Rakhee Ghelani

Category: Poverty

  • Expats Behaving Badly

    Expats Behaving Badly

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    Something happened this week that made me so mad I felt compelled to write about it. Of all the things that annoy me about living in India, the thing that makes me most upset is when I see someone with means exploit someone without. In this instance it’s an Australian expat in India. The income…

  • Slum Tourism: Dharavi

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    Slum tourism drums up all sorts of bad connotations. For this reason I avoided doing the tour of Dharavi, the biggest slum in Mumbai for a long time. Finally, after a little convincing by a friend I decided to see it for myself. I now think everyone, Mumbaikars born and bred and tourists alike should…

  • Superpower for Some: Infant Mortality and Maternal Health

    Superpower for Some: Infant Mortality and Maternal Health

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    India doesn’t seem to be a lucky country if you are a newborn child or woman who has survived into adulthood.  I have written before about the treatment of women in India here and here  and it is not an issue that will go away.  Whilst I see a lot of bad news in the Indian…

  • The Magic of Rural Rajasthan: Homestay Experience

    The Magic of Rural Rajasthan: Homestay Experience

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    When I was invited to visit a homestay in rural Rajasthan I just could not say yes quick enough.  It had been almost a year since I was last in Rajasthan and since my visit to Kutch, I had found myself fantasising about getting back to rural India.  The grime and congestion of Mumbai has…

  • Keeping the Poor Down: India’s Growth Strategy

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    I really struggle with seeing the poverty in India, and I have posted before about my struggles with poverty, charity, apathy towards the poor and my observations of some of the middle class. I have come to the conclusion that here in India it is not in the interests of anyone with power or money…

  • Will India ever be a "real" super-power?

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    When you live in India, it is almost impossible to go a single day without reading something about corruption.  Bribes, kick-backs and ‘gratuities’ are a daily part of living here. My first official experience of this was when I was travelling in an auto-rickshaw, and the driver accidentally went the wrong way down a one-way…

  • How India Turned Me Into a Feminist

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    I have a confession to make, I am a feminist. Nine months travelling through India has turned me into a feminist and this is me coming out of the closet. I have always considered myself to be egalitarian, striving for equality rather than subjugation of one gender over another. Then I spent 9 months backpacking…

  • Adventures in the Desert Part 2: Pabu ki Dhani

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    This was my home for 24 hours when I visited this small, isolated village in the Thar desert. To call it a village is probably too big a word, it is a simple home which has 4 small huts for visitors, this is Pabu ki Dhani.  Pabu welcomed us into his home so we could…

  • Is the real India Invisible? – Andhra Pradesh

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    As I made my way down the east coast of the country, I decided to stop in a few places in Andhra Pradesh along the way, which gave me quite a “real” Indian experience.  First stop was Visakhapatnam, otherwise known as Vizag.  This is a beachside city that is touted as the best beach on…

  • Life in the Indian village

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    I was fortunate enough to spend my Christmas and New Year break with friends in a small village in the Punjab.  Getting to experience the true village life is not something an outsider gets to do usually. In some places I have traveled to village experiences have been offered, but I find these usually to…

  • To Give or Not To Give

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    Its coming up to Christmas, and whilst I am not Christian, it does make me think about some fundamental things like kindness, generosity and most importantly respect.  I like to believe that I practise these principles in my everyday life, however traveling through India recently, I have certainly found myself challenged and internally conflicted in…