#110: Incredible India
As soon as the plane touches the ground and I step onto the Indian soil, I become an Indian. The sixty-plus years old me vanishes, and a twenty-five-year-old me takes over. I inhale the familiar smells, listen the deafening traffic noise and sweat profusely in the muggy air and don’t even flinch.
We landed at the New Delhi airport at 6:30 pm on Tuesday night when the outside temperature was 32°C (89.6°F) and humidity was 80%. We got picked up at the airport and headed straight for Sonipat (about 63 km from New Delhi). Took us another three hours to get there, manoeuvring through Delhi peak hour traffic.
After an overnight sleep of thirteen hours, the next morning I went out to explore the city I have been coming back to for the past 35+ years, spotting what changed, what new construction has happened, how modern the place has become and yet so same.
The first thing I noticed was the Indian flags flowing outside many houses. I have never seen that before. India is celebrating its 75 years of independence from British rule and patriotism is running high.
The park near the house where used to go for walks is thriving with abundant rain this year. It is also now equipped with gym equipment, available for free for the citizens. Surprisingly the equipment was used by middle-aged ladies rather than young men. A free yoga class with going in another corner, attended predominately by women. The health awareness is much more evident than ever before.
The shops are overflowing with stuff, mainly dresses and food. Didn’t take me long to dig into Indian sweets.
The western world hasn’t discovered Indian sweets yet. There are more than 150 varieties, each with different taste and flavour. The basic ingredients are the same - milk, sugar, flour, chickpea flour and ghee - but techniques make each sweet something to die for.
We have hundreds of savoury snacks as well, many more than the types of chips you can find in supermarkets. They are unique to Indian subcontinent. The most famous one and perhaps the best known in the western world is samosa. Triangle shaped dumplings, made of plain flour pastry and cooked spicy potatoes filling, deep fried in vegetable oil is speciality of Sonipat.
I have spent the last couple of days, shopping and eating. I bought a number of cotton dresses. My excuse, it is too hot here to wear the trousers and shirts I have brought with me. I also managed to do some writing. I am following Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way For Retirement and recording every memory associated with things I see, smell or hear. The book is proving very useful as it has prompts in the form of questions.
I also managed to do a sketch of my sister-in-laws house and the box of sweets.
This week’s book recommendation is The 30-Day Sobriety Experiment by Anastasia Forrest. Anastasia attended my Write Your Book Workshop in March 2022 and wrote the book based on her own journey to become sober. If you are looking to give up alcohol (or any other addiction), this book can be your guide.
I asked Anastasia whether I can use it to give up sugar and she said, yes. So I am going to give it a go, but after the holidays. I want try as many Indian sweets as I can before do that!
Have you been struggling with creating your first digital product, whether it is an ebook, a mini-course or an illustration that you want to sell?
I have written a guide, How To Create Your First Digital Product (In Three Hours) that can help you to achieve that. You can download it here for free.
How To Create Your First Digital Product (In Three Hours).
I am on vacation from 23 August to 14 October. If I miss an issue in this newsletter or don’t respond to your comments on time, that is why.
During this time, I will be writing about my travels. Please keep your comments coming they encourage me to keep writing and tell me what resonates with you.
When I get back, I will run another sprint, Write Your Book In 30 Days, the last one for 2022. It will start on 25 Oct and end on 29 Nov. If you are interested, register your name here.
That’s all from me this week.
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Thanks Melanie. I did know you like Indian sweets and clothes. Both are treats. I am attending an Indian wedding this weekend. There will be plenty of both (sweets and clothes) there. Will report on that in the next weekend.
HI Neera,
I too have a copy of Julia Cameron's Morning pages. However, I didn't know about the retirement prompts. Thanks for mentioning it, as I will check it out.
The Indian sweets look tempting. My weakness is ice cream. It's an addiction that I can't seem to break, even though it raises my cholesterol.
Could you please send me another link to your free book about the business model that you use. I once printed it off, but can't find it any more. I would appreciate it if you would.
I'm very interested in the child labor system of India. I don't know if you want to write about that, but I'm interested in the class of people who are born in the caste.
I have a background in Anthropology and I've done an extensive study in Indian culture. But that was 20 years ago.
I hope you have a wonderful vacation. I look forward to reading more.