Below I give you some of my general impressions of India. In the following pages I describe the tourism and my shopping experience in the following cities: Delhi; Agra; Fatehpur Sikri; Jaipur; Udaipur; Mumbai; and Kolkata.
India has always been fascinating for me, since the first time I went, which was about 36 years ago. I decided to go whilst I was visiting some friends in Frankfurt, without telling my family. I did call while I was in Delhi, shocking my parents, telling them that I was there alone! Ja…ja…what an experience!
I organized a tour of Delhi, Jaipur and Agra, and you can imagine what it was like at that time to go from Delhi to all these places by bus! An unforgettable experience. The roads were complete chaos, full of animals transporting people and merchandise, full of holes, trucks, cars and every other improbable kind of vehicle, all trying to pass each other at the same time, with no order and any semblance of traffic priority. It was a real challenge!
After half an hour, if you didn’t have a heart attack, you would survive. It was so colourful, so exotic! Men dressed in their traditional white kurtas, many with turbans. Very colourful sarees for married women. If the girls are not married they also wear a kurta.
My first experience arriving to Delhi airport is still impressed on my memory. When I went to collect my luggage there were lots of people dressed in white. Lots and lots of people. During my stay there was a religious celebration and the city was full of people everywhere.
I stayed in the Imperial hotel (more about that later). I only ate rice pudding all the stay. It is delicious, especially the one with cardamom and Safran They still serve it in the hotel today. I recommend that you try it.
The people used to have wooden beds in the street. During the day they would stand them up and during the night they would put them down, so as to sleep on them. You don’t see them in the streets today. They have long since gone.
Wooden beds are also used for cremation. It was very funny. When a diplomatic friend of mine moved to Kolkata some years ago he saw these very nice and strong wooden beds and asked his driver to go and get 2 for the guest room, but he refused to buy them. My friend insisted and in the end the driver told him that they were beds to cremate the dead people. Je…je… Knowing my friend he probably bought them anyway.
During the tour I made friends with other people. We had 3 days together around Rajasthan in a bus. It was a very nice experience together. I wore a pink band in my forehead, embroidered with beads. In front of the Taj Mahal I found myself signing autographs. I never knew who they thought I was, but it was fun to have a moment of glory. I laughed with one of the companions of my adventures, a nice young man from New York. Probably they thought that I was a Bollywood or porno star! Ja…ja…
From then on I have been to India lots of times, alone or with my divine husband, who also loves India, and with whom I have seen much of India, north and South. During my first trip I also went to Kashmir. What a beautiful place. The handcrafts were fantastic
We went to India with some friends in 1998 with my very good Greek friend, Maria, who came with her boyfriend at the time, Panulo Gamulo. When we met in Heathrow airport to fly to India he asked me “where are we going?” I answered India. He exclaimed “Indiaaaa”. Yes, I replied. He even didn’t know where we were going!!ja…ja…
After discussing the matter on the phone before the trip with Maria about taking some snacks and something to eat during our Indian road trips and the risks that still exist today of eating in the places where the guides takes you, Maria arrived at the airport with a bag full of 20 kg of Marks and Spencer’s and Harrods’ food, including God knows why, olive oil! We never ate any of the food and the tour guide had a banquet with family and friends with all the goodies when we left.
Anabella, one of my closest Italian friends, ate baby food the whole trip! She arrived with Plasmon baby food for every meal and snack! And she ate it all! Panulo was obsessed with the Alphonso Mango (it is the best quality) and ate mostly that and the very good food we had in the several places we visited.
The important thing in India is that you only eat in hotels and recommended restaurants. Unless you come from India your body is not prepared for their food. Don’t ruin a trip because of the food. Take some snacks from home, for in between meals if you are hungry. Avoid being sick! Always drink only bottled water.
I was sick in India only twice. The first time was during the first trip. Fortunately, it was the last night, and most probably because I was so tired. Many of the flights to and from India seem to go in the middle of the night, so to avoid paying a hotel for half a night I was waiting for hours in different places. When I arrived at the airport I was feeling very sick. I jumped out of the taxi in the airport, sat on my Louis Vuitton hand luggage and started vomiting around it. There were lots of men dressed in white sitting near me. Nobody batted an eyelid!
