Indian Archives - Rakhee Ghelani

Is it too late to save Majuli Island?

—

by

Majuli Island, in the remote North East Indian state of Assam, is the largest river island in the world. It is rapidly being lost to the savage effects of climate change. Surrounded by the mighty Brahmaputra River, scientists predict that Majuli Island will be entirely reclaimed by the river within 20 years, and along with…

Meghalaya: Root bridges and climacophobia

—

by

Meghalaya is a wonder. In the western corner of North East India it’s rolling hills are silent, a welcome contrast to the busy dustbowl that is Guwahati (in Assam) where most visitors begin their journey. Even the small town of Shillong has lost the romantic aura of a hillside town, now packed with merchants who…

Nagaland: The last frontier

—

by

Two boys no older than ten wander the dusty roadside, semi-automatic rifles slung casually across their backs. Hearing the vehicle, they meander off-road into the thick verdant forest that’s lush but eerily silent. I ask my driver where all the animals are and he responds drily, “These Nagas eat everything.” Characterised by headhunters and a…

Restaurant Review: Indian Accent, Delhi

—

by

Indian Accent has been called the “best Indian restaurant in India”. It’s a big title to hold, so of course I had to try it out for myself. It’s a fusion restaurant, and I’d been told by foodies I respect that it was superior to one of my favourite restaurants in Mumbai, Masala Library, which…

Discovering New Places To Visit in Bombay: Mazagaon and Khotachiwadi

—

by

I seem to spend so much of my time these days either at home working or going to the same places to meet friends, that I’d almost forgotten about the joy of discovering new places to visit in Mumbai. So one surprisingly sunny monsoon afternoon a friend and I decided to do just that. We…

Bangla Affair : Kolkata

—

by

I can’t believe it took me so long to visit Kolkata. Even though I’ve passed through the city on my way to Odisha, for some reason I’d never stepped out of the airport until now. By chance I managed to pick up a cheap flight about 6 months ago and forgot about it, so it…

India Travel Advice Part 2

—

by

Following on from my last post providing India travel advice for women, I thought it would be worthwhile to provide a few more tips that I’ve found handy while travelling across India. These ones are relevant regardless of gender: Eating in India One of the most common questions I am asked about India is about…

India Travel Advice For Women

—

by

As promised in this post, I’m writing a few posts with my advice on travelling to India. The advice is based on my experience, and that of other travellers whom I know and trust. There is a lot of bad and sugar coated advice out there, designed to please tourism boards and PR / Marketing…

Peace, Love & Mung Beans: Should You Believe that Travel Blog About India

—

by

I’m pretty sure this post isn’t going to win me some friends in the travel blogging space, but something happened yesterday that just infuriated me so much I felt the need to write about it. I put a photo on my personal (private) FB page and one of my “friends” (although not now as I’ve…

Why #IndiaNeedsFeminism

—

by

This week I participated in a campaign by BuzzFeed where people explained why they felt feminism was relevant to India. Now anyone who’s read my blog for a while knows that I believe feminism has a long way to go here. So when I saw a call-out for people willing to participate in this campaign…

Hello Summer, Bring on The Mangoes

—

by

Summer is finally here! While the temperature is close to diabolical and the humidity means Mumbai currently resembles a pressure cooker, I still love summer for one reason. Mangoes. It’s mango season and they are just spectacular. The sweet orange flesh has inspired me this year to create a salsa that I have with almost…

Dating the Indian Woman

—

by

A few regular readers have asked me recently why I haven’t written much about dating or Indian men lately. Truth be told, there really isn’t much to tell. I haven’t dated for a long time, and am actually quite happy that way. I do still have some interesting experiences trying to understand men here, but…

Exploring Gujarat : Champaner

—

by

I’ve been to Baroda (or Vadodara) more times then I can remember as it is where some of my family lives, but I’m embarassed to say I’ve never visited the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site of Champaner until now. I did a fly by visit of Baroda last weekend and thanks to my own stupidity…

The Big Fat Indian Wedding : Shaadi Time

—

by

This is the fourth and final part of The Big Fat Wedding, you can find the rest here: Introduction Pre-Wedding Rituals The Engagement It was a rather rude alarm that woke me up early in the morning to have my saree draped the morning after the Sangeet. It was a little hard to believe that…

The Big Fat Indian Wedding : The Engagement

—

by

This is the third part of The Big Fat Wedding, you can find the rest here: Introduction Pre-Wedding Rituals Shaadi Time Bright and early on a Tuesday morning the Engagement ceremonies began. The timing of these are generally dictated by astrology, which explains the 7.30am start. The first ceremony is Vratham. This is where Carl…

Big Fat Indian Wedding : Pre-Wedding Rituals

—

by

This is the second part of The Big Fat Wedding, you can find the rest here: Introduction The Engagement Shaadi Time Like every wedding there are pre-wedding rituals that must be adhered to before the real business of joining two families starts, and this grand wedding was no different. In a more western tradition, this…

The Big Fat Indian Wedding

—

by

It had to happen, I just can’t believe it took me so long. Before you get too excited, no I didn’t get married. This is so much better! I dressed up in sarees, wore plenty of bling and partied away without the inevitable stress that comes with being a member of the wedding party. I had…

Remaining a Child in the Eyes of a Parent

—

by

I recently had a friend drop in to visit me at home whilst my father was visiting me from Australia. My friend came in and I offered him a seat on the couch, my father was working at the dining table. For a short while he stopped to chat with us, but then went on…

India You Disgust Me!

—

by

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

—

by

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.…

Tag: Indian