Scenes From Delhi
Not what I was expecting...
Dear friends,
I'm writing from my hotel room in Rishikesh, northern India. It's 20 degrees, and not a cloud in the sky. It’s the perfect temperature for hiking, exploring, or just messing about wearing a T-shirt. The luxury of wearing short sleeves outdoors in February cannot be overstated.
From my window, I can see a building site (inactive, thankfully), a row of boutiques selling handicrafts alongside temples, ashrams, yoga studios and Ayurvedic clinics. After that, I can see the swirling river Ganga (known in the West as the Ganges). In India, the Ganga is seen as the mother of humanity. After her, I can see the lower mountains of the Himalayas. It's an astonishing view that can take my breath away and induce me to weep, and I will hold it in my mind forever.
Last week's post was about my journey to Delhi. It might be particularly interesting to those of you who are highly sensitive as I navigate the hell that is overstimulation in airports and aeroplanes.
I won't be writing next week as I'll be wrapping things up here in India, making the gruelling 32-hour journey home, and then dealing with the subsequent jetlag.
It sounds cliche, but it's been the trip of a lifetime. It hasn't been all sweetness and orchids, far from it, but it's been one of the most valuable experiences of my life to date. I expect it will take a while to integrate all that I've learned, both about the world and myself.
Scenes From Delhi
As the Boeing cabin doors open in Delhi, I notice a slight change in the atmosphere. Something strange yet familiar is in the air, but I can't place it. As I walk down the steps onto the runway, I realise with a sinking stomach what it is. A thick, ashen smog engulfs the airport - hardcore pollution.
I can't even see the terminal a few feet before me.
My lips smart with dryness, and grit from the air catches on the back of my throat.
I quickly search Google and discover Delhi is one of the most polluted cities on earth: how didn't I know this? Just two months earlier, on 13 November 2023, it claimed the crown of the most polluted city in the world.
I blank all of this from my mind. I'm staying in the mountains six hours drive away, surely it will have cleared by then?