Travel Report from Jaipur, India
"A day without a mango is a wasted day"
Background
In the past months, together with a friend, we visited several countries in Southeast Asia. We also travelled to South Asia where we spent two weeks in India. On May 23, I visited Jaipur (India) by myself. This was one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to in my life. My visit to the Albert Hall Museum was an immersion into an impressively diverse art collection. However, it was my evening in this city that created the best memories.
Visit
If there is one thing I love most in life, it is sharing dinner with family, friends or strangers who turn into friends. I was most warmly welcomed by Hamsavahini (Hamsa) Singh, Rajpal Singh Chouhan and grandma ji in their apartment. I attended their evening prayers. We cooked together and had a delicious dinner while constantly exchanging little facts about our culture or cultures we had explored already.
I highly value spending time with locals when I visit new places. These encounters require a slower way of travelling, allowing to experience a place’s culture and values which is more difficult if travelling fast and only visiting highlights. My evening at Hamsa’s and Rajpal’s place gave me a good understanding of what it’s like to live in Jaipur now, but also in the past. How did this city evolve and its citizens throughout time? How does this differ from the places I have lived?
After thoughts
These questions resonated with me on my way back to my hostel. The next morning, I woke up realizing how spending only a little time (one evening in my case) with people can already expand your worldview. I realized that even though we came from totally different backgrounds, we easily connected with each other through shared values: curiosity, connection and of course, peace (and mangos :)).
I hope to relive this most memorable evening by preparing the same meal for my parents. I can’t wait to tell them about my experiences and lessons (an example from Rajpal freely interpreted: a day without a mango is a wasted day) that I learned from encounters like this one with people along the way. I also hope that I can meet many more (Servas) locals, but next time, I insist on doing the dishes.