Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with india

How to reward from afar

pencroft — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:00:14 -0800

What is a good gift for a bunch of web developers in India? My US-based company is about to launch a site that has taken many many months and jumped way beyond the initial scope. The site has been developed by a firm in Dehli and I would like to send the team a gift. Ultimately, I'd like to make sure the team knows that we appreciated their hard work and I want them to be recognized by their senior management?

Meaningful places in India

tessalations999 — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:22:31 -0800

What is your favorite place in India? I am traveling to India in August for a month, and want to know where to go. I'm not as interested in touristy spots, more places that were meaningful and struck a chord with you. What places made an impact on you during your trip? Where would you tell someone they HAD to go if you were giving suggestions to a friend?

Which is the meatiest Indian cookbook?

vorfeed — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:19:06 -0800

Lamb and chicken, pork and beef... which is the meatiest Indian cookbook? I love to cook Indian food, but the Indian cookbooks I have feature lots of foods I can't eat (namely, starchy stuff like beans/legumes and rice). I know it's tough, because many Indians are vegetarian, but can you recommend an Indian cookbook with plenty of meat dishes? Individual recipes are fine, too, but I'm mainly looking for something I can flip through when I feel like cooking. The more meat recipes, the better, but I'd like something with lots of authenticity and flavor, too!

I have Madhur Jaffrey's "Indian Cooking" and "Quick & Easy Indian Cooking", along with Shahnaz Mehta's "Good Cooking from India". Between them, I've got enough ideas for the next five years of veggies, but the meat dishes take up only a few pages in each. I'm sick of rogan josh, vindaloo, korma, and saag murgh, please help!

I need to grow up

peacheater — Sat, 17 May 2008 15:43:10 -0800

Help me get over being homesick. I moved to the US in July of last year for graduate school (to get my PhD). I'm 22 and did my schooling and undergrad in my hometown in India. I lived at home with my parents through college. I'm suddenly feeling almost unbearably homesick. I think that until now I've been too busy with classes and social activities to feel too homesick but now everything's just hitting me all at once. Also my parents visited me in the fall of last year and I went home in December for 3 weeks, so that helped me.
I guess five months really isn't all that long a time but it feels like forever and I really really miss my parents and extended family. More than anything else I miss that sense that nothing bad can happen to you and that I could just call my mom and dad for help and they'd be there in fifteen minutes. I totally didn't expect to feel this way because when I was at home I couldn't wait to leave -- I'm an only child and I felt like they exercised far too much control over me. Yet when I look back all I can remember is a life of comfort and ease and a readymade social network. It doesn't help that every time my mother talks to me she tells me about the three times they went out for dinner last week and the sailing classes she's taking and the holiday they're going on next week. Makes me wonder why I ever wanted to give all that up to go to graduate school.
Other than this sudden homesickness I feel like I'm doing fine here. I have a boyfriend who I'm very serious about and we have a great relationship. I've made some friends and am doing well in school. I've set up my apartment to be comfortable and cook regularly.
And I understand that all this is a pretty natural part of growing up and becoming independent, but it's much harder than I ever expected it to be. So any strategies and advice you have to give me about overcoming this feeling that I should just give it all up and go home would be wonderful.

Where should we go?

Anonymous — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:03:33 -0800

How and where to go for two weeks at the end of August? Me and my friend John would like to take a two week vacation together in or about the last two weeks of August.

Some facts:
-we are both poor students
-I'll be studying the language of whatever place we choose in the coming months
-we don't need any fancy accomodations, shelters and hostels are fine
-beaches and warm/tropical places would be nice, but not necessary
-it's not necessary either, but it'd be nice to be able to score mushrooms/acid/weed while we were there since we both enjoy that
-we won't have money to buy plane tickets till july

We don't want to go to:
-Europe/Scandinavia/Canada, anywhere too cold
-places where the dollar will be especially weak compared to local currency

Places we would love to go:
-India (1st choice!!)
-Cheap parts of Asia (ie not Japan)
-Africa
-South America

Basically the deciding factor is where we can get the cheapest plane tickets/accomodations.

So where would be the best place to go, and where can we get the cheapest plane tickets? Please tell us anything you think would be helpful!

Happy Maharashtra Day!, but in Marathi

mattbucher — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:00:29 -0800

How do you say "Happy Maharashtra Day!" in Marathi? Or is there some other exclamation you might say to a resident of Maharashtra on this day?

Nice Delhi hotel for an India travelNoob?

Rash — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:29:44 -0800

India first-timer seeking general suggestions and recomendations for first few night's lodging in Delhi. Traveling in July (no choice), planning to head up into the northeast (to Hardiwar/Rishikesh and then onto Simla/Manali), back to Delhi and then on to Agra for the Taj, if time permits.

Any comments will be useful.

And if you can point me towards a great one- or two-star hotel for a reservation during those crucial first few days, that would be great.

