Category Archives: India They say you are a long time dead and buried – Well, unless you are buried in Switzerland, where your plot is reclaimed after 25 years to recycle available land. Or, unless you are in a traditional Chinese cemetery, where your bones should be taken out and washed annually… In India, honouring the dead can take many varied […]  “Take me to the Light!” It is Christmas Day here in Australia: – A good time to reconnect with family and loved ones, even though some might be far away, or missing completely. An ideal time to reflect on the possibilities of love and peace – although the world at the moment seems to be providing few examples. […]  Cool sands underfoot. Starry, wide-open skies overhead. Firelight and music and drums. There is magic in the desert air. “Midnight at the oasis Send your camel to bed Shadows paintin’ our faces Traces of romance in our heads…” – Midnight at the Oasis by David Nichtern for Maria Muldaur It was nighttime in the middle of the Thar Desert. The Great Indian Thar […] It is pretty impressive: the world’s tallest brick minaret, set in a complex of archaeological ruins dating back to 1193 AD, on a site that is much older than that. The stories behind it are quite something as well. Qutb Minar, sometimes spelled Qutub or Qutab, was started in 1192 by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the first Sultan of Delhi and ruler of North India from 1206 to […]  The Masjid-i Jahān-Numā (the “World Reflecting Mosque”), situated in the heart of Old Delhi, is the largest and most important mosque in India. Built between 1644 (or 1650 – depending who you believe) and 1658, it was “the final architectural extravagance of Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort”. Situated on a small hill, […] |
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