Another time in Kolkata in a super good hotel I drank a juice with two friends. All three of us felt unwell and we travelled to Bangkok like that. I recall that on that occasion the plane couldn’t depart for half an hour, since the passengers would not sit down, because the airline would not accept someone’s hand luggage. There was a revolt on the plane.
Once I went with my Indian friend, Raj, and my Italian friend, Mimmo, to the cinema in Kolkata. What an experience! In front of the cinema there were lots of food vendors, selling fried and spicy things (all the countries that are hot and not very clean eat very spicy food which helps to counteract the effects of the unhygienic food, it cleans the body naturally). Anyway, when we sat in the cinema we found the floor covered with leftover food, papers and who knows what else from whoever had been at the previous showing. The movie started and people stood up to dance, so interesting and funny. However, what was not so funny was when I had to go to the bathroom. I mentioned this to my friend Raj, who said that I could not go to the bathroom in the cinema. I was desperate, so I took the car from the consulate, which put on the siren and took me to the Taj hotel which has very clean bathrooms. Imagine what an experience to go with a diplomatic car charging through the streets of Kolkata with the siren blaring so that I could go to the lavatory!
I liked so much Kolkata and all the friends I have there. All very nice and friendly. Raki and Avick, Raj, Govind and his family and others that made my stay there unforgettable.
India is fascinating. Imagine the men of Alexander the Great in the fourth century AD being stupefied at seeing elephants for the first time. India is still very seductive today with its unchanged fascination.
Indian culture
India is a country full of contrasts, where the history and the traditions mix and the present is very dynamic. The families maintain old traditions, and their local food, that is cooked by the women in the house. The wife of the son goes to live with his parents for the most part. She is expected to assist with all the chores in the house. The mother rules the roost!
On the other hand, India, after the United States is second in engineering and information technology. The Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi is one of the best in the world and Bangalore, the city of Technology, and the most cosmopolitan after Mumbai, is a mix of traditions and modernity. Even in the villages everybody communicates with cellular phones (it is very cheap in India).
The parents still organise marriages for their children. Some with excellent results, some not. I met a family in which 2 brothers married 2 sisters. One marriage was a success, one was not.
Last trip we spoke to a man who was obliged by his father to get married with a woman, although he was in love with another one. Now he and his wife have nothing in common, only their children. His father did not want him to marry the one whom he was in love with since he was afraid that she would influence him to move away from the village and he would not have anyone to look after him in his old age
On the other hand, his daughter has asked him to choose a husband for her and left the choice entirely up to him. He thought about her preferences and he found for her a nice husband that she likes, and she is very happy. For that he had to pay a dowry to the husband’s family. The amount of the dowry depends on the status of the man. In his case, and because he had some financial problems, he got extra work to pay for the 2 daughters he recently married.
In the wedding season, thousands of families run up enormous debts to make big weddings. They invite hundreds of guests, made up of friends and family. Weddings are beautiful celebrations in India, full of traditions. If you have the opportunity to be invited to an Indian wedding, don’t miss it!!
Friends of mine sent the daughters to study to England, as a result of which they are not interested to have an arranged marriage. The father was very worried because if they get divorced and return to India when he is not around anymore, nobody is going to take care of his daughters.
In Pakistan is the same situation, I was in Karachi for 2 weeks and had a fantastic experience, people were very nice, there aren’t many tourists there. The markets where very interesting, the tailors excellent and the embroidery was spectacular, with men sitting on the floor creating beautiful pieces. A funny experience happened to me. A friend of mine took me shopping. She asked me if I wanted to buy shoes, I said that I was not interested, not expecting to find nice shoes in Pakistan. Some days later we went to have dinner with her daughters who came with beautiful shoes. I commented how nice they were, and she told me that the shoes came from the shop that she wanted to take me to! Obviously, the next day we went to the shop and I bought lots of them, mainly evening sandals that were beautiful. They were designed for the luxury brands and had an enormous selection.
