My eight days in India offered only a shrouded glimpse into the multi-dimensional and inextricably intertwined mix that makes up the cultural soul of this religiously, ethnically, socially and politically diverse nation.

I suspect that my visits with Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims; street vendors and business people; taxi drivers and shopkeepers; school teachers and activists; and plain folks like myself whom I have met along the way have given me a different understanding of India than the one President Barack Obama will have as he picks up in his official State Department briefing books. Those interested in learning anything about this vast country must understand: you cannot simply read about India, you must experience it.

The President will know, of course, that India is strategically located in the same political “neighborhood” with China, Afghanistan and Pakistan, a crucial field of US interest. He will be well briefed on a myriad of issues, including the balance between job protection and free trade, outsourcing of work, and shared concerns about terrorism and geo-political tensions and global terrorism.

President Obama will be made aware of India’s desire for unrestricted access to the high technology Indian professionals believe is essential for an independent national security strategy. His briefers will explain the unresolved nuclear agreements between the two countries that , at present, remain at an impasse.

I am sure that he has been told about polls showing his immense popularity in India;  his approval rate— among Indians polled-by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project—  stands at more than 70% and 83% of Indians believe that the United States takes India’s interests into consideration when making foreign policy decisions.

As T.K Arun wrote in India’s Economic Times, “ Barack Obama is more popular abroad than he is at home… he is a symbol of power that acknowledges a possible distinction between might and right, of the possibility of pursuing the common good of an interconnected world and, ultimately, of the triumph of the human spirit… Indians are likely to celebrate Mr. Obama” when he arrives.

But despite receiving a rousing greeting and being well prepared to discuss these and other issues, President Obama will not have an opportunity to see the India that I have glimpsed during my too-short stay.

To help the President better understand the  India I encountered, the one beyond his Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, diplomatic negotiations, and state dinners, I offer him the following thoughts.

I left India  having a very brief experience of its extraordinarily diversity. Among all my travels, I have never been anywhere that has such a visible capacity for multicultural tolerance. Its government and social politics are multi-layered and deeply complex. But I have no idea how that  ball of complexity gets unwound and then knitted into the day-to-day lives of people who worship in temples, shrines, mosques, synagogues and churches;  people who live in crowded cities and isolated villages; in sprawling slums and high-end residential towers.

I have met a few of these people in their homes, villages, slums, cafés, trains, and on the street. For three days I survived the darting, weaving, swerving, breaking, accelerating, braking, lurching and constant horn blaring in the front seat of a Mumbai taxi.

Mumbai, the capital of the state of Maharashtra, is immense. Formed from seven islands and populated by approximately 14 million people, it’s no wonder that travel by bike, automobile, bus or rickshaw is tortoise like.  According to my travel guide book, my taxi shared the road with 850,000 two-wheeled vehicles, more than 100,000 three-wheeled auto rickshaws, 507,000 individual cars and 58,000 taxis. It took us more than two hours to drive the less than 20 miles from my hotel in the Colaba district of Mumbai to the Santacruz district where I would conduct a few interviews.

When traveling by modes other than taxi, I felt the body press of subways and the chaos of boarding an impossibly-packed train. When I walked, it was on densely crowded sidewalks and cut-through back alley shortcuts where I absorbed  an odd combination for my senses: the nose-burning odor of urine offset by a delightful waft of tumeric, curry, onions and other delectable Indian spices.

Wherever I went I was treated with hospitality, and I gratefully accepted their tolerant courtesy and head-waggling greetings to a fair-skinned, blue-eyed stranger.

These experiences combined to create a tasty hash, but I knew a “taste” was all that was being offered. I would have to return to spend more time in the countryside and in the hidden places of the cities if I wanted to savor  the next course of a “multi- course” meal.

President Obama will probably not get even a glancing view of this India.

Mumbai is being given a face-lift in honor of his impending arrival. The three-foot high medians along the road from the airport to his hotel were being painted with fresh black and yellow stripes as I left the city.

The ride that took me two hours through assorted vehicles squeezed five deep into three official traffic lanes, will take the President about 30 minutes because traffic will be shut down.

