It's my Blogiversary!

It's my Blogiversary! 10 YEARS AGO TODAY I started my India Outside My Window blog, one month after moving to Bangalore. Every week I wrote about what I was seeing around me, and shared the sights, colours, and even sounds of India via my blog posts. In 2013, I left India and started a new blog about my new life in Istria, Croatia, but continued to update the India blog when I would return for three months each winter.

I'm in Bangalore as I write this! And though I haven't had the chance to post any updates since I arrived a month ago, I have been sharing my images via my Instagram page.

Today I'm not sure what to do with this blog... should I retire it and move on? Or continue to post while I'm in India? The truth is that I struggle to find the time to update it because most of my time is taken up trying to make a living.

I want to thank you dear readers for following me! Many of you have been with me from the beginning and have followed me to my new blog. 

So at this point I'm not sure what to do... and at the same time I do have thoughts and observations I do want to share, and unfinished blog posts, as well as images I'm collecting during my travels. In the meantime I will continue to share my photographs on Instagram, while I figure out what to do with this blog. I welcome your thoughts!

Fruits you must try in India

One thing I love about being back in India is eating all my favourite Indian fruits again! There's an abundance of fruits throughout the year, and some you can find year round. Here are some of the most typical Indian fruits...

Mango is everyone's favourite fruit. This is a summer fruit: available from April through to July. The very first mangoes of the season are available from the end of March and these are always expensive. But very soon there will be an abundance of many different types of mangoes. The number of different varieties is truly astounding.   

Guava is another of my favourite fruits. Especially the pink ones! In India, they're eaten with black salt, but for me, they're best plain (and not too ripe).

Jackfruit is another summer fruit. This is the largest tree-bearing fruit, and it's also very ugly! The smell puts off a lot of people, especially when it's overripe. It's painstaking work to extract the fruit from the outer shell: inside are yellow rubbery sheaths with large seeds hidden inside. The taste is a bit like melon, and more like Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum!

Papaya is a fruit available throughout the year. It's commonly served when its very, very ripe, but I prefer it before it gets too ripe and mushy, sprinkled with lemon. Many people find papaya has an 'off' taste, but the lemon juice neutralizes it.

Pomegranate is another difficult fruit to 'clean' but so worth the effort. The pomegranate 'seeds' in India are extremely sweet and a brilliant ruby red. 

Custard apple is another interesting and odd-looking fruit. The easiest way to eat it is to scoop out the white flesh with a spoon and spit out the many large black seeds. Yummy.

Sapota (called chikku in the North) is another fruit I can't get enough of. This is a round fruit that looks like a small potato. It has a yummy caramel-like taste, and I eat it skin and all. I've been buying them at the same fruit shop lately and one day there were none left. “No more sapota?” I asked the fruit seller – because in India you have to always ask. I'm glad I did, because he told me to wait, and reappeared a few minutes later with a basket full of sapota. He had just picked them from the tree behind the shop! “Organic”, he announced, with a smile on his face.

What's your favourite Indian fruit?

Read the sign - part V

After Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, here are a few more of the quirky (and sometimes unintelligible) signs India is famous for...

A warning in Colaba, Mumbai

I wonder what the results were

Just so you know

Dangerous laptops and 'luggeages' are prowling Shanthinagar bus station in Bangalore!

Not sure what this one means...

Sound advice

More sound advice that should be obvious?

Common misconceptions about Bangalore

Many people (especially foreigners) look at me in disbelief when I tell them I lived in Bangalore for close to seven years. Most foreign travellers to India avoid Bangalore because they think it doesn't have a lot to offer, or they think it's too 'modern' and therefore uninteresting. It may be true that Bangalore doesn't have a lot of tourist attractions compared to other Indian cities, but what I love about this city is everything it doesn't offer to the tourist. The city takes time to get to know and appreciate, and offers many pleasant surprises to those who choose to explore it.

Unfortunately Bangalore's image suffers from a lot of misconceptions, assumptions and even untruths. Here are a few of the most common ones...

I'm in India... find me on Instagram

Dear readers,

I'm in India for the winter and have lots of updates waiting for this blog... I'm experiencing a few delays but am working on getting the updates up ASAP!

In the meantime, you can see what's happening outside my window on my Instagram page.

I also post on the Facebook page when I can, so do have a look there.

More very soon!

What (not) to pack for India

I started writing a post on 'how to pack for India', but it very quickly became a post on what NOT to pack, so here you go... my recommendations on what (not) to pack for India...

A coffee tour of South India

Don't ever make the mistake of ordering a chai in South India... for South India is the land of coffee. This is the drink of choice, a daily ritual for many, and South Indians can't live without it. If you've never had a cup of South Indian coffee, you're in for a surprise... there are many things that make it unique. 

