The Joys of Chai
I was in India three years ago this month. This is a post about that trip and one of the true joys of visiting this vast country–having an early morning Chai. Reposted from May […]
ARCHIVES
” Did you feel like a voyeur?”
Didn’t you feel like a voyeur? This was originally posted July 2017. “Didn’t you feel like a voyeur?” my friend asked me a couple of nights ago when I gathered with a group for a chat, glass of wine and some lovely nibbles. I had shared some of my recent India adventures. I described...
Why I miss Travel
When Covid-19 hit and I had to cancel three immediate trips and later two additional adventures, I was disappointed, but took the whole thing pretty philosophically. I’ve been on lots of trips and assume I’ll go on more so I reminded myself of the motto of the summer camp I attended as...
Life on the Streets in India
India is endlessly fascinating to me. All of it. The Taj, the glorious estates of the Maharajas, the camels, the monks. But what sticks in my memory of travel to this exotic and faraway place are the sights and scenes on the streets of life so dramatically different than my own. India is...
Photographing a Festival in the Thar Desert in India
I never get tired of going to festivals. There’s something compelling about people gathering to celebrate something or other. Last November I attended a festival in a small town in the Thar Desert in the Rajthastan region of India on a Jim Cline Photo Tour. To be perfectly honest, I’m not...
Visiting small villages in the desert in India
When I was design writer for the Home and Garden section of the Grand Rapids Press, my job meant touring people’s homes, asking questions and then writing about how they decorated, used space, spent money, collected items and lived their lives. I loved it. I like design and visual things....
Sadhus meander India
I’ve been avidly following some friends on facebook who are attending the Kumbh Mela in India right now . It is fascinating. If Kumbh Mela doesn’t sound familiar to you, it is a huge festival where millions of Hindus head to the Ganges River to bath and to participate in religious...
Namaste: Why I love India
I often get asked why I want to go to India. I’ve been three times. I am already looking forward to the fourth visit marked in bold letters on my calendar in 2018. Why would a woman like me who grew up in a small town, attended Midwestern Universities and settled in a traditionally conventional...
Kavant Fair: Matchmaking opportunity.
If you read last week’s blog you know that the Kavant Fair in India is the Rathva Tribe’s opportunity to show off their traditions. It’s a very happy time for the people of the area. The Kavant Fair, while an opportunity for the tribal males to show off their proud heritage...
Kavant Fair: Festival Focused on Tribal Dance
I had no idea what to expect when we rolled into Kavant, India to attend the much anticipated Fair. Kavant is a small village in Gujarat, populated with a tribal group called the Rathvas. Rathva literally means forest dweller. They have inhibited this area for thousands of years. This festival...