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 May 20, 2010
I worked with a journalist named Bart Spellers from Holland who was writing an article about the Coke issue in India. He wanted to visit all the disputed Coke sites in India including Mehdiganj, Varanasi and I worked with him in Varanasi as his local assistant and translator. I also look for an opportunity of [...]
Posted in Studies in India | Tagged Coke issue varanasi, coke mehdiganj, research assistant varanasi, tour guide varanasi, translator varanasi, Varanasi
By nandan on April 20, 2010
I completed my tour guide training in December and my license was printed in January. Now the Ministry of Tourism office in Delhi asked me to bring a police verification certificate from my local police station. The Police verification certificate certifies that there are no legal cases against me. Actually they had provided a proforma [...]
Posted in Corruption, Varanasi | Tagged character certificate, Corruption, india, Indian police, Varanasi
By nandan on April 10, 2010
It is one of my relative’s wedding in the last week of May. The bride is a graduate student and the groom works for a CA (charted accountant) in Lucknow. The bride’s father has a small saree business so not much money. The marriage was arranged by some relative of the bride. This marriage is [...]
Posted in Women in pain | Tagged dowry, Hindu wedding, india, indian women, Varanasi, wormen 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 March 1, 2010
Holika is a festival which is celebrated on Holi eve. It was on the 28th of Feb. this year but I could not attend it. This festival has a very interesting story behind it. It is said that there were two brothers named Hiranyakashyapu and Hirnakchya. Both of them were evil souls and were [...]
Posted in Hindu culture, Varanasi | Tagged hindu festivals, holi, holika, Varanasi
By nandan on February 13, 2010
It was Shivratri on the 12th and I was super excited for it. Shivratri is the biggest festival of Benares. Actually it is celebrated because it is wedding anniversary of Lord Shiva. There are more than six thousand temples in Varanasi but 11 out of them organize a wedding parade of Lord Shiva. The parade [...]
Posted in Hindu culture, Varanasi | Tagged bhang, bhang lassi, bhang thandai, mahashivratri, shiva, shivratri, Varanasi
By nandan on February 5, 2010
I hosted a couple from San Fransisco for three weeks at my guest house. They arrived in Varanasi five weeks ago and stayed at a guest house near Assi ghat for two weeks but were not happy there as the bed in their room did not seem comfortable to them. They came to know about [...]
Posted in Groovy Ganges Guest House | Tagged guest house varanasi, Hindi classes varanasi, music classes varanasi, Varanasi
By nandan on January 27, 2010
I have joined Italian language course. I have always wanted to learn any foreign language but there was not much opportunity for me in Varanasi as BHU and Sampoornanand Sanskrit Universitiy were the only two places in Varanasi teaching foreign languages and BHU did not allow outers and going to Sampooranand was just like waste [...]
Posted in Studies in India | Tagged italian language course, Varanasi
By nandan on January 22, 2010
I have gotten my driving license about 8 years ago but I thought to write my experience at the RTO (Road Transport Office) office today. Actually my friend was talking about applying for a driving license today and it made me remember my experience and I decided to write about it. I was 20 years [...]
Posted in Corruption | Tagged corruption india, driving license in India, Varanasi