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RELIGION Goa
24 Reviews It is well known that cows are sacred to Hindus, but knowing this didn’t really prepare me for some of the (to Western eyes) unusual sights we came across. Not only do cows wander freely on town and...
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LITTLE THINGS TO KNOW Mumbai
18 Reviews Mumbai's Passport Office, being the only one in the region, caters to the residents from Greater Mumbai, over and above districts of Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Aurangabad and Beed in Maharashtra. Apart...
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Daily life Delhi
22 Reviews Indians love their motorbikes... I think is more of them than cars. In the morning whole family (4 ppl) will straddle motorbike to take them to their daly work or school. In the chaos which is Delhi...
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The People, the flavour Hyderabad
5 Reviews Diwali is known as the 'festival of lights' because houses, shops and public places are decorated with small earthenware oil lamps called diyas. These lamps, which are traditionally fueled by mustard...
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MISCELLANEOUS Goa
32 Reviews Raksha bandhan (the bond of protection in Hindi) or Rakhi is a Hindu festival which celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters. Sisters tie a rakhi (a holy thread) around their brothers'...
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RELIGION Mumbai
12 Reviews Although Bombay has one of the largest concentration of followers of the Jain religion in India, this community constitutes only a small minority of around 4% in the city. Jain temples are scattered...
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General Informations Delhi
17 Reviews Playing some music with friends at university... Local bands are often on view at college/ university annual festivals. The season begins towards the end of summer, and goes on for a while. That...
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While travelling in Hyderabad... Hyderabad
5 Reviews Most travellers dont realize that Hyderabad is a very conservative city due to the presence of Islam. I knew that it had deep roots with Islam but I had no idea that certain parts of the city were as...
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BEACHES Goa
3 Reviews Fascinating watching the local fishermen at Coco Beach. The effort that is put into fishing appears tremendous. Starting with wading out with the long fishing net to create a loop, then with as many...
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CULTURE Mumbai
18 Reviews Durga Puja also referred to as Durgotsava is an annual Hindu festival in India that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha...
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Weddings Delhi
4 Reviews Well Marriage in India is a very important part of the whole family of the groom and bride. Mostly they live as a Joint Family (Extended Family) and majority of marriages are arranged. So a marriage...
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ON THE STREETS Mumbai
13 Reviews (Here's an email we received from Bandra, Bombay) Hey! there, It's parade and festival time in the Queen of Suburbs, BANDRA!! We're hving the 3rd edition of the 'Celebrate Bandra' festival which...
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Birla Temple Delhi
1 Review The Birla Temple (Lakshmi Narayan Temple) : This temple was build by G. D. Birla in 1938. This beautiful temple is located in the west of Connaught Place. The temple is dedicated to the goddess of...
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MISCELLANEOUS Mumbai
15 Reviews Whilst visiting the Haji Ali Mosque in northern Mumbai, I noticed loads of people clambering on top of the rocks that lie at the end of the causeway that connects on the mosque to the mainland. I've...
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National Museum Delhi
1 Review National Museum - Located on Janpath, National museum is one of the treasure houses of the our glorious past. The museum has a large collection of excavated items many of which date back to 2nd and...
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marriages in India are elaborate ceremonies with lots of music, colour, food, enjoyments, lots of people around and lots of gifts!!! The ceremonies take place for an extended period of time and the bride and the bridegroom are throughout surrounded by many relatives, friends, neighbours (who take leave from their respective offices or school because of your wedding) and is definitely one of the best time in every Indian's life.
Yes, holy cows. We in India worship the cows like God and we love them. People from outside who do not understand the tradition behind it love making fun of it. But that does not really change the tradition. As per Hindu mythology, the cow is the companion of Lord Krishna and is thus placed in an elevated position. And as for why Hindu people in India do not eat beef, well the reason is simple. The same reason why people who own dogs or cats do not eat them (apart of course from the fact that cows are worshipped). So the additional reason is that, India has been traditionally an agricultural country and for farmers, cows are nothing but members of the family, and you do not eat your own ones!!!
