The Land of Loud

Hampi, Karnataka - February 24

It was another people intense day! One minute we're sitting and quietly reflecting on the ruins and listening to the calls of wild parrots, the next we're bombarded - families, groups of young men, an entire class of schoolchildren - you never know who you'll be dealing with but you can hear them coming from a mile away (In contrast it's funny that another westerner can just sneak right up on you). We're finding it especially bad on weekends when every country bumpkin comes out of the woodwork for a day outing. People seem incapable of just walking by, and even when we sit in an out-of-the-way spot, as soon as we're spotted they'll diverge from their course and make a bee-line for us. The dialogue typically runs as such - "Hello, Hello!", "Which county?", "How much money you make?" in the case of adults, or "Helloschoolpen?!", "Hellochocolate?!", "Hellophoto?!" for children. This scenario will be reenacted literally HUNDREDS of times on a weekend day so that by late afternoon you just want to run to your room and hide. In addition, and though I know it's not intended to be menacing, there's a distinct difference in western cultures that allows for personal space. It's not enough that you feel harassed, but people encircle you, pushing closer and closer trying to get nearer than their neighbor. They thrust their hands out all around, somewhere having gotten the impression that we always shake hands with everyone. Staying healthy is a real issue in India, not only from food + water, but it's frightening to think of the last time that most of these hands were washed with soap. I try to be as diplomatic as I can and give them a "Namaste" with hands folded in prayer as is customary here, thereby keeping my mits out of grasp. Men are an even bigger challenge than children. In Indian culture, men do NOT touch women (except when they grope on crowded buses which is why they sit segregated) so they seem overeager to touch me. Even grey-haired men can act with a juvenile lack of sophistication that is mind-boggling and pathetic.

Anyway, I digress. The noise is what's really been bothering me lately because I fear permanent hearing damage from this trip. Whether it's the music blaring distorted at top volume on the bus + street or screeching horns, somewhere along the line I think the Indians by-and-large have suffered permanent hearing loss (One study I read cited 1 in 12 people). People don't TALK to you or each other, they YELL. That's part of why their constant desire to confront me, or any foreigner, is so disruptive. You are in fact surrounded by an over-eager, yelling mob.

Fortunately, for all the daily experiences that are a real pain-in-the-ass, there is - if you're lucky - at least ONE gem. Those Only in India moments with people so full of character you later wonder if you imagined them. It's those that I have to remind myself of to keep my temper in check and keep from yelling back something other than "Hello!"