Background: The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.
May 20th 2008Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Madurai Wivenhoe, England (a present from my good friend Nina)
Thoughts: This book was fascinating, intriguing, could not be put down and an emotional rollercoaster, skilly depicting life, struggling and ha ... [full story]
April 15th 2008Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Madurai So far my trip has been great …. Everything has more or less gone to plan and I haven’t really had anything to complain about…. well that was until now!
Having had quite a long da ... 21 photos[full story]
March 12th 2008Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Madurai Our Russ visit began in the very early hours of seventeenth February when we disembarked the night train from Trivandrum. We were met by Berlin a founding member and the current President of Russ Foun ... 14 photos[full story]
March 8th 2008Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Madurai Sairaana. Kuume kavi eilen jo lahella 40:ta astetta. Nyt parempi, vaikka heikottaa ja kehkoja pakottaa. Helvetin pelottavaa olla yksin sairaana toisella puolella maapalloa ilman voimassaolevaa vakuutu ... [full story]
March 3rd 2008Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Madurai Hello again!
Cochin proved to be a good choice......not the main town, but Fort Cochin which is one of the islands of the coast there. I say Island, I think Fort Cochin is actually connected to th ... [full story]
February 24th 2008Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Madurai ... at least on every single Rupie Bill. How are you folks today, hope the sun is shining wherever you are (at least in your hearts). If you don't here's some litlle update from our trip thr ... [full story]
February 5th 2008Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Madurai Madurai
On the way to Madurai we stopped for lunch and another great cooking demonstation. A chance for more street shooting for me! Then on the massive Meenakshi temple which is the second largest ... 51 photos[full story]
January 24th 2008Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Madurai Miss Havisham (the moniker we had affectionately given our rickshaw) was now festooned with even more tat than you could shake a stick at, it being a badge of pride to collect as much crap as possible ... [full story]
January 24th 2008Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Madurai So yeah, not too much to add. I found out last night that our future planned train ride to Kovalam had very limited seating in the near future... the only hope would be to catch the train tonight, an ... [full story]
January 23rd 2008Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Madurai John took some Cipro for his stomach last night, and all better this morning. Kevin had taken his antibiotic yesterday morning, before the train ride, and took some more this morning, and he's doing ... [full story]
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