A Beautiful Gem: Jaipur

I captured this photograph while we were touring a palace in the city of Jaipur. This photograph is a perfect image to describe the people in this country. If I had to pick one word to sum up the people, it would be hospitable. Friendly and kind were other words that came to mind, but the word that describes almost every Indian you encounter is hospitable. People want you to feel welcome wherever you go. You are offered beverages in people's homes and stores. The wait staff at restaurants is so attentive to your every need. The hotel staff will bend over backwards for a simple request. The people go out of there way to make you feel welcome. Even today a group of children ran over towards us and kept saying hello and were grinning at us as they waved us good bye. As we drive the narrow streets throughout the cities, all ages of strangers wave at us with a huge grins on their faces.

The woman here in the photo is wearing bright colored clothing which is typical of the Rajasthan region. The sari she is wearing is absolutely beautiful and if you look at her face, she is smiling. She is sitting on these steps, trying to stay cool, and smiling at a stranger. As a foreigner traveling in this country and seeing extreme poverty with individuals having nothing and wearing almost nothing, it is hard not to feel sorry for them. Indeed, there is so much suffering out there and tackling that as an organization or nation is a daunting task. The book titled, We Are Like That Only, describes the bottom of the pyramid so well in India: "At the bottom of the pyramid there ar 600 million people who earn less than what the World Bank dfines as poverty levels. However, collectively, they account for a market opportunity of US $367 billion (in 2008), which is approximately double that of Singapore."

All the places I have traveled to I have learned that the beauty of the country is not just in the scenery or architecture, but it's the people. The people are what is driving this nation and changing the makeup of this country. People are what get me excited about life. The people here have beautiful hearts and there is a lesson that can be learned from how accepting they are of all different backgrounds. As we toured Bhandari Jewellers, a jewelry store in Jaipur that cuts and designs jewelry within the store, the owner told us that all the men working in front of us were from all various backgrounds. One was muslim, another hindu, and he was catholic. And here they were in front of us coexisting. There is beauty in these people and it's been wonderful to be immersed into this culture.