Author Archives: Ursula The Thar Desert, or Great Indian Desert, is an arid region that forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. A relatively large area, it spreads across four Indian states (Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan) and two Pakistani states. The Thar Desert is the most densely populated desert in the world, with 83 people per square km. This population lives in small villages, far apart from each […]  Bhutan, that once-secretive, still-exotic, Himalayan Kingdom, is a sensory feast for the photographic enthusiast. The story that tourist numbers are strictly limited is over-stated. But, they are self-limited by the fact that, other than Indian nationals, all foreigners need to arrive by air – and for a long time only Drukair flew in and out. Today Druk has five airplanes, […]  “Let’s dance! Put on your red shoes and dance the blues…” David Bowie died earlier this month (January 10, 2016). There is no denying his influence over the zeitgeist of the era I grew up in, and the news of his death stunned me like a blow to the solar-plexis. All over the world, tributes have […]  Winter in Britain… What a wet, bone-chilling prospect! This winter (2015-16), the northern part of Great Britain was inundated by floods after the pre-Christmas storms Eva and Desmond, and then had to brace for record cold temperatures and snowfalls. Two years ago (2013-14), Britain experienced the wettest winter on record: the south was battered by winter storms that ripped away beaches and made […]  There are countless deities in the Indian pantheon. Sometimes it seems that the number of religions and cults is almost as high. Scattered around the Western Thar Desert of India and Pakistan are villages of people calling themselves Bishnois. Followers of “Jambhaji”, as Guru Jambheshwar of Bikaner (b.1451) became known, these people are predominantly descended from Jat peasants and Rajput warriors from the north: Haryana, […] |
|
