Easy Tours of India

illuminatetheworld: A woman painting a kolam in Tamil Nadu,...

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:00:06 -0400

A woman painting a kolam in Tamil Nadu, India. A kolam is a form of sandpainting that is drawn using rice powder by female members of the family in front of their home.

instagramenzo: Yashica#India (Taken with Instagram at...

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 12:00:06 -0400

instagramenzo:

Yashica#India (Taken with Instagram at flickr.com/djenzooooo/)

Love Love Love this photo! (All of instagramenzo’s photos, actually)

Photo

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 15:00:07 -0400

jemappellejimbo: Zaheer Khan and Piyush Chawla India wins!!!

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:01:07 -0400

jemappellejimbo:

Zaheer Khan and Piyush Chawla

India wins!!!

andrewshiah: Bhangra Mix by Meenal Tambe. Bhangra music keeps...

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:00:06 -0400

andrewshiah:

Bhangra Mix by Meenal Tambe. Bhangra music keeps me awake! Songs used: Sara Pind Mitran Da - Aman Statis - Karan MC & Lil Sach, Darshan (Remix), Aag Feat. Cheshire Cat (Remix)- Bhangra Mix, Yaari - RDB. YouTube: AttackofzeSugar

Tollywood Star

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:00:07 -0400

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 and shops catering to stars of the local Telugu film industry, known as Tollywood — is moving the metropolis into the spotlight.

meanderingwind Photo: Statue of Lord Shiva in Banglore by...

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:01:06 -0400

meanderingwind

Photo: Statue of Lord Shiva in Banglore by Gaurav Singh (heeru)

The Shiva Statue is 65 feet. The statue depicts Lord Shiva who is seated in Padmashan or Lotus position. This is the largest Shiva statue in India.

Shiva (pronounced /ˈʃiːvə/; Sanskrit: शिव Śiva, meaning “auspicious one” ) is a major Hindu deity, and the Destroyer or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine.^[2] In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the Supreme God. In the Smarta tradition, he is regarded as one of the five primary forms of God ^[3] and in the Brahma Kumaris perspective, he is known as Father, or Shiva Baba (Wikipedia).

Lord Shiva represents the aspect of the Supreme Being (Brahman of the Upanishads) that continuously dissolves to recreate in the cyclic process of creation, preservation, dissolution and recreation of the universe. Lord Shiva is the Lord of mercy and compassion. He protects devotees from evil forces such as lust, greed, and anger. He grants boons, bestows grace and awakens wisdom in His devotees (www.koausa.org).

gardenofthefareast: Elephant Festival Jaipur The Elephant...

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:00:06 -0400

gardenofthefareast:

Elephant Festival Jaipur
The Elephant Festival is a unique event held annually in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. Groomed to perfection, glittering in gold, row upon row of elephants catwalk before an enthralled audience. The elephants move gracefully in procession, run races, play the regal game of polo, and finally participate in the spring festival of Holi. It is festival time for the elephants.

worldheritagesites: The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur - India The...

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:01:07 -0400

worldheritagesites:

The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur - India
The Jantar Mantar, in Jaipur, is an astronomical observation site built in the early 18th century. It includes a set of some 20 main fixed instruments. They are monumental examples in masonry of known instruments but which in many cases have specific characteristics of their own. Designed for the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye, they embody several architectural and instrumental innovations. This is the most significant, most comprehensive, and the best preserved of India’s historic observatories. It is an expression of the astronomical skills and cosmological concepts of the court of a scholarly prince at the end of the Mughal period.

sightsounds: The Musician’s Apprentice by manyu sabnis

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:00:08 -0400

sightsounds:

The Musician’s Apprentice by manyu sabnis

sweetpeapath: Doorway Stitching by Meena Kadri In back streets...

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:00:07 -0400

sweetpeapath:

Doorway Stitching

by Meena Kadri

In back streets of Jaisalmer town, Rajasthan, India

Happy Holi!

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 12:05:08 -0400

Happy Holi!

37 Asian Odysseys [including 5 in India] full story at...

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:57:31 -0400

37 Asian Odysseys [including 5 in India]

full story at NYTimes.com

The World’s Most Beautiful Buildings The Golden Temple,...

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:01:07 -0400

The World’s Most Beautiful Buildings

The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India

This most sacred Sikh shrine sits in the middle of what was once a wooded lake. The Buddha came here to meditate, and so did Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith, some 2,000 years later. The Harimandir, or “Temple of God,” was built and destroyed many times before the current version was erected in the late 1700s. The radiance of this gilded building, a mixture of Hindu and Muslim architectural styles, is amplified by reflections in the surrounding water and the devotional music that emanates from the temple day and night.

Night Owls Welcome: The temple is open 20 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, and is illuminated (and especially lovely) at night.

viaTravel + Leisure

onaboutindia: Holi, the Festival of Colors, is a beautiful...

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 15:00:08 -0500

onaboutindia:

Holi, the Festival of Colors, is a beautiful religious festival celebrated in Spring. This photo was taken by Poras Chaudhary, a talented photojournalist from Kurukshetra, India. Check out his work!

onaboutindia: This photo was taken in Rajasthan, India by a...

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 12:00:07 -0500

onaboutindia:

This photo was taken in Rajasthan, India by a lomography user who goes by the name of maxpinckers.

A Daal Festival I remember when I first attempted to cook...

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:00:08 -0500

A Daal Festival

I remember when I first attempted to cook something with daal in it in India. I expected it to be fairly simple, because after all daal is lentils, right? Yet, even my simplest cook book left me totally confused. One dish called for moong daal, one dish called for channe ki daal, and one more called for tuar daal. And another dish called for all three types of daal, plus masoor daal. I was totally clueless. Back home we commonly just have lentils and chickpeas (channa). Those names cover it all. I didn’t even have any idea what all these Indian varieties of daal were supposed to look like. The recipe book had some descriptions that confused me further. Tuar daal was yellow lentils. Moong daal was split yellow lentils. And channa daal was yellow split gram lentils. Huh? Somehow I managed to muddle through it. But today I discovered that there so many more types of daal than what I ever suspected. The local supermarket is holding a daal festival, and I counted an astonishing 25 types of daal (including channa and rajma) on display. I wouldn’t even know where to begin with cooking it all!

via Diary of a White Indian Housewife

^This is an awesome blog. Be sure to check it out!

pierreturtaut: Reach the moon Flickr: http://flic.kr/p/9ovHdo

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:00:08 -0500

pierreturtaut:

Reach the moon

Flickr: http://flic.kr/p/9ovHdo

pierreturtaut: Street life Flickr: http://flic.kr/p/9osEvX

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:00:07 -0500

pierreturtaut:

Street life

Flickr: http://flic.kr/p/9osEvX

gadling: Map shows passport ownership by state. So I guess...

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:00:08 -0500

gadling:

Map shows passport ownership by state. So I guess middle America doesn’t have much intention of leaving the country.