My time in India

Jamjuree Oopatong decided that for once in her life she would visit a mysterious country without having any idea what she would find there. This, her first-ever published story, tells what happened.

This is Jamjuree Oopatong's first published story. She is not a native English speaker, so it was not easy to get everything right. She was determined to so, however, so after several times back and forth between the two us, her story is ready. I think she should be proud of it and I'm sure you will enjoy reading it.

A memorable sunset over the banks of the Betwa river in Orchha, Jhansi. Photos by Jamjuree Oopatong.

My time in India

By Jamjuree Oopatong

Going to India was not my choice, but going somewhere was my intention. After quitting my job as a government teacher in 2004, I was invited by my Dutch friend to accompany her there to see places she had previously visited.

I decided that for once in my life I would visit a mysterious country without having any idea what I would find there. My three-month visa meant I had a long trip ahead of me.

India gave me a lot to think about. Although culture shock and homesickness made me want to return home in the second week, I still had many reasons for staying. There were so many things to see in India that such a short time was not enough. India was so enchanting and it has always been like this.

A scene from the bridge during a long wait for our train.

The first place I stepped on Indian soil was in Calcutta. My friend and I had a night there and then we continued to Duttapulia village by train the next day. I found that an Indian train was bigger than a Thai train and the fellow passengers were quite talkative. Though I could not understand their language, I could feel that people here expressed their feelings more than Thais. And with the overcrowded cities and villages, how I could feel lonely here?

Children sitting in their school bus in Duttapulia village.

The reason why we came to Duttapulia was because my friend had contacted Sreema Mahila Samity, a non-governmental organisation that has been working for women of this region. She wanted to be a volunteer for them.    

Again on the train, Varanasi was our next destination, a city on the banks of the Ganges River. When the train had nearly reached the Varanasi train station, we were fascinated by the huge river below us.  We all, the passengers were mostly foreigners, had a feeling that it symbolised good fortune.
We were reaching the oldest city of India and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is an ancient, rather messy, trading city with loads of people.

Varanasi is a place where you slow down your life and calm your soul.

“I love Varanasi,” I said to myself while I was standing at Assi Ghat along the huge river. It was impressivesoulful, a place where you could see people from the West meet people who had been living their life here in their own way according to their own customs.

I saw birth, sickness, suffering and death here.

People came to Varanasi for various reasons.  For tourists, Varanasi is a place of freedom. It is so real, a place where they can get relief from worldly pressures. When I was there, I saw many just sitting along the Ghats doing nothing like they did not have anything in their mind. Native Indians, however, went there because of their strong religious beliefs and to participate in holy ceremonies.

I would love to go back there again and have lassi and paneer puri, surrounded by Indian men at the roadside stands and visiting their homes where I could see women taking care of their children and houses.

My friend introduced me to an organisation in Varanasi called Divya Jyoti. It is a small vocational day-care center run by a couple for mentally-challenged young adults. She had worked as a volunteer there for one year. I had a chance to see how people take care of the handicapped here. We spent time observing and helping them for about 2 weeks.

I left Varanasi for a few other villages which revealed different aspects of India to me. There was nothing much to do during the days, only breathing in Indian smells and, in every step I took, being aware of the diversity of this land of mixed beliefs and cultures.

At Puri beach, 979.6 km away from Varanasi. Can you tell where I am in the picture?

Most of the people in India are also vegetarian. I had three months without fish sauce and I missed it and other Thai foods. After 2 months I began to dream about Thai food night and day. Still, I did become accustomed to Indian food and culture and finally could accept many things that bothered me at the start.

The last day in India had finally come. I was leaving India because my visa for India was expiring. One day, after I came back to Thailand, I was in a big supermarket and I thought to myself: “It’s so rich. Thailand has too much food. Are we being spoiled here?”

Learn from listening

Click play to listen to audio for this story, or download to save the file
: :