India is remarkable. There is terrible poverty at one extreme and at the same time there are more millionaires than in the United States of America. Luxury goods are amongst the most expensive in the world.
Tourism in India does not rank among countries in the world. However, it is the third generator of external income for the country, together with precious stones, jewellery and clothing.
The tourism is concentrated in the so-called golden triangle formed by Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, together with other cities in Rajasthan.
Is not difficult to get around India, either by plane – lots of airlines serve the country – or by bus – they have very modern ones where you can sleep very comfortably. The train network is very extensive and very well frequented by the locals. I would strongly advise against driving yourself. The roads are chaotic and if you have an accident, as a foreigner, it will automatically be your fault. If you wish to go by car find a local driver, they are not expensive.
The territory of the subcontinent is very diverse. It is crossed by many rivers and has many forests, mountains and deserts. In the North it is separated of the rest of Asia by the Himalayan mountain range. In the south it has 3,200 km of coast, part of it on the Arabian Sea and part on the Indian Ocean.
It is wonderful to take some days to relax on the beaches of the Arabian Sea, for instance in the ex-Portuguese colony of Goa. There you can walk on the beaches, swim, and enjoy lots of sports.
India has a large variety of climates. There are 4 seasons: winter is from December to March, when it is sunny and the days are cool, although there are very cold nights in the mountains of the north; the summer (or pre-monsoon) is from April to June, when it is very hot; the monsoon season is from July to September; autumn is from October to November. There is less tourism during the summer and monsoon seasons period, unless you go to the mountains.
India is such a large and diverse country you need to visit it many times to even start to know it and understand it. For each visit it is best to concentrate on a specific area and fully enjoy the culture there. You should talk with the friendly people, try their food, experience their way of life. And if you are interested in Yoga, that is an incredible experience. Do not miss it! It is beautiful to visit the state of Tamil Nadu, in particular the Victorian town of Madras, which changed its name in 1996 to Chennai. There are lots of Dravidici temples, that have a very important religious and socio -cultural importance in towns and villages. They give work to a lot of people and represent a full immersion in the religion. Visiting one is a good way for us to learn about it.
Visit Kerala. Here you will find many of the spices that are essential in Indian food. The masala mix varies to place to place and gives a particular flavour and aroma to the food.
For centuries the Greeks, the Romans, the Chinese and the Arabs paid very high prices for the spices, which were used as perfume, to provide a nice scent in the house, and to conserve and flavour foods. South India was the first producer of spices. At that time the prices where compared with the gold and pepper was the black gold. In Kerala, you will find beautiful banana and coconut plantations, jack fruit and many exotic species.
Enjoy the food of the area, and the fantastic Ayurvedic oil massages. While we were in one of the towns near the plantations, we went to a Spa that was quite basic, they laid us down on big wood beds that looked like sarcophaguses and hot oil was poured over us. We were massaged by 2 people at a time. The interesting thing was the steam bath, that was a wood pyramid that you got in with your head sticking out. When we arrived there was a woman was in one. She looked very strange, like a marionette. Ja…;ja…. I have the image in my mind still today, after 10 years.
The Ayurvedic medicine is very old and traditional and has been practiced in India for 5,000 years, especially in the Kerala area. It is very interesting and effective. In my experience Ayurvedic works. Our Jaipur guide showed us several trees during our visit there and told us their characteristics. I was particularly interested in one that his father had used for blood circulation and his heart. It came to mind during the visit of the Ayurvedic doctor in the Spa of the Imperial Hotel in Delhi. She gave me the name of the pills that were made from the leaves of the tree and the amount I should take. Well since I take it I don’t have back pain. Incredible. Urrah! The Ayurvedic brand that I use is “Himalayan”. Visit also in Deccan area, in particular Mysore, which has a very nice atmosphere. The ex-royal family still lives in a part of the beautiful Amba Vilas that is a fairy tale looking palace designed by Henry Irwin. I really recommend that you visit this city. It is full of splendour.
Incredible India and its traditions
India is a vast country full of years of traditions. Traditionally woman wear the red dot on their forehead, to indicate they are married. This is known as a Bindi or Tilak. It is also worn by the men. It is used for special religious occasions. Also as a symbol of faith and good fortune, to honor or celebrate victory.
