Rakhee Ghelani

Month: April 2013

  • India You Disgust Me!

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    Yes, I realise that title is harsh, but this week India really is just making me feel sick. Today I read this article about a woman who is 7 months pregnant, and when her in-laws “accidentally” found out she was carrying a girl (because pre-natal sex determination is illegal in India) they started injecting her with…

  • Into the Jungle: Satpura National Park

    Into the Jungle: Satpura National Park

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    I must confess I hadn’t heard of Satpura National Park, I had heard of all the big parks in Madhya Pradesh like Bandhavgarh, Pench and Kanha, but not Satpura.  It is a relative new-comer on the MP wildlife scene and it is because of this that it makes it such a fabulous place to visit.…

  • Hidden Delights in Madhya Pradesh: Sanchi

    Hidden Delights in Madhya Pradesh: Sanchi

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    Less than 50 kilometres from Bhopal is the small town of Sanchi, home to one of the best kept Buddhist temples in the world. Built in the 3rd century and lovingly restored in recent years, the stupa and its nearby temples and monasteries sit high on a hill. The main stupa is just spectacular! Walking…

  • Bhopal: The City of Lakes and Surprises

    Bhopal: The City of Lakes and Surprises

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    Bhopal is a city that I had never really considered going to. It is unfortunately most famous for being the site of one of the world’s worst industrial disasters (in 1984, a gas leak in the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal exposed hundreds of thousands of people to a toxic gas that killed thousands).…

  • Indian Culture, Apologies and Blame

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    For a long time now I have had this niggling observation about Indian culture, but wasn’t sure if it was just me, isolated incidents or something I was imagining. I now think it is a cultural thing, Indians don’t seem to be able to apologise for anything, but seem to be very quick to blame…

  • Mumbai: Elephanta Island

    Mumbai: Elephanta Island

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    Whilst I had been to Mumbai 5 times previously, I had never made it to Elephanta Island, but now I have seen them twice in less than a year.  Located off the coast of South Mumbai, this island is famous for its Buddhist and Hindu caves believed to be about 1500 years old. The voyage…