Rakhee Ghelani

Tag: Indian

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Exploring Bollywood

    Exploring Bollywood

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    Anyone who knows me knows I am not really a huge fan of Bollywood.  I have however found that living in India you kind of absorb information about Bollywood almost subliminally. My parents on the other hand are huge Bollywood fans, and have a rather large collection of Hindi films back home in Australia. So…

  • Theft on Indian Railways

    Theft on Indian Railways

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    Yes, as you can tell by the title, theft on Indian Railways really does happen unfortunately.  I travelled Indian Railways through most of my backpacking journeys across India, and in 9 months never had anything stolen nor felt unsafe.  That is until a recent trip, which has now left me with a rather bad taste…

  • Dating in India: More Than Just Marriage

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    I was recently asked to write a relationship column for a fantastic online magazine here in India called Women’s Web. My first topic is about dating in India, something I have written about before here and here.  These posts have been topics of great controversy, but they are based purely on my own experience and…

  • Mumbai: Crawford Market

    Mumbai: Crawford Market

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    Crawford Market is one of those iconic places in Mumbai. You can buy anything here from fresh veggies to precious jewellery. There are several different sections to the market that stretches out over several blocks, with different regions each specialising in specific products. Starting at the fruit and vegetable market, a grand old building… we…

  • Foodie Post: A Gujarati Barbeque – Matla Undhiyu

    Foodie Post: A Gujarati Barbeque – Matla Undhiyu

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    It has been a while since I wrote about some of the wonderful food I have been eating, and what better way than to rave about one from home – Matla Undhiyu.  I tried this when I was visiting my family in Vadodara, Gujarat recently, and my cousin explained it to me as a Gujarati…

  • The Difference Between Sri Lanka and India

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    It had been 18 months since I had been outside of India.  That’s a long time, and to be honest I didn’t think going to Sri Lanka was really going to be a big change from what had become normality to me, after all at some points there is only 30 kilomtres separating Tamil Nadu…

  • Diwali in Mumbai

    Diwali in Mumbai

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    For my second Diwali in India, I thought I would be alone.  My only family here in India lives in Gujarat, and my parents weren’t arriving until just after Diwali.  As good luck would have it, I received an email from a close cousin of mine in London who just happened to be passing through…

  • Navratri in Mumbai

    Navratri in Mumbai

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    Navratri is a festival that is celebrated around October every year (its actual dates are lunar).  In line with its meaning the festival goes for “nine nights”.  I must confess, I don’t know much about the technicalities of why Navratri is celebrated, but I believe it is related to invoking the energy of the Goddess…

  • Indian English: My Top 10

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    I love the English language.  Since I have been learning Hindi, I do also appreciate how hard it is to learn any language that is not your first language. That is why I find it fascinating that most middle and upper class Indians speak at least two languages proficiently, if not 3 or 4.  English…

  • Trekking in the Sham Valley: Ladakh

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    I was only able to take a short trip to Ladakh, but I really wanted to fit in a trek of some description.  Luckily I managed to find a 5 day trek that would let me explore some villages without having to go to high in altitude.  Whilst I have trekked in high altitude before…

  • Decoding the Indian Man Part 2: Infidelity and Apologies

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    Is infidelity a part of Indian culture? Is it one that is accepted? Is it something that women just turn a blind eye to because of economic dependence, desperation and / or lack of self-esteem? Are Indian men capable of apologising when they are wrong? These are the questions that have been occupying my mind…

  • Visiting Heaven: Leh

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    Driving from the airport to my homestay, I couldn’t hear a horn honking and the streets looked clean from plastic rubbish, I definitely wasn’t in Mumbai anymore. I had however gone from sea level to 3,500 metres in altitude in 4 hours, which very quickly turned into mild altitude sickness: a thumping headache and lethargy…

  • The Doors of Ladakh

    The Doors of Ladakh

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    Soma Gompa Temisgang Monastery        

  • Pictorial Post: Ajanta and Ellora Caves

    Pictorial Post: Ajanta and Ellora Caves

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    I first visited Aurangabad, a city about 400km east of Mumbai, several years ago when I worked for Foster’s Group, who owned a brewery there. As I was there for work I didn’t have enough time to visit the nearby Ajanta and Ellora Caves, and they have always been a site I have wanted to…

  • India: My Favourites

    India: My Favourites

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    I have been in India for almost a year now, and in that time I have seen and experienced so much that this amazing country has to offer.  I am asked often about what are my most memorable experiences, so I thought I would share some of them.  My list is by no means complete,…

  • Class or crass: India’s Middle Class

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    One of the biggest culture shocks I am now experiencing relates to what is considered to be “class” or behaviour that represents economic and social status.  It isn’t something I saw much of when I was backpacking, but now that I am settled into a rather middle class life in Mumbai, I am really struggling…