As part of my tour, I was taken to the Qutub Complex in Delhi which was built by Muslims in 1192 who conquered and then occupied Hindu Delhi. During this time they constructed a mosque and a tower, The Qutub Minar. Picture by zeenews.india.com The tower is 220 feet tall and made out of variegated …
India-A Muslim Friend
Travel opens us to new worlds. I have lived my whole life in rural areas in New York State, quiet places that have little diversity. I have really never known a Muslim even though there is a mosque in my area. Like many Americans, I know very little about Islam. Unfortunately in my country there …
India-The Huge Monkey Problem
There are two types of monkeys in India and they are protected by law since a great majority of the country's population is Hindu and believe in the interconnectedness of all life. There are the Langurs, the bigger monkey of the two. They have grey white bodies and black faces and seem to be the …
India-A Traveler’s Hope
I travel to learn about other people in unfamiliar places. I go to listen to their stories and understand. I was raised Catholic and have since left that religion. I don't call myself a Christian but rather a Jesusist because I believe in the doctrine of inclusion and I honor all religions. I still post …
India-What’s Up with the Turbans?
In my travels to Canada and Europe, I have occasionally seen men wearing turbans. To me, they were strange and very foreign. I have never taken the time to understand who they are. Our tour guide took us to a Sikh temple. Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world with 25 million followers, …
India-My Pandora’s Box, Painful Pondering
17 days in India, a place filled with thousands and thousand of details, each significant. I had direct experience, I didn't use computers or TV screens to separate me from reality. I saw, heard, and smelled India and it was overwhelming. I'm in The US now, a place of physical order, roads are paved, the …
India-Gandhi’s Salt March
British Prince of Wales Tiger Hunting in India 1875-1876 In the 1800's, various European entities were eager to expand their reach The East India Company, a British company, made a lot of money selling spices, cotton, silk, tea, and opium from India. The Indian people were heavily taxed and became suspicious of the corruption and …
India-Smuggling Gandhi Home
My last post was 11 days ago. It's strange being back in the US. I live in a rich country , we have houses with good roofs and plumbing. Trash is picked up and animals do not wander the streets leaving excrement on the pavement. I just celebrated Thanksgiving with family and we ate a …
India-The Caste System
One of enduring understanding about India we learned about in school was the caste system. It fascinated us, that people were labeled and this label was carried throughout a person's life. We were especially intrigued with the "Untouchables". On the tour, I learned that people of higher caste would always be alert when walking in public …
India-Hinduism
79.8% of India's population is Hindu, 14.2% Muslim, and 6% is of various religions including Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and others. The people in my tour group learned to spot active and inactive temples. They were like living things and if people did not use them and bring offering they basically closed up and metaphorically …
The Autonomous Traveler 