As ageless auspicious tradition in India is still to welcome guests with a Tilak shower of rose petals and essence, blowing a conch shell. When you stay in the fantastic Rambagh Palace in Jaipur (part of the luxury Taj chain and still own by the Maharajah of Jaipur) you will be surprised with rose petals falling on your head and you will hear the sound of a conch horn when you get out of the car. It is a very nice Indian tradition!!
Today the Bindis are a style statement for ladies. Regardless of their marital status.
Touching the feet in prostration is a mark of respect and request for blessing from our elders, and a spiritual leader. This etiquette is an integral part of the Indian traditions. The elders touch the head of the person doing the act and blessing him or her for long life, fortune and prosperity.
It is a tradition to light a lamp before starting any auspicious event or ritual. Light symbolizes knowledge. Knowledge is the everlasting wealth that is capable of removing ignorance, just as the light removes darkness, by lighting a lamp we take away darkness, unhappiness, grief. For Indian people knowledge is most important, they are always talking about it. The oil in the lamp symbolizes our Vasana or vices and the cotton wick the ego. When lit by spiritual knowledge, the Vasana gets slowly exhausted and the ego perishes. The flame of the lamp always burns upwards and similarly one should acquire such knowledge so as to take us towards higher ideals. In every Indian home it is a tradition to light a lamp in the morning and in the evening.
The Indians greet with Namaste (Hello in English). It is a general form of salutation, with the hands pressed together and fingers pointing upwards, accompanied by a slight bow. Namaste is derived from Sanskrit and means I bow to you. Therefore, Namaste literally means salutations to you. This gesture is also incorporated into Yoga and is known as Anjali Mudra. It also has a spiritual significance of negating or reducing one’s ego in the presence of another.
Alvida is Goodbye. Dhanyawad is thank you.
Some things in the menu that are good to know:
Kaali Dal Black lentil
Dal Lentil
Machi Fish
Murgh Chicken
Chai Tea
Pani Water
Aaloo Potato
Baigan Eggplant
Nan Bread
The Indian tradition is to eat at home. The wife or the person that cooks in the house (the daughter-in-law maybe) knows the preferences of the family. However, Indians like to eat in the restaurants of the large hotels. In fact, the life of wealthy Indian society revolves mostly around the luxury hotels, where you can eat very well. But be aware that they are mostly expensive. In case you plan to have dinner in these hotels, make a reservation, because normally they are full.
You can stay in many historic hotels, from palaces, to hunting lodges, to forts and important houses in the towns. Many of the Indian royals and nobles have transformed their properties into hotels. Some are managed by the large chains, such as Taj, especially in Rajasthan.
Some 15 years ago I had a funny experience in Mysore in one of the hotels that had been a beautiful Palace. The first evening, with my husband, we decided to wear traditional Indian clothes. It was very nice because the manager of the hotel took us to see the presidential suite, where also Gandhi had stayed. He thought that the suite was in accord to our elegance. However, during the night I woke up hearing a noise that sounded like there was a rat in the room! I woke my husbanito, who said that I was imagining it. We turned on the light, because I was not going to stop until he found out what was going on! We saw a small mouse in the waste paper basket. The mouse came in from the air conditioning vents and got in the room from there, jumped on a wood closet that was near the ventilation and jumped down. This one didn’t calculate the waste bin, which he couldn’t get out of, making a lot of noise moving papers that we had thrown away. My husband was obliged (by me) to call the reception to change our room, because I was not sleeping there anymore. Some other people that were travelling with us had the same problem.
Another experience in one of the best Palaces in Jaipur, around 20 years ago. The manager, very proudly, showed as the Maharajas suite. When he opened the door a rat ran across the room in front of us! ja…ja…
Today the palaces had been restored with the maximum comfort and elegance! The service is great and the food too. If you have the possibility it is a fantastic experience, but super expensive in some times of the year (high season around February), although not so much during other periods, so check before you are choosing to go to India, because there is really a big difference of prices of the hotels from month to month Another of the Hindu traditions is to Fast. Most commonly Hindus fast on certain days of the week, depending on individual choices and a favorite god or goddess. There is not a fixed day! Therefore, a worshiper strives to impose restraint to stay focused and one form of restraint is fasting. It also constitutes an instrument of self-discipline too. For the health conscious the reason for fasting is found in Ayurveda medicine, where a complete fast is considered good for your health.
