Photograph of Mariellen Ward by Andrew Adams of Katha Images

What’s it like to be a (blonde) Bollywood movie star?

I wanted to find out what I would have to go through, and how I would look, after a “Bollywood” transformation.

It all started with the clothes. I knew I needed a really fabulous sari or lehnga, so I went to visit my friend Manish Mahtani at Nucreation, a large clothing store on Gerrard Street, in the India Bazaar, in Toronto. Nucreation has an entire upstairs floor devoted to wedding and party clothes — and the selection is dazzling. It’s a bit like walking into a fantasy land; a gorgeous room filled with flowing, glittering, colourful clothes fit for a princess from an oriental fairy tale. I will be writing another blog all about this store, and the family behind it, soon — with photos of a model wearing some of the fabulous creations.

Read on to find out how I was transformed – with the help of three talented people and of course a gorgeous sari.

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Photo of Naga Sahdu, Kumbh Mela, Haridwar India 2010 by Jean-Pierre Muller

India is a mirror: start polishing

Have you longed to go to India — but were daunted by not knowing where to start, what to bring, how to prepare or where to go?

India deserves its reputation for being both the most potentially transformative travel destination on earth — and one of the most challenging to newbies. There is magic in learning how to be in India: how to deal with the chaos, crowds, seemingly inefficient methods, bizarre contradictions, extremes of every kind, lower hygienic standards, heat, dust, and feeling that you are a target for every con artist, tout, tuktuk driver and shyster in the country.

But if India was just a nuisance and a challenge, it wouldn’t be India. Because India is also full of joy, celebration, devotion, colour, spectacle, kindness, warmth, openness, trust and beauty. Many foreigners — myself included — go to India prepared for the difficulties, and then find themselves surprised by how much India moves them. If you let India affect you, as I did, you might “fall in love” with the people and the place. And you might find yourself radically transformed. Notions once held dear are abandoned. Fears once harboured set sail. Narrowness is replaced with perspective, and judgement with compassion.

The trick to being in India is to be prepared – but not TOO prepared! Read on to find out the number one thing you need to know before visiting India. And also about a free information session I am holding on September 14, 2011 in Toronto. (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…)

Paheli with Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherji

Trying to meet Shahrukh Khan at IIFA

King Khan comes to Toronto

My second night in India ever, back in December 2005, I was struggling with jet lag and trying to sleep, and a big party two doors away from where I was staying in South Delhi was underway and keeping me awake. It was quite an introduction to India: loud music, fireworks, frenetic party sounds, well into the wee hours. I was so excited to finally be in India, following my dreams, and at the start of my six-month “trip of a lifetime,” that I didn’t really care, I took it in stride, but I was very interested to learn from the newspaper the next day that the party was at a Bollywood star’s home, and I will never forget the headline: King Khan in Delhi.

As a writer and trained journalist I was intrigued by the term “King Khan.” Who could he be? I quickly found out that actor Shahrukh Khan (SRK), who hails from Delhi, was one of the biggest stars in Bollywood. I began seeing his picture everywhere, and his charismatic smile was soon beguiling me. But it wasn’t until I saw Paheli, the film he made as a labour of love, with co-star Rani Mukherji and entertaining cameo by Amitabh Bachchan, that I fell for him.

Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan in Paheli

I loved Paheli, a wonderfully whimsical story about a woman (Rani) in fairytale Rajasthan who marries a rich, money-obsessed man (Shahrukh), only to find that he’s leaving on a two-year business trip the day after the wedding. However, on the journey to bring the bride back to the groom’s village, a “ghost” sees her and falls in love with her. He takes the form of a squirrel, and then a bird, and follows her to a step well.

Later, after the husband leaves, he takes the form of her husband and returns to be with her. She, of course, doesn’t know this man — who transformed into a loving husband is a ghost until he tells her. It’s too late, she’s in love with him.

The movie is filled with delightful moments, absolutely wonderful music and of course gorgeous sets and costumes as it’s set in magical Rajasthan. It is one of my all-time favourite films as it appeals to the child in me who loved the 1,001 Arabian Nights stories and painted huge murals of genies (djinns) and Rajasthan-like palaces all over my bedroom walls as a child. And who believed in magic. (more…)

Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis: The patron saints of transformative travel

Years ago, during a dark time of my life, I spent a lot of time on the couch, with my tabby cat Sydney beside me, watching movies. I bought VHS copies of a few favourites that I watched over and over again, and they sat piled up beside my TV. Thelma and Louise was at the top of the pile. I watched the movie so many times I’ve lost count. I know every scene and every line.

Louise: “You’ve always been crazy, you’ve just never had a chance to express yourself before.”

Thelma: “Something’s changed in me and I can never go back.”

Thelma: “I feel so alive, I’ve never felt so alive, know what I mean?”

So when I got a chance to go to the Thelma and Louise 20th Anniversary Reunion Tour at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, I jumped at it. I watched Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis being interviewed on stage and had the good fortune to meet them afterward, thanks to tickets from the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, a sponsor of the event. (more…)

Sri Mata Amritanandamaya Devi

India, sexism and the media

On May 27, the Globe and Mail, Canada’s National Newspaper, ran an article by the paper’s India correspondent Stephanie Nolen entitled, Female face of power reflects change in India. The story is about how Nolen sees it is a paradox that five of India’s leading political power brokers are women. Nolen says, “…it is startling in the context of the intense discrimination against women and girls that permeates every aspect of life across class, communities and geography here.”

