Holi - Festival of Colors

Holi is the festival of colours, one of the most awaited festivals in the country and celebrated by Hindus all over the country. The festival is celebrated with much joy and vigour all across the country especially in North India. Holi is not just a festival; it’s a tradition which dates back millenniums. It’s one of those festivals that brings out the child in everyone.

The colourful festival of Holi spans over two days and marks the beginning of spring. On the first day, known as day of “Holika Dahan”, fire is lit marking the victory of truth over evil. The second day is “Phag”, when the actual Holi is celebrated with vibrant colours and water. The festival bridges gap between people of different communities and age groups and people hug each other while smearing each other’s face with paint.

The Legend of Holi

Hiranyakashyap’s who was a mighty demon who beat the gods and became the master of the universe. He had a son named Prahalad. Prahalad was hated by his father as Prahalad was a devotee of Lord Vishnu, one of the most worshipped gods among Hindus.

Prahlad was confronted many times by his father for worshipping Vishnu. The king decided to kill Prahlad. Prahlad was thrown off a cliff, attacked by the king’s soldiers, crushed by elephants and many such antics were used by Hiranyakashyap but all these attempts failed. After many failing attempts, Hiranyakashyap thought of a master plan and called his sister Holika. Holika was blessed by gods in a way that she was immune to fire, that she wouldn’t get burned. Hiranyakashyap asked her to kill his child. Holika initially hesitated to kill Prahlad but agreed when forced. Holika held Prahlad in her lap and sat in the middle of fire.

As Holika was immune to fire, they thought it would be a perfect plan, and their motive would be fulfilled. But something unexpected unfolded. As Holika was using her power for evil, her power was taken away by the gods and she was burnt to ashes. Prahalad as always was unharmed who kept chanting the name of Vishnu. Vishnu protected his greatest devotee and Prahalad escaped unhurt.

Later, Vishnu killed Hiranyakashyap by appearing as Narsingh avatar and Prahlad was crowned as the king. Narsingh was half human and half Lion. Lord Vishnu had to appear in a Narsingh avatar as Hiranyakashyap was blessed by powers that he could not be killed by any human or animal or be killed in the sky or on land.

Celebrating Holi

Holi is celebrated in March, every year. Though Holi is a Hindu festival, not much religious practices are attached with the festival. To celebrate the victory of good over evil, bonfires are lit on the first day of festival and a dummy of Holika is burnt.

The festival is welcomed by everyone in great spirits with a lot of singing and dancing involved. Holi is celebrated with much joy in North India and the Holi of Mathura is extremely famous. It starts a week before the actual festival and attracts enthusiastic people from far off places.

The morning of Holi is awaited by much anticipation especially by kids. They throw coloured water with water guns on their friends and family and some almost anyone. You will find youths (their face and hair drenched in colour and in almost unidentifiable state) on their bikes and open jeeps zooming around the cities. In the noon when everyone is done with colours, comes the time of food that has been specially prepared. People on this day usually have sweets and many even drink bhang (marijuana).

The festival of Holi is usually held around March. And the best place to visit during Holi is in Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna and Vrindavan where he spent this childhood, all of which can easily reached from Delhi. Holi is not particularly celebrated in South India.

Those travelling to India will find Holi very interesting. It’s one of its kind! Due to large numbers of Indians living in the USA and Europe, Holi and Diwali have also become popular in the West. The date of the festival changes year after so you need to check if you wish to travel to India during Holi. This year’s Holi (2013) is on the Wednesday, March 27.

Video of people playing the festival of colour, in Delhi, India

Open your heart and enjoy. You will love Holi…

This year in 2019 Holi will be celebrated on March 20 and March 21.

Pictures of Barcelona Spain

Barcelona (Spain) is the capital of Catalonia and is renowned for its rich cultural heritage, architectural works and is a major economic centre of South West Europe. Barcelona happens to be a huge tourist destination for people around the world. Some of the places to visit in Barcelona include Sagrada Familia, Barcelona Cathedral, Montserrat, Park Güell, Palau Güell, Arc de Triomf, Gothic Quarter and Parc de la Ciutadella.