Tea
No description of India would be complete without mentioning tea. The British introduced tea cultivation in the XIX century to India. They started to cultivate in the North-east part of the country in Assam. They brought plants from China. As everybody knows the British drink lots of tea each day, and they trade it in all the world. The principal areas of production were Assam and Darjeeling. Indian tea rapidly became more popular than Chinese tea in the 1800’s in Britain since it was stronger than that from China. Archibald Campbell planted the first tea bushes in his garden in Darjeeling in 1841, thus launching tea production in that area.
Don’t miss trying a very nice Indian tea. Go to a tea house and see the numerous different types of them. That can make a very nice present to take back home. They come beautifully packed. Central Cottage Industries Emporium carries a very big selection of teas. There are also very good organic ones in Fabindia, including various Ayurvedic detox ones. Try them.
You can have a very nice High Tea in the Imperial Hotel.
If you want to understand the British Empire, see the movie Victoria and Abdul, that tells about Victoria’s fascination with India and shows lots of Indian traditions that Influenced England.
Fabrics
In 1630 the British put their base in Madras (now Chennai) in the south-east of India so that they could buy cotton from the local producers. Still today cotton is very important for the Indian economy.
The courts of the Indian Mughals and Maharajas had a tradition of beautiful fabrics in different materials: silks from Varanasi, wool from Kashmir etc. The most beautiful wool shawls from Kashmir were created during the XV to the first half of the XIX century and became fashionable in Europe around 1770. The embroidery was magnificent as were the colours and the softness. Imagine these beautiful and exotic pieces that arrived in England and were then sold throughout Europe, making a woman look like a Maharani. It became very chic to use cashmere shawls in France.
In the next century the jacquard looms of Lyon produced shawls a lot cheaper and the Indian ones lost their attraction. What a pity. Fortunately, today in Kashmir beautiful cashmere embroidered shawls are still being produced. In Europe they cost a fortune, but in India they are still affordable. Under the shopping section I mention the names of shops in Delhi that sell these items.
What are very nice are the blankets in cashmere, for single or double beds, very cosy and soft. You can find them in the Dilli Haat. Anyway, nothing can compare with the fine hand embroidered shawls from Kashmir.
The silk wave, introduced in India by the Chinese Buddhist monks, is a State Industry in Karnataka. The most precious pieces of silk dress the idols in the temples and wealthy clients, with the rest being exported to the world.
In Varanasi you can see and buy a Varanasi silk brocade saree for weddings. I bought a beautiful blue and gold one last year. A long one should be around 200 dollars in the shop I had mentioned in the Varanasi section. It made a perfect tunic, which I wore for my friend Mariska’s incredible birthday party. It was so thin warm and soft. Ideal for cold nights on the beach and in the desert. There are also very beautiful silk scarves for men.
In the markets in every Indian city you will find multi-colour sarees, shawls, skits and tunics. There is a big variety in different materials, from the most expensive that can cost thousands of dollars to the cheaper acrylic ones. You choose. The Ina Market in Delhi, near the Dilli Haat, has a very good selection for low prices. Have a look. You can find lots of them!
Giving tips
Ask your guides about the tips you are expected to give in different situations. You will find that Indians always have their hands out, expecting them. In India every time you receive a service a tip is expected! It is quite uncomfortable! Especially in the hotels. My advice is always to have a good supply of 50 and 100 rupee notes in your pocket. The best system is that used by the Oberoi chain. There is a box in the reception for tips that are split among all of the hotel staff. You can leave one when you checkout of the hotel. This avoids the uncomfortable situation of always having to reach for a tip, not being able to find the expected amount and not knowing how much to give.
Enough about India, let’s go to its exciting capital city…..