Dear India,

I can’t imagine your streets empty in the midst of a nationwide lockdown. 1.3 billion people. Every time I’ve returned from one of your cities Manhattan seems empty. I’ve always liked that about you.

I was plotting to visit this year and have so much to say to you. But let’s start with the first trip all those years ago. I stood in the middle of a traffic roundabout in the center of Varanasi taking it all in on a typical day in this holy city. It wasn’t until I was back home weeks later editing photos that this hidden gem was discovered. A young woman in the midst of the crowds looking directly at my camera and smiling.

That’s not something that happens in many of the bustling cities of the world, where instead people go out of their way to avoid interaction with others. I’ve always liked that about you.

Warmest regards Mother India. I’ll be in touch again soon.

This is the sixth installment of my armchair traveling series: Love letters to the earth. Travel in the Time of Coronavirus.