Monday, May 25, 2009

XXXIII. Good Bye India

It is a little before midnight on Sunday the 24th of May 2009. I am about to board an airplane bound for Newark, New Jersey.

For the 18th time in 32 years, I am saying goodbye to India tonight. Like an old friend that accompanies me on many such farewells, I was expecting to feel sadness. But that emotion has not surfaced. It may come to visit me on this long flight to Newark; in these many hours, as we begin our flight in the tropical latitudes and fly over the Asian Steppes through darkness ensured by moving quickly in the same direction as that of the earth spinning on its axis (and only a bit more slowly at the lower latitudes we will traverse). This time, when I am neither where I was nor where I will be, is unpredictable for what it can, and often does, bring up.

I thought that maybe the sun of a long arctic summer day would elicit the response. As we approach the East coast of Greenland I feel no sadness, but great nostalgia for the other times that I have done this and the way things have transpired over these decades. I recall being glued to the window the first few times that I took this trip. The vastness of the earth and the difference in the topography from what most of either India or the US looks like is a marvel to behold. The sight from this vantage point (39,997 ft) has been available to humans for only a small fraction of the time we have existed as a species in the vastness of time and space.
This departure was well planned and timed to mesh with the goals of a life lived in two places. I was deliberate in wanting to savor goodbyes over food and thoughtful conversation, two themes that characterized my time here more than anything else. After returning from the Kutch, it lasted a week; including a long, relatively relaxed weekend.

I leave India with a sense of profound gratitude for the relationships that have been strengthened and deepened over these months and for the new and wonderful people I have met over these months. I also feel blessed to have supportive family, friends, and colleagues back home who helped to make this productive absence from the day-to-day routines of life possible, even if electronic communication kept me very much engaged for nearly the entire time. Pictured here are Drs. Rajiv Sarin, Pradnya Kowtal and their lab personnel.

Despite working hard and accomplishing much, my life in India has been characterized by simplicity and lots of time to think in quiet solitude. I recall my friend Bill Hrushesky (here with Harris Pastides) expressing envy at my having the opportunity to spend long periods of time alone to be with myself, think, and recreate. I have loved this part of the reality much more than I thought that I would and have savored times that I have spent with people all the more because of it.
As I said back in the beginning, I began writing this blog in part to pay back the debt that is incurred on such journeys through life. Given that I wrote this mainly to explain myself to people back home, it is interesting that about half of the comments I receive are from are Indians. Apparently, thoughtful perceptions on great cultures have appeal both to those who live in some familiar corner of that reality as well as to those who are altogether unfamiliar. Pictured here are Dr. Ashok Varma, his family, and members of his lab.

At my best, I see the world through a scientific lens, as a seeker and a skeptic. I have tried not to be too analytical, but I want to learn enough to relate back to what I already know, synthesize the thoughts and perceptions; and inform others about the relationship between science and culture. As a Senior Research Fellow focusing on the epidemiology of cancer, that is how I interpreted my obligation to the Fulbright Program. I have accepted the charge with joy, passion, sincerity, and inquisitiveness. I am sure that Healis colleagues, especially Mayuri Sawant (far left), and Drs. Mangesh Pednekar and Prakash Gupta can relate to this.
There are many ideas that have emerged over these months. The list of topics is much longer now than ever. The creative juices have flown with the stimuli, which have been plentiful and varied. I hope that the discipline that I have established over these months will serve me well as I merge back into my home culture.

My plan is to continue writing after I return home. I realize that there are many things about life in my little corner of the US that people will find interesting and I know that I will look at things differently – at least for a while. The Grand Opening of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program in the new building, arriving back home in late spring having missed the seasonal transitions that I enjoy so much, and having Christine home from college for the summer should all contribute to my mind remaining open and receptive.

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