This scene epitomises today's India beautifully, because of three reasons.1) You see a Saadhu (priest) dressed in a saffron robe, standing in front of a Vodafone hoarding. Perfect blend of the old and the new. (Interestingly, Vodafone is headed by an Indian - Arun Sarin - and has recently entered the Indian market by acquiring Hutch - a Hong Kong telco).
2) In the background, you see coffeeshop. Traditional Indian tea is being sold (as written in English), and you can get Coke here too (as ironically written in Hindi). Again, this tells you the story of the mix of old and the new. This is emphasized even more by the fact that Coke is written in Hindi and "Hot Tea" in English.
3) The icing on the cake is that this is a scene at Kurukshetra train station, which is the historically significant town where the battle between the Kauravas and the Pandavas in the Mahabharata took place.
I took this picture from Shatabdi Express, on my way from Delhi to Chandigarh on Nov 21, 2007. I was soaking in the beautiful golden hues of the mustard fields in Haryana countryside when the train arrived here.
One of the most striking things about this scene is the myriad of colours in just a single shot. India is colourful, literally and figuratively. Almost 30 states, 200 languages, over 100,000 gods and sub-cultures makes it probably the most diverse countries in the world.
And it's always great to be back to immerse in this diversity. This trip was memorable, just as much as the one in the summers.
I'm excited to be sharing my experiences here. Hope you enjoy the read.
3) The icing on the cake is that this is a scene at Kurukshetra train station, which is the historically significant town where the battle between the Kauravas and the Pandavas in the Mahabharata took place.
I took this picture from Shatabdi Express, on my way from Delhi to Chandigarh on Nov 21, 2007. I was soaking in the beautiful golden hues of the mustard fields in Haryana countryside when the train arrived here.
One of the most striking things about this scene is the myriad of colours in just a single shot. India is colourful, literally and figuratively. Almost 30 states, 200 languages, over 100,000 gods and sub-cultures makes it probably the most diverse countries in the world.
And it's always great to be back to immerse in this diversity. This trip was memorable, just as much as the one in the summers.
I'm excited to be sharing my experiences here. Hope you enjoy the read.
