Writer Xenia Taliotis recently returned to India, 14 years after completing cancer treatment. Her trip, which included Delhi, Jaipur, and Udaipur, was a personal celebration and a search for serenity.
Taliotis's first visit to India, 11 years prior, was a return to normality after 20 months of cancer treatment. On that occasion, a planned Golden Triangle itinerary was adapted to include Kerala's lakes and Goa's beaches due to the hectic schedule.
For her second visit, aged 60, Taliotis booked a Northern India Trail, opting for Udaipur's lakes over Agra. She found peace by Lake Pichola in Udaipur, reflecting on her 14 cancer-free years.
During her travels, Taliotis experienced the commotion of New Delhi, visited the Khari Baoli spice market, and took a calligraphy lesson. In Jaipur, known as the "Pink City," she witnessed Kalbelia dancers and visited the Sculpture Park in Vijay Garhi, which aims to encourage engagement with modern art. In Udaipur, she visited Aavaran, a women-run enterprise reviving block-printing.