Vocabulary

  • accompany: to go with someone - ไปกับ,ไปด้วยกัน,ไปเป็นเพื่อน
  • accustomed to: made yourself familiar with new conditions - เคยชินกับ
  • aspect: one part of a situation, problem, subject, etc - ด้าน,มุม
  • aware (adj): knowing that something exists, or to have knowledge or experience of a particular thing - ทราบ, รับรู้
  • bank: a raised area of land along the side of a river (or canal) - ริมฝั่งแม่น้ำ
  • birth (noun): the time when a baby is born; the process of being born - การเกิด
  • bother: to make someone feel worried or upset - ทำให้รำคาญ, ทำให้วิตกกังวล
  • calm: to cause to be peaceful and quiet; without anxiety - ทำให้ใจเย็น,ทำให้ไม่ตื่นเต้น, ทำให้สงบ
  • ceremony (noun): a formal public event - งานพิธี
  • culture (noun): the customs and beliefs, art, way of life and social organization of a particular country or group - วัฒนธรรม
  • culture shock (noun): a feeling of confusion and anxiety that somebody may feel when they live in or visit another country - ความรู้สึกสับสนต่อวัฒนธรรมที่ไม่คุ้นเคย
  • custom: an accepted way of behaving or of doing things in a society or a community - ขนบธรรมเนียม
  • destination: the place where someone or something is going - จุดหมายปลายทาง
  • determined: wanting to do something very much and not letting anyone or any difficulties stop you - ตั้งใจจริง, ซึ่งมุ่งมั่น
  • diversity: including many different types of things or people - ความหลากหลาย
  • enchanting: attractive and pleasing - ซึ่งมีเสน่ห์, ซึ่งน่าหลงใหล
  • expire: to come to an end or stop being in use - หมดอายุ
  • fascinated (adj): very interested or attracted by someone or something - ติดใจ, ชอบอกชอบใจ, หลงใหล
  • fortune: luck - โชค
  • ghat (noun): a series of steps leading down to a river, especially a holy river -
  • homesickness (noun): sadness because you are away from home and you miss your family and friends - ความคิดถึงบ้าน
  • impressive: something that people admire because it is very good, very large or shows great skill - ซึ่งน่าประทับใจ
  • inhabited: lived in by people - ที่มีคนอาศัยอยู่
  • intention: a plan in your mind to do something - ความตั้งใจ เจตนา แผนการ
  • loads (noun): a large number or amount of somebody/something; plenty - เป็นอย่างมาก
  • memorable: likely to be remembered or worth remembering - ซึ่งมีค่าน่าจดจำ, โดดเด่น
  • mentally-challenged (adj): mentally handicapped, slow to learn or to understand things because of a problem with the brain - พิการทางสมอง
  • messy (adj): dirty and/or untidy - ซึ่งไม่เป็นระเบียบ, ซึ่งไม่เรียบร้อยและสกปรก
  • mysterious: not explained or understood; full of secrets - น่าพิศวง, น่าประหลาด
  • native: connected with the place where you were born and lived for the first years of your life - พื้นเมือง
  • native speaker: someone who has spoken a particular language since they were a baby, rather than having learnt it as a child or adult - เจ้าของภาษา
  • non-governmental organisation (noun): non-governmental organisation, NGO, (a charity, association, etc. that is independent of government and business) - เอ็นจีโอ, องค์การนอกภาครัฐ
  • observe: to watch or study someone or something with care - สังเกตการณ์
  • overcrowded (adj): with too many people or things in it - ซึ่งแออัดยัดเยียด
  • participate: to take part in something - เข้าร่วม
  • pressure: a worried feeling that you get when you have to deal with a difficult or complicated situation - ความกดดัน
  • previously: before -
  • proud: feeling pleased and satisfied about something that you own or have done, or are connected with - ภูมิใจ
  • region: a large area of land or space, usually without exact limits or borders - ภูมิภาค, ขอบเขต, แถบ, บริเวณ
  • relief: a feeling of happiness that something unpleasant has not happened or has ended - การผ่อนคลาย
  • reveal: to show something that was covered or hidden or not known - เปิด, ทำให้ปรากฎ
  • soil: land owned by a country - พื้นดิน
  • soulful (adj): expressing of having deep feelings, especially feelings of sadness or love เต็มไปด้วยความรู้สึก - เต็มไปด้วยความรู้สึก
  • spoil (verb): to give a person, especially a child everything that they ask for and not enough discipline, often in a way that has a bad effect on their character and behaviour - ตามใจจนเสียคน, ทำให้เสียคน
  • stand (noun): a table or a vertical structure that goods are sold from, especially in the street or at a market - แผง,แผงลอย
  • suffering: physical or mental pain or problems - ความทุกข์ทรมาน
  • sunset: the time of the evening when the sun is no longer seen - พระอาทิตย์ตกดิน
  • surrounded: having something,people, etc. completely around all sides - ถูกล้อมรอบ
  • symbolise: to represent something; to be a symbol of something - เป็นสัญลักษณ์, เป็นเครื่องแสดง
  • talkative: liking to talk a lot - ช่างพูด, ช่างคุย
  • trade: the buying and selling of goods and services - การค้าขาย
  • vegetarian (noun): a person/animal who does not eat meat or fish - คนหรือสัตว์ที่กินแต่ผักเป็นอาหาร, คนหรือสัตว์ที่ไม่กินเนื้อสัตว์
  • vocational: teaching the skills necessary for particular jobs - การสอนวิชาชีพ
  • volunteer (noun): someone who is not paid for the work that they do; someone who does something willingly without being required to - อาสาสมัคร

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT
MORE IN SECTION