January 2

History is fascinatingly odd when you really think about it. That an entire way of life used to exist in a place you’re currently located and for some reason the mistakes of the past are something we can’t seem to stop ourselves from repeating rather than learning from. I just think it’s also interesting to see the past told in various different ways through the different tour guides and the honest way the Indian people seem to want to share their story with the world.

There’s something very telling in that kind of honesty in storytelling but it’s still very different to see when you’re not used to seeing that kind of thing in how people tell stories. Our tour guide took us to a variety of places that I might have been struggling to get through. Waking up with a cough in a place that isn’t home might be bad, but having said cough and deciding to go up a hundred some odd stairs to get to the top of a minaret when you’re so out of shape you barely take the stairs at school and are a borderline asthmatic? Such a horrible decision really.

Getting to the top of that minaret at the Jama Masjid was pretty impressive but my legs were shaking and I’m pretty sure I might have had a mild panic attack in the middle of going up all those stairs (It honestly felt like an Ancient Greek punishment that has no true end goal which only added to my aggravation that a woman could not go anywhere in the temple without a man accompanying them…) Seeing the majesty of Humayun’s Tomb was impressive as anything I’ve ever seen. There’s such beauty in the attention to detail and all the symmetrical shapes that just adorned most of the building.

I may not have been feeling 100% but I am pretty excited about some of the purchases I made. It may be winter here in India, but I’ll gladly take this 60 degree weather where I can choose to wear a hoodie or just be perfectly fine in a T-Shirt. When I get back to the States, I’ll be definitely glad to have this shawl and scarves to keep me warm from the real dark side of winter that includes ice, snow and a lot of groaning about how much I miss the warmth.

I think the thing that really stood out to me was watching the light show at the Red Fort. I didn’t realize how different my expectations as an American was for the light and sound show. There may have been some slight cringing at the levels and some of the parts of the sounds of the show (which is 9000% because of my time at WRKC making me a picky person about sound) but the way the story was told really stuck with me. Even though I was feeling pretty miserable from whatever I had managed to catch, it was just fascinating to hear that they were not shy about talking about the not so pleasant parts of history.

I’m used to hearing people skate over how bad the West was (Columbus Day, Trail of Tears, most of history honestly) but the way they told their story had a sense of honesty in portraying the past was refreshing. Hearing the slight mockery of how one leader refused to do anything about the pretty imminent invasion of Delhi while he instead continued to drink instead just really stood out.

That’s just something I appreciate as a writer I think. When someone tells a very human story instead of just some highly exaggerated epic that most people can’t associate with. I like the stories that don’t just have people being perfect. I like the stories where people are human enough that you get invested because you just get what they’re feeling.

I’d love to go on more about this but I’m tired and this cough is really kicking my butt. Hopefully tomorrow will be better! Til next time ~KA