Category Archives: India India is a bundle of contradictions: chaos and calm permeate everything in equal measure. The sacred and the mundane rub shoulders. Think of the mingling scents of incense, cow dung, and refuse, and you might get a sense of it. India is never dull! Every time I wander Indian streets, I return to my lodgings […]  Daybreak offers hope, a sense of renewal. And, a sunrise in the mountains makes me feel like anything is possible. I’m not a morning person – but every so often I can be dragged out of bed for a special sunrise (eg: At the Top of the World). I certainly wasn’t going to miss my […]  The Ganges River, known more commonly as the Ganga Mata (Mother Ganges), is revered in Hindu worship and culture. More than just a river, she is the embodiment of a goddess whose purity cleanses one’s sins: bathing in her waters releases the faithful from samsara, the endless cycle of death and rebirth. All along the banks […]  India is a collection of colourful paradoxes. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Holy Cities along the Ganges: that river that is the embodiment of all the sacred waters in Hindu mythology and at the same time, one of the most contaminated rivers in the world. So, while it is said that you […]  Puducherry / Pondicherry, in Peninsular India, is known for its colonial charm. The colonial period there began in 1521 with the Portuguese – the first Europeans to conduct textile trade in the region. The Dutch and the Danes followed in the 17th century, but it was the French who had the most enduring influence after […] |
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