We are officially past the halfway point of our trip! It’s such a crazy thought to comprehend. We are currently on the bus from Ahmedabad to Udaipur and as I reflect and write this blog there has been one word on my mind – sonder. Sonder is the profound feeling of realising that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one’s own, which they are constantly living despite one’s personal lack of awareness of it.
In a trip of fleeting experiences and brief interactions, I’ve noticed myself thinking about how little we know. How incomprehensible the vast social landscape of India really is. As we meet people in businesses and their homes, and as we walk around, we are only truly seeing a glimpse of their lives. Seeing a moment in their life as they see a moment in ours.
Throughout our past three weeks, we have been blessed to see so many people living such differing lives. We have been immersed within cultures and people groups that differ so drastically from the life we have in Aotearoa. Whilst these moments have been special it can be so easy to treat them as viewing experiences rather than actually embracing the people and seeing them face to face.
Of the moments we have experienced so far, there have been a few that have stuck out to me and helped me snap out of the “zoo-like” viewing mentality. While walking through the streets of Dharavi there were multiple interactions with kids on the street carrying their cricket bats. As the people passed by they would return to their game with sparks of joy in their eyes. These moments reminded me of my own childhood playing cricket in cul-de-sacs and running to the footpath as cars came by!
Another moment was seeing kites flying in the sky. So simple yet a symbol of so much, they were markers of the people below letting their cares go to the wind.
But by far the most impactful moment thus far has been going to the Manav Sadhna Community Centre – the location of a school run by volunteers for kids who aren’t able to access the traditional schooling system. The joy radiating within the school was beyond explainable. We got to share the Bollywood dance we’ve been practising, hand out chocolates and serve the students their lunch. So so special!
Throughout the trips, it’s been these experiences that have been most impactful, the opportunity to see someone face-to-face and wonder at the mystery of what their life holds. The moments where you see them with love and experience what it is to be part of these moments. Sonder is the realisation that everyone has their own complex life, and it’s been moments like these where we have been special enough to get a glimpse.
