Culture of Love

I left my country Kenya and traveled to Hoshiarpur, a little village in Boothgarh, India. Although Kenya has a large Indian community, they are quite closed and little is known about them. I was anxious to say the least, scared even on whether I would be accepted. However, the urge to volunteer with the children, teaching them English and basic life skills was enough to quieten the voices in my head.

My arrival in Hoshiarpur caused quite a stir-I was the First African and the First Black person they had ever seen. Curiosity, amazement and anxiety shone in their eyes, betraying their thoughts. The community of Hoshiarpur mainly speaks Punjabi while I speak English.They are dominantly Sikh their men identifiable by blue turbans and their women by Punjab suits while I am a Christian.However,instead of being racist and obnoxious to this “strange” person, they opened their homes and hearts to me. The women sewed me a Punjab suit as their daughter, the young ones taught me how to dance to Punjab music while the youth were my language teachers and tour guides.Daily, I woke up to the mooing of their large, black, stout cows and birds singing. They are strictly vegetarian but they would at times break their norm and surprise me with eggs, so that I wouldn’t miss home.These people opened my eyes to what love,hospitality, friendship,humanity and community is all about.

I traveled to Amritsar, to the Golden Temple which is sentimental to the Sikh as it holds their religious book. The Golden Temple is a beautiful building made of white marble covered in gold flake and the top made of real gold. I was fascinated by the Langar which is a common canteen where all visitors are treated to a free meal. This place is visited by over 100,000 people daily yet they serve roti, rice, curry, dessert and water to everyone. It is a sight to behold, thousands of people sitting on the floor, different races, different religions and different social classes sharing a meal. I think this is a true reflection of Love.

This trip taught me how to be open to all people without bias having experienced it firsthand. My friends and family do not comprehend how or why I traveled to India. What most people do not know is that even I asked myself severally, “How did I get here?”However, I am grateful that I traveled because it is from here that I learnt about love,Sikh culture,Punjab and made new friends.Now,through my travels, I am trying to teach the world to freely love each other equally.