Last fall I was on the Kickstarter website — thinking about running a fundraising campaign of my own — and I came across an appeal from three young filmmakers in the USA, Jim Goldblum, Adam Weber and Josh Cogan, who wanted to raise $40,000 to return to India to finish filming and editing a documentary about a magicians colony in Delhi, India that was about to disappear. The film is called Tomorrow we Disappear and this link will take you to the Kickstarter description. The slum area the magicians live in is going to be razed to make room for new buildings — hence the title.
I was intrigued by the project to make a documentary in India and also by the rewards they offered. Rewards are a key ingredient of a successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign. They need to be fun, valuable and manageable. These guys had great rewards at almost every pledge level, but I chose to make the $10 pledge and get a magic ring in return. (more…)
Lodhi Garden, New Delhi
When I was getting ready to travel to India the first time, back in 2005, I had several friends warn me: “You won’t like Delhi. It’s crowded, it’s polluted, the people are aggressive, you will be pestered to distraction.” I’d heard lots of stories about Pahar Ganj, the grubby “traveler’s ghetto;” the challenges of buying tickets and arranging any kind of transportation; the scams and the con artists; the crowds and chaos.
However, my first morning in Delhi, I walked out into the warm, December sunshine, on the big, white marble terrace of my friend’s home in South Delhi and was greeted by the family, who offered me breakfast. Later, a man arrived with a huge bundle of gorgeous shawls and fabrics, and I sat on the terrace drinking tea, with the ladies of the family and shopped. It was all very civilized and I felt I had arrived in heaven, not the hell that I was promised. (more…)
Fires on the Ganges by Andrew Adams of Katha Images
By October 26, 2011 I am hoping to raise $2,000 for the fundraising project for Deepalaya through The Intrepid Foundation. For every $10 you donate, I will enter your name into a draw. So, for example, if you donate $50, you get five ballots. I will put all ballots in a hat and draw randomly. But the more ballots you have in the hat, the more chances you have to win!
To read more about this fundraising project, please read my post Help the street kids of Delhi — and send me to India. And see below for more information about Intrepid Travel and Deepalaya.
Here’s where you can donate online. And here are the prizes, below — there are 17 prizes so you have a great chance of winning! (more…)
A street corner in Delhi
I have spent more than a year traveling in India, and months living in Delhi. I love India, and I love Delhi. In fact, I think Delhi is one of the most under-rated cities of the world. It has incredible richness of culture, layers of history in the form of monuments, gentle foggy mornings and iridescent pink sunsets, a jungle of greenery, great food, a treasure trove of shopping … and children, living on the streets. You see them at traffic lights, skinny bodies, huge eyes, wearing shabby clothing, sometimes no clothing at all. They turn somersaults, cling to their mothers, sell toys, flowers and magazines. They sleep under bridges, on the railway platforms or in blue-tarp juggis.
The street kids of Delhi always tug at my heart strings, and I sometimes find myself dreaming of finding ways to help them. I dream of giving them proper food, clothing, health care and shelter, and of educating them and giving them a fighting chance to rise above their status and at least earn a living making handicrafts, driving an autorickshaw, selling chai … and who knows what else. There are stories of former street kids who, after earning an education, had successful careers, made money, and seriously challenged the stereotypes.
What would it feel like to know that you helped a child beat the odds? You can help by donating to the fundraising project for Deepalaya through The Intrepid Foundation before October 26, 2011. (more…)
The newly refurbished Connaught Place in central Delhi
My fifth trip to India started, as they all do, at the Delhi airport. This time, though, I arrived at the new airport, which looks like any modern airport. I was almost missing the “old shed” – my nickname for the old airport – until I arranged for a prepaid taxi and was met with the usual chaos and confusion of finding my taxi, and the usual scenes of Delhi street life and traffic on the way to my “home” in South Delhi. My driver was caught behind an autorickshaw and when he finally pulled up beside the auto, my driver let out a stream of abuse at him in Hindi. Nothing really changes in India, though a lot of Delhi was improved and refurbished for the Commonwealth Games.
