No. 28

Every new place reveals to you a part of yourself you never knew existed.

"Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime," Mark Twain wisely observed. I will take a step further inwards to note neither can broad, wholesome, charitable views of ourselves be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. My experience in Ladakh bears witness. 

For the major chunk of my life till 2013 I had only known Delhi, my home that I will keep going back to. Whatever is said and believed of it, Delhi made me just about ready to face the rest of my life. That is something to be grateful for. I've lived in Ladakh for a couple of years now. There is absolutely no similarity between Delhi and Ladakh, no not one. From my vantage point, I stepped out from normal into something ridiculously bizarre. I make no exaggerations. The dynamics of this place is something I have never encountered before, and sometimes seems surreal. In a way it is like an Indian serial enfolding right in front of me, and often I wish I was only an observer. Many things happen that only happen here, I am pretty sure. I've responded and acted in such a setting. I've had to and in that course I've discovered myself in new ways. My life got bigger. Needless to say, things haven't always been pleasant. Sometimes, you can't choose the direction you grow. What matters, though, is that you do.

I celebrate going to China next! :)

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No. 29
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