Will you visit India?

The Slumdog Millionaire was such a success everywhere I go people will talk about the good things about the movie. After dinner at a friend's place last night we started our conversations on our experiences in India. My manager started with his horror experience, on how fearful he was when he was there when he got lost. Also, the beggars on the street that revealed their scars and come knocking on his window for money. Everything that he saw was shocking and left a bad impression in him.

Meanwhile, I have a different opinion with India. Will I visit India? Why not? What my friends and manager has experienced will not go away at least for now. India is a land of a billion population. Although it is one of the fastest developing country in the world, however, there are still fundamental issues such as culture, religions, and of course "politics" which still have not been kind to these unfortunate ones. I do enjoy India for a reason. I felt a total opposite from the stories. India make me think how fortunate I am and how I should not complain too much of my life. For some of these poor people, life is a struggle but they appreciate every moment. They are grateful and humble when treated with kindness. People do not think that you have an evil motive because they just don't have time for that.

Besides that, the culture and the history in India was very interesting too. If you like the stories from the Maharaja, you can visit Taj Mahal in Agra or the Pink City in Jaipur for it's majestic palaces. If you want to see what the British empire has left after the independence, you can visit Mumbai and be enchanted by the historic buildings. On top of that these cities are very affordable to visit. While those who like to travel in style, they can take the world famous Eastern & Oriental train across the major cities of India. You get a personal butler in the train and enjoy the scenic views from one city to another without a sweat.

I guess every cities has their good and bad. People get exploited everywhere but in a different form or degree. There are petty thieves everywhere in India, but be street smart everywhere you go. I don't think all the stories I heard will prevent me from visiting India again.