Introduction   up

        As an individual task I’d like to tell you about my impressions of India. I’ve already mentioned in my autobiography that I lived for 4 years there. And I’ve got a lot of pleasant memories.

Arriving in the country.   First impressions   up

          My first clear recollection about India is the sunset, which I saw from the train’s window. What was amazing for me that the sun set behind palms trees! I understand it sounds funny nowadays. But then! Just imagine, I was six years old soviet child and had never traveled father than the Azov Sea. Believe me, it was impressive. The next things I was impressed by were Indian cities: Delhi, Calcutta and others. Streets in the cities were half-filled by moto-rickshaws and trishaws (basically, it was actual for Delhi). A rickshaw is three-wheeled vehicle. In the first case an engine makes the rickshaw move, in the second case it does a man. The traffic rules were observed only in downtowns. In the suburbs the dashing Indian drivers drove like real dzhigits. They were afraid of the cops only; the traffic lights were only for illumination during the night. As a result there were a lot of road accidents.
          Cities streets were rather dirty and the suburbs didn’t hold water at all. There were a lot of beggars. But, nevertheless, Delhi and Calcutta are really beautiful cities. Delhi is one of the most ancient cities in India. There are more than 60000 memorials which were created thousands years ago and acknowledged all over the world. Calcutta is a marvelous city which is situated on the sacred Indian river Hang. Here you can see a picture of The Queen Victoria Memorial – the main Calcutta sight. I can assure you this building is worth of Taj Mahal. By the way, The Queen Victoria Memorial was created in the contrast to Taj Mahal.

Inhabitants.  Lifestyle.   Culture   up

          India is the second country in the world in population. And 25% of Indians are beggars. What’s more, the quantity of poor people seems to increase in three times in the countryside. Don’t believe Indian films about life of common Indians. It’s fairy tales. A common village house looks like a clay hut covered with rice reed. There are no windows, no doors. I mean, there are doorways and window openings, but nothing else. The quality of water is so poor that European wouldn’t wash his hands in it. The main food is rice, vegetables, bananas. Almost everything is powdered with bitter piper. It’s made for disinfections, otherwise Indians wouldn’t survive. But despite all these most of Indians are not embittered. They are as lazy as we are. Moreover, each Indian considers himself to be the small boss. Even if his work is to drive a rickshaw, the Indian thinks that he is the boss of the rickshaw.
          Special attention should be paid to the Indian sacred animal – cow. The first interesting fact is that Indian cows are able to eat almost everything. I saw in my own eyes a cow eating casing-paper. Another one chewed used audio tape. The second thing that impressed me deeply was attitude to cow of Indians. I’ll tell you only about one fact which I saw in my own eyes. There is a large bridge through Hang in Calcutta. One day a vast traffic jam came about on this bridge. It continued almost three hours. And what do you think, what was the reason of the jam? The answer is very simple. A cow made its way through and decided to take a rest there. It goes without saying that nobody dared to drive this cow away, while it left.
          I won’t tell about culture of India because it’s useless. India is one of the most ancient state in the world hence its cultural legacy is vast. If it is interesting for somebody – there is a lot of information about India in the net.

Nature.   Climate.   My journeys in India   up

          India mature impresses you by its beauty at first sight. No, I don’t like to claim that Ukrainian nature is worse. Not on your life! It is just different. But only in India l saw triple rainbow. Or so heavy pour that nothing can be seen in two meters. Or one more interesting fact. Each summer there are season rains in India, which continue approximately for 2 months. A lot of lakes appear after these rains. After month or two you can catch quite a big fish in such lake. Then all this lakes will dry up and fish disappear. But in a year it will rain again and there will be fish.
          Owing to my parents I attended a lot of beautiful places while lived in India. But the most memorable journey was, undoubtedly, to the Himalayas. The entire description of this journey takes a lot of place. So I’ll point out only three things. The first: the sunrise in the Himalayas. Maybe it was the best sunrise in my life, and especially I remember the moment when the first sun ray lightened the top of the Everest. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to describe this beauty with my vocabulary, this must be seen by your own eyes. The second: absolutely clean and transparent rock waters. And the third: Darjeeling’s tea – the best tea I’ve ever tasted.

Conclusion   up

          In conclusion I’d like to say that I left India 13 years ago. Of course, a lot of changes have taken place in the country. Probably, some things I saw may disappear or changed. In India, as well as in other countries Internet, mobile communication, high technologies are developed very fast. But in spite of the progress and modern technologies some things will stay unchangeable for good. These things are nature, culture and people. And trust me, India is worth visiting!