As soon as I learned how to read I started to devour books. One of my favorite childhood writers was Emilio Salgari. I loved how he described with so much detail his novels that took place in such exotic Indian locations. I had a real weak spot for "The Tigers of Mompracem"; the story was so adventurous, suspenseful, romantic and dreamy. One of the things that fascinated me the most about Salgari, was not just his writing style and talent for story telling, it was the fact that he had never been in his entire life in India. He just read about all this far away locations, and through his studies learned all about them.
By the time I was six years old there was a television series that was premiering.... it was called Sandokan! It was based on the "Tigers of Monpracem" novel. Every week I waited for the new episode with a nervous sense of anticipation. I for the first time fell in love, not just with the story, but with the lead character of Sandokan... I was so obsessed with him I begged my parents to get me a poster of Kabir Bedi (the actor playing the role)... I would stare at that poster every night before falling asleep. I would fantasize of traveling to India and discover its ancient temples... and of course accidentally running into Sandokan, who would take me away, fall in love with me and we would live happily ever after!
Awww, the innocence and dreams of a six year old. The simplicity of my fantasies. They seem so far away yet so fresh in my memory... one thing is still present on my wish list: going to India. I had decided last December while chatting with a good friend of mine, I call her Pinche, that I would have gone there in within a year for sure. And now the craziest thing happened! Another good friend of mine, I call him Danish, he asked me to go to India with him next year! Will I go? Absolutely! No question about it. Before then I will need to do quite a bit of writing, but right now I have all the motivation in the world! I already know that this is going to be one of these trips that will make a big mark in my life.There must be a reason if I have had this attraction for this far away country for all these years, and there is only one way I can discover it... GO TO INDIA!