In an article I wrote for the in-flight magazine of Silk Air, I explored the history of coffee-growing in the region and evolving trends in South India's coffee culture. You can read it here.

You can read some of my other published articles on India here.

Kalamkari: Fabric of the Earth

I have always loved the Indian textile art of Kalamkari, and a trip to the village of its origin, Sri Kalahasti in Andhra Pradesh, was on my list of places to explore for a long time. I finally had the chance when I was researching an article on Kalamkari for the in-flight magazine of Silk Air.

I spent a day at the workshop of one of India's best-known Kalamkari artists, Jonnalagadda Niranjan, where I saw artists busy at work and witnessed part of the lengthy traditional process used to create the fabric designs.

You can read the article here, and see a few of my photos below...

You can read some of my other published articles on India here.

Jane's chocolate factory

Auroville, the international township near Pondicherry, is a special place for many reasons. One of the fascinating things about it is the many creative, ecological, and entrepreneurial projects that its residents bring into being. Here, you meet many people who have left their conventional lives and careers far behind, and have created a completely different life for themselves by contributing their skills, creativity and talents in new ways.

Auroville has a growing food scene based on authentic, artisanal products. The story of Jane's chocolate factory is not unusual for Auroville. This is the story of Jane, a lawyer from Australia who started an artisanal chocolate business in South India. I tell her story and explain her bean-to-bar chocolate-making process in an article I wrote for Chickpea, my favourite vegan magazine. You can read it here.

You can read some of my other published articles on India here.

10 good reasons to travel to India during the monsoon

If you check any guidebook for the best time to come to India, the period between June and September is usually not recommended. This is monsoon season in most parts of the country and travellers are inevitably put off travelling during this time because they imagine torrential rains, floods, and transportation chaos...

Tips for women travelling alone in India

People often ask me if it's safe for a woman to travel alone in India, and I don't hesitate to say that there's no reason why a woman shouldn't. During my travels in India, I have travelled mostly alone. Yes, I have been groped, flashed, and harassed, but this has happened to me (and many other women across the world) not only in India... unfortunately these are hassles women face everywhere. You can stay safe by taking a few precautions, using common sense, and trusting your instincts, just like you would anywhere else.

Here are my 10 tips on how to stay safe:

1. Take your cues from Indian women by observing them. You’ll notice that Indian women do not smile at men they don’t know and keep any necessary verbal contact to a minimum. Though people in India do easily strike up casual conversations in public, this is less common between men and women. Don’t go out of your way to be friendly to a man you don’t know or smile at him because this can be misinterpreted. In some cultures being friendly is being polite, but in India public interactions are a lot more formal. Don’t worry about appearing rude but rather aim to act with respect instead of trying to be friendly.

2. Try wearing Indian clothes. As a foreign woman, you will stand out and attract curiosity. A good way to try to blend in and not attract more attention to yourself is by wearing Indian clothes. This doesn’t mean you have to wear a nine-yard sari… Again, observe how young Indian women dress. A kurta (tunic) worn over jeans, for example, is a popular look and one many foreigners are comfortable wearing.

3. Don't use headphones while walking. While walking on the street (especially at night), avoid using headphones or your phone which can distract you from your surroundings and what’s going on around you. If you need to make a call or send a text message, stop in a well-lit public place.

4. Save these numbers. Save the numbers for the police (100) and 24-hour Women’s Helpline (181) in your phone in case you need assistance.

5. Make sure your door has a good look. Sliding locks and ideal because they can’t be opened from the outside. Before responding to a knock and opening the door, ask who’s there. Once I was woken up in the middle of the night in a hotel in Bhubaneswar by someone rattling the door, trying to open it. Luckily he gave up and left, but I didn't sleep the rest of the night!

6. Don’t get into a taxi if the driver is accompanied by another man. If you have a weird feeling about a taxi driver, just take another cab. When traveling at night, it’s better to use a call taxi or app-based service since your name, phone number, and pick-up and drop-off locations are tracked.

7. Wear a wedding ring or another sign of marriage. Some women travellers pretend they’re married, even if they’re not. You can wear a fake wedding ring or even toe rings (a Hindu sign of marriage – second toe of each foot!) or something that looks like a mangalasutra, the Hindu wedding necklace. This is an old trick to ward off unwanted attention but I'm not sure if it works!

8. Consider the train for overnight trips. For overnight trips, consider taking the train instead of the bus. Buses often arrive at odd hours. Train stations are usually always busy and safer places to wait for daybreak than bus stations.