My first few days in India were spent reuniting with my Indian family, seeing some friends, experiencing synchronicity and suffering extreme jet lag. During those first days in Delhi, I also met India’s most highly esteemed Vedantic scholar / teacher, Swami Parathasathy, attended the National Tourism Awards and the Tiger Conference, shopped, had an Ayurvedic treatment and had tea at the Taj Mansingh Hotel with PR director Kirti. It was a busy week and I was dog-tired – but Delhi is such a happening place, it is hard not to get caught up. It’s the political centre of the country, of course, and a cultural hub. Mumbai may have New York-like frenetic energy, but there’s enough going on in Delhi to keep just about anyone very occupied indeed. And it’s so much more pleasant to be in Delhi this year, with all the construction of last year finished and the new metro system operating. (more…)
Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar
In preparation for my Qatar Airways flight to India, I have been doing some research on Qatar (pronounced KAH-ter). The first thing I discovered is that it is the only country in the world that begins with a “Q.” Qatar is located on a flat peninsula that sticks out into the The Persian Gulf and is one of the wealthiest countries on earth (on a per capita basis), thanks to oil. Many people, like me, know Qatar chiefly because it is home to the highly regarded Al Jazeera news network. (If you have any doubts about Al Jazeera’s liberal reporting policies, read this article on their website, The Middle East Feminist Revolution, by Naomi Wolf.)
In my research I found out a few interesting things: (more…)
Moi at Kanyakumari, the southern tip of India, at sunrise 2006
Capturing the magic and mystery of travel in India
My first trip to India was a six-month odyssey in 2005-06 that took me from volunteering in Dharamsala in the north to watching the sunrise from Kanyakumari at the southern tip of the subcontinent. It was a life-changing trip, and I have been writing about India and the transformative power of travel ever since. Since then, I’ve been back to India three times (2007, 2009 and 2010), and shortly I will be leaving for my fifth trip. I will of course be blogging as I travel. My itinerary is below, but first a few words about my philosophy and mission.
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai, India
Many of the 66 hotels, palaces and resorts owned and managed by The Taj Group hold a special place in India’s cities. In some cases, they are linked with the city’s, and even the country’s, history. I don’t usually stay in the Taj Group hotels when I travel, but I often visit them for tea or lunch or just to have a few minutes of luxurious calm. I also have an interest in their historical and social significance, and their business practices. I have learned from interviewing staff members at several of their properties that Taj Group has one of the best training programs in the hospitality industry in India; and my experience is that the staff seem like extremely dedicated professionals. It is not only the buildings and decor that are stupendous — the service and food is excellent too.
Read on to find out about the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, Taj West End Hotel in Bangalore, Taj Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur and the Taj Palace Hotel in Delhi — and to see some glorious photos of these incredible places. (more…)
Taj Mahal, Agra, India 2006
[Note: Originally published on Bootsnall as 10 Reasons to visit India now.]
1. The Taj Mahal. Yup, it is. The world’s most beautiful building. This is one of those rare times in life when all of your expectations will be blown away, no matter how much hyperbole you’ve been exposed to about it; no matter how many pictures you’ve seen; no matter how much poetry you’ve read. Tagore had it right when he wrote the Taj Mahal is, “a teardrop on the face of eternity.” See it at sunrise, put up with Agra, do whatever you can, but make sure the Taj Mahal is on your itinerary or you will kick yourself for eternity. (more…)
snake charmers in Jaipur, India
Before I went to India for the first time, I was warned to my teeth about how dirty and dangerous India is, especially by the doctor at the travel medical clinic. She really tried to put the fear of disease into me, and I went to India the first time loaded with precautionary supplies, pills and additional health insurance. Then I landed in Delhi at the very civilized home of my friend Ajay, who lives with his family in the Delhi equivalent of Forest Hill (one of the most upscale neighbourhoods in Toronto), and they laughed at all my stuff. When I did get sick I went to the local Max Medical Centre and after waiting about 10 or 15 minutes I got to see the British-trained head of internal medicine. The medical centre was spotlessly clean, modern and efficient, better than almost anything I’ve seen in Canada, and the visit cost 500 rupees or about $10.
At this point in my journey, about 10 days in, something began to dawn on me. I realized that many people in Canada, including me, were of the idea that India is a barbaric place. In fact, I found it to be very civilized. I no longer carry all those supplies and pills, I no longer buy extra health insurance. I practice caution, but I don’t assume the worst, I assume the best. And guess what? (more…)
On the morning of April 14 approximately 10 million people streamed into the sacred town of Haridwar in north India to bathe in the Ganga on the most auspicious day during the 2010 Kumbh Mela. I was one of them. Find out how I found myself alone, and at home, at the world’s largest spiritual gathering.
In Varanasi, where the veil between life and death seems very thin, a boat ride on the river can become a journey to the other side. Come along with me on a boat ride on the Ganges River in India’s oldest, holiest city and pierce the veil.
The Ganges / Ganga River is the Mother of India. The River speaks in many voices as she travels from the high Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. At the source, her song is joyous, full of the the jubilance of youth, the rush of fresh mountain streams, the sincere chanting of pilgrims and the excitement of the onward journey.
