Namaskaram !
Welcome, Padharo ! I'm Mathini, a French woman who has been living in Rajasthan for 10 years. Despite being imbued with Indian culture from a young age it wasn't until 2014 that my Indian adventure really began. I left everything behind in France and set off on a 6-year journey through the land of Gandhi. These adventures are gathered in this blog which aspires, in an intentionally positive spirit, to bear witness to India's remarkably diverse and multifaceted cultural heritage. If this website sparks a desire to pack your bags and set off for an Indian adventure, it will have achieved its purpose. Subh Yatra on Magik India and beautiful explorations in the sacred land of Bharat...
At the new moon in the month of Karthik (October-November) Hindus celebrate Diwali, one of their major festivals, also called the “festival of lights”. It symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness and of knowledge over ignorance.The name Diwali derives from the Sanskrit dipavali. Dipa means ‘lamp’ or ‘light’ and avali means ‘series’ or ‘lines’. So ‘diwali‘ means lines of lights. At Diwali Indian towns glow with thousands of lights, creating an absolutely magical, joyful atmosphere…
Dussehra is a festival celebrated mainly in North India; It takes place after the nine days of the Navaratri festival and marks the victory of the God Rama over the king-demon Ravana or the triumph of the Goddess Durga over Mahisasura. However, the Dussehra Festival of the Bastar region in the state of Chhattisgarh is totally unique: it is dedicated to Devi Danteshwari, the native goddess of the region, and draws its roots and its originality from the tribal culture.
Devipattinam is a small village 17km from the famous Rameshwaram temple. The village boasts an surprising temple consisting simply of nine stones standing in the sea.
If there is one imperishable memory to be brought back from a trip to Kerala it is the fascinating Aranmula regatta. The snake-boats glide gracefully and majestically along the River Pampa and the hypnotic chanting of the oarsmen will echo in your mind like a happy refrain long after the race is over.
The Ellora caves will take your breath away. The technical brilliance and aesthetic beauty of this Unesco World Heritage site undeniably put the caves among the world’s finest rock-cut temples and make them a reference point for all Indian art.
During the month of Shravan (July-August), tens of thousands of Hindus undertake an arduous 40km pilgrimage through the scenic Himalayas to worship a very special symbol of Lord Shiva: an ice stalagmite-lingam that forms each year in the cave of Amarnath at the end of the Lidder Valley in Kashmir.
Buddhism has more than 300 million followers around the world, which makes it the 4th religion (or philosophy) after Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. The history of Buddhism begins around the 5th century BC, when Siddharta Gautama, prince of the Shakya kingdom, got enlightened under a ficus tree. Siddharta Gautama then became the ‘Buddha Samyaksam’ or ‘the perfectly awakened one.’ From then until his nirvana, Buddha visited several cities in North India spreading his message of the Middle Way. I invite you to follow in the footsteps of Buddha over more than 1000 km in northern India and Nepal, from the birth of the Prince Siddharta Gautama to the Nirvana of Buddha.
Rajim is a unique town around 45km from Raipur, sitting at the meeting point of three rivers. It boasts a number of very fine Hindu temples dating from the 8th to the 14th centuries, which are highly revered by both Vishnuites (devotees of Vishnu) and Shivaites (devotees of Shiva). The town of Rajim and is one of the most sacred places in the state of Chhattisgarh and the spiritual fervor culminates each year at the ‘fifth Kumbh’ festival or ‘Rajim Mela’ where thousands of pilgrims gather.
