February 18, 2025

The people of India

As you have all heard or seen in person, we visited northern India to complete the golden triangle in 3 days over the weekend. Having been born in Punjab, a northern state, I imagined I had a good understanding of what to expect, but nevertheless the culture shock hit me just as hard or maybe a bit less than those around me.

Punjab, which consists of mainly farming villages including my hometown, is known to be the bread basket of India, covering about 1.5 percent of India’s landmass while consisting of 22 percent of India’s food production. I grew up around lots of open space, farms and a very distinct culture that is easily recognizable by any Indian, so I shouldn’t have been as surprised when what we saw helped me grow a deeper appreciation for the Indian culture.

Through our time in Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur, we visited many monuments and saw many parts of the city, but what stood out to me the most was the people. Any moment that I gave myself to see the people living and working together, I saw a blend of copious religions and backgrounds and this expressed itself in many forms.

The architecture of many monuments we visited consisted of elements from the western, central, eastern, and southern states. While only walking for a few minutes through the streets, you could hear people speaking 3 to 6 different languages with extreme variation in clothing styles and different types of music intermingling to create a very powerful almost overwhelming energy in the air.

I saw temples for multiple major religions in India within walking distance of each other and housing styles mixed in neighborhoods. This contrast between the north and south amazed me more than I realized. There will always be the debate on whether the north or south is better, but I can appreciate the differences and similarities that help them create one overarching identity of the Indian culture.

I had gone into the trip believing I would get the chance to see many historic and unique monuments including one of the world wonders, but I got the chance to deepen my understanding of the vast Indian culture and also become a translator and haggler when the need arose.

By,
Hargurleen