A friend of mine was in Barcelona recently and took some photos of the various places he visited. He visited some of the famous landmarks, areas and attractions Barcelona has to offer. Here are a few pictures of Barcelona taken by my friend. See for yourself how beautiful Barcelona is!

Hindi food words and phrases with audio

Although English is spoken in most restaurants and most people will understand English; it’s nice to use a few Hindi words and phrases every now and then especially if you are in a restaurant or buying food at a food stall. So let’s take a look at some of the Hindi food words and common phrases that might come in handy in India.

You might also want to read about street foods here.

Hindi food words:

Food – Khana

Breakfast – Nasta

Lunch – Dopahar ka bhojan

Dinner – Raat ka khana

Water – Paani

Tea – Chai

Cheese – Paneer

Chapatti – Roti

Milk – Dudh

Rice – Chawal

Fruit – Phal

Banana – Kela

Apple – Seb

Knife and fork – Kaata aur chaku (or churi kaata)

Delicious – Swadist

Egg – Aanda

Potato – Aaloo

Lentil – Daal

Pappadums – Papad

Plate – Thali

As a traveller to India you will be eating a lot of Indian food. Here are some Hindi food related phrases that might come in handy.

Food related phrases for a restaurant conversation in Hindi:

Table for 2 please – Do aadmi ke liye table chahiye

Where is the restaurant – Restaurant kidhar hai

Please take me to the restaurant – Kripya restaurant ley chaliye

I need water – Mujhe paani chahiye

Please bring water – Paani le aayiye

I want bottled water – Mujhe bottled water chahiye (Guide to drinking water in India)

I want mineral water – Mujhe mineral water chahiye

Food is nice – Khana bahut accha hai

Food is bad – Khaan bahut kharab haI want water – Mujhe paani chahiye

Can I have some food – Kya khana milega

Please bring my food – Mera khana laa do

How much is this – Yeh kitne ka hai

Bill Please – Bill le aayiye

Where is the toilet – Toilet kidhar hai

I hope these Hindi food words and phrases will come in handy while you are in India. If you are going to India then you will need some more Hindi for your travels. Here’s a comprehensive list of greeting Hindi words and phrases (with audio) that might come in handy.

Visiting Kolkata? Travel Tips

Kolkata, often called the City of Joy, was the first capital of British India and was one of the first parts of India to fall under the British rule as well. Though, the city is not old enough with 1690 to be the official birth year, it has compensated it in full by being one of the most culturally advanced and intellectual cities of India. Why, Presidency College was called the Oxford of the East! If it is your first time in Kolkata, let me tell you a few things.

Season to Explore: Go to any travel site, and it will tell you that the best time to visit Kolkata would be October onwards. As an insider, I would request you to make it October itself. The reasons are simple, while October to March, the weather in Kolkata is great (which means less heat and much less humidity), October is the festive month for Bengalis. You should not miss Durga Puja, the 5-6 day long celebrations of Bengalis which are back to back followed by Kali Puja, Laxmi Puja and other smaller deities. This is when you find the Bengalis, one of the most amicable and welcoming people of India at their best. The celebrations are huge and the pandal is hopping would be a lifelong experience.

Skip Continental/Chinese: Why would you even touch those when Kolkata offers the best Biriyani in India (along with Hyderabad) and the famous Bengali cuisines. You must try the local foods as a wise man once said, “Nothing teaches you more about the culture of a place than the foods”. In Kolkata, food is very, very affordable and you simply cannot forget the taste of rice, fish fry (skip if vegetarian), luchi, alur dam and to finish on a sweet note, rosogolla (Bengalis invented it. Really! Even Bengali Polao (pulao) is a thing to lick your fingers.

Hotels in Kolkata: You might get tempted to book with any of the hotels near Kolkata airport or Howrah rail station. While the airport hotels are really good as they cater to international tourists frequently, the budget hotels of Kolkata are mostly on Marquis Street. This is where you will find loads of foreigner backpackers, haggling over the room rent (yes, every cost/price is negotiable in Kolkata) and drinking tea at roadside vendors as well. Make use of online travel websites like Yatra to book a hotel in Kolkata and save both your time and money.

No fancy clothes: Why do Bengalis always wear cotton shirts? Come to Kolkata and you will realise that every inch of your body is Gangotri (the origination of Ganga, you knew that, right?) and only Cotton shirts with undergarment can keep you somewhat comfortable in this extremely humid condition. Go for comfort over looks.

