Our days were full of paradox and mystery. One does not return from perhaps the most spiritual and sensuous place on earth having “made sense of India.” In sifting and percolating my impressions, I am reminded of a continuing theme in one of the books we read, Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s […]
India’s holiest City Varanasi holds this Ganga Arti ceremony every evening at sunset. Pilgrims gather on the banks of the Ganges where fire is offered to Lord Shiva and the river. Fire is used as a link between this world and the spirit world. Arti is also celebrated in intimate ways, […]
On of the things that strikes me over and over on our Classical Pursuits trips is the confirmation that however we may appear to differ across the ages, oceans and culture, in all essential ways, we are one human family. Maybe Shylock said it as well as any, “If you prick us, […]
There is no way postcard snaps or even a glossy National Geographic special can prepare you for the simultaneous majesty and delicacy of the iconic Taj Mahal, a monument to love built by the Muslim Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz, who died giving birth to her 14th […]
“A teardrop on the cheek of time” – Rabindranath Tagore on the Taj Mahal a first glimpse from a distance … a feeling of awe
A ritual performed morning and night in temple on hotel grounds in small village of Narlai by the tribesmen who work there. You can’t hear the bells and drumming and chanting or smell the incense, but I wish you could. From india9.com: “Narlai, situated at the base of […]
Udaipur, the City of Palaces, a visual feast. Chattering monkeys, stunning architecture.
No time for a full post at the moment, as we are enjoying full days on the Sub-Continent, but I wanted to share this excellent piece with you: a little food for thought! (with thanks to James Harbeck at Word Tasting Notes) http://sesquiotic.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/mulligatawny/
Example: personal and professional lives of two guides. Priti was with us in Delhi. As you can see, she is knock-out beautiful. And I can attest to her inner beauty as well. Priti and her husband met at university, still unusual in a country where arranged marriages remain the […]
One of the things that makes me cringe here is the number of water bottles each of us consumes each day. We are cautioned to be mightily wary of the water, keeping our mouth clamped shut in the shower and using bottled water […]