“To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.” Arundhati Roy

I don’t know if I quite have the right words to explain the three weeks I spent in India even though it's been nearly three months since I returned. Words seem to elude me these days, which is perhaps why it's been a year and a half since I wrote my last post. But regardless of all that, here is my very best attempt:

India is everything at once delivered in one swift throat punch. It's the worst thing you’ve ever smelled immediately followed by the most magical and soul-affirming thing you’ve ever witnessed. It's not always easy, but I like that it doesn’t sacrifice itself for your comfort. India forces you to stretch beyond all surface distraction — the things we, with our Western lens, deem 'negative,' be it poverty, pollution, traffic, heat, smells (oh the smells!) — and recognize that humanity coexists in imperfection and the fuzzy in-between.

Sometimes, it feels like one big contradiction. But I think that's exactly the point.

Varanasi / Khajuraho / Agra / Rishikesh / Jaipur, October 2019

More photos on my Instagram: @hollisanne_