Tag Archives: India

Chaos and colour. For me, those words sum up India. The chaos is ubiquitous – as a pedestrian, you need to be aware of all parts of your body as you walk across broken pavements punctuated by piles of rubbish and cow pats, through crowds of burdened porters and grasping beggars, and past whizzing bikes and tuk-tuks and potentially dangerous bulls … […]

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India! Hot air and warm smiles. Chaos everywhere: trash and cow pats underfoot, birds overhead, and roadways crowded with pedestrians, cows, cars, and bikes all around. But it’s the colour that I love… And the natural grace of the people: everywhere you look there are people, young and old, draped on doorsteps or leaning against […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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Agra, in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, is more than just the home of the Tāj Mahal. Once the capital of the Mughal (Moghul) Empire, ruling over all of India from 1556 to 1658, Agra houses many splendid Mughal-era buildings, three of which – the legendary Tāj Mahal, the wonderful deserted city of Fatehpūr Sikrī, and the magnificent Agra Fort – are UNESCO World Heritage listed. […]

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