India on nhaima

Back to basics: travelling India with a backpack

Wed, 05 Feb 2014 12:58:12 +0000

I have always travelled; it is the strongest memory I have from childhood. I travelled a great deal with my grandparents during my primary-school years: in June, once school was out, they would take me with them to Calabria and bring me back to Rome in September, just in time for the new school year.

I also travelled quite a bit with my parents, up to the age of about 15 or 16 — skiing holidays, weekends away, my first big trip to the United States for a month, and summer holidays down by the sea in Calabria.

But above all I travelled an enormous amount on my own. And I started doing so very early. I have always been a girl with a strong desire for independence, which my mother knows well; she will probably never forget the days and nights I put her through with worry, because at 17 I was already leaving home — once to Turin, once to Pescara, once to the Netherlands to attend a large international hackers’ gathering. And I always travelled very light: in my backpack I kept only the essentials, a book, a notebook, and my inseparable CD player (a tremendous must-have at the time). I did not even know what a suitcase or a trolley bag was. I kept on like that for years — on Saturdays, the moment school ended at one o’clock, I would run to the station to catch the train and reach all those people the internet had given me and whom I absolutely wanted to meet.

India, that unexpected journey. That comes back again

Sat, 07 Dec 2013 23:17:36 +0000

I walked across India barefoot on impossible roads; I lived in an ashram as though it had always been my home; I meditated, for hours, inside the Temple of Peace on Earth in the presence of the largest mercury Shiva Lingam in India, in the shade of mango trees, sitting before my master’s mandir; I met people from all over the world and shared everything with them for days and days; I found peace, inner peace, the real kind — and now I know what it tastes like.

In that patch of land immersed in the forest, in the company of monkeys and peacocks, where time seems to stretch and bend under the effect of distortion; where a superhuman harmony reigns, never known before; where everything flows as it must flow, where the energy is so powerful that at certain moments it hits you completely.

Never, not ever, on that 4th of September a year ago while talking with my friend Alessandro, could I have imagined that all of this would happen to me, that life would change me so profoundly, and that I would find myself now here speaking of India, of my master, and of that spiritual — and surreal — utterly unexpected journey.

India: that absurd country for which you will never be prepared enough. That country that welcomes you with its deafening colours, the scent of incense, the smell of burning plastic along the roadsides, the reek of piss, street food, the pungent smell of coriander, the orange flowers used as temple offerings, stray dogs, children running naked and barefoot beneath bridges under construction, women dressed in their magnificent saris, rickshaws that hurtle at you from every direction. And because of which you risk your life every other moment.

India: user's manual

Sun, 26 May 2013 15:24:07 +0000

India: you either love it or you hate it. It knows no middle ground. It is the land of contrasts, a country that puts you to a stern test on several fronts but that also knows how to give you a great deal — everything that, for obvious reasons, our own country or culture could never provide. I loved it, and deeply so, and I suffered from the fact that on this trip I did not manage to see it as I would have wished. But in the end mine was only an au revoir and, having learned from what those 16 days taught me, I know I will go back better organised. As I was saying, India puts you to the test, starting with the heavily spiced and spicy food, with what you can see along the road as you walk through the cities — because poverty is considerable and very visible, especially in the outlying areas.

So what are the things we can do before and during our stay in India to enjoy it fully and serenely, without risking having it ruined by physical ailments or various discomforts?

Let us start with the hotel: as I had already said here before leaving, if you want a hotel that meets at least the minimum requirements of hygiene and decency, you must pay. Besides the classic Booking.com that everyone knows, what I would recommend is also having a look at Agoda.com, used predominantly for Asian destinations, where you often find hotels and deals that you would not find on other sites. If I may, spend a few extra hours of your time doing cross-checks on the hotels you have chosen. Look for reviews on TripAdvisor, Google reviews and other sites; and above all look carefully at the date of the most recent review. Do not trust those with reviews that are too old, otherwise you risk being caught out.

India: what to pack

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:52:33 +0000

When I left for India in March I had a vague idea of what to pack; but now with the benefit of hindsight I feel I can give this advice to anyone who intends to travel to India and/or an ashram, as I did.

The list of things to bring was not actually that long, but they were all fairly important items. As I mentioned previously, India is a country where it is generally warm at any time of year — at least during the day. So you should favour light, comfortable clothing, preferably cotton or linen in light colours.

Photo by Simona Forti I therefore chose to bring some short-sleeved t-shirts but above all cotton kurtas and long tunics to pair with loose, non-fitted cotton trousers; a pair of light sandals and a pair of trainers.

India: when to go and how to prepare

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:23:49 +0000

When, a few months ago, I bought my ticket to India I knew nothing, or almost nothing, about this country in terms of organisation and travel tips. So I began a lengthy search to prepare myself, at least “practically”, in the best possible way. India is a very vast country; if you truly intend to see all of it you must make peace with needing at least 2 or 3 months available. I, this time, will have only 16 days and mine will be a somewhat particular journey, since I will be spending most of the time in an ashram — that of my teacher of Kriya Yoga.

Some cooks in an Ashram in Pune - Photo by Alessandro Ceccarelli

If you want to visit India, the first thing you must do is choose whether to go to Northern India or Southern India. If you look for printed guidebooks, or topics across the web, you will in fact find them divided in this way. For the same reason it is also difficult to define which period is meteorologically best, because the climatic factors are very diverse.

First snapshots from India

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 10:00:58 +0000

10:30 pm, we finally land in Mumbai. After a journey of almost 24 hours that began the previous night at my friend’s home, I finally set foot on Indian soil. A scent of incense accompanies us along the corridor that will take us out of the airport. The first impact is indescribable. Stimuli of every kind arrive from every direction; sounds, colours, smells mingling together. The chaos is incredible; our taxi has yet to arrive and while we wait I find myself unable to do anything but stand hypnotised by what I see before me. However much you may prepare by reading and reading articles, nothing turns out the way you expected or imagined. The impact is strong, at times overwhelming, and I must be honest — not always pleasant.

Our taxi finally arrives; we get in and I discover they drive on the left as in England. This alone, for those of us accustomed to driving on the other side, creates a certain unease; add to that the fact that Indians drive rather like maniacs and you’re guaranteed a heart attack every other moment. Forget every road rule you know, because here they don’t exist. Absurd overtaking, lanes unmarked, the chances of encountering absolutely anything on the road are extremely high. The other peculiarity is that everyone constantly honks their horn — it’s a delirium! But apparently it is simply their way, so much so that you find written on trucks and buses “Horn Ok Please”.

Pune - Simona Forti

We cross a suburban area where poverty appears naked and raw in its entirety. Small children walking barefoot near piles of rubbish or amid the dust and rubble of construction sites; powerful smells of food and something else not quite identifiable; tiny, vividly coloured temples rising up among shacks of every description. India is not a country that shines for its cleanliness — we know this well — so come to terms with it and go only if you have a great capacity for adaptation. And I’m not just talking about the physical kind.