A Homestay Morning. A Dreamy Rural Landscape [India Travelogue 2]

Hello! This is yuki.

This is the second part of my India travelogue.

Soon after entering India,
unexpectedly, I was able to stay at a homestay last time.

Today,
I will continue that story.

I will be sharing plenty of
rural landscapes from eastern India.

I hope you enjoy it!

A Morning in the Countryside

I woke up when my alarm went off.

The brick walls were illuminated by the faint light coming through the window.

Wait, where am I?

...That's right,
I was staying at Arpan's house.

During my travels, sometimes when I wake up in the morning,
I forget where I am.

Looking at the clock, it was 6:00 AM.
I had set my alarm for 6:30,
but there was a time difference from Bangladesh.

"You're up early."

Arpan also woke up,
stretching his body sleepily.

"Sorry for waking you,
I'm just going to step outside to get some fresh air."

When I went outside, it was still before dawn.
The area was wrapped in deep morning mist.

A quiet, dreamy scene.

A girl of about ten from the house next door
"Good morning!"
she calls out to me.

Hey, do you want to come see our cows?

Asking if I want to see cows,
that's such a lovely question, haha.

I followed the girl,
and there was a magnificent cow.

Isn't she cute?

The sight of the girl petting the large cow
as if she were petting a dog or cat
is somehow emotional.

You should pet her too!

Seriously?
I wonder if it will get violent if a stranger touches it.

I approach cautiously
and try petting its glossy fur.

It's smooth and feels nice.
I was worried it might poke me with its horns, though, haha.

While I was doing that,
Arpan came to call me.

Let's eat breakfast,
and then go see some beautiful scenery by motorbike!

Wow, I'm looking forward to that!

I had some tea, flakes, and biscuits,
relaxed for a bit in the pleasant garden,
and then we set off on the motorbikes.

The younger brother Abhishek, the younger sister Arpita, and a friend who lives nearby,
Bikram, also came along with us.

I was on the back of Arpan's bike,
and Abhishek and Arpita were on the back of Bikram's.

The motorbikes passed through the woods
and rode through the countryside
emerging into the morning mist.

Arpan stopped the bike and spoke.

“This road here, this side is India and
that side is Bangladesh.”

“Wait, so the space between the roads is the border?
You could just cross it normally!”

“Yeah, but you’ll get caught if you’re spotted, haha.”

Borders,
I didn't realize some could be this relaxed.

Maybe it's because the two countries have a good relationship.

The scenery changes like a dream, but
the piles of trash that appear from time to time
bring my mind back to reality.

It’s not just beautiful.
Where people live,
there is also the reality of messiness.

Still,
it’s a truly pleasant morning.

“Let’s stop and pray for a bit.”

We parked the bike in front of a temple,
and we all went inside to pray.

In Hinduism,
the Buddha is considered an incarnation of God.

So,
even if I pray at a Hindu temple,
it doesn't seem to feel out of place.

After that, for a while,
they took me around
on the wide, pleasant roads.

On the way back home,
Arpan stopped the bike
at a roadside shop.

"You can eat fish, right?
Let's have this for lunch today!"

The sun had climbed high by now,
yet a thin mist still hung in the sky,
softening the light.

A peaceful time

I returned home,
and spent a slow, peaceful time.

Grandpa
would sometimes relax under the eaves,
but it felt like he was out more often than not.

When we did meet,
he would greet me with a smile.

Arpan asked,

"Could you copy
some photos of Japan for me?"

So,
I connected my HDD to Arpan's PC,
and copied the photos he wanted.

It seems photos of cherry blossoms
are truly captivating to people from other countries.

Grandma
cut up some quince and watermelon for me.
Such refreshing sweetness!

She said she would use the fish I bought
to make lunch for us.

Thank you so much...!

The girl who introduced me to the cows this morning
was playing with a boy near the well,
so I called out to them.

"You're back, welcome home!"

"I'm home!
That looks so picturesque right there,
can I take a photo?"

"Sure, just a moment."

The two of them are
happily brainstorming poses,
going back and forth with ideas.

Oh, that looks great!

You both look wonderful!

I intended to go to Kolkata, but...

For lunch,
they made so much for us,
including fish curry,
egg curry,
and dal (lentil soup).

It's delicious, truly too delicious.

"There's more if you want seconds."

The grandmother
offered repeatedly.

I couldn't help it,
and ended up having seconds.

After we finished eating,
Arpan said:

"You're going to Kolkata this afternoon, right?"

I didn't want to impose by staying for too many days,
so I had told them I would leave here
in the afternoon to head to Kolkata.

"Arpita and Abhishek have a room
rented in Kolkata for school,
so you should stay there."

"Oh, I couldn't possibly impose like that!!
Besides, everyone is here."

"No, the two of them and I just talked about it,
and we decided we should all go to Kolkata together!
Of course, I'll go and stay there too."

You're going to go out of your way to come with me
to a city that's several hours away by train?!

It seemed like they had already made up their minds,
and they spoke as if it were only natural,

I said, "Please don't push yourself...
I'll be fine..."

but even so,
it was decided that they would come with me.

How kind can they be...!

Next time,
the time I spent with Arpan and the others
will be the last.

It was a truly heartwarming time.
Look forward to it!

Thank you for reading
until the end.

Have a great day today, everyone!

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