What to take

So I'm thinking since it's going to be summer, it's obviously going to be hot. So one pair of shorts, two tee shirts, undies, a towel and toilteries should be fine. Of course, can't forget handy lomotil (a lifesaver while I was in dharamsala and manali). I was thinking maybe a pair of jeans, but they'd just be really hot.

The Route - still not quite certain

So I have 3 months - assuming I leave at the end of May - possibly earlier - I'm going to stick around for a while to earn enough money for my ticket and the actual trip - besides, I can't go anywhere until I know for sure that I've been accepted in a grad school. So I've given myself an approximate time for 3 months - which is probably too short to see the whole country, so I'm thinking of doing the whole northeast belt - from Kashmir to Assam and the north eastern states. I still haven't even started researching the sights. I should pick up a lonely planet - does anyone know which one is better rough guide or lonely planet ? My parents have always used lonely planet - and it's very effective. But reading reviews on Amazon, it seems as though the Rough Guide is better. Hmm...decisions decisions...

Bombay To Bharat - The Journey Begins

For those who don't know me, I live in New York. I was born and raised in Bombay, and then moved to New York for school. City to city. I've just finished my masters, and am waiting to hear from PhD schools. In the time that I've been accepted and that school starts, I've decided to explore my country.

I don't think there's a single reason why I want to do this - it started off as an idea to kill time and avoid the real world between schools. After all, when am I going to get so many months in my life? And then I got thinking about it, there's much more to it than just that. India is a huge country - it's diversity stuns me. I've grown up predominantly in Bombay, a city that has often been compared to New York because of it's pace of life (however, I disagree with that comparison because Bombay is a city with its own culture and own lifestyle very different from NYC). In any case, short of a two week budget travel to Dharamsala and Manali after I graduated high school, I have been a hardcore city slicker. Used to doing the same routine across continents - going to bars, going to movies, hanging out with friends - which I think is all fair at the age. But now, I've realized that I've become boxed. Boxed in Bombay, boxed in New York and boxed within my interests.

Perhaps, through this trip, in addition to learning about the country, I will learn more about myself. Maybe find insights into why I behave the way I do - to what level my culture has influenced me, and how it will influence me in the future. There's no doubt that my previous travels across the country have influenced me - my passions, my interests, my nationalism and my religious ideals. It's stupid to say that I won't change through the course of this trip. I will. And I'm looking forward to. It's awful to become a jaded city slicker at 24, and I hopefully, with India's diversity, it will redefine my interests, my reasons to live and most of all, my identity as an Indian, and, more importantly, as Indian in a foreign country.

God knows what's going to become of it - maybe I'll come back as a hindu fundamentalist, maybe I'll come back as a stoned hippy, or even more confused about who I am - but I do know this - it's not going to be a decision I will ever regret.