Sep 3, 2010

Even before it rains, water hangs in the air. The wind starts to blow, warm and persuasive. Palms are flattered: they dip and lower their heads. Long grass blushes and looks the other way. Women scramble to manage their fluttering dupattas. As the sky darkens and the air thickens, they tuck their mobiles into their purses and slip their purses into plastic bags.

Aug 21, 2010

In a hard-to-find school in the Dharavi slum, I never expect to find toddlers doing arts and crafts: but they are. I’m inside a warm room with a whirring fan, where children’s feet stand on coloured circles painted on the gray ground. Oiled hair on each head is neatly parted. The kids have just finished with greeting time, and have now moved on to

Which place has 15 schools and several hospitals, imports plastics from all over the world for recycling, and is home to more than a million people in just over one square kilometer? That place is called Dharavi: a well-know slum that is the largest in Asia. A visit to Dharavi, however, may challenge any understanding of a slum. Dharavi spreads over Mahim,

Jul 28, 2010

Visiting Mumbai’s Haji Ali Masjid and Darga during the rainy season is nearly magic. The mosque was built in 1431 in the memory of Islamic merchant Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari (who is buried within the mosque) and has become a pilgrimage site for seekers from every faith. The beautiful structure sits on a tiny island almost a kilometre from South

Jul 12, 2010

Whenever I come home from spending time in India, someone inevitably says “It is so good of you to give your time and your energy to help those those poor little orphan kids.” The people who say this are those who have never worked with orphans. They don’t know that kids without parents are among the most generous-hearted people in the world and

‘Mai aur samajhti hoon, uske baad bolti hoon.‘ I understand more than I speak. It’s a line I use when I’ve been present with Hindi speakers and listening to their conversation without adding to it, and always elicits great reactions. I surprise many people in this way: anyone can learn a language, but I definitely don’t look as

Jul 1, 2010

In the stations that stretch on and on, stray dogs touch their noses to commuters’ hands, hoping for some food or love. Rats like small wolves cross the garbage goldmine in the tracks, fearless. Crows fly out of the way of barreling trains, just in time. More than 7 million people ride Mumbai’s commuter train every day, which runs from north to south

It only took a few hours in Mumbai to realize that I was in a completely different world than the ancient city of Varanasi. The majority of the many months I’ve spent in India have been in Varanasi: living with a family, eating simple pure vegetarian food with my hand, coming in for the evening at 7 or 8PM. The days are long and slow and spent with other

I recently moved in with 21 orphan girls and all of their caregivers. The decision wasn’t taken lightly: what about my precious alone time, time to reflect on my experiences? Because I wanted to be more present with the girls before I would leave for a while, I did it. Little Stars School is a school and girls hostel in Varanasi, India. I’ve

I’m in India now, on my fourth long stay. Choking on fumes and listening to car horns as I bounce in an auto-rickshaw on a pothole-studded road, I wonder why I keep coming back. It’s a question that I ask myself every day here. While spending time in India, meeting other foreign travellers is inevitable. Most people that I talk to fall into one of

As the fiery ball of the sun began to rise over the eastern bank of the Ganges on our left-hand side, the lighted candles on banana leaves, offered in prayer to the gods, started to float past our boat. The oars lapped gently in the water as the high stepped bank, on our right hand side, gradually became a hive of industry. Woman’s saris, individually vivid as

Sanchi is the site of some of India’s most important Buddhist temples. The oldest of these were built by King Ashoka after he converted to Buddhism in roughly 258BCE. Altogether there are fifty monuments at Sanchi, including three stupas and several other temples. The largest building constructed by Ashoka is the Great Stupa, 16 metres high and 37 metres

It isn’t everyone’s idea of a great way to spend the weekend. Definitely not for the city bred, disco and mall addicted youth. A day’s exploration of one of the longest underground cave systems in the sub-continent, can put off even the most adventurous city dweller. Cold, clammy caves, deep under the earth’s surface, infested by bats and other nasty

They say, if a person comes to Mumbai and stays for a while, the city grows on the person so much that you can take the person out of Mumbai but cannot take Mumbai out of the person. It has surely worked on me. When I came to this city a few years ago, I was a complete stranger to it. I was homesick shortly after I arrived in the Mumbai. Today, I feel homesick

Ah the lentil bean. Eileen has a chat with Sunil Trehan of Easy Tours of India at the Los Angeles Times Adventures in Travel Expo. Sunil specializes in all types of travel in India, today we focused on food — some of my favorite! I was surprised by Sunil’s final answer, but that’s what I had for dinner last night. Remember, with all our videos