I have received some comments from Facebook friends about the seamy side of India: the unsanitary conditions, the aggressive monkeys, the germs, and bare feet in public areas. Yes, India is not like the places many of us live in. All of us have a distinct set of mental filters that color the way we …
Tag: India
India-Celebrating Indian Style-Part 3-Blowing Up Evil
Picture from indiamarks.com The Hindu holiday, Dussehra, symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. Rama, a principal deity, kills Ravana, who has kidnapped Rama's wife, Sita. Sita is a revered goddess for her virtues of good character, good fortune, success, and happiness. Rama's skill as an archer brings down not only Ravana but his brother, …
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India-Celebrating Indian Style-Part 2-Meeting a Maharaja (Maharao)
Before the parade, we had the privilege of meeting eighty-four-year-old Maharao (Hindu for Maharajah) Brijraj Singh. His family ruled the princely state of Kota from the 17th century to 1949. He is still revered and has served as a significant influence in his community and government affairs. Maharao Brijraj Singh On this special occasion of …
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India-Celebrating, Indian Style, Part 1-Getting Ready for the Parade
I loved India, I think it rates as one of my favorite trips. My senses had to work overtime to take it all in because nothing about the country is ordinary. I was captivated by its intensity and since, I am very visual, I enjoyed feasting on continuous rainbows of color and textures at every …
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India-History Speaking through Art
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-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-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 