9. Ask to change seats. If you happen to find yourself in a train compartment of men (it's happened to me) and you don't feel comfortable, ask the conductor to move you to one where there are other women or families. He'll find some man travelling alone somewhere, and tell him to switch seats with you. On sleepers, you’ll be out of sight in the upper berth and can even cover yourself with a sheet to make yourself less noticeable.

10. Use the ladies’ seats on buses. If a man happens to be sitting in a ladies seat, don’t hesitate to ask him to give it up. Some trains have ladies-only train compartments and waiting rooms, and there are often women-only queues at train stations. During one of my first trips to India, I used to disregard ladies' seats on buses because it seemed silly... until I had a man next to me “falling asleep” on my shoulder. I had to keep “waking him up” by jabbing my elbow into his ribs! I now always squeeze in with the ladies!

A place I love: Elsewhere in Goa

Finding the perfect beach hideaway in Goa is a challenge... But Elsewhere is like nowhere else. This beachside hideaway is made up of four old beach houses surrounded by untamed nature with a private beach. My description of it below is an excerpt from an article I had written on luxury travel to Goa for a magazine distributed on private jets.

Goa's peak season for beach lovers is November to March when days are sunny and dry. With many beaches becoming increasingly congested, Elsewhere is the perfect hideaway for those looking for some peace and privacy. Located on a spit of private beachfront naturally isolated between the ocean and a salt-water creek, this is one of the most unique and exclusive places to stay in Goa.

Privacy is perhaps the ultimate luxury. Here it is of utmost importance, as many of Elsewhere’s high profile guests include famous authors, royal families and Bollywood and Hollywood stars – this is where Brad Pit and Angelina Jolie holidayed with their kids. Elsewhere’s exact location is kept secret, revealed only at the time of booking.

A bamboo footbridge leads across the creek and into what seems like another time and place. This slice of paradise belongs to Denzil Sequiera, a photographer who inherited it from his uncle. He could have easily cashed in on the tourism boom and sold out to developers. Instead he decided to preserve this small piece of ‘real’ Goa before it disappears completely. He has saved not only the old colonial-style houses, and pristine undeveloped beachfront but also the natural habitat of the local wildlife.

The ambience here is one of rustic charm and untamed nature. The four old beach houses have been lovingly and tastefully restored offering all necessary comforts with no added frills, because they are not needed. There is no room service, but each house has a refrigerator full of drinks and delicious home-cooked meals are served in the delightful open-air dining area. At Elsewhere you feel like a privileged guest at a friend's summer hideaway.

The private beach is almost empty, indeed a luxury in Goa. Staff can arrange a morning trip to see dolphins on The Solita, a luxury yacht, or a romantic dinner cruise at sunset. The yacht can also be chartered on a daily basis for longer trips to see the 18^th century Tiracol Fort, the magnificent cathedrals and churches of Old Goa, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the charming capital of Goa, Panjim.

You can read some of my other published articles on India here.

My article on Pondicherry in Bold Magazine

Pondicherry is one of my favourite destinations in India, one I keep coming back to. I love its seaside location, the fact that it's a city that can be easily explored on a bicycle, and the old world charm of its many heritage buildings that local organizations have put a lot of effort into preserving and restoring. In this article I wrote for Bold Magazine, I explore some of the unique heritage properties which have been restored and converted into hotels, restaurants, and boutiques. You can read it here.

You can read some of my other published articles on India here.

Life in a slum in India

While I was in Mumbai in January, I took part in a walking tour of one of its biggest slums. I remember reading about these tours of Dharavi, one of Mumbai’s most population-dense neighbourhoods, when they started a few years ago and spawned a debate on ‘slum tourism’. “It’s voyeuristic to peek into poor peoples’ lives,” slammed some. “This is a reality of Indian cities, and how 55% of the population of Mumbai lives,” pointed out others. My take is that slums are certainly a facet of every Indian city and ignoring them won’t make them go away.  But I don’t know if I would have chosen to go one of these tours if I wasn’t researching a travel article on ‘off-beat’ walking tours in Mumbai...

India travel tip: How to deal with staring in India

When my sister-in-law and her young daughter came to visit us while we were living in Bangalore, I took the little girl for a walk around the neighbourhood. Two minutes into our walk, she asked me: “Why is everyone staring at me?” I told her that people are not used to seeing a little white girl and that they were curious and intrigued but that they didn’t mean any harm. She wanted to go back inside!

One thing first time visitors to India can find very difficult to get used to is the almost constant staring they’re subject to. In Anglo-Saxon societies especially, staring is considered rude and can be interpreted as aggressive behaviour. For this reason, many foreigners are not used to being stared at, so this is a new experience which can make them feel very self-conscious and uncomfortable...

Cricket fever

It’s hard not to notice that the Cricket World Cup is on. When the cricket is on, everything revolves around it. Then when India plays Pakistan, the world stops for a few hours. That’s what it was like on February 15^th...

Indian mailboxes

A place I love: Vegan Bites in Mumbai

Photo courtesy of Vegan Bites

While I was in Mumbai I had the chance to spend time with my friends Samir and Hemali and have some amazingly good food. They run their own business called Vegan Bites, a catering service that prepares healthy, 100% vegan meals which are delivered to Mumbai’s busy office workers six days a week...

On the bus in Bangalore

On the 201R going from Indiranagar to Jayanagar... Just after Ejipura signal, an auto-rickshaw driver knocks on the bus door and starts yelling at the driver. Apparently the bus had scratched his auto-rickshaw. A shouting match follows. The door closes and we continue on our way. The bus stops a little further away and the auto-driver is there again. More animated shouting. Door closes, we move on, stop again (heavy traffic). This time a different auto-driver is at the door shouting at the bus driver… looks like the first auto-driver has already mobilized his auto-driving buddies. Auto-driver #1 then shows up and now there are three people in the shouting match, with the bus conductor also joining in to make four. Another auto-rickshaw shows up and blocks the bus so we can’t move forward. The auto-drivers want the bus driver to get off the bus and come look at the damage on the auto-rickshaw. The commotion is now blocking traffic at Sony World signal so we move on.

The bus stops after the signal (traffic light for non-Indians) and a whole bunch of auto-rickshaws pull up too. The bus driver and conductor get off the bus to examine the auto-rickshaw. More shouting, more people. The auto-drivers’ beige uniforms now outnumber the bus driver and the conductor. Passers-by stop to see what all the shouting is about and a small crowd has formed. The back-and-forth shouting goes on for 10 minutes. The bus driver starts walking back to the bus at one point and things seem to suddenly heat up, with the shouting getting louder and body language becoming more aggressive, but he goes back to the auto-rickshaw. Meanwhile people on the bus are making impatient noises and some have got off to take another.

The small crowd then moves towards the rear of the bus to examine the body for evidence of the collision. More animated discussion. Finally the driver hands over a wad of cash to the auto-driver. He takes it, counts it, puts it in his pocket and all the angry faces suddenly dissolve. No more shouting. Everyone walks back very casually to their respective vehicles and we’re on our way again.

Inside a heritage home in Basavanagudi

Recently I had the chance to step back into another time when I took part in a heritage walk exploring the old homes of Basavanagudi a neighbourhood in south Bangalore. We were a small group made up of long-time Bangaloreans and other more recent residents (and me, a former resident!), who were all eager to learn more about the cultural heritage of this neighbourhood and explore its wide tree-lined avenues, and especially its heritage homes.

Our guide for the tour was Mansoor Ali, an architect who grew up in the neighbourhood and who leads this walk for Unhurried, which organises several themed walking tours across the city. He told me that they usually visit about six homes on this walk, but despite his efforts we only had the chance to see a few because many of the homeowners were out.

The highlight of the walk was a 107-year-old house which had belonged to Nanjundiah Krishna Rau, a former Diwan (prime minister) of the Mysore Kingdom. 

Today his great grandson, Mr M. R. Narendra, an author, lives on the ground floor of the house, while the upper floor is the home of Mr Narendra’s nephew.

We admired the pillared porch which was where ‘informal guests’ used to be received, explained Mansoor, and the large garden and its many trees, including one which was surrounded by a porched enclosure. 

Stepping through Mr M. R. Narendra’s doorway was like taking a step back into another time.  He welcomed us warmly into his home and showed us around. Inside we saw many period features like a Madras terrace ceiling, a red oxide floor, colonial-style furniture, and a traditional swing. We even got a peek of a 1935 Standard automobile in the garage (sorry no photo!).

In my previous post, I wrote about Bangalore’s disappearing heritage homes. This trend to demolish old houses and replace them with apartment buildings has not spared any of the city’s neighbourhoods, including Basavanagudi.

Old and new in Basavanagudi

Gardens make way for parking lots 

A large garden is becoming a rarity in Bangalore, where people prefer to have as large a living space as possible, building huge buildings which leave little space between properties. “At 25,000 Rupees a square foot, gardens are considered a waste of space,” explained Mansoor.

I'm glad that Mr Narendra has preserved his old house and not fallen prey to the developers who are changing the face of the city. There are still a few glimpses of the old Bangalore and thanks to this unique walking tour, I had the chance to experience a little bit of it.