April 2011
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March 2011
27 posts
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Tollywood Star →
Now that Hyderabad, India, is booming as a business hub (Microsoft, among other tech giants, is here), the city is looking past the stuffed suits and angling for the jet set. Its history rivals that of the more popular Jaipur, with distinct architecture from the Nizam rule and a mining heritage that gave us the Kohinoor diamond. A flurry of new openings — boutique hotels, upscale restaurants...
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6 Essential Books About India
“Shantaram” by Gregory David Roberts, 2003
Based on the author’s real life and fatter than a copy of Moby Dick, Shantaram is the odyssey of an Australian bank robber and heroin addict who escapes maximum security prison to hide out and eventually open a free health clinic in Mumbai’s slums. An unfaltering look amidst India’s expat, slum and criminal underbellies, Shantaram is a moving narrative...
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February 2011
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In Delhi, an Arty Village Rises by Ancient Ruins
The narrow roads of Hauz Khas Village, hidden behind the crumbling structures of its namesake complex — a mosque, madrasa, royal tomb and reservoir dating to the 13th century — are among car-congested New Delhi’s most enjoyable streets to explore by foot. The village had a brief “it” moment in the 1980s, when high-end shops began to open among the old homes here. But the quaint setting soon fell...
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Literature Tailored for a Trip Through India
India is a great country in which to get lost…in literature. Not only does the country have its own great canon of writers to choose from, but the most common form of transportation – trains – makes for long stretches of time with little to do but read between cities.
“The Hungry Tide” by Amitav Ghosh “A Suitable Boy” by Vikram Seth “India after Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest...
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The NY Times' 41 Places to Go in 2011
19. Hyderabad, India
Dynastic grandeur in the heart of modern India. Even in the 16th century, Hyderabad, in southern India, famous for its diamond trade and sultans’ palaces, was a city with serious bling. In the last decade, a new sort of wealth has arrived — the outsourcing of international companies, which has inspired a boom of sleek cafes and restaurants such as Fusion 9. The latest buzz is...
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