Got you ! We got to India,to the very elegant Oberoi Towers hotel in Mumbai. We wanted to prepare a cup of tea, but the only socket I could spot in the room was under the desk. This is how I got under the desk !

Mumbai – the suspended garden

Dobi gat - Public laundry – Dobi walla- the person who takes your laundry washes and presses your shirts and jeans and delivers them back to you with amazing accuracy.

Dabba walla It is a 125 year old trade formed by a unique network of 5,000 men with the task to deliver 200,000 home made lunches each day from suburban homes to downtown offices in Mumbai. Caring moms and wives want their men to have fresh meals every day ! Spoiled men ! Dabbas are small steel boxes used as 'lunch boxes' to hold the hot homemade curries, rice, and chappattis separate while keeping them hot. dabbas

Taj Mahal Hotel,Mumbai

Jama Mosque New Delhi

This is New Delhi seen from a rickshaw ! Everything is moving ! In front of us,behind us, near us people, cars, cows, motorbikes, rickshaws, all move ! And everyone who has a horn … BLOWS it ! There are no traffic rules, while the traffic light is just an environmental statue !

We and the mighty Shiva ! Inside the temple there is a huge lingam, the male organ or Phallus, worshipped in some Oriental traditions.

Our “ driver “ on our way to Amber fort

Sacred cow

“Rickshaw ” a very popular means of transportation

Fatehpur Sikri The royal city was built by Mughal emperor Akbar beginning in 1570 and served as the empire's capital from 1571 until 1585, when it was abandoned for reasons that remain unclear. One of the explanations could be the heat and the lack of water. The surviving palace and mosque are touristic attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We were invited to see a wedding

Jaipur – the pink city Hawa Mahal ( Palace of Wind ) the famous building is in fact only a five-story facade of pink stone which has 953 niches and windows and is just one room deep. The palace women trapped in purdah, (practice of preventing women from being seen by men ) could watch the street life, including processions without being seen.

Agra Taj Mahal, the monument of eternal love, is a mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife,Mumtaz. They are both buried there.

Me and the Taj !

Another wedding – here we saw part of the ceremony

We had a long way ahead, so we went “ shopping “ in a small market near the road. We were very careful with the food there. The guide even checked the bananas that we bought!

Restaurant on the sidewalk

Sikh shrine in New Delhi. The ‘langar,’ or free kitchen Everybody is welcome here to take a free meal. People of all ages, religions and social backgrounds sit together on the floor. They get a metal plate in which volunteers put the vegetarian food. Everyone eats with the hands. Before beginning the meal, they pray. Everything quietly and orderly. Thousands of meals are served here daily.

Volunteers cooking

The complex of the shrine

People purifying themselves in the water. The stairs and paths near the shrine are also carefully washed. You have to be very careful not to step on any insect – it may be the reincarnation of somebody !

Inside the shrine

Bahá'í Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, better known as the "Lotus Temple“ in New Delhi. It has the form of a lotus, the symbol of beauty and purity. Its design is composed of 27 free-standing marble "petals" arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides. There are nine surrounding ponds whose water cool the air. The nine doors of the Lotus Temple open into a central hall. When we entered the hall we were asked to keep silent. Inside it is complete silence.

On my way to the Ganges

Sunrise seen while sailing in a boat on the Ganges.

Varanasi ( Baranes ) It is a holy city for Hinduism. People come to the ghats on the banks of the Ganges not only for the ritual prayer and bathing, but also make Yoga, meditation, wash clothes, even drink from the water. In the evening we watched a cremation. After the burning of the body, the ashes were thrown into the Ganges. Our guide said that the water of the Ganges was “ antibacterial “ ! He drank a glass of water every morning ! Of course they are already immune ! Varanasi is one of the holiest places in Buddhism too, being one of the four pilgrimage sites said to have been designated by Buddha himself.

The site of the deer park where Buddha is said to have given his first sermon about the basic principles of Buddhism

Typical street in India

On the way to school

Sep-09 Music : I love India My personal photos from my trip to India, 1997 Some of the info : Wikipedia