SPIRITUAL TOURISTS: On the commodification of the unconventional They come to India seeking the exotic but forgetting the commonplace. They come to Bharatvarsha lusting for revelations only to discover heaven varies little from place to place. Searching for the unattainable sometimes they find what should not be attained. India is a vast garbage dump bringing many worlds before your eyes – jewels of wisdom with crass deception! beauty making you thankful to live along with suffering in every guise. An-Yi: What are people really looking for when they visit India? Chariya: (chuckling) I don't think most people are conscious of what they are looking for. Bhäraté: At any rate, India is often packaged as a tourist commodity. And sometimes even "enlightenment" itself is sold as if it were a trinket. Daiki: (shaking his head) Hmm... to me, this defies all logical comprehension. ===================================================================================== from _Pan-Asian Pulses: Poetry, Art, and Dialogs about Asia_ by T Newfields SUMMARY: Some thoughts about tourism in India KEYWORDS: touristic pilgrimages, sacred journeys, Indian tourism, images of Bharatvarsha Autor: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ]. (n. 1955) Begun: 1996 Nagoya, Japan ★ Finished: 2019 Yokohama, Japan Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted < LAST https://www.tnewfields.info/BambooGroves/india.htm TOC https://www.tnewfields.info/BambooGroves/index.html NEXT > https://www.tnewfields.info/BambooGroves/great.htm TRANSLATIONS ESPAÑOL: https://www.tnewfields.info/es/turistas.htm NIHONGO: https://www.tnewfields.info/jp/indo-kan.htm ZHŌNGWÉN: https://www.tnewfields.info/zh/jinshen.htm