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TBI Travel: Discovering the magic of Nila

The Better India has chosen April as the Travel Month. As the summer holidays approach, parents and children all over India start making plans to visit some place they have never been to before. In our posts, you will learn of places very few know of and some places that many know of, but all [...]

April 5, 2012 / No Comment / Read More

India Untravelled: See The Real India

March 29, 2012 No Comment

Mahatma Gandhi once said “India’s way is not Europe’s, and India lives in seven hundred thousand villages.” To know India one has to know it’s villages, the way of life there – the culture, the traditions and the festivals. The kind of diversity that exists is unimaginable. With the new wave of rural tourism, these [...]

Did you know: The Cleanest Village in Asia, is in India

November 16, 2011 5 Comments

When I first heard of Mawlynnong’s claim of being “The Cleanest Village in Asia”, I knew I had to plan a trip to see it. The village is at a distance of around 90 km from Shillong, and the road leading up to it has some of the most panoramic and breathtaking views in the [...]

Varanasi: Where liberation starts with a well-made paan

September 6, 2011 5 Comments

So where are my countrymen? I’m in foggy Delhi, finally boarding a flight to Varanasi/Benares/Kashi. And my co-passengers seem to originate entirely from Coloradoor Japan. A polite, professorial type is thoughtfully touching a dog-eared translation of the Upanishads. A pretty woman from Liverpoolcarefully adjusts her spotless white kurta as she settles down next to me. [...]

Bylakuppe: A visit to this Tibetan Town in Karnataka

May 18, 2011 1 Comment

Being the capital of the Tibetan government in exile, Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh has been the destination of many travelers in search of peace, tranquility and spiritual guidance. A lesser known Tibetan town in India is Bylakuppe, situated 90 kilometers from Mysore on SH 88. Bylakuppe comprises of two Tibetan refugee settlements that were setup [...]

A Tour of the 1000 Pillar Temple at Warangal

May 2, 2011 1 Comment

This is a chronicle of my recent visit to the historic Warangal (ancient Orugallu). The Orugallu Fort and Veyyi Stambhala Gudi (Thousand Pillar Temple) have history, architecture and sculpture and are probably among the best of Indian temples. The Kakatiya dynasty, which ruled Andhra region from 750 AD – 1325 AD – for 575 years, [...]

Step into a Stepwell – See the Adalaj Ni Vav

April 18, 2011 1 Comment

In times of RO purifiers and blah blah, I quenched my thirst for an ancient story with a mesmerizing Stepwell from a bygone era. This is Adalaj Ni Vav at the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It’s a well, but there is no drinking water available. Exchanging pleasantries with damp smells and a few bats [...]

Still Standing: Delhi’s Stepwells

December 10, 2010 6 Comments

In the midst of the mundane city buildings that tower sinfully over the unnoticed slums and rural remains of an increasingly urban space, there is not much a tourist can expect. There is even less a local can hope to see. Yet, some wonders need no trumpet blows, no billboard signs. The right traveler finds [...]

A pinch of history at Ahmedabad: N.C.Mehta and Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museums

December 1, 2010 1 Comment

If you happen to be in Ahmedabad, do make it a point to visit two nondescript but absolutely marvelous museums called the N.C.Mehta Museum and Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum of Art and Archeology. The former houses rare gems of miniature paintings while the latter has a spellbinding collection of sculptures dating all the way back to [...]

Raghurajpur: India’s Cultural Hub

October 18, 2010 No Comment

Raghurajpur, a small village in Puri district, Orissa is known for its heritage. Inhabited by artisans producing sheer poetry on pieces of treated cloth, dried palm leaf or paper, Raghurajpur has nurtured age old traditional paintings, dance forms and handicraft items including patta paintings, palm leaf engravings, stone carvings, papier mache toys and masks, wood [...]