“Go to India Donawyn and complete your three years and come back soon and it will be alright” they all said. I said it to myself too insistently to convince myself that everything would be alright and India would not be as challenging as it had been on Valancia. Little did I know then that my existence would not seize to exist once I landed in Mumbai, that maturity and growth would not be stagnant for as long as I was breathing Indian air.
According to Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, “The art of being a good guest is to know when to leave.” Sure, I didn’t hear it from him but from Simon when he said goodbye to Idol. But it is true and while most may debate that I’m not really a guest here, that’s exactly what I am. A pilgrim, a traveler on the journey of life. It was certain before my arrival that I was not arriving to stay. India has taught me many things and I strongly believe if I stayed any longer, I’d out welcome my stay. This country has ingrained in me strength that I did not deem possible. It made a man out of a boy who was looking for his place and purpose in this world. I’ve said this before and I stand by it; India did not teach me something new, It only reinforced some things that I believed in. Firstly, to never hold prejudices. Not having any expectations made every experience worthwhile.
In 2009, Élan was first published and what I learned from that was to never take credit for something that you don’t really deserve. It was then that I decided not to put my name on the editorial team of the first issue as I failed to contribute anything.
In 2010, I got my first internship and what I learned from it was the reality of where money came from. I came to India to learn the value of money and I believe it was somewhere between sardine-packed trains and writing about HDMI cables and golf clubs that I realized that there is an unexplainable joy in earning your money. This surreal experience was enhanced with the magic of selflessness. The act of giving my mother my entire pay when she flew in for my grandmother’s funeral was spiritually rewarding.
Friendship and Love are the gifts of a wonderful life. I made one too many friends here and with each of them I share a fleeting bond of confidence that words can’t explain. While my intentions were to initially dedicate this post to individually thank and complement each of them, I know I don’t really have to as they already know just the way I feel and I would never forgive myself should I have forgotten anyone. I shall for eternity be indebted to them as each of them were instrumental in making me a better man. Yes, I fell in love too and managed to loose it as well. And while a lot could be said about it, I just make peace with saying that it was an experience I needed to encounter and he who has loved me once and is loved by me deserves nothing but my best wishes and all the luck in the world as he truly deserves it. I owe it to him as he helped me come out to my family and friends and I owe it to my friends for accepting me and teaching me to be comfortable in my own skin.
My high school English teacher once told the class that our college professors would never care as much as high school teachers did. She stands corrected, by me at least. I have been blessed to have professors who have cared for me as much as they would have cared for their own blood. And while I have avoided using names, here is one place I choose not to shy for the efforts made by Prof. Susan Lobo cannot go unheard. She is a woman of substance. Someone who stands for what she believes in and has taught me some of life’s biggest lessons. She taught me that we don’t always get what we want in life and that the beauty was in making do with what was offered to us. She also taught me that we don’t always meet people who have walked and will walk to same road that we have and to never dismiss their view solely because it clashes with ours. In my final year, she took up additional papers only for me and another friend and for that I shall forever be grateful to her.
It's painful, that's what it is; trying to hold onto something that isn't up for grabs to begin with. It’s wrong to invest emotion and memory in something that you know will eventually come to an end. Nonetheless we do it, I did it because somehow we all yearn towards emotions rather than being android zombies.
What I know for sure is that travel helps us reinvent ourselves. We all need it. Had it not been India, I probably would still have been an unopinionated, quiet teen challenging with identity issues. To all my readers who plan to move to a new country or have wanted to but are afraid, I say, take the challenge. There’s nothing more rewarding than looking back at the end of it all and realizing that it was all worth it and that there remains nothing that you would have wished to have happened differently.
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