Visions of Elephants and Maharajs: A Trip Thru India
Man carrying a block of ice Taj Mahal Memories of India When one thinks about India several images come to mind, like that of the Taj Mahal. And while the Taj Mahal is a good a place to start an Indian adventure it is certainly not the end. In 2007 and 2008 I traveled solo through India from Delhi in the North to Jaisalmer and the Thar desert in the West, to Trivandrum in the South. After meeting good people and bad, and traveling through deserts and rainforests, I came to the conclusion that India is a land of many histories and stark contrasts. Old Man in a Desert Fatehpur Sikri, The Ghost City I learned that an amazing amount of religions are practiced side by side in India. Four world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Some of my favorite architecture had obvious Persia...