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A Young American’s Impressions of India

Steven Elleman provides an in-depth account of traveling through India.
By Steven Elleman • Oct 01, 2020
Visit India, India tourism, tourism in India, travel to India, India travel, India, Indian news, India news, travel news, Steven Elleman

© Steven Elleman

The brief time between UC Berkeley and full-time employment as a software engineer would be the only moment to nourish a sense of moral curiosity that had been bruised and underfed in university. Commitment to a structure and its rules and a dedication from coding illiteracy to a CS degree from UC Berkeley had left me spiritually drained. It was time to rekindle the fire that had been weakly sustained through my anthropology coursework, conversation and daydreams.

Living in Japan and Australia had taught me that travel was one of the most time-effective ways of exploring unknown unknowns. In the process of observing others and gleaning their moral universe, there was a double insight: recognition of new values and recognition of your own values. The new world you find provides a reference point to the world you came from, and the deeper you dig into others the deeper you drill into yourself. That is why I went to India.


Travels Through North India (Photo Essay)

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I had initially considered Iran, Israel and Turkey, much to my parents’ dismay. When Fair Observer’s Atul Singh — who was teaching in India — graciously offered me a place to stay in Gujarat, I immediately expressed interest. Anchored to my earlier and more anxiety-inducing proposals, this offer was met by immediate approval and an audible sigh of relief from my parents.

Several months earlier, I had met Atul through a mutual friend, Alexander Coward. Quite quickly it became clear that Atul held and lived values that I admired and wanted to strive for in my own life: discipline, self-reliance and a sense of cultural memory interwoven with a deep appreciation for story. At a gathering of students, he invited us to exercise with him in the evening. I jumped on the offer. Several times a week, we would exercise at twilight and he would teach stretches and exercises, answer my questions and routinely show that a 46-year-old could be in better shape than someone in their 20s.

Stumbling Up the Learning Curve

I skipped graduation to fly to India and, within six hours, was scammed. My initial plan had been to travel from New Delhi to the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IIT) by bus, Ahmedabad by train to stay with a school friend, and a flight back to New Delhi where I would leave the country. I wanted to immediately make my way south. Impatience and total lack of experience proved to be a recipe for disaster.

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CategoriesCentral & South Asia, Culture, In-Depth, India News, Travel Tagsculture news, India tourism, India travel, Steven Elleman, tourism in India, travel and tourism, travel to India, Visit India, visiting India, what to see in India
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