansa, hosted by Indiblogger. Lufthansa is revamping their image to cater better to Indian customers. A home away from home, that’s a feeling people cherish most an on a voyage. As a traveler, for me you've certainly got it right!



                                                                  Photo Credits: 
               Nikhil Raikundaliya, Jayesh Awatani, Danica D'Souza and everyone else who were                                  spontaneous enough to agree to be a part of this. Appreciate it !


25 comments:

Manjulika Pramod said...

I loved your idea of the post.
People definitely have much good things to talk about our country and it feels nice to see such enthusiastic faces with posters.
All d best!

disha said...

It sure is a swell feeling to have when someone has such great opinion about your motherland

Arti said...

That is a very novel idea for the prompt, Disha - it was truly fascinating to see the many different things people all over the world identify India with - loved it! :) All the best for the contest!

Arti said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
disha said...

Thanks so much Arti.
M glad you like it.

Nilanjana Bose said...

Congratulations on a very well deserved first spot! Enjoyed your unique take on the prompt and appreciate the amount of work put in. Bravo!

Best wishes,
Nilanjana.

disha said...

thanks ,
Your comment made me realize that i won,
Your words just brightened up my day!

Aseem said...

Awesome idea for the prompt Disha :). Congrats for the win. Truly reflects the interesting thoughts people the world over have about India.

disha said...

Am glad you enjoyed it, i loved putting it together.

Anonymous said...

Well thought out and executed Disha. Enjoy your trip!

Unknown said...

I have rarely come across a more deserving win! That's a one-of-a-kind post for sure. Have a great Germany trip, girl!

disha said...

ThankQ,
that is mighty sweet of you to say Anwesha,
@pixelvoyage i surely will.

Unknown said...

What a fantastic idea! loved reading what they had to say about India!
thanks for doing this.

Anita Sabat said...

Wonderful concept & pics, Disha :)
Love it when the world has nice words for our India.
Congrats for your win. Enjoy at Germany.
Khush Raho :)

disha said...

Ajeet am glad you enjoyed it,
Anita thank you so much.

Anonymous said...

Cool way to present world's opinion of India through pictures. Congratulations Disha. Enjoy your trip.

disha said...

Thank you, I sure will.

Sweet said...

gr8 pics disha...congrats....enjoy your trip

Shubham said...

Congratulations on the win Disha! Indeed an amazing post :)

disha said...

Humbled, thank you.

Pravin said...

Very well written. Congratulations! and wish you happy journey as well.

disha said...

thanks Pravin :)

N.P.Singh said...

really nice Blog Disha..really we love Indianised Glob

Unknown said...

I copied it for reading as i am preoccupied now and don want to miss.

Unknown said...

Feeling good to know that my country has some place in people's heart and admiration

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