Rakhee Ghelani

Tag: Pollution

  • Exploring Bhubaneswar : Khandagiri & Udayagiri

    Exploring Bhubaneswar : Khandagiri & Udayagiri

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    I’ve been spending some time in Bhubaneshwar lately, and while I’ve been here before, the extra time has allowed me to explore the city in more depth. This week I visited the famed Jain cave temples of Khandagiri and Udayagiri. While these sites are beautiful , what really stood out for me was the appalling…

  • India Travel Advice Part 2

    India Travel Advice Part 2

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    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…

  • Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai: The Lalbagh Walk

    Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai: The Lalbagh Walk

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    Ganpati or Ganesh Chaturthi would have to be one of the biggest festivals in Mumbai. The festival is in honour of Lord Ganesha, who is the remover of obstacles. A Ganesh statue is traditionally installed in the home, or in the neighbourhood in many cases, and people worship it for 10 days. The statue is…

  • 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…

  • The Great White Rann of Kutch

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    The main reason most people visit Kutch is to see the White Rann or Great Rann.  It is a salt marsh that is flooded during monsoon, and then reappears as the dry of winter sets in.  Located in North West Gujarat, the Great Rann spills into Pakistan, so there is plenty of border security to…

  • Holi Varanasi!

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    I am not a big fan of Varanasi as I have mentioned in my post the last time I visited. I didn’t really want to go back but it is one of the holiest and unique cities in India and my dear friend wanted to visit, and I think it does need to be seen…

  • 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…

  • The Differences Between North and South India

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    I have only been in South India for a couple of weeks, but I immediately felt that there was a huge cultural shift between North and South. It’s not just the food and climate though that makes South India like a different country to me, it is the people and the environment. I appreciate I…

  • Varanasi: Is there any hope for India?

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    Distressed. Helpless. Filthy. Nauseous. This is how I felt in Varanasi, one of the holiest and most revered places in India. Wandering along the ghats, I observed the rituals. A man placed a cup in the Ganges, pulled it out and drank in the holy water. He looked at peace in the belief that this…

  • Is #Shimla leading the way for #India?

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    Today I arrived in Shimla. Shimla is in Himachal Pradesh.  It is an old British hill station, and is now a bustling town. I didn’t quite know what to expect when I landed here.  I was hoping for hills, greenery and a cooler temperature.  I definitely got all of those.  What I hadn’t expected was…

  • Are women really impure in the eyes of god?

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    In my last post (here) I talked about how the temple is the centre of the community in India.  However I have now found myself banned from entering.  Yes, banned from the temple….. what terrible faux pas did I make to be prohibited from entering the temple? I bled. The most natural thing in the…