Bangalore + Chennai + Learning to like Delhi

One day, with one of Fabi's friends, I went to the Shiva temple, which to me, turned out to be a bit overrated... very expensive entrance, walking through tiny tunnels, to end up at some kind of patio to see the yes-I-Know great statue, but other than that, not much to see.

Somehow I get more out of a small temple wher I really 'feel' some connection, and that temple may well be my own house, or a mountain, or a beach. And definitely, there are places much fancier than this in Bangalore, like the Leela Palace, a 7-star (!!!) hotel where my friend and I spent about 20 minutes just checking what was so 7-star about this place. Nope.. I did not find it, hehehe...

That made me remember the first time I had been to Bangalore, when I had had the chance to explore my first Indian city, to visit the first temple (and awe at the strange memory of the scent of flowers that I had never seen in this lifetime), and to baske under the sun at the SankyTank park... After Bangalore, I went to Chennai, what I call "the city of the Viveks", honoring one of my good friends in Bogotá:

I found Chennai to be an interesting city, to my relief, full of men who are respectful to the foreign ladies. I loved the fact that men there did not look at me as many did in other places, basically as if I were either semi-nude or alien. People in Chennai were very respectful and friendly, and had that innocence in their eyes, the same as my Indian bro Vivek. People there reminded me of the sweetness that I have always loved about Indian people, and about India itself, and India that respects women. My favorite thing to do in Chennai was to talk on the beach and talk to the girls ho had just finished classes at their college. One can learn so much from talking to these kids! Girls there told me they looooved the color of my skin, to which I replied telling them I looooved the color of THEIR skin! I guess wherever you go, you'll find women happy about life, yeat yearning for having that one thing they lack, whether it is a different passport, or more money to 'chase their dreams', or something different in their own bodies. And again, finding so many commonalities with the women I meet in India, made me remember my own people, all the friends I have made, all my female relatives, and the strong women who have lived life next to me. Women, wherever I go, each at her own degree, love life and family, and when they learn to love themselves, they learn to love fiercely. I've witnessed that miracle.

And finally, after two rather harsh visits to the capital of my beloved India, I went back to Delhi, this time for a longer time. I usual, I went straight to Ghaziabad to visit my favorite family and friends there: Amit, Rashmy, Eva and Enya. From there, directly to Moustache Hostel (https://www.facebook.com/moustachehostel/?fref=ts), my only home in Delhi, owned by my dear friend Amber Jalam, the only place where I cn really feel safe in Delhi. In June, Delhi had been extremely hot for my taste (me, having been born a Colombian in this lifetime, not used to seasons), with the usual problems of committing in its crazy traffic, and the expected burden that pollution poses in your eyes between 1 and 3 p.m. However, this, my third trip there, I discovered more places with my friends, I met new people, I explored more thanks to the metro, I learned how to eat not-so-spicy food even on the street, I learned how to bargain a bit more with the rickshaw drivers, and even got the honor to go to an Indian Wedding!!

How beautifully decorated everything was! how much effort (and money) they put into a wedding is beyond my comprehension!

...and how strange it was to wear a saree myself! to a formal evening event!!

This trip to Delhi brought me many more surprises than I was actually ready for, from understanding a bit more about the city and its culture, to meeting and loving people I will never forget. How can you forget someone who deeply moved your heart? How can you stop loving a country that moves you, even from the other side of the planet?