India - A Country to be lived, not explained

Whenever I tell people that I spend a lot of time in India, I almost always get the same question:

"What is it that you love so much about this country?"

Friends ask me. People I meet while travelling ask me. And, most of all, my mother.

Perhaps it is really her I would like to answer, even though a question like this cannot truly be answered with words.

India has to be experienced. It has to be seen through the simple curiosity and openness of a child.

So what is it that draws me back, again and again?

India is a country of contrasts: dirty and chaotic, poor and at times harsh, yet warm, colourful and welcoming. It is deeply human, deeply connected to the earth.

Here I feel free. Free to walk barefoot, to eat with my hands, to bow to both people and deities.

India is mystical, magical. Magic is literally in the air. Here, the unknown is not something to fear- it is accepted, embraced, even celebrated.

Every day is a ritual: mantras, music and small daily gestures transform the ordinary into something sacred.

There are places that become home, like the ashrams.

You can arrive whenever you wish, often without paying anything. You know you will never be without a meal or a roof over your head if your intention is to look within. That feeling of security opens your mind and allows you to dream bigger. Ashrams don't just offer hospitality—they teach a different way of living.

And then there are the people.

An Indian friend once told me that, in his opinion, foreigners love India because everyone here makes them feel special.

I had never thought about it that way, but perhaps there is some truth in it. People look at you with curiosity, ask for random selfies in the street, stop you simply to ask where you are from. Sometimes it is amusing, sometimes exhausting.

Personal space barely exists here. Your space is also theirs. People touch you naturally, sit very close to you, and during a bus journey someone might even rest their head on your shoulder.

It feels as though everyone belongs to one big family, while at the same time each person is striving to find their own place in the world.

And then there are the saris.

Amid the chaos of the cities, women of every age walk with timeless grace, wrapped in colourful fabrics that look like paintings. A beauty that never grows old.

And then the fragrances: jasmine, frangipani, hibiscus, lotus, incense, fragrant oils.

Here everything has a scent, a colour, a sound.Everything carries meaning.

Spirituality is not an abstract concept here -it is everyday life.

I don't know of any other place in the world where ancient pagan traditions are still so alive. Every animal, every human quality - and even things I cannot quite put into words-- becomes a manifestation of the divine. Every day there is something to celebrate, and everything has meaning.

India has taught me that nothing can be taken for granted. Everything is connected.

Even death.

Here it is simply part of life. It is not a taboo. People speak about it, witness it, accept it. You can almost touch it.

And paradoxically, it is this closeness that has taught me to love life more deeply and to live it with greater awareness.

India is a mosaic of contrasts that stays with you.

It keeps calling you back, again and again, so that the poetry you found there never fades.

So that you can keep close the memory of the land of the peacock, free to dance wherever it wishes.