Shatrunjaya is one of Jainism's holiest pilgrim sites. A mind boggling array of 863 temples perched on a hilltop plateau high above the gulf of Cambay. Three thousand two hundred steps lead to the top. We began to climb. Slowly but surely. Luckily there was plenty to distract us from our aching calf muscles and thirst. Donkeys being herded uphill, carrying paniers of water containers. Schoolkids in sunshine yellow shirts and navy blue shorts/skirts literally running uphill! Nuns dressed completely in white, carrying large wooden staffs, nimble and sure-footed, making their way downhill with alacrity . Pilgrims - young girls - dressed very curiously. Every inch of their bodies covered, face masks, leggings, knee-pads, long gloves covering their arms. And then there were the dholis. Pilgrims sitting cross-legged on ratan woven seats swinging from a pole ... read more

Once in a while you meet someone extraordinary. Someone with such an infectious positive energy, that the only thing you can do around them is smile. Mr. Prakash Gupta - alias Kukki, is known throughout Bundi. He began talking as he welcomed us into his living room cum bedroom, pulling out book after book, he proudly showed us articles that had been published about him in German, French, Hindi and English, and a photo of himself with the President of India. His energy took my breath away, like a tornado he laughed and talked continuously. To Mr. Kukki everything is at the least 'very fantastic'. A school drop-out, educated only until eighth grade, he's taught himself everything he knows. His passion for archeology began when he was a young boy, he found his first coin when ... read more

Shekhawati is a landscape of narrow country roads, half forgotten villages and beautiful havelis. (large ornate traditional houses). Crops of bright green mustard seeds, wheat and cauliflower interlaced with sandy tracks, ornate yellow sandstone wells and crumbling cenotaphs. An open air painting of shifting colour and light. Once an area on the silk trade route between the ports of the Arabian Sea and the Ganges Valley, the wealthy Shekhawati 'thakurs' (noblemen) were able to build fantastic residences, decorated from top to bottom with frescos. The paintings depict Hindu gods, portraits of local dignitaries and maharajas, scenes of everday life, and the latest inventions of the time. Often the artists had never seen the wonders they were painting and imagination had free rein - mythology and modernity combined to give real images. Personal favourites included Krishna flying ... read more

Every October in the 8th month of Kartika, business and religion come together and the quiet town of Pushkar is transformed into the circus that is the Pushkar camel festival. Thousands of livestock owners stir in the Thar desert, pack up family and belongings onto wooden carts, trailing camels, horses, and cows behind them, to trade on the Mela ground - a huge, dry, expanse of scrub on the northen edge of town. Some 50,000 camels and cattle cover this terrain - animals as far as the eye can see. With front legs tied together, the camels eat, drink, snort, groan and slaver. Trying to encourage a sale owners decorate their animals to show them in their best light. Snouts adorned with flowers, the beasts are draped with pom-poms, tassles and bows. But a ship of ... read more

Frantic. Frustrating. Frenetic. Delhi, with a population of 12.8 million, everyone of them, it seems, on the make, was down right hard work. Tenacious touts pretending to be our best friend, wanting to direct us to places where they would receive commission. Auto rickshaw drivers who refused to turn on the meter, and argued about price and destination... 'Is closed today sir, because of festival" said one rickshaw wallah with a waggle of his head when we asked to go to Humayun's Tomb - even though he'd agreed to take us just two seconds earlier. "Sir - it's easier to go on the metro", two helpful guys offered unbidden advice, when we tried another day, to go to the Red Fort - "you must first buy entrance ticket here" - they pointed to our map indicating ... read more