Shopping only at New Market: If you want a centralised shopping experience, skip the malls. You might have heard of New Market from your ‘bong’ friends and that is where you should go. Like we Indians say, “from pin to elephant” or like the Bengalis say, “even tiger’s milk” is available in this rather maze of a market. You can find every modern clothes and accessory and also turkey meats, all at one place. The outer circumference of New Market offers extremely good shopping experience as well. However, haggle, haggle and haggle. For a starter, whatever the shopkeeper says, start with half of that, even if it’s a big shop and written “NO bargaining”. Here’s how to bargain in India.

I could go on to a novel’s length but let me get some breath back as this wonderful city always excites me. Kolkata is a very welcoming city and people are hearty. You can speak Hindi and English and most of the time you will have no problem in interacting with them. Here’s Hindi words and phrases for your travels in India.

10 melodious songs in Hindi for your next travel

Hindi films are India’s best exports. People from all over the world have shown love and appreciation of Hindi cinema. Great thing about Hindi films is that it still depicts songs in its movies. Many Hindi songs from the movies are known for its melody and lyrical beauty.

If you are on your travels and looking for some melodious Hindi songs to listen to then here’s a pick of some of my favourite melodious Hindi songs. It was very difficult to pick out from a huge list of melodious songs Bollywood has to offer. But nonetheless here’s a few of the ones I would listen to for my next travels. It consists of old and new Hindi songs and all of them are melodious, easy going and pleasing to the ear. So bookmark this page so that you can come back to it later.

Melodious songs in Hindi

1. “Tere Bin” from the recent movie Simmba featuring Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan. This song has been a huge hit. Although this song is mainly in Punjabi some parts are in Hindi as well. The song is mainly directed for the Hindi speaking audience. Let me know if you thing this song is melodious or not. Singers include Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Asees Kaur and Tanishk Bagchi.

2. “Yeh zameen gaa rahi” featuring Kumar Gaurav and Poonam Dhillon from the movie Teri Kasam. It does not have many hits on YouTube but it certainly is a very melodious Hindi song. This song was sung by Amit Kumar, the son of legendary Kishore Kumar. The song got Amit Kumar nominated for the Filmfare Best Male Playback Singer Award.

3. “Tum ko dekha toh ye khayal aaya” sung by none other than the King of Ghazals Jagjit Singh from the movie Saath Saath. Starcast of the movie includes Farooq Shaikh and Deepti Naval. Jagjit Singh was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the government of India in 2003. The song has a lovely tune and a great melody.

4. “Thoda sa pyar hua hai” from the movie Maine Dil Tujhko Diya featuring Sohail Khan and Sameera Reddy. The song has been sung by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik. The song has a beautiful melody and is certainly one of my favourites from this list of my best melodious Hindi songs.

5. “Jo waada kiya woh nibhana padega” sung by the legend Mohammed Rafi and India’s nightingale Lata Mangeshkar from the movie Taj Mahal. The movie Taj Mahal (1963) is based on the stories of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan who built the monument Taj Mahal in remembrance for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. The movie is mostly remembered for its melodious music.

6. “Aan milo sajna” from the film Gadar starring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel. The song has been sung by the Hindustani classical vocalist Ajoy Chakraborty and Parveen Sultana. Ajoy Chakraborty’s father moved to India during the partition in 1947 from now what is Bangladesh. This song is a semi-classical song and is very pleasing to listen to.

7. “Isharon isharon mein” from the film Kashmir Ki Kali featuring Sharmila Tagore and Shammi Kapoor. The music of this film was composed by O.P. Nayyar known for composing melodious Hindi songs. The movie was a huge hit in 1961. The song is still popular today.

8. “Tere mast mast do nain” from the movie Dabangg featuring the popular movie star Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha. The song has been sung by the Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Indian counterpart Shreya Ghoshal. The movie Dabangg and its song was a major box office hit.

9. “Pehla nasha” sung by Udit Narayan and Sadhana Sargam from the film Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992) featuring Aamir Khan and Ayesha Jhulka. This song has a beautiful melody and no matter how many times you listen to you it, you still enjoy it. This song is so popular that many singers have re-sung them in their own voice.

