All Is Flux, Nothing Stays Still: My First 72 Hours in India
I don’t think I truly believed myself — that a summer of warmth, Telugu, and Hyderabad was right around the corner — until the plane lifted off the ground in the Chicago airport. The past few weeks have been a fever dream, fervently packing and unpacking with my sister until every necessity was tidily zipped away, and the dream seamlessly shifted as the last few humans turned into ants on the O’Hare runway. Reality awoke.
At first, it was a slow reality. If there is one thing I learned from the past three days, it is the bitterness of patience.
It was patience as I woke up at 5 am to board my flight to Chicago. Patience found me as I roamed around the labyrinth of the O’Hare Airport, waiting to meet my intern partner, Riya. It grew tired during the twelve hours to Abu Dhabi. Nevertheless, patience persisted as we flew four hours to Hyderabad, as Riya and I stood in line as the last people at immigration, and even when my suitcase didn’t arrive at the baggage claim. Although the 36-hour trip took everything out of me, submerging into the overly humid 10 pm night felt like a breath of fresh air. It was a taste of what the next 8 weeks would feel like, and a feeling of relaxation as we weaved through the roads to get to our beds.
My first shock came when we sat down in the institute car. No blogs, articles, or documentaries could have prepared me for the floods of vehicles streaming out of the airport. Despite the all-encompassing fatigue, my eyes stayed wide open as we wove alongside motorcycles, cars, rickshaws, and buses, all taking part in a harmonious melody constructed out of the honks and beeps of passing cars. The long, tiring day ended as we slumped down on the couches of the guestel to enjoy spoonfuls of warm roti and matar paneer, a taste of comfort amid awe, confusion, and fatigue. I felt all the bitterness of patience that day, but I am now finding the sweetness of its fruit.
This week marks the beginning of my two-month internship at the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics, a non-profit organization conducting agricultural research in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, elevating crop productivity, resilience, and sustainability. I will be working under Dr. Padmaja Ravula to conduct gender-entrepreneurship research in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh while following up on a 2018 educational intervention. This Walmart-sponsored project focused on accelerating value chain benefits for farmers and promoting agri-based entrepreneurship activities among rural women and youth. With my trip in three weeks, I will be speaking with participants to understand the impacts of ICRISAT’s efforts. Everything about my research is what I love to do: fostering connections, learning about other people’s stories, and gaining a greater appreciation for the values and morals that drive individuals’ lives. I’m enthusiastic to see how ICRISAT’s work helped advance economic empowerment for women, and I am beyond grateful to hear these conversations firsthand.
Every one of my senses can feel the newness of my surroundings. As I am writing this, I can hear the high shrieks of a red-beaked bird out of my window, and I can feel the humid, after-the-storm bliss creeping across campus. I can smell sweet incense wafting up from the Ganesha statue by our dorms, and my taste buds are slowly becoming accustomed to the savory dals, veg kolapuri, and chapati that make up my meals.
Despite these changes, I finished my reading earlier today to take some time to ground myself. After finishing a chapter of my book, “Village and Household Economies in India’s Semi-Arid Tropics,” I visited the campus lake with my new friend, Kushitha. With this once-in-a-lifetime experience ahead of me, my head is bursting at the seams to explore, travel, and connect.
These feelings reminded me of a saying I learned last year from ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, stating “All is flux, nothing stays still.” The quote conjures notions of movement and flow, much like the travel and action engulfing my life currently. At face value, stating that “nothing stays still” might reinforce the idea that nothing ever remains the same and the terrifying nature of that sentence. However, I think Heraclitus is trying to express how change can be a constant instead. The nature of life prompts everyone to cultivate resilience, adaptability, and strength. With the nature of this internship, I have to always be prepared to experience the new, to adapt my perspective, and say “Yes!” to change.
Nonetheless, as I sat by the lake to take in the soft breeze and watch birds lazily spread their wings across the water, I could not help but smile at the “stillness” of the moment. You can find it in everything you look at, but I sometimes become so absorbed in the future that these quick moments escape me. My goal this summer is to search for these experiences, these snapshots, and savor them. I want to welcome change with open arms, but I also hope to find solitude with the present. Whether it is on my digital camera or in my head, I’ll be documenting these moments because I know that life is full of surprises. Right now, I will be taking them one by one.