I find “sweeping, ethnocentric statements” like this depressing. Nothing against Nolen, who is a top-notch reporter and an excellent writer; and I realize that there’s lots of evidence to support this charge. Here’s my problem. This statement makes India sound like a bleak and dismal place, full of gloomy women chained to their stoves. It dismisses the MANY cheerful, accomplished, successful and outspoken women in India. It overlooks the strengths and advantages of traditional culture, such as strong family bonds. It’s written by a western reporter (from Canada), which makes it sound as if the west is free from sexism. It fails to understand the diversity, complexity and fluidity of India. And it reinforces the worst stereotypes about India.

It’s also not my experience. This is the reason I’m not working in mainstream media (though I have a degree in journalism). I don’t believe in so-called “objectivity” and I don’t want to write “sweeping, ethnocentric statements.” I like to write in a subjective genre — creative non-fiction or personal narrative — because I believe truth is in our subjective experience of life.

I am only a traveler, I have only spent about 14 months in India, but when I am there, I live in an Indian household. The women in that household are strong, expressive and, in my experience, rule the roost. I found the same to be true when I lived in Japan. Women have power, but it is largely private, not public. And I have met many strong, independent women all across India. So, in response to the statement that sexism permeates every aspect of life, I would like to celebrate the women of India. (more…)

India is a teacher; travelers are students

People often ask me why I am so interested in India, why I like traveling there so much. There are lots of reasons, of course — from the warmth of the people, to the taste of the food; from the adventure of travel to the colourful festivals; from the flowing, feminine clothes to the sunny skies. The single most compelling reason, however, is probably the attitude towards god and spirituality — and how that attitude affects almost everything about the culture and atmosphere of India.

And what does that difference mean for me (and other spiritual seekers from the west)? It means that when I am in India, not only do I feel more alive than anywhere else (for the reasons listed above), but I learn a lot. I learn a lot about myself, about the world, and about spiritual truths. Here are the top five things I’ve learned in India. (more…)

Author Shelley Seale and children

Shelley Seale reveals how she was changed by giving her heart to the children of India

Guest post by Shelley Seale, author of Weight of Silence: The Invisible Children of India

I never expected to be in India. And without a doubt, I never thought once I had been I would return, again and again.

It wasn’t the exotic beauty that drew me back. It wasn’t the warmth of the people, their gentle and inquisitive nature, their open hospitality. It wasn’t the storied, ancient history of the country or its rich and varied culture. It was not the colors or the spices or the sounds or the spirituality of the place. India is all of these things, to be sure, and I have grown to love them all. But they were not what seeped into my being and pulled me close, becoming a part of me that I missed with a strange emptiness when I left.

It was the children.

They are everywhere. They fill the railway stations, the cities, the shanty villages. Some scrounge through trash for newspapers, rags or anything they can sell at traffic intersections. Others, often as young as two or three years old, beg. Many are homeless, overflowing the orphanages and other institutional homes to live on the streets. I had no way of knowing just how much they would change my life. (more…)

Dining on the rooftop terrace, under the shadow of Garh Palace

I had great expectations for Bundi Vilas. It is the highest rated hotel in Bundi on Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet gives it an excellent write-up and I had met owner JP Sharma in Delhi — and knew him to be an intelligent, professional man with excellent taste and a deep-seated commitment to tourism in Rajasthan. I was not disappointed. From the moment I came out of the twisting narrow alley leading up to the heveli and saw the soaring archway that marks the entrance, I sensed something special. Again, my intuition and India’s magic led me to a very special treasure, the kind of accommodation that is itself a destination.

And, of course, it helps that Bundi Vilas is located deep in the heart of the old city of Bundi — a town filled with fascinating architecture, exquisite art, elaborate stepwells and an ambience that is reminiscent of medieval Europe. You can read about Bundi in my post, Bundi: Exquisite jewel needs polishing. (more…)

Bundi's "goblin built" Garh Palace

Bundi’s shine is dulled by neglect — but magic is intact

Driving in to Bundi from the train station, through the flat, dusty unpromising outskirts, did nothing to portend charm, beauty or cultural significance. But then the road veered around a mountain and the valley bowl that holds the ancient town appeared. Nawal Sagar, the artificial lake, lay at the centre, dotted with shrines, covered in leaves, and surrounded by crumbling palaces and havelis. On the far side, an improbable gothic palace – made by goblins, according to Rudyard Kipling – hung from the far mountain, providing a dramatic backdrop, and a medieval fort ran across the top. I was instantly fascinated.

We drove right into the heart of the old town, parked, and began walking up a sloping, narrow lane. As the lane twisted and turned, and the walls and protruding, carved balconies of decaying havelis closed in around us, I got the distinct feeling that I had entered into an altered state – suddenly I was in medieval Europe, perhaps walking up a Venetian alley. Finally, the alley led up a ramp to a very, very high arch: the entrance to my hotel, Bundi Vilas. Read about this wonderful place Bundi Vilas: The perfect haveli hotel. (more…)