10. “Pyar ka dard hai meetha meetha” sung by the legendary singer Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle from the film Dard (1981) featuring Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini. This is a great melodious song that grows on you as you listen to it.

I hope you have enjoyed my list of best melodious Hindi songs. So next time you are on your journey then you might wish to listen to these Hindi melodious songs that I am fond off. Do you have your own list of Hindi melodious songs that you listen to when travelling then feel free to comment below?

Here are some Hindi words and phrases for your travels in India.

Copyright: The poster art belongs to the distributor and producers of the movie Kashmir ki Kali.

Things to do in London in a day

London is certainly one of the most iconic cities in England and throughout all of Europe for that matter. The history of London dates back many centuries, so you will find a lot of historical sites and monuments to see and explore in this capital city. If you have never been to London before, you might wonder what you should do first. Well, there really is no set itinerary, but you should store your luggage for the day and visit as many landmarks as you can. How can you go to London without doing that?

Below are the top 5 best places to visit in London in a day.

Big Ben and Palace of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster is the official meeting location of English lawmakers from each of the Houses of Parliament. These would be the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Palace does have tours open to the public and foreign tourists. This will give you the chance to see where English laws have been passed for centuries. You will also get to see the famous Great Bell known as Big Ben. It is actually a clock tower that located at the northern area of the palace. You can easily see the tower from the surrounding environment on the outside. It has truly become an icon of London.

The Tower of London

The Tower of London is a historic castle in the city which served as a prison for nearly 850 years. Early on, the tower was the residence of the royal family as there are many walls and buildings which surround it. Many kings had expanded the tower throughout the centuries. Now it is a prominent tourist attraction in the city which really illustrates the true history of England. On a side note, if you are a fan of the television series Game of Thrones, then you will notice a lot of familiar settings when you visit the tower.

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is a huge fortress and the Queen of England’s official residence. Fortunately, every summer, she is kind enough to allow public tours inside the palace. You will typically have from the end of July to the end of September to visit the palace each year. This will give you a chance to see the royal State Rooms up close along with other valued treasures which belong to the royal family. Some of the best things to see there are the Rembrandt paintings, Canova sculptures, and some of the best crafted English furniture that you have ever seen. If you are lucky, you may even get to spot Charles, Prince of Wales or the Queen herself, although it is rare.  

London Eye

There is no better way to see London than to take the huge Ferris wheel known as the London Eye. It is located right along the River Thames and it will give you breathtaking views of London’s most iconic landmarks from up above. During your 30-minutes on the Ferris wheel, you will see gorgeous panoramic views of Big Ben, Palace of Westminster, River Thames, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, and more. So, even if you don’t have time to visit all those sites individually, you can simply take the London Eye and see them all at the same time. It is a truly unique experience that all tourists should take advantage of when they are in London.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour

There are special London tour packages available that will take you to Warner Bros. Studio. The luxury coach bus picks you up in London and then drives about an hour away to Watford where the tour is located. It is a tour that is dedicated to the Harry Potter series as you will get to see where a lot of the movie was filmed. If you are a fan of the franchise, then you will definitely want to check out this tour when you are in London.

This one-day itinerary of London takes travellers to the main tourist attractions and includes food stops. Readers can use it to see the best of “the big smoke” in just one day. Or they can use it as guidelines to help plan out their London exploration.

Kumbh Mela Prayagraj – where chaos meets peace

This is a story of my friend Rishabh Oberoi who went to the Kumb Mela this year. This is the part 1 of his visit to the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj
(previously known as Allahabad).

Part 1: The World Largest Religious Gathering of People on the Bed of Sangam

I believe Indian culture is the most colorful and diverse culture on the planet. From the world-famous food to the way people look and dresses; our languages, music, art, dance, architecture and even way to serve food is different every 100 kilometres throughout the country. One place where you can really see the diversity and complexity of this culture is the Kumbha Mela.

On the train to Prayagraj

On the 7th of February, me and my holy friends embarked in an adventure to the wildest and most sacred fair of India. Of course, and like most Indians of my age, we were clueless about the real meaning of it and that’s why we started our ‘discovery journey’, to remove all the misconceptions in our mind related to this PURE, WILD and BEAUTIFUL RITUAL.