Sending Dollars from India

Non Prosequitur — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 03:45:59 -0800

I'm wondering how to send a check in dollars to someone in the States from a bank account in Indian rupees (for a low sum like $200). Essentially I'd like the equivalent of what, out there, would be mailing a money order. (I'm just ruling out the notion of sending a personal check in rupees and hoping their bank would take it and deposit the dollar value?)

Do bank wire transfers sometimes convert currencies so if I have the payee's routing number and so on it may work? (My mom has a special account with a dollar balance so I'll check with her bank--they let her deposit international currencies but withdraw only rupees.)

Long shot: can traveler's checks function as a psuedo-money-order?

Any ideas welcome.

Indian spice store in Mexico?

dhruva — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:48:00 -0800

Is it possible to buy Indian (from India) spices in Mexico? Preferably Mexico City or Xalapa. Or is the only option online? I've googled with no luck and the whole Indian/indigena misnomer is driving me nuts.

Please help, Lonely Planet Guide Lookup???

ladiorange — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:20:09 -0800

Going to India - Quick Lonely Planet lookup help please!!! My Goa Lonely Planet Guide has NV Guest House (in Calangute) on the map, but no description for it (!) Can someone please help out and let me know what other Lonely Planet Guides (South India, India, etc) has/have written about it?? Like prices and such... TIA

Generating shaded maps of India with state-level data series.

matthewr — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 16:31:29 -0800

What's the easiest way of generating a map similar to this? I have several state-level data series I want to display on maps of India. I assume this blank map of India in SVG format is a good starting-point. Now, what program(s) do I use to link areas on the map to my data series and hence automatically shade states by a variable x?

My data looks like:
[state code] state x [jm] jam 1.93386 [hp] him 1.74945 [pj] pun 1.90247 [uc] utt 2.13038 ... 33 more states ...

I have Windows, Stata, Excel and zero budget.

Advice for first trip to India?

kdern — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:23:28 -0800

Advice for first trip to India? I'm researching a possible trip to India for me and my girlfriend at the end of the year (between November and January). We've never been there before, and would probably have about two weeks to travel.

Can you give me your suggestions for possible itineraries? We don't want to run around to 5 different cities - we'd want to take our time and travel slowly in order to really get the feel of life there as best as we can - but we want to see some variety.

I know we'd definitely want some time in a city (Mumbai?) and, I imagine, at least a quick visit to a nice suburb to see how the other half lives. We might want to allow a couple days for a beach resort somewhere, possibly in the middle or at the end, to help unwind a little from the hustle and bustle.

BTW - I'm a travel agent and have traveled alone in Thailand. I'm not interested in tours or packages - would prefer to book everything on my own.

Thanks in advance.

What is the purpose of a cord around the waist?

TheDukeofLancaster — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:01:21 -0800

(Hindu?) Question about the purpose of a cord around the waist of children. My wife works for a preschool where a few children have this cord around their waist. There are several children with these, all of the families are originally from India. One of the young boys had never had his hair cut, one day he came in without the cord and a bald head. What is the significance of the cord? Is it related to the hair?

What are some good, quick boxed international lunches?

nitsuj — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 12:58:04 -0800

I really love these easy-to-prepare, not-too-expensive A Taste of Thai/India/China meals for lunch. What else would I like? My local grocery stores don't stock very many things like this, but with Amazon Groceries, I figure I can get pretty much anything shipped to my door.

The Asian stuff is great, so any other brands/styles/flavor recommendations are welcomed. I'd also be interested some other international flavors, like Mexican, Spanish, Canadian, et. al.

Emphasis on easiness to prepare and quality of ingrediants.

Contemporary music with elements of Indian styles?

c:\awesome — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:01:26 -0800

I'm looking for artists, albums, or single songs that mix in elements of Indian/Hindi music and other various contemporary styles. Some songs that I enjoy like this are M.I.A.'s "Jimmy" and Pepe Delux's "Numa."

What else would I like?

Is it common for Muslim in India to speak Malay, Thai, Indonesian?

notsogirliegal — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:26:26 -0800

Is it common for Muslim in India to speak Malay, Thai, Indonesian as opposed to or in addition to Arabic? I am hoping to get an understanding of different Muslim population in various Asian regions (mideast, India, and south east Asia). I am guessing there have to be some differences, like the language, but they all seem to use same Arabic alphabet. So how common is it for a person in India (I understand most Muslim population in India are likely to be Pakistani who tend to speak Urdu) to be able to speak Thai, Malay and/or Indonesian. Is there a high number of population in India that speaks more than one of the following languages: Thai, Malay, and/or Indonesian?

What's Indian about buffets?

escabeche — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:26:34 -0800

Why do "Indian restaurant" and "all-you-can-eat lunch buffet" go together? It seems that all or most U.S. Indian restaurants offer all-you-can-eat buffets at lunchtime. There are other buffets -- I can think of some Chinese places and some "American" places that have them, and when I used to live in Baltimore there was a place that served a $7 all-you-can-eat sushi buffet that in retrospect I feel lucky to have survived. But for no other genre of restