What to do in Jaipur, If not sightseeing?

Jaipur - The Pink City can be called as the most vibrant city of India. There is always something happening here, irrespective of the season and time of the year. Above all, it is not as huge and crowded as Delhi or Mumbai where going to a distant place can sound burdensome and the plans may go for a toss.

Yes, Jaipur has many things one should try and do. This time we bring out some experiences one can have in this majestic city.
AND YES!! We promise, they will all be unadulterated, authentic and non-fabricated experiences.

Up-Close with the artisans of the city: Jaipur has a long history and one of the chapters of this history is about - Gunijankhana. Gunijan-khana (Department of the talented people) housed 32 different types of art and crafts of the city ranging from jewelers, dyers, tailors, embroiders, leather workers and what not. There is a huge scope of meeting such artisans in their workshops and homes through Vedic Walks.

Walk around the old city: Walking tours are a must do activity if in the town. The opportunity of get an in-depth insight of the city, without making it look like a sight-seeing tour. In Vedic Walks, these tours are aimed at making you feel like a local and explore like a pro. A 2.5 to 3 hour encounter with the city will surely leave you with a great respect for it.
One always has the opportunity to hop in the inner lanes and from the authentic artisans who would never treat you like a tourist.

Eat with the local and learn their recipes: Food is one thing that brings people from all over the world to India. Getting an opportunity to eat and cook with them is one of the most enthralling experiences. Food can lead to conversations over any topic one can think of. This experience allows you to get to know the locals, their culture, their family life and many other things that they seem comfortable sharing with you.

Pamper yourself at well-being sessions: There are loads of well-being opportunities in the city for various needs. Take a walk in the Central Park or Smriti Van which are very centrally located and have great connectivity from all over the city. Or take a meditation and yoga session with a professional in a serene location or at the comfort of your hotel. There is also possibility of getting a nice Ayurvedic massage under the guidance of an experienced Ayurvedic Doctor.

Watch a Movie at Rajmandir: Hell Yeahh!! Is Rajmandir an overplayed stuff? Well let it be. It is an experience in itself. Above all Bollywood movies are really cool stuff.

The private museums: Jaipur has a a good number of very interesting private collection museums run and operated by passionate people who love and cherish their possessions. The Sanjay Sharma Museum is one of the most prominent one with fine collection of manuscripts as old as a thousand years. Alice Garg sea shells museum is a great private museum of sea shells collected from all over the world. Rajputana customs is a great place to check out vintage and custom bikes and also ordering choppers.

Well, we hope that is quite a lot of things to absorb for now.

We promise to come up with more such stories...


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Is Varanasi just about The Ganges? Explore More

Varanasi - the oldest continuously inhabited city of the world has millions of layers of history, myth and anecdotes up it's sleeves.

Sitting by the river Ganges which is the lifeline of the city it feels at first that the whole city must be all about it. All roads leading to some or the other ghats, which eventually are the connection between the river and the people.

Just by mentioning the ghats we open up the first thing which apart from Ganges the city is about. Ghats make the river accessible to all. They control its force up to a great extent and are yet the places that exist because the river exists. 

Next we see the existence of Shiva in the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The temple complex is the epicenter  of the whole city. According to the Hindu Scriptures Ganges took a northwards turn towards Varanasi just to flow by the Vishwanath Temple. The crescent bank of Varanasi and a Northwards flow are very unique for its whole course. 

The name Varanasi comes from the land between - Varuna and Assi rivers. So, we know that even in the name of the city, there is no role of the Ganges. However, Kashi is a much bigger area than Varanasi according to some scriptures and it the older name of the city. Thus reducing the claim of the tributaries to a minuscule level. 

Going further, we see that the city has a temple of all the deities we can think of in Hinduism. A complete cosmos of names and characters from Hindu Scriptures. These temples an shrines make the city such an important pilgrimage. There is Ganges flowing through many cities which also have a Shiva Temple, however the sheer number of other temples in Varanasi just outclasses all of them.

It is said that a city is made by its people. Structures are just the testimony of the people that live or have lived in them. You will know you are in Varanasi when you see the smiling people all around you. It seems that they have all the time in this world. They are just there to be the mere puppets at god's hands and yet they work really hard to earn their bread. Also it is one of the first cosmopolitan cities of India. People form all over the sub-continent have made it their home for generations. Some who came for religion and some who came because of the growing economy, whereas some came for the knowledge that has always prevailed over millennium. 

Stories of the city and about it induces a level of romance for the visitor. But what Varanasi is know for is a tough fact to digest. A place to die. Yes, Varanasi is the chosen one, a place to die and breathe your last. A belief that if one dies in Varanasi he would be freed from the cycle of birth and death. 'Yama' the god of death is not allowed to enter Varanasi. It is Shiva who is the ultimate destroyer in his Rudra form ensures that all the departed souls meet their ends and are not caught up with Yama.

Food is an eternal part of any city's life and culture and for Varanasi this is deeply rooted in everything anyone does. Although a by-product of the people who live there, it is very much to the merit of the city's lifestyle that food has a separate mention. Summer and winter delicacies are different. Some things are perennially available. But the thing that scores above the rest is the "Benarsi Pan". This is one thing that is related to the identity of the people of the city. 

After listing all the above, we know that we have opened up an avenue for discussion of Varanasi's identity. Reading this, the city might feel like having an identity crisis. But when we close our eyes and imagine about Varanasi the first thing that comes to our minds is - Ganges.

Not even the almighty Shiva, who is also the God for Ganges scored over her in Varanasi.
But we the team of Vedic Walks, want you to know that Varanasi's identity is Ganges, but there is so much more to it which can only bee seen and understood in our Walking Tours.

Join us and explore beyond the written records and spoken word. Since a walking tour is all about experiencing it too.

Gandhi's Salt Walk - Now Open for Travelers

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi took the British regime to task in 1930 with a path breaking and non-violent protest against the unjust Salt Tax.

Photo: Dandi Memorial - Gandhi Picking Salt

He walked a little under 400 kilometers over the span of just 25 days through small towns and villages of Gujarat spreading the message of non-violent protest.
Gandhiji had already championed the concept of 'Swadeshi' (Made in home country) and had propagated the  idea through his Charkha (Spinning Wheel) and producing Khadi ( Coarse cotton cloth). Making Salt within India without paying any taxes to the British was another big impact initiative in India's freedom struggle.

Photo: The Dandi March route map at Sabarmati Ashram- Ahmedabad

1930 was the time when the British were trying to get over with the economic losses of the first world war and needed more and more money from all of their colonies. India being the prime supplier of finances became the apt target.
More than 70% of Indian population was then involved in agriculture and could not have afforded to buy a micro yet important ingredient at such high prices. The Salt March on 1930 from Sabarmati Ashram Ahmedabad to Dandi a coastal village near Navsari covering 387 kilometers walked on foot by Gandhiji and his followers changed the status-quo of the Indian freedom struggle.

Photo: Some unfinished initiatives of the bureaucracy

Today, there is just a list of places that were visited during the epic Dandi March. A couple of memorials each at Ahmedabad and Dandi are the only standing testimony of the episode. En-route there is no sign reminding us of the glorious past. However, what still stays is the phrase "Gandhi Bapu ni Dandi yatra ahiyaan thayi ne gayi ti". In the local Gujarati language it means - Gandhi's (Bapu's) Dandi March went through here. After 85 years there is still a feeling of pride for the people that Gandhi walked on the same land for their forefather's rights and their rights too.

Today two of our lovely guests are doing this walk and have already reached half way through the route. Very soon they will reach the town of Bharuch and take a longish halt in Ankleshwar.

Photo: Candid moment of Masha and Torre

Right from 27th November till today the 8th of December these ladies - Masha and Torre have seen, understood and absorbed a lot about India. There is a lot that is happening inside them as humans and there is a lot more that they will take back with them.

Emotional experiences will keep adding as and when they will write and discuss about this journey. They have seen India so closely that they are able to find the meaning of such a complex country. Understanding Gandhi and his philosophy in the contemporary times is an experience in itself.

Vedic Walks was approached by Masha with this challenge of organizing the Dandi March for her and we took it with a smile. An opportunity that comes once in a lifetime for doing something that nobody could have ever thought of.

Photo: The things one comes across

We as a team were having two parallel discussions about different things. One was with the Gujarat Tourism where we were thinking of promoting Gujarat in our programs and the second about female friendly travel programs. We knew it that this is the signature activity that we must undertake to set an example of what a young team with innovative thinking can deliver.

Photo: Kick-Start at Sabarmati Ashram

This initiative will surely set an example of a travel route and travel style not so popular in India. Besides that it will be a great example for Safety for Women Travelers in India, which is a primary mission of Vedic Walks and its team.

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Walks in India

Walking tours have a special place in the travel activities anyone indulges into.

In most cities of the world they are easily available and are very pocket friendly. But affordability is not the only reason for travellers to pick Walking Tours as their choice.

As a kid one explores surroundings on foot and thus knows the area so perfectly that he remembers every single mark, pothole, turn and color of the area. As one grows up and the curiosity to explore goes further and thus the avenues to explore unfold.

Walking tours became popular a couple of decades ago in Europe and thus became a popular culture in travel. In India walking tours came in in the last decade but haven't made a strong mark. There are a bundle of travel companies who operate walking tours in popular tourist destinations.

What they miss out in their delivery is - A walking tour is very different from sight seeing.

People who were previously engaged in sight seeing activities went with the fashion and started walking tours, but could not come out of the groove of pin-pointing famous buildings.

TeamActive has taken the initiative to break this stereotype.

We have our own definition of a walk. We call it - Walk the Talk.

Let's first take you through the elements we stress upon during our walking tours:

1. Story telling- We are talkative and love telling stories. Truth or fable, these stories keep the walkers engaged. The stories have been collected from the people we meet in the street. The stories are theirs. Their version of the past and of the culture.

2. Get into anyone's house- Having a rapport with the locals, we know them just like a family. During our walks we are allowed to peep into their houses, provided we don't trouble them.

3. Ask us questions- We will probably have all answers for you, so ask us as many questions as you like. If we don't have the answer the people around will come up with their theories.

4. Chai & Naashta - In English this means 'Tea and Refreshment'. All our walks have a special element of tea and refreshments with a local family, in their living rooms, with them and all made in their kitchens.

5. Photos- While walking in the streets there will be so many opportunities of clicking pictures which you might have not, if just walked past the famous buildings.

6. No Shopping - We don't push our walkers and nag them to shop. They are free and are allowed to shop from wherever they please. No specific shops, no specific vendors.

7. Suits all - Are you a school kid, a photographer, a journalist, a writer, a professional, an artist, a lawyer, an army-man or anything in this big world our walks adjust to every taste and mood. Just let us know what we need to fine-tune and we will be with you.

So what are your plans this time when you visit INDIA??

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Travel Diaries: Pushkar Cattle Fair

The following blog entry is dedicated to all those people who flock from all over the world to witness something extremely different on this planet.

Vedic Walks conducted its quarterly offsite in the Holy City of Pushkar. The timing was right. It was perfectly coinciding with the concluding days of the annual Pushkar fair.

The fair takes place in the last week of the Hindu month of Kartik which usually falls during Oct and Nov. It ends on the full moon night, which is the last and the most important day of the Kartik month.

It was amazing to see the number of people who had come from all corners of the country and the world to witness something extra-ordinary. The extra ordinary is the cattle and camel fair. Hordes of cattle shows, activities, races, cattle milking competitions, breed competitions, displays and decorations make this fair extremely colourful.

To understand the whole fair, it will take a person 3 days of continuous and alert walking criss-crossing the Pushkar town. The activities are concentrated in four major areas of the town - The Brahma Temple, The Ghats, The Fair Ground and The Markets. Out of all these The Fair Ground or popularly known as the Mela Ground, steals the show. It is the reason why the annual Pushkar Fair is so important.

The activities one can witness and participate into over here are just out of the world. For some, the obsolete circus and stunt show culture is still alive here. Numerous joy rides, animal displays, make-shift markets, tattoo artists, street performers are all visible here.

The items for sale in the Mela Ground are so rare for an urban dweller to even know. The beauty of this whole arrangement is the heterogeneous mixture of the audience. The way Indian rural and urban and foreign travellers enjoy this whole event together is really tough to find. There are even some games that seek participation from all kinds of audience.

The whole set-up of the fair, with, lake on one side, markets in the middle and sandy grounds for the events and above all hills all around is just mesmerising. Pushkar fair is definitely a place to be........

Waiting for the next year's fair to understand it further

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