One thing that I have noticed most in India is that all of the action, all of the life and the culture can be found in the open air, on the street. You will notice by this delightful little title that I have been working my French and as much as I desired to write the whole of this article in that gorgeous language, I decided against it on the basis that it took me around 30 minutes just to get the title right, and that is just 8 words!
Anyhoo, back to India and the life that is on the streets, more so than anywhere else I have visited in the world, and this is even the case in the cities. To describe this better, I wanted to talk a little about what you can expect to see on the Indian streets, just to give you a flavor.
Animals
It is extremely likely that you will see traffic jams as cows cross the road, and that is because there is so much agriculture here in the country. Many people own very small plots of land which they tend to and their cattle are treated like pets, and they go everywhere with the farmer.
Colors
Whether it is the traditional dress of the women or the huge piles of freshly harvested spices, the streets are always awash with colors, the brighter the better.
Chatting
The Indians are, in the main, incredibly social and they love nothing more than sitting and chatting with neighbors and others in their community. I have seen this with older men and women in other countries but here there are people of all ages watching the world go by and chewing the fat.
Selling
Although the markets are very clearly section off, it is difficult to know where the stalls begin and end, as so much of it spills over into the streets. The attitudes here towards selling and buying is tremendous and it often seems as though everyone has something which you can buy from them.
Food
At all times of the day there is an abundance of street food available and depending on what time of the day it is there will be different delicacies on offer. The smells of an Indian city street are absolutely incredible and to be honest they made me hungry even when I had just eaten.
Busy
Even those who are doing very little, sat around chatting seem to be busy with something and that is the same thing which I could say for everyone in the streets, they are all with purpose and they all seem to have somewhere to go. This is quite something to behold and whilst things calm down on the nighttime, during the day is a real hotbed of activity in all corners.
Have you been to India before? What was it that you noticed most about this outdoor attitude which so many of them have?