Taken from the old website. Original post date: August 26, 2006
I needed this experience to get away from my stressful pianist lifestyle. It was a form of spiritual rejuvenation. For weeks we didn’t have any hot water and a few times I ate food so spicy, that I literally fainted seeing stars and visions of the maharaja in front of my eyes. We were a fun group of wild musicians and hit some of the major cities including Chennai, Mysore, Bangalore, Delhi, and Agra where we concluded with the monumental Taj Mahal.
Overall, we were culture-shocked to the max. Like take the symbol of the swastika used by the Nazi regime which is actually the symbol for life in the Hindu religion. I was startled when a guy started painting it on my hand after a visit to the Devraja market.
The most heart-tearing experience occurred when we walked down the beach next to the Indian ocean in the area which was hit by last year’s tsunami disaster. We found people living in small huts made of yesterday’s trash, and apartment buildings which looked like they had just been terrorized by missiles. So much for oceanfront property! All of a sudden we had a swarm of young kids – more like an entire village – running right up to us.
When you see these children – some barely dressed, some very dirty, you start to feel an awe-inspiring sense of vulnerability. How is this possible? Then when you gaze right into their eyes, you see the purest, most genuine form of happiness possible. What’s all they asked for was a few drops of water from the bottles we were carrying…
I’ve always been fascinated about exotic cultures. One day I may even visit the Cloe Indians of the Amazon. I mean, you can wake up each day, seeing the same people, the same ceiling, the same kitchen pots and pans, but when you venture out of your familiar space and explore how others live, you begin to see little pieces of yourself in each of those people. Pieces the make you more excited about who you are. And the more fascinated you become by these interesting features, the more that voice of permission inside each of us allows us to fully enjoy it.
By Pianist Daniel Wnukowski
