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It marked her first trip on continent Asia, and for Senator Gabriela Morris, being in India was almost like a wide-eyed in amazement experience.Morris was part of a small Jamaican delegation which visited the continent's second most populous country, starting November 23, for 10 days, to represent the north Caribbean island in the Gen-Nex Democracy Programme, view Indian life in general, with the highlight of making mental and physical notes on the operations of the Parliament of that land, among other things.India hosted young leaders, all aged under 35, from 75 countries under the programme - a move to strengthen relations with democratic countries globally, as part of its 75th year of independence from Great Britain.Now returned from the tour that to her bore a fruitful ideological and cultural harvest, Morris, the youngest senator ever to be appointed to the Senate at age 23 in September 2020, under the banner of the Opposition People's National Party, has seen ways in which some of what she grasped in the land of cricket and curry may be used on the island of sand, sea and sun, which tourism interests often use as their premier marketing slogan."It was a good experience. We visited on the day when the Parliament was commemorating Constitution Day. We got to meet with the Speaker of the House, some Members of Parliament and also got to see some law students who were there as part of the function," Morris said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer, following a function hosted by India's high commissioner to Jamaica at his St Andrew residence last Tuesday."What struck me most of all is how diverse of a country it is. It really gave us a chance as Jamaicans, who are used to a one way style, to really experience a diverse culture with different religions, different types of food, so many different states, so it was an eye-opener and showed us how much of a progressive nation India is and is becoming...to see their democracy at work and not just read about it."One of the biggest lessons for me was the spirit of cooperation in India and that is expressed in their AMUL cooperation - their dairy company. Small farmers at the grass roots level were able to contribute to the industry. In Jamaica, trying to remodel our dairy industry is something that we could adopt. There is power in cooperation, power in partnership. AMUL is such an important part of their culture," Morris said of the Indian Cooperative Society in the state of Gujarat, founded in 1946, a year before India and Pakistan split as one nation.Culturally, too, Morris had another eye-opener: "We went there with this preconceived notion that Indians worshipped the cow. In fact, it's not so. It's more out of respect for the cow, because of the produce that can be had from the animal." Amid the hustle and bustle of Indian life, including the several languages spoken, and heavy security at certain locations, the combination of events was, to her, "just a testament of how India is."