The real India, The poor India

[Spitfighter]

India's first mosque was in Kerela? how did that happen, I figured it would be somewhere up North.

 

[wtf]

Bangalore. The picture is of Leela Palace hotel which is built to look like Tipu era constructions. But I have never seen the road in front of it so empty.

Usually Bangalore streets look like below (the city has grown very fast and as a result has the worst traffic jams of any city I know) . Nevertheless, I love the city.

 

[wtf]

India's first mosque was in Kerela? how did that happen, I figured it would be somewhere up North.

It was constructed while prophet was still alive.
Cheraman Juma Masjid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There was this local king in Kerala called Cheraman Perumal. He was first a Hindu (I think), then converted to Buddhism and built a temple of Budha. Later he converted to Islam when he came in contact with Muslim traders from Middle east. After a while he retired from kingly duties and decided to go on Hajj. Unfortunately, his ship was wrecked in a storm and he ended up in Lakshadweep. Apparently, that's how people got to Lakshadweep. (It was a stopover for fishermen before that).
The historical records show that such a king was there and he went for Hajj and never came back. The Lakshadweep and Buddhism story is from local folklore.

Anyway, as a result even before Tipu's time, northern Kerala had lots of Muslims and occasionally Muslim kings.

 

[Omar1984]

New Delhi, the capital of India

 

[wtf]

New Delhi, the capital of India

Actually, New Delhi feels very different from the pictures.
Many Indian cities do look like that (Mostly UP, Bihar would be similar -except for the colour scheme of autos). Old Delhi is like what is in the pictures.Even parts of Agra can look like the picture.

But the "New" Delhi feels very clean and unreal. It is the capital and so it is very well maintained for dignitaries etc. The picture below is very similar to the feel of the city I had (was not born in Delhi, never lived there either - just traveled through it many times).

 

[Omar1984]

^ DELHI IS THE CAPITAL OF INDIA. NEW OR OLD, ITS INDIA'S CAPITAL.

 

[wtf]

Chennai. As an outsider what strikes you first is the fact that almost no one speaks Hindi. They'll work with you if you talk in English, but mostly the city runs on Tamil.
The second thing that strikes you about Chennai (being a tropical, coastal city) is the smell. A mixture of salty air, spices, fish, dirt etc.

For an outsider, it is the city that is most difficult to adjust to. It takes a while to like the city (I'd say about 2 years), but once you fit in, you are set for life.
It is remarkably safe for women (I know 3 girls who walked from one end of the city to another at 1 in the night -- except cops asking them if they were lost no one bothered them). It also has very cheap food, houses and transport (compared to other Metros).

 

[jeypore]

New Delhi, the capital of India

See the store on left corner, that says Madras goodies. That's where India shines the most, those hole in the wall foods are so tasty that cannot be replicated anywhere in the world. That is the first thing I do when I Land in India. I eat lots of food from stalls and hole in the wall, never from star studded restarauntes.

Anyways another beautiful childesh thread!! Enjoy!!!

 

[wtf]

^ DELHI IS THE CAPITAL OF INDIA. NEW OR OLD, ITS INDIA'S CAPITAL.

Just trying to give a "feel" of what the city is like. If you are used to other metros in India, what strikes you about Delhi is the wide roads and the relatively low-rise, colonial era buildings in Delhi.

 

[Omar1984]

India's financial capital, Mumbai.

 

[wtf]

View attachment 373c508bbdcb9e1be578d79a914310a9.bmp_.jpg

Goa, a small touristy state. You can actually drive from one end to another of the state on a motorcycle in half a day (which I did). The beaches are amazing, people remarkably friendly. It is also the richest state in India.
(Some) People still speak Portuguese, but menus in atleast 6 languages are common in restaurants.

The pictures above give a good idea what the place feels during Winter -a couple of weeks before Xmas or a week after New Year.

 

[Keysersoze]

Getting bored of these flame type threads CLOSED!