India and Peru

Indian chica didn’t think in a million years while setting up the title for her blogs, that she would discover a little bit of India in Peru! I always carry India in my heart wherever I go and maybe a part of me always looks for that connection but this is the first time I knew there was a deeper connection and must have gone hundred times in my head “oooh that’s just like how it is India”.

My first day in Peru and in central Lima, I hear loud thumping Bollywood music. I did think at that point that I just might be hallucinating because I am a big Bollywood junkie. But turns out there was an Indian clothes/music/accessories store right there and right then I knew that Peru and I would be best friends for life. I walk a few blocks down and next to the new Twilight release – Breaking Dawn, I saw the poster for ‘Mi Nombre Es Khan’ or ‘My Name is Khan’ – a Bollywood blockbuster which actually released in 2010. The larger than life Shah Rukh Kan and Kajol (actors of the movie) poster, were staring at me in my face and I am sure my soul came out of my body that split second and did a little summersault!!

As I went from place to place, I could not completely put a finger on what really made me reminisce India so much..maybe it was the smaller things....

Banana chips sold loose in Lima..tasted EXACTLY like the ones in India

 

Indian buffet in the middle of Cuzco..yumm!

 Or it could be the bigger things like the hardworking people, the varying landscapes, the flavorful food, the fact that there is so much history and folklore or the fact that the Incans worshipped the sun and the moon and the whole of Machu Picchu was built by the Incans and was so simiar to Vastu ( Hindu architecture based on the premise of the laws of nature and its affect in our homes). 



Ancient terraces of Machu Picchu





Ancient Temples of India

 But most of all it reminded me of the India I left behind in early 2000s, Peru seems right at the helm of an economic boom…construction sites everywhere especially in Lima. Lima the ‘City of the Kings’, has such a striking resemblance to the city I grew up in and carry in my heart everywhere I go –Bombay or Mumbai. Lima is a bustling city where tall, modern buildings  in places like Miraflores co-exist with the humble neighborhoods. Lima, like Mumbai is by the sea..Lima now a gastronomical capital of South America had little bakeries and eateries everywhere and beautiful restaurants that serve the best cuisine.

A funny comparison is that, Lima has a park by the Pacific Ocean called ‘Love Park’ (actually all of Peru is a love park ;) and oddly enough Mumbai has a similar park with a similar setting called ‘Bandstand’ by the Arabian sea meant mainly for couples. Any Bombayite worth their weight in gold who's reading this, will know exactly what I am talking about.

LIMA

MUMBAI

 

And as I was flew out of Lima, I felt a tug in my heart similar to one I feel when I leave my Mumbai and said a similar prayer for the country and the people! And then said to myself ‘Asta la vista baby and I’ll be back”..yup borderline corny but hey  ‘Corn’ happens to be the staple diet of the Peruvians :)...on that note stay tuned for the next blog on 'The Foods of Peru'!