The crowds of street hawkers who confront every visitor with their wares will have been cleared from the sidewalks, the taxis in the hotel’s Colaba district will be banished during the presidential visit. The area will be thoroughly scrubbed, both of humans and of trash. President Obama will see only a sterile imposter of the city that I visited.

I wonder if the President will feel the intensity that comes with massive density and vast diversity, and the kind of pressure this puts on India’s leaders as they work democratically with this ever-growing population

The sheer size of the country can boggle an American’s mind. Imagine governing a nation that is home to more than a billion people, and where 26 different languages are specified in the constitution… and, according to Webster’s dictionary, the official languages are Hindi and English. Fourteen other languages are recognized as official in certain regions; of these, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu have the most first-language speakers. Yet, I was told by a guide in Delhi that more than 50 languages are spoken in the country.

A majority of Indians are densely packed into the urban areas of Mumbai, Calcutta and Delhi/New Delhi.   Living side-by-side, often shoulder-to-shoulder, the religious diversity of India adds both  spice and contention.

The large majority of Indians are Hindu, followed by Muslims. But there are significant numbers of people divided among Jainism, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Jewish, Baha’i, and a variety of native religions.

Understanding the importance of religion in India is crucial to understanding the country. Like the United States, India’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion as a fundamental right, but it also declares that India is a secular state.

Despite the Muslims minority status, India’s Supreme Court has ruled that Sharia – Islamic canonical law based on the teachings of the Koran – takes precedence for Muslims over Indian civil law.

The task of governing this massive, dense and diverse democracy is what confronts Indian Prime Minister Singh. But like all leaders of economic powers Singh must also focus on international relationships, and his conversations with President Obama will deal primarily with the issues of the day: economic cooperation, outsourcing of jobs, nuclear agreements, geo-politics, climate change, global terrorism and national defense.

But many of the Indians that I’ve met on this trip have an agenda they wish that the President would address. Syed Firoz Ashraf is a Muslim, journalist, teacher and social activist.

He told me over tea in his home that he wold like to  “ask Mr. Obama to take the lead in restoring peace to Central and Southern Asia (which includes India and such hot spots as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran). I would say to him, ‘You are a super power, you have wealth and technology, and only the United States can lead the world to peace.’”

Ashraf stressed, “Barack Obama brought us hope. With his election America showed political maturity, sensitivity and sensibility. He is a symbol who has respect in India and in the world, and with this he can do something extraordinary for the world. I pray he will help America focus on restoring peace in the world and in this region.”

There is an undercurrent that is reflected in Ashraf’s words and that ran through many of my conversations: geography and Pakistan. The ripples of our wars in Afghanistan and our drone strikes in Pakistan can be crashing waves when they hit the shores of India, particularly for Muslim India.

“The people of Pakistan,” Ashraf said “are against America. They see you as a military nation that solves problems by bombing. You are destroying Pakistan. Stop being careless about the future and let them solve their own problems.”  He believes that the anti-American feelings in Pakistan are spilling over into India.

Bijou Lula, a Hindu and prominent Mumbai businessman, is also concerned about the repercussions to India as a result of our hostilities in the region. We met for dinner at his home and he told me that “India’s relationship with the United States is growing stronger, and there is a sense of trust creeping in. The barriers are few… However, Pakistan is the big bugbear.

“Pakistan is using the United States, and your war in Afghanistan is mindless, ridiculous. Only the terrorists and their Pakistani supporters are benefiting.”

Lula also said  ”the President needs to really understand the aspirations of India. We are a country without a common voice, and our aspiration is to be treated as a partner. The nuclear cooperation pact with President Bush was a step forward because India benefitted and there was really nothing in it for America.”

President Obama, according to Lula, needs to “understand India’s geographic location in the world and to feel the danger we feel every day. I also want the President to understand Pakistan’s motivations, none of which involve helping the United States. Pakistan is ruled by an iron hand of the military and there is no one in the civilian leadership that the US can trust.”

