India, Finally

By the time you read this, we will be in the air and halfway through our 15hr flight from NYC to Mumbai. I have a carry-on full of the many things suggested through my most popular FaceBook crowdsource post ever!! Among other things, I have packed an eye mask, neck pillow, face mist, essential oils, compression socks & sleep aids. I have also planned a loose schedule of walk breaks, healthy snacks, Bollywood movies, Spotify sessions & sleep!

And all of this is worth it because we are *finally* going to India!!! I can hardly believe it. Steve & I have talked about visiting India for years but we never felt like we had enough time off to make the long journey worth it… three weeks at least, we would always say. Well, now we are going for five whole weeks! We will be visiting Mumbai, Aurangabad, Delhi, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu & Kerala… in that order from cool(er) & hectic to hot & languid.

In an amazing stroke of luck, we will hit three major art events while there: Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai, India Art Fair in Delhi & Kochi Biennial in Kerala. Our friend and neighbor Chitra Ganesh even has a gallery show up while we are in Delhi. And the Hindu festival of Holi falls a few days before we depart!

Most wonderfully, our good friends and frequent travel companions Lisa & Mike will join us for two weeks in Delhi & Rajasthan! To move about, we will be using a mix of planes, trains & automobiles.

To make planning far less overwhelming, we are working with a great travel company founded and run by Indians called India Someday — so named because when one of the co-founders lived in England for a while and told people where he was from, they would often comment that they would like to visit India someday. We are them. Lol.

To prepare, I spent the past few weeks in a personal crash course (BBC documentary series, Rushdie & Roy novels, Eat, Pray Love, lots of travel books & Google) on Indian history, culture, and religions. The sweetie read a far more serious history tome. Since Indian cultures are several thousand years old and the histories are quite complex, it’s laughable how little I still know but it’s a lot more than I knew 3wks ago!

Per usual, friends and friends of friends are already loaded up on WhatsApp. Thanks to so many folks for being generous, open & kind… especially Charanya who zoomed with us *months ago* and followed up with pages of notes, Nandini who offered tips over lunch & lent books, Sonali for numerous great ideas on art, shopping & transit, Aruna for connections on the ground, Sabelo for DMs direct from Mumbai, and both Chitra A and Chitra G for texts, tips & anticipatory joy. And Steve has his own list of magical friends (Oona!) who have contributed to this journey. Thank you to all!

We are on our way… <3

As usual, please follow along on Instagram for more immediate impressions and look for longer write ups when we return next month.