January 17, 2025

Just a Crazy Day

Yesterday started like any other here at GCIL. Woke up at the early hour ready for the new adventures that have welcomed me to GCIL since I arrived. The planned adventure was to go to a temple and see some monkeys. But my body was not willing to allow me to experience the pickpocketing monkeys. Instead, I had to miss the adventure and go experience the typical hospital visit where confusion is dominant. I feel I really missed out.

Instead of elaborating on my long and uneventful hospital visit I’ll tell you about the art festival, Chitra Santhe. This art festival happens only once a year where artists come from all over to sell and showcase their art. It occurred on the third day of being in India, on January 5th. After the exhausting first two days at GCIl, I expected Chitra Santhe to be a nice change of pace. I had been to art markets and fairs in the USA, they were busy but not overly crowded. This was my gauge on what to expect from the largest art festival in India. I arrived with a group at Chitra Santhe at 10 AM, only 2 hours after it officially started. I started out by browsing the stalls. I wanted to see as many artists as I could for this was Chitra Santhe. I mostly saw artists that worked with acrylic or oil paint on the main road with occasional surprise of street vendors and gold artisans. The main road look like it went on forever, it felt like no matter how much I walked and how much I saw, I would always see more.

There was one artist that a groupmate and I started a conversation with. Their art was gorgeous, almost resembling a black and white painting. But on closer inspection it was made of wood and every detail was made with a different type of wood. He talked about the complexity of his craft, a small 6 in by 4 in piece took 6 months to complete. His dedication was shocking, it made me wonder how long his larger pieces took to craft.

I can’t say all pieces look unique but each one a holds a story behind its creation.
By the time noon hit, the crowds were beyond my expectations for peak rush hour. Going through the crowd was like paddling up a waterfall. It felt like we weren’t going anywhere. But with strength and determination like the salmon back home we were able to reach the other side and finally leave the ever-growing sea of people.

By,
Aili