My India

Let me set something straight - Right here, right now! Let me put India in the right perspective, Let me banish some myths, Some gross misconceptions, And take you beyond elephants, Sacred cows, snake charmers and yoga, Beyond Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Taj Mahal, To a civilization rooted for over 5,000 years in the past To a land rich - majestically rich - In many cultures, customs and traditions, In a bewildering variety of races, Religions, languages and folk arts, In a vibrant tradition of dance and music, In religious festivals and traditional events, In saints, sadhus, gurus and sages, In gods, goddesses, munis and mahatmas, In temples, palaces, shrines and monasteries; I'll baby-steps you through a land Of Vedas and Upanishads, Of epic stories and incredible mythologies, Of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita, Through one of world's great spiritual sanctuaries, Where religion is a way of life; An overwhelming, complex land - Its charm, its vitality and yes, its confusion, Atonce alarming and enticing. And that's the way India is: Elusive, confusing, contradictory, mysterious and exasperating! Beyond easy description or analysis, A phenomenal diversity of dress and manners making one aware of a different world - A veritable fairyland! No other country offers quite such A spectacle of teeming masses that continue to enrich the heritage of mankind, Nowhere do the past and present coexist in more colorful promiscuity - An incomparable country, Easy to love, hard to forget! "There's only one India!" raved Mark Twain, "A wonderland of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty, of splendor and rags ..." "The cradle of the human race, The birthplace of human speech, The mother of history, The grandmother of legend and The great grandmother of tradition." This, indeed, is my country Where I was born - An Indian at heart, An American in spirit! Namaste! Khuda Hafiz, Jai Ramji Ki, OM Radhe Shyam, Sat Sri Akal, Jai Hind!! ~Love letters to the sub continent contest by cyndi MacMillan