By Jonny Klynkmyer (ArtSci ‘ 14)
Contributing Writer

Last week I blogged about some of the lessons I learned from my time in Hampi, India. Here’s a continuation of what I took away from my experience.

If you get the chance, dance. One night, as my travel companions and I were sitting by the river and staring up at the stars, a young man came by and invited us to his village just down the road. We were unsure at first, but then decided that we were here for an adventure and followed him along. We arrived to find well over a hundred people of all ages – practically the entire village — watching groups of kids perform Bollywood dance numbers. As far as I could tell, we were the only foreigners and as things began to wind down, people requested that we go up and dance. I wish I could say that I seized the day here, but instead I sat and watched as the girls I was travelling with did an impromptu dance to Shakira’s “Waka Waka”, which the crowd loved. The next night we were invited back to dance again, and this time I didn’t pass up the opportunity. I don’t consider myself a good dancer, but there’s nothing as liberating as simply moving your body for the hell of it.

Celebrate! Part of the reason I mustered up the courage to dance on stage was because a few hours earlier I had taken part in a Ganpati procession, in which the village slowly parades down to the nearest body of water and submerges a clay idol of the Hindu god Ganesh. The villagers brought us right into the heart of the celebrations and encouraged us to dance to the music and drumming and throw powder alongside them. They even gave us rice and chai back at their village after the Ganesh had been put into the river. This was one of the most incredibly surreal, magical moments I have ever witnessed and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it.

Nature is neat. One of the main reasons to visit Hampi is its incredible, prehistoric scenery. Apparently some of the oldest mountains in the world had once stood in the area, but over time they had crumbled and now only remained as large boulders. Walking along dusty roads with only rice fields, palm trees and boulders on either side brought everything back to a simplicity that can never be achieved in a city like Mumbai. I had forgotten the bliss of being in a place where everything you can see, feel and hear is nature. Looking out at the earth below as the sun set over Hampi, I was reminded of the tranquility of the outdoors. I wanted to stay with the man I had met who had left army school to live on “sunset point” and spend his days meditating. As I ran across the fields of boulders, trying to make it in time for our bus home, I seriously considered turning back around and running in the opposite direction back to Hampi.
Ihope these insights serve you well on your travels and in your everyday life. That’s probably the most important lesson of them all: no matter where you are, every day has the potential to be your greatest adventure. Cheers!

Jonny will be blogging again for QJBlogs on October 18th.

Twitter: @jklynk
tumblr: jonnyinmumbai.tumblr.com