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Transformed Travelers

Interesting read about how foreign travelers to India can get mentally disturbed and disoriented over the extended period of stay. Over the years, I have met people who have traveled to India for business and pleasure or both. Some came with no particular understanding of the culture or specific set of expectations, others had a lot of pent up anticipation. Notwithstanding, they started out by being jolted by the reality of India which no one can be prepared for. The sensory overload was too much, the experience of mingling with the locals unlike anything they had known before and the bewildering array of dichotomies no matter which direction you look. 

Some folks can't stand it for too long and want to rush back home to the familiar and comfortable. Those who withstand the first shockwaves and are blessed with curiosity strong enough to fight the odds, soldier on. They extend their stay like some people mentioned in the article do, others return time after time to immerse themselves - try to unravel the mysteries of a country that draws them in. Either way, the experience changes them. Being from India myself it is easier to me to understand how outsiders might see the country and how it could impact them. 

Reading this made me think of the countries I have been to and how some travels would out to be transformative and how coming with a lot of expectations tinged the way I viewed even mundane things around me. There does not seem a right or wrong way to visit a new country atleast for me. Coming in without any knowledge of the culture or history may leave me unwise to the end but the quality of experience is not badly impaired. Foreigners have the ability to cover gaps in their comprehension with imagination and that works just as well.

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