India’s various border posts attract a fair share of tourists, the most popular being the Wagah border between India and Pakistan. Brig. Suresh Chandra Sharma (retd.) gives us an account of the attractions along our border that could be of interest to tourists seeking an alternative. THE less common tourism in border areas of India offers an exciting view of nature and experience of travelling along rushing torrents and singing breeze. People live close to nature and display captivating hospitality. The flora and fauna changes from sub-tropical to cold Tundra like desert in a few hours. In these historic sites,…
Author: oiop
India’s wealth of heritage structures attract their share of tourists, but the potential is much more. The present central government seems to be serious about promoting heritage tourism in a big way, writes Usha Hariprasad. She also gives examples of states which have developed the heritage tourism circuit well. THE heat is oppressive, the temperatures soaring as high as 41 degrees Celcius in Chennai. Yet, the scorching heat does not prevent millions of tourists from visiting Mahabalipuram, a heritage site near Chennai. This year, this ancient seaport of Pallavas registered around seven lakh domestic tourist visits in the month of…
Rural tourism initiatives are not only giving city dwellers a taste of life in India’s hinterland, they are also providing villagers alternate sources of income and improving their economic status. However, the key to boosting rural tourism lies in improving rural infrastructure, writes Dr. Mir Sofique. IINDIA is a land of diversity. To the world it is also known as a “Land of Villages”. Its 29 states and seven union territories offer a wide variety of culture, traditions, cuisines, languages, costumes, beliefs, gods, goddesses and monuments that attract domestic as well as international tourists. India’s journey of rural tourism began…
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the world’s biggest performing arts festival. It is one of the several art and cultural festivals which take place simultaneously, in August, when Edinburgh plays host to various theatre, music and dance troupes from around the world. The Fringe began in 1947 along with the more prestigious Edinburgh International Festival to encourage less famous and more off-beat artists. Over the years, it has grown. It is a big culture carnival with stand-up comedians, street artists, musicians, acrobats and others entertaining the public at a host of venues from private flats and circus tents to even…
The classic Hollywood musical, ‘The Sound of Music’, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. THE Sound of Music is one of the greatest movies of all time. The film, which was released in 1965, was the biggest box-office hit of the year. It starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer in the lead roles. The movie swept away the major awards at the Oscars and Golden Globes including the top honours for Best Picture, Director, Actress and Music. The film is based on a memoir, ‘The Story of the Trapp Family Singers’ by Maria von Trapp. It is a heart-warming story…
I love to travel. I like to experience new places and cultures, especially in India. And there was one place I longed to visit ever since I heard about it and that is Dharavi, considered to be one of the largest slums in the world. I had heard that many small scale industries are located in this slum and other stories about it stimulated my curiosity. I even talked to my friends about it but not many of them were keen to visit the place. I also had some apprehensions and did not have the courage to visit it all…
I traveled to Pune the other day, in a car. It was still early, and the city was just waking up. But the number of vehicles on the roads of Mumbai still seemed many. They were all whizzing past, each in a hurry to get to a destination… I was in no hurry, merely accompanying my husband on an official trip. While he was busy with his laptop and multiple phones that are the “true connections” to the world, I pressed my nose to the window and peered out. We were already approaching the Sahyadris and I was looking forward…
I was always curious about why any discussion about menstruation had to be done secretively and sanitary napkins were hidden deep in the bags. When my mother explained to me first what periods were, I asked her why the need for secrecy. She gave me several evasive and vague answers but did not teach me to be ashamed of my monthly bodily function. While I couldn’t care less about the whole secrecy around menstruation, it has a huge role to play in me not wanting to go to temples. My parents told me only good things about religion and God.…
Wife to five accomplished husbands, born out of fire and daughter of a king, and yet Draupadi’s character in Mahabharata faced the ultimate insult of almost being undressed in a room full of men. In author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Palace of Illusions, Draupadi gets a voice and a strong one at that. From her lonely childhood to her marriage to the Pandava brothers, her ultimate insult and desire for vengeance – the book takes readers along Draupadi’s tumultuous journey. Whether you see Draupadi as the victim or are one who holds her responsible for the chain of events that unfolded…
What is this C word? All parents have an extreme attachment to it. Kids are over dosing on it. And many are minting money off it. I am talking about Classes, of course! Classes, yes, the extra pillar (Unconstitutional I say!) of education that kids are enrolled into to master the Universe. It could be anything from tuition classes to activities classes to sports coaching classes. Fortunes are being made every day by the purveyors of these! I asked a kid – 8 years of age – how many classes do you attend in a week? She adjusted her glasses,…