Rakhee Ghelani

Tag: poverty

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Happy Anniversary to Me : 2 Years Living in Bombay

    Happy Anniversary to Me : 2 Years Living in Bombay

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    This week I celebrated two years of living in Bombay. To be honest, I never really believed that I would stay here that long, but now Bombay does feel like home. I have close friends here, established networks and am eking out an existence here. In many ways I am comfortable here in Mumbai, but…

  • 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…

  • Bollywood: Where Heroes Can Be Villains

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    There is an interesting thing I have observed in Indian culture, if someone is admired, lauded or dare I say worshipped, for some reason they seem to be above the law. They can do as much wrong as they want, but very few seem to care. Worse still, if you are poor, then your life…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • How to change your perception of wealth in India?

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    When I moved to India I left behind, what many would consider, a very good career.  I was a senior manager in a big bank, and had a lot of opportunity to progress and develop.  I just needed a change, the corporate rat race wasn’t really for me anymore. Whilst I left my job, I…