By nandan on August 10, 2010
I recently worked with a travel agency as a mute guide with an Italian group. Actually the group already had an escort who knew Benares very well but he did not have a tourist guide license so I was hired just to be with the group as their mute guide. I had already worked with [...]
Posted in Business, Travel, Varanasi | Tagged tour escort, tour package India, tour package of Varanasi, tourist guide varanasi, travel agency india, Varanasi
By nandan on July 10, 2010
I got to attend Kolkata gay pride as well which was on the 2nd of July. I arrived in Kolkata on the 1st of July after attending the Chennai pride and spending a few days in Bangalore. My friend Sourendra from Mumbai had introduced me to Mr. Rajshrei Chakrobarty who was Secretary of Dum Dum [...]
Posted in Business, Gay culture in India | Tagged gay India, kolkata, Kolkata gay pride 2010, Rainbow pride Kolkata 2010
By nandan on June 28, 2010
It was Chennai gay pride yesterday on the 27th of June and I came to attend the festival. This festival was not as big as I was expecting it to be but big enough to bring attention of local people and make them aware about something called “gay”. I was expecting for at least 1000-2000 [...]
Posted in Business, Gay culture in India, Travel | Tagged chennai gay pride 2010, gay chennai, gay culture india, indian gay parades
By nandan on May 15, 2010
It was my US visa interview at US embassy, New Delhi and it was refused which I was just not hoping for. I and other people who were supporting my trip were almost sure that I will get the visa. I had four sponsorship letters, my sponsor’s bank account papers, my own documents but the [...]
Posted in Business, Travel | Tagged American visa, B1/B2 visa, tourist visa to America, US embassy new delhi, USA visa
By nandan on April 27, 2010
I worked again with Irene who was doing her M.A. from Ca’Foscari University of Venice and her research topic was Hindu widows. I had already worked with her in October 2009 in Benares but this time she wanted to visit Vrindavan because she had heard a lot about Bengali widows living in Vrindavan and how [...]
Posted in Business, Corruption, Hindu culture, Women in pain | Tagged gender discrimination india, hindu widows, Vrindavan, widows in Vrindavan, widows varanasi, women rights
By nandan on March 25, 2010
I worked with a photographer named Jane Becker from Canada. She wanted to photograph widows and hospices in Varanasi. Since I had already worked with a researcher from the University of Venice who did research about widows in Varanasi, I already knew where to take them. About two years ago I worked with a researcher [...]
Posted in Business, Hindu culture, Varanasi | Tagged ashrams in varanasi, benares, dying in varanasi, hospices in varanasi, kashi mukti bhawan, moksha in varanasi, research assistance varanasi, translator varanasi, Varanasi
By nandan on February 15, 2010
I am working with a musician named Josh Massad on a project called world through music which is about teaching music and other subjects through music. Josh travels all over the world and teach music to kids. When he works in the US, he teaches African and Indian music to American kids, when he is [...]
Posted in Business, Varanasi | Tagged education program varanasi, music varanasi, translator, translator varanasi, volunteer varanasi
By nandan on January 1, 2010
I finally got my tour guide license on the 30th after three years of wait because I had applied for it in the year 2006. I started preparing for the entrance exam after applying for the license in 2006 and continued it for a few months but finally I stopped because the tour guide association [...]
Posted in Business, Studies in India | Tagged tour guide india, tour guide varanasi, tour india, tour varanasi, Varanasi
By nandan on December 10, 2009
I worked with a student named Irine from University of Venice who wanted to study widows in Varanasi. She was more interested in prostitution of widows at widow ashrams in Varanasi. I asked her how she decided to chose this subject and she said that she watched the movie Water and got interested in this [...]
Posted in Business, Women in pain | Tagged hindu widows, widows India, widows varanasi, women rights
By nandan on October 25, 2009
I came in contact with a Hungarian guy, Attila, who is a computer engineer in Hungary and volunteers for a Hungarian NGO (www.afroaid.hu). This NGO runs a child sponsorship program in Africa. Attila wanted to volunteer in Varanasi. He wanted to come to India next year with his wife for a year and was interested [...]
Posted in Business, Varanasi | Tagged bonded laborers, child adaptation india, child laborers, chlid adaptation in varanasi, Varanasi, volunteer