“Obama”, he said  “will not see the real India in Mumbai and New Delhi, anymore than a visitor to New York or Washington sees the real America.” But Lula believes that the ingredients of trust are there on a government-to-government level to build both a friendship and a mutually beneficial economic relationship.

Kiran Murthi, the general manger of FM104 Radio in Mumbai, expressed a similar view. He told me that “India wants a relationship with America… but doesn’t have full trust and faith in what America’s policy will be in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, China and Iran.”  He and others pointed out that policy toward these nations affects India politically, economically, militarily and socially.

“If I could talk to the President I would tell Mr. Obama that India needs to make its own camp and not be second in another’s camp. The United States should build trust with India and not try and force us into a ‘for or against’ mode.

“We need to build credible platforms of trust, connecting small fibers on many levels. The relationship should come without conditions such as ‘we will be your friend if you will do such and so, or support us in this or that’. Do what ever can be done unconditionally, and as trust improves the fibers will come together.”

Jatur Sharma, a college student from Santacruz agreed. “The United States needs to better understand the social issues that arise in India because of America’s presence in Afghanistan and the drone bombing in Pakistan.

“This is very emotional for us. We look to the United States as a friend, and we want to trust you… but we don’t know if we can believe you when you tell us you want peace and want to be our friend. You say you want to support democracy, but you also support dictators.”

He added this plea, “Please understand that India is a young country. We have been an independent democracy only since 1947. Please help us grow stronger and more secure.”

Abhishel K. Shah is a musician who said he “looks up to America. You are a rich and developed country and many Indian students want to go there.” But he said that things have changed since 9/11.

“My friends who are studying in America tell me that they are now not treated well. They are called Pakis. They feel lost in America, and they are the first to be suspected if there is a terrorism scare. My friends do not feel like they belong there… and they believe that America has much to offer, but only to those who belong.”

Vijay Singh works in the tourist industry. He echoed the concerns about the geo-political issues. “The United States and India have good feelings between them, we are good partners. But I am worried about America’s wars in the region. Between 60-70% of the aid you give Pakistan goes straight to the terrorists.” (Bill’s note: this is a figure that I cannot verify, but which I heard several times. It is accepted as fact by many Indians.)

Singh also talked about India’s inferiority complex. “We have been conquered and ruled by foreigners. This can damage a people’s self perception.”

From Webster’s dictionary, I’ve learned that “much of India was united under a Muslim sultanate based around Delhi from the 12^th century until incorporated in the Mogul empire in the 16^th century. Colonialism began in the late 17^th century, particularly by the British; in 1765, the East India Company acquired the right to administer Bengal. In 1858, after the Indian Mutiny, Britain took over the company’s authority, and in 1876 Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India.”

Lula also addressed this, saying that India’s Hindu philosophy of non-violence toward all living things (ahimsa) and toleration of others made them easy pickings. “Indians would say chalta hai-– meaning “It’s ok… we will tolerate you and what you do to us.”

This historical complex plays out in India’s present-day passion for being treated as an equal… not being second in anyone’s camp… not being seen as anyone’s colony.

The above views are a consensus of the 23 people I talked with at length (plus many informal encounters in tea shops, restaurants, hotel lobbies, on the train and in pubs) but  are not by any means a valid statistical sample. They do, however, represent a broad enough demographic range for me to form a personal opinion.

It seems to me that it would be easy to see India as another emerging and important economic giant. It would be easy to see India as another member of the nuclear weapons club; or as a nation strategically located amidst a present-day US field of interest. But, it is also important to look deeply into the nation’s psyche, to understand the feelings of inferiority that come from centuries of colonial rule. India is chaotic; it struggles with mind-defying poverty and remnants of the caste system, and has very serious infrastructure and demographic problems.

India is also, however, our friend and partner in democracy. It has a rich culture, the highest number of college educated people in the world, and a toughness that comes from surviving centuries of assaults and insults.

There is a surging national pride in the air, and one of the things that President Obama should remember as he makes his way here was told to me by Kiran Murthi, the radio executive: “Indians like the United States. Personal freedom and human rights are American values that India respects and desires; but, we want from America a partnership of mutual respect and mutual benefit.” This seems to me to be a reasonable request.