India
A Beautiful Stain
by Avni Shah
The first expensive purse I purchased was a Marc by Marc Jacobs cream-colored satchel… Read more >>
Where Gods Showered Flowers on the Earthby Sharon MorrisGripping the steering wheel with one hand, our driver blasted his horn at the bus heading straight for us on the narrow, winding road. While I held my breath, the other bus swerved to the inside, passing so close I could admire the nose ring on an Indian woman staring out the window… Read more >>
The Good Onesby Colleen FinnIn late spring of 2009, I visited India for the first time, eager to explore a country that I had dreamed of visiting for years. When I arrived, it was with all the arrogance of a seasoned traveler… Read more >>
Elephants, Camels, Monkeys and Moreby Sharon L. MorrisLurching up the hill toward Jaipur’s Amber Fort on a brightly painted elephant, I saw my grandchildren grinning back at me from the elephant just ahead. Relaxing my grip on the flimsy wooden platform, I remembered how often we’d enjoyed reading books about Babar the elephant. At that moment, spending August in steamy India didn’t seem like such a crazy idea after all… Read more >>
Gods and Gurusby Dianne Sharma-WinterWe get into their jeep and take a free ride to the police station. On the way we pass a body lying beside the road, a dead pilgrim from the night… Read more >>
Sai is Everywhereby Satu Susanna RommiAn old, thin and surprisingly strong Italian lady is shouting at a voluptuous Indian woman who is, apparently, trying to queue-jump… Read more >>
We Might Dieby Satu Susanna Rommi“We might die,”, says my boyfriend. “But if we don’t, it’s going to be a great experience.” Ladakh, “the land of high passes,” is India’s sparsely populated northernmost part, surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world… Read more >>
The Calcutta Railway Riotby Vicki Flier HudsonMy life began in earnest the day I accidentally started a riot in a railway station in Calcutta, India. Sure the prior twenty-three years had their highlights, but I wouldn’t have my own business, or the passion for India that I do had it not been for that little skirmish… Read more >>
Sankranthi in a Town Called Hampiby Beth WhitmanI hear the incessant pounding of a drum as we walk around the corner towards our guesthouse. A man steps in front of me, his face is elaborately painted with colored powders. His mouth is wide open. A knife pierces his cheek… Read more >>
Only Happy in Indiaby Drake Lucas“You happy?” my driver Satheesh asked with his usual energetic smile. I had met my driver at the Bangalore Airport in India and this had been, and would continue to be, our typical daily conversation… Read more >>
How the Other Half Livesby Shelley SealeIn Mumbai, I flit in and out of the two Indias. One is on the streets, right up front – the beggars, the pavement dwellers, the slums, the street children, the tiny laborers who pick through the litter for recyclables when they should be laughing on a playground. It’s noisy, in your face, assaulting you… Read more >>
Taken for a Rideby Connie Stambush“Tell the taxi-wallah to cross the Yumana River using Matura Bridge, not any other bridge. After crossing, tell him….” Sujata’s rhythmic right, left, right instructions left me dizzy… Read more >>
Lost and Foundby Shelley SealeLurching along the dirt road, I gazed out the window at rural Orissa in northeastern India as the car bounced over potholes, sending plumes of red dust billowing behind it… Read more >>