Being a history buff has its advantages, some may argue. Debates in class, quick fun facts for your friends, but it had a very special bonus for Mr. Scott Hazuda: an invitation to travel to India!
Mr. Hazuda packed his bags for a ten-day excursion through India, experiencing everything with his sister’s family and in-laws.
The trip was “just for fun,” as his sister, Shana Hazuda-Desai, invited Mr. Hazuda to tag along with her husband and two children. Her husband, Nigam Desai, was born in North Carolina after his mother and father immigrated to the United States with only $8 to their name. His parents, Dhruv and Jyoti were the expert tour guides to the Hazuda family, guiding them to the best foods to eat and places to visit.
Mr. Hazuda laughingly admitted that he’s not the best at picking favorites, so he shared two memories that tied.
“Seeing Ghandi’s former house and where he was assassinated was pretty amazing, considering he was one of my favorite historical figures. The Taj Mahal might have been the most impressive thing to see, but it didn't have as much of a personal connection, so it's hard to choose between the two,” Mr. Hazuda shared.
After enduring 20 hours in the air, 10.5 hours of time difference, and jet lag, Mr. Hazuda had his hopes set high to see his two bucket list items: “The Taj Mahal and the big family mansion.”
Although the Desai family came to the United States with only a few dollars, back home the family owned one of the largest homes in India. This mansion, called Nadia in Haveli, translating to “mansion of the town,” boasts a whopping 250 rooms, taking up an entire city block.
Mr. Hazuda shared this information to illustrate the vast differences between the high and low end of living in India. Some places he visited, children spotted him filming and ran up to beg for food. Meanwhile, some others in India live in places similar to Nadia in Haveli having home cooked meals and servants watching over them.
The Hazuda family “never stayed in the same hotel for two nights in a row. We were on the move constantly. We stayed in some really nice hotels for not a lot of money, because the dollar goes really far there.”
He elaborated that one USD is equal to 80 rupee in India.
Some other cultural differences he noticed had to do with the poverty levels and their traffic management.
“The amount of really troubling poverty that’s on the streets and how crowded it is,” surprised Mr. Hazuda. “Plus the traffic was absolutely insane. They do have traffic laws, but nobody follows them. They have cars, trucks, rickshaws, cows, goats, pedestrians, motorcycles all on the same streets. It’s just chaos,” he shared.
Think of your driver’s test . . . but on a 16 lane highway.
No thanks!
Mr. Hazuda also noticed that there weren’t very many tourists at all in India while he was there. Although he personally likes being surrounded by people of different cultures and traditions, he realizes that feeling out of place may not be for everyone. Compared to all the other places he has been, this was “the least touristy place” he has visited.
But to make up for the lack of tourists, they certainly have plenty of cows! Mr. Hazuda shared many photos depicting cows wearing necklaces, headbands, or even painted. Since they are constantly around bustling streets and people, the cows are very domesticated.
“Cows are considered holy,” Mr. Hazuda explained, “because of the religion in India and the belief in past lives and souls.”
When traveling through one of the oldest markets in India, called “chandni chowk,” Hazuda shared that “you can buy anything there—from a form of salt, to sunglasses, to technology . . .”
Despite all the exotic and unusual things in the market, his purchase may come as a big surprise: green tea.
On his list of favorite traveling experiences, and there have been many, he’s unable to definitively rank India among the other trips. He did however declare it “crazy cool,” and reflected that “you could feel the history in some of these places.”