India

I have dreamed of travelling to India all my life. 

India is my heritage, but also very foreign to me. My ancestors hail from Northern India, where my parents’ great-grandparents hailed from and now are three generations born and brought up in Fiji Islands. They then migrated to the United Kingdom in the sixties, where my sister and I were born and raised. 

Since childhood, how I identified myself has weighed on my mind – giving me an identity crisis. We grew up with the Indian culture at home, but outside of the house, we lived as Brits.

The confusion enticed me to learn more about my heritage, and the eagerness to explore India to answer those questions.

I now consider India my second home and my number one destination; it has given me an identity and a greater appreciation of who I am. 

Together, India has shown me rich culture, expecting the unexpected, being patient, living in unity, appreciating the diversity of rich and poor, embracing its varied religions and beliefs and realising this country has many layers of deep history.

To appreciate such a vast country of colours, cultures, food and exotic fragrances. The smells of spices and incense and the sights of majestic monuments and temples are all part of daily life. And to feel the closeness of family unity where they believe that the family that eats together stays together, and mealtime is a vital source of family bonding, talking and sharing.

India comprises 28 States, and in addition to Hindi, there are 21 other languages spoken in India and more than 19,500 dialects spoken in India as ‘mother tongues.’