Destination: India
Jan Morris Reveals her Favorite Cities
by Michael Yessis | 11.19.09 | 3:41 PM ET
She fields this question in the Guardian: What is her favorite of them all?
Dear God, what a question! To my mind cities are distillations of human life itself, in all its nuances, with all its contradictions and anomalies, changing from one year to another, changing with the weather, changing with history, changing with the state of the world, changing above all in one’s own personal responses. How can I have a favourite? Sometimes I prefer one city, sometimes another. Inconstancy governs my responses to cities—fidelity in personal matters, promiscuity in civic affairs.
Morris does have a ready answer, though, when asked about her least favorite city: Indianapolis. (Via @ben_coop)
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Yahoo! BuzzPaul Theroux’s New Novel: ‘A Dead Hand’
by Jim Benning | 11.18.09 | 1:50 PM ET
Paul Theroux’s new novel isn’t scheduled to be released in the U.S. until February 2010, but it’s already getting mixed reviews in the British press. It’s a mystery of sorts set in Calcutta and featuring a down-on-his-luck travel-writer-protagonist named Jerry Delfont.
Intriguingly, writes Doug Johnstone in The Independent:
Midway through the book, Delfont meets a fictional veteran US travel writer called Paul Theroux, a more successful and famous version of Delfont, whom he despises. The next 20 pages amount to a diatribe by Delfont about the act of travel writing, describing it as an emotionally stunted, puerile and selfish pastime, and brutally denouncing anyone who is stupid and arrogant enough to do it. This remarkable interlude is compelling, like rubbernecking a psychological car crash - but the rest of the novel is distinctly patchy, the bad points eventually outweighing the good.
Apparently the sex writing in the book leaves something to be desired. Once again, Theroux has been nominated for the Literary Review’s annual Bad Sex in Fiction award.
Interview With Nicholas Kristof: Traveling and Tweeting Under ‘Half the Sky’
by David Frey | 10.21.09 | 10:53 AM ET
Photo by Fred R. Conrad David Frey asks the author about his dream vacation, Twitter, travel to hellholes and the trip that changed his life
Photo You Must See: Obeisance at the Golden Temple
by World Hum | 10.08.09 | 5:14 PM ET
A devotee prays at Amritsar’s Golden Temple, the holiest site in Sikhism
Photo You Must See: Five Little Gandhis
by World Hum | 10.02.09 | 1:56 PM ET
REUTERS/Raj Patidar School children in Bhopal dress as Mahatma Gandhi for a celebration marking the 140th anniversary of his birth.
In Praise of ‘Hindoo Holiday’
by Michael Yessis | 10.01.09 | 1:56 PM ET
Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Dirda professes his love for J.R. Ackerley’s book about his five months in India, Hindoo Holiday—both for its content and his quest to find it.
“I first read Hindoo Holiday 25 years ago because of [Evelyn] Waugh’s atypical rave, which I came across in the massive, and massively enjoyable, volume of his collected essays and journalism,” Dirda writes. “In those pre-Internet days it took a while to turn up a copy of Ackerley’s onetime best seller, and I can still remember my glee in finally unearthing that worn Chatto and Windus edition in Heffer’s bookstore during a short visit to Cambridge, England.”
Julia Roberts: Eat, Pray, Offend the Locals
by Eva Holland | 09.24.09 | 9:51 AM ET
There’s trouble on the set of “Eat, Pray, Love” in India: Apparently, local villagers were banned from praying in their ashram during an important religious festival because filming was going on inside. Said one local police officer:
There are more than 100 policemen outside the Ashram Hari Mandir and almost equal number inside the premises, both uniformed and in civilian disguise. Nobody can breach this cover and no outsider is allowed to enter the ashram, no matter whosoever he or she is. We have strict instructions.
Now that’s what I call a “hearts and minds” strategy.
Travel Movie Watch: ‘Road, Movie’
by Eva Holland | 09.18.09 | 3:08 PM ET
The Indian flick, which premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend, follows a young man as he attempts to escape the family business, traveling Rajasthan in an old truck loaded with film projectors and movie reels. To judge by the trailer, it’s going to be a good one:
There’s no word on North American distribution plans beyond TIFF, but if “Road, Movie” makes a splash at the festival—and assuming last year’s “Slumdog Millionaire” explosion has left plenty of viewers wanting another taste of India—I’d bet it will turn up in select theaters before Christmas.
Aboard the ‘Ladies Special’ in India
by Eva Holland | 09.18.09 | 9:36 AM ET
The New York Times reports from a new women-only commuter train in Delhi, part of a pilot program spanning four major Indian cities that’s aimed at cutting down on the harassment of female passengers. I’m thrilled to hear about the program, but here’s hoping it will only need to be a short-term solution—as one interviewee noted in the story, “You really need to make every train as safe as the Ladies Specials.”
Interview With John Rasmus: ‘The New Age of Adventure’
by Jim Benning | 09.16.09 | 10:03 AM ET
Jim Benning asks the National Geographic Adventure editor about a new travel anthology, and about how technology is changing our sense of adventure
Judging India
by JD Roberto | 09.14.09 | 10:37 AM ET
In New Delhi, JD Roberto deemed much of what he encountered backward and barbaric. But his moral compass was about to be reset.
Photo We Love: Praying for Rain in Mumbai
by World Hum | 09.09.09 | 5:03 PM ET
REUTERS/Punit Paranjpe
Hindu priests sit inside water-filled barrels as they pray for rain in Mumbai.
Photo We Love: Speeding Auto Rickshaw in Agra, India
by World Hum | 08.31.09 | 1:49 PM ET
The Bucket and the Cup
by Sophia Dembling | 08.31.09 | 10:37 AM ET
Sophia Dembling knew India would be a land of mysteries. She just didn't find the ones she expected.
McWorld Goes Local
by Jim Benning | 08.28.09 | 12:16 PM ET
Further evidence (not that we needed it) that a globalized McWorld does not necessarily mean global homogeneity: Increasingly—though it has been going on for years—fast food franchises around the world are rolling out menu items created for local tastes.
Domino’s pizzas come topped with squid in Taiwan, black beans in Guatemala and feta cheese in Greece. In China, Kentucky Fried Chicken sells rice congee, while Col. Sanders in India woos vegetarians with offerings like the Chana Snacker, a chickpea burger topped with Thousand Island sauce.
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