The Hindu married women in India wear the sindoor (vermillion) on forehead (as a circle) and on the parting of the forehead. This is custormary although many new generation people are giving up this custom due to difficulties confronted with in regular life, especially those working including me but nevertheless every Indian woman regardless of what generation she belongs to, takes pride in putting sindoor on in ocassions and festivals and especially if she is wearing a traditional attire like the saree or ghagra choli.
India is a country that worships cricket and cricket stars. Sachin Tendulkar is a God here, so is Saurav Ganguly in most parts of East India. Whenever there are transport strikes, you see boys from the lane blocking the roads with stumps made from woodsticks, bricks, sandals, barrels, whatever they get hold of, and start playing. Even passerby take pleasure in taking catches or stopping by and having a look at the matches for a while. Sometimes you even chance upon umpires and even commentators. great indeed. No wonder when India loses a match, the Indian players become villains and when they win they become Gods again.
If there are two things that are really worshipped in India, one is Bollywood movies and the other is Cricket (my next tip). Hindi movies (bollywood) are full of dances, songs and colourful dresses and surroundings and are a real good entertainment. Bollywood movies are really making good mark all around the world these days. Its my strong advice to all tourists who visit India, to chance upon a good, well acclaimed star studded Bollywood movie with lots of beautiful songs & dances in a good dolby stereo enabled theatre. You'll remember it all life, not just the movie, but also the fellow spectators.
Kite flying is one of the festive events in India and people of all ages enjoy it equally. In Bengal, it is an integral part of the Vishwakarma Puja and during the days preceding this puja there are thousands of kites seen on the sky. People are always on their terraces holding the thread to their kites and trying to cut off other people's kites.
Classical dances in India occupy a very prestigious position in the culture. There are various types of classical dances coming from various regions and each equally beautiful. When at India, evey tourist should attend a classical dance evening.
Whether in a city or in the countryside, the most important thing to have is a horn that works. Every lorry you see has a sign on the back "Blow Horn", "Horn Please", and even the rare "Sound Horn". It is necessary to sound your horn when you plan to overtake a lorry or large vehicle.There may be other signs too, but the one to alert you to blow your horn is the most common.
Flowers play an important role in Indian life. Garlands are offered to guests as a sign of welcome and respect.Flowers are foudf in fountains, hanging on fences, in flower arrangements in lobbies and rooms. Ashtrays too may have a flower head pushed into the sand. Corridors in some hotels ave flowers strewn on them.Flower stalls will be found outside temples to be purchased as offerings to the gods inside.It is such a simple gesture but very nice to my way of thinking.
I have decided to put this tip under local customs as I have used my transportation tips pages to write about my journeys through India – So I Hope that you have fond this ok !!??As a lot of you will no doubt be aware, The Indian High Commission in London no longer issues Visas by Post (Or do they – there is some Talk now that they have re-established this service ?)However – If for what ever reason you decide to employ an agent to get your India Visa (Which is what I did as living out in the sticks of Cumbria, it was far to far to go to either London, One of the “Local” Visa surgeries and I didn’t particularly like the idea of posting my passport to The Indian High Commission in London as I had heard rumours of passports going missing there !!??So I employed “The Indian Visa Office” of Grays, Essex to get it for meThere charges were ok, £30 for the Visa and additional £30 for their...
Neemrana Fort-Palace State of Rajasthan
2 Reviews and 235 Opinions This is such a lovely place, whether for a couple celebrating their love or for a singleton,...
Taj Lands End Mumbai
4 Reviews and 521 Opinions 22,000 square feet of meeting space connected by pre-function areas suitable for exhibitions ...
Leela Goa
5 Reviews and 461 Opinions hallo was meeting adam pyotr mancic in the surfclub arambol. best friend at this time. every night...
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Reviews and photos of India attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for India sightseeing.
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Q: Hello folks, I am thinking to travel to India from July 28-Aug 28 2012. It includes both north and south India. I heard about...
A: 1. If you limit your travels to the plains of India during Jul 28-Aug 28, 2012, you'll experience high humidity, heat and quite a few showers. As it is, South India is...
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