When some people heard that I was about to set off on a trip to India, their reaction was more or less the same. Unfortunately, when the majority think about India they vividly imagine dirty streets, chaos, and a lot of people…. well, the last point is the right one.
I should admit that India had never been on my bucket list, but when I was offered to travel there for the first time, for an unknown reason I was quite excited to jump on this opportunity, even though I wasn’t quite ready to immerse myself into the environment as the country is drastically different from those I had traveled before. As the result, when I came back home, I could hardly find the right words to fully describe my first experience over there. So, my description in the nutshell sounded like dirty streets, chaos, and a lot of people, and once I found confusion in peoples’ eyes, I added that the trip was amazing. I have some doubts that it made any sense to those who I talked to…
Getting ready for the second trip, accommodation wise I opted for renting an apartment in an ordinary gate community with the metro station right around the corner, which is in Delhi turned out to be more cons than pros as it is exactly the place where all hustle and bustle usually start from early morning and last till late evening. But, the absolute highlight of that area was a wonderful Deer park, which like a hidden gem in the urban jungles of densely populated Delhi, 20 million is not a joke….
Returning back to the park, which is situated a bit deeper in the community and amazes with its size. In the multimillion city population wise, where a person literally lives on a square meter and private space is questioned every single minute, there is such a huge piece of nature. It was a nice place for me to get away from the level of noise that I experienced having metro station right at my doorstep. Moreover, this place is wisely utilized by people who like playing badminton and cricket as you can find several courts over there. Jogging lovers can also enjoy their passion there because the park is short through with jogging tracks and at the same time the park immerses deeply in vegetation, ultimately even hot day can’t be used as an excuse for skipping exercises.
I think that the list of the park’s pros can be endless, what personally touched me most was animals. Yes, you got it right. Deer park took its name because many deer live there, of course they are kept in the enclosure, but anyone can come, sit there and watch them. I did the same. While enjoying myself watching those beautiful and proud animals living their peaceful lives, the noise of beeping cars seemed to become quite distant, that I almost forgot that I’m in the capital city, and only from time-to-time street sellers returned me back into reality by offering some snacks. But they even did it in such soft way that I could easily return into my spiritual connection with those deer.
There is one more resident of the Deer park from animal kingdom is worth mentioning. Once I was sitting on the bench trying to read a book and noticed something with my side vision moving too close to me. Luckily, I didn’t have time to imagine a horror scene. Having raised my eyes, I saw peacocks walking proudly within a metre from me. Of course, it could be an ordinary thing seeing something like that, but for a person coming from a northern country it was amazing. I remember myself thinking: “There is nothing unusual, just a peacock walking in the heart of densely populated city!”.
India is really a country full of contrasts, and each traveler will live through their own experiences. The only advice that should be considered is not to adopt a certain parent cultivated in the home country to the destination one. You never know where the real gem might be hidden. By the way, coffee lovers, there is a Starbucks in a 2-minute walk from Deer park! Enjoy your coffee wherever you are!