Kumbh Mela a Hindu festival and assembly, held once every 12 years in one of the four sacred sites with a rich history and spiritual connection. But this famous festival amongst the Indian (conservative) Society is associated and better known for many funny facts than the Holy Story:

• The most contradictory: This is a place where you can see naked people, and by people, yes I mean Indian women too.

• The most surprising for foreign visitors: Here you can get free food, drinks and shelter for a month and a half!

• And my favorite one which is also specially highlighted in Bollywood movies: In this festival is common to hear stories such as family members (brothers or sisters) that got lost in the crowd and then met again after 12 years in the same “Mela”, which means fair in Sanskrit.

But the real and important part of the story is far from all these! The history of Indian Culture is rich and full of spirituality, which is why all the rituals followed here have some sacred and authentic meaning. I am not going to enter deep into it! But yeah, for sure I want to brief you guys about the secret of KUMBH MELA, which basically occurs every 12 years, although there are some special ones that are celebrated every 144 years like the KUMBH MELA 2019 and YES! I was the LUCKY one to attend it with some of my fortunate friends.

Now let me explain you a little about the origins of this huge gathering of faith; KUMBH is a word that comes from Kalash, which holds the nectar of immortality for which the Devas (Gods) and Asuras (Demons) came to seek for, by churning the ocean of milk; It was an order given by Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma. Eventually, when the Kalash appeared they fought for twelve days and twelve nights -equivalent to twelve human years- in the sky for ‘The Pot of Amrit’.

It is believed that during the battle between Devas and Asuras, Lord Vishnu flew away with the Kumbha of amrita, spilling some drops of it on some specific location on earth (the sacred sites) now known as: Allahabad (Prayaga), Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain; which coincidently are also the points where some of Indian Holy Rivers passes: Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical river Saraswati. So it is believed that whoever takes a bath in these Holy Rivers, especially at the time of the sacred fair of Kumbh Mela, will wash away all their sins and move towards immortality.

Hmmm… Will the Holy Water wash away the sins of one Tunisian and three Indian guys…? We had to prove it!! And let the journey begin… Bhooom!

 SCARY INDIAN TRAINS CAN MAKE YOUR FRIENDSHIP STRONGER

The train journey to the Kumbh Mela

My journey to Kumbh Mela starts with the crazy Indian train: sitting like nomads and shifting our seats at every station in a bed for one occupied by four. this intense experience of travelling make you realize that when you are with friends you can undergo even the worst circumstance and still enjoy every moment of them. A lot of the things in these Kumbh trains really fascinated me; the people from every part of India, rich or poor, Brahman or Shudra were together in it, going for the single purpose of getting their sins washed by a dip in the HOLY SANGAM. We all were sharing seats with people we had never met before in our lifes, playing games, sharing food and making fun of the people around… (One more sin to be washed!)

Unforgettable: The expression on Ilyes’ face (my Tunisian friend who happens to be a FREE TRAVELLING SOUL) after tasting TAMBAKU, Indian Tobacco. Priceless!

WELCOME TO THE CHAOS OF KUMBH MELA 2019

Our first steps into Holy Land were something like this; close your eyes and just imagine a pool of people coming out of an Indian train from every door of the box… Seriously! To have that view you needed to be there: I got really impressed and I AM AN INDIAN! Anyway, every single passenger had a smile on their face and a calm semblance of satisfaction about the fact that they had reached the place they were dreaming and struggling to get, with no clue what they were entering to… What a great landscape to start the experience!

FUNNY THING: within a few steps of walking on the roads of Allahabad towards the set up Maha Kumbh Mela… I lost my shoes!! 😛 There are 16 hours from Chandigarh to Allahabad by train, and the last one was a mental and physical torture as the people who didn’t even have their seats booked were seating with us -or should I say ON US??- But hey, it was a BIG EVENT!.. We understood it! Besides, as we stepped in the Chaos of Kumbh Mela, every single stressed vein or muscle of our bodies was refreshed. I don’t have any idea WHY, but I felt I belonged there and I was meant to be in that WORLD of beautiful CHAOS…

To be continued…

Come back to know how did the rest of those magical 4 days went. Had you heard about Kumbh Mela before? Did you go this year?