Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai, India from Goindia.About.com

Happy birthday Ganesh!

He’s one of the most beloved gods in India; rotund, elephant-headed and multi-armed; the son of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati — Ganesh is the first god honoured during pujas, and he is the bestower of luck and remover of obstacles.

In honour of Ganesh Chaturthi — the 10 days of birthday celebrations and worship — I am posting some of the best photos I have seen of the massive parade and the immersion of the clay Ganesh idols in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Mumbai.

The photo above is from the GoIndia.About.com site — which has a great guide to Ganesh Chaturthi — how the idols are made, where the best ones are located, etc. The editor, Sharell Cook, lives in Mumbai and stays on top of happenings there and in India in general. It’s a great resource for news, information and fascinating stories. Following are the other five top photos. (more…)

Tiffin-wallahs, Churchgate Station, Mumbai

Mumbai is mesmerizing

Imagine New York and Hollywood rolled into one, set in the tropics and squeezed onto a peninsula several sizes too small. Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) is one of the biggest and most densely packed cities on earth, India’s economic engine and the home of Bollywood, the glamour factory that makes more movies than anywhere else – more than twice as many as Hollywood. It buzzes, it never sleeps and don’t get in its way! Mumbai is on the move, and you better be too if you want to get on and off trains, cross the street, order food, shop or achieve any kind of success. For this city represents both the future, in the shape of the dreams of millions, and the past, in the streetscape of grand Victorian buildings.

What do you do with two days and two nights in Mumbai? Try these suggestions. (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.

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Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai, India

My love affair with the Taj Group

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…)

Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai, India

Ganesh Chaturthi takes place every year in late August or early September. It is the birthday of the popular Hindu elephant-headed god, son of Shiva and Parvati. This festival is celebrated all over India, but especially so in Mumbai where grand processions bear huge idols to the sea for immersion. Ganesh is the bestower of luck, the remover of obstacles and the god of safe travels. I always carry a small Ganesh charm with me while I travel in India.

This video marks the start of a new feature on BreatheDreamGo: Video Friday. Every Friday I will upload a video from my travels in India (or other entertaining videos I come across).

I took this video after getting into an autorickshaw at Bandra train station in Mumbai. Look for the near collision at 1:42!

Chowpatty Beach, Mumbai, at sunset

I arrived in Mumbai (Bombay) badly. I bought a ticket in Goa for an overnight “luxury” bus from Madgao to Bandra, leaving at 8 pm. Instead, I was bussed from Madgao to Panjim, shifted to a dirty, run-down bus that left at 10 pm and told the bus would not stop at Bandra after all. No explanation given. (more…)

My India list: top places, events and festivals I want to see

I believe in magic. How else can you explain that the more I travel in India, the longer the list of places I want to go gets?! I was inspired to write this list by Mighty Girl’s Mighty Life List, so here goes. Here’s my list at the time of this writing (and I am sure I am missing several things …):

Top 10

1. see sunrise over the Himalayas from Tiger Hill, near Darjeeling
2. watch the start of the monsoon in Trivandrum
3. attend the Pushkar Camel Festival
4. climb Mount Arunachala
5. see a tiger! — perhaps in Kanha National Park, the place that inspired Kipling to write Jungle Book
6. watch Indian classical dance at sunset in front of the temples during the Khajuraho Dance Festival
7. stay in tea gardens in Darjeeling, Assam and the Nilgiri Hills
8. have tea at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai
9. stay at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata and watch the Kali Puja
10. go on Char Dham pilgrimage to source of the Ganga (Ganges River)

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Published on The Matador Network, August 2009.

Photo courtesy of Jehangir Pocha

Indian summer

While the majority of foreign tourists travel to India in the winter, there are some who like it hot! India is a popular summer destination for European vacationers, monsoon lovers and travelers who like to swim against the stream. There are lots of good reasons for visiting India in the summer, including the profusion of summer festivals, breathtaking summer-only destinations in the Himalayas, un-crowded tourist attractions, cheaper airfares and slashed rates at many hotels and resorts.

Here are 11 things you can only do in the summer in India:

1. Eat mangoes. Early summer, before the monsoon arrives, is the hottest time of year in India. The only relief comes in the form of a sweet and succulent fruit, welcomed and revered from one end of the country to the other. In India, the mango is the “king of fruit.” Mangoes begin to trickle into markets and restaurants in April and by June the streets are full of people savouring their “utterly overpowering lusciousness,” as one mango lover said. While there are many varieties, the Alphonso is hailed as the “king of kings,” and its seasonal appearance makes the news.

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Just before the news broke about the terror attacks in Mumbai, I was going to write about my favourite Indian books and books about India. Ironically, one of my top picks is Maximum City by Suketu Mehta, an incredibly well-researched and well-written book about Bombay. Having recently read that book, I felt much more in-the-know about the city, and especially the local politics. Which are very tricky.

So, here are some of my favourite books on India, about India, by Indians …

1. Maximum City by Suketu Mehta. He’s like a cross between Charles Dickens and The New York Times. He’s a great investigative reporter, but his real strength is in telling a story and making the characters come alive. If you have any interest at all in Bombay / Mumbai, read this book.

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