Why India?

The rock-bottom romantic triangle of Delhi, Agra, and Varanasi By Robert Fisher Oct 1, 1999

"Your karma has brought you here today," said my guide, "to meet me. It was in your destiny, and mine, too." How very Indian, I thought. Western logic told me that what really brought me to the village of Khajuraho was Indian Air Lines, which bumped me here instead of carrying me on to my intended stop, Varanasi. But now I remembered a friend's question a month earlier.

"Why India?" she said. I could have replied along these lines: "Because it's the single most fascinating country in the world. Even more than the United States, it's a subcontinent unto itself, heir to a violent and colorful history, but also home to at least two of the world's major religions [Buddhism and Hinduism], not to mention some minor ones. Moreover, it's the planet's biggest democracy and will, within 25 years, have the largest population of any country, exceeding even China. Its people, for the most part, are still untouched by our modern ways of thinking. We'd better be paying attention to what's going on there, don't you think?" Instead, I said, "Because it's cheap, really cheap." I mean decent hotels for $5, meals for under $3, auto rickshaw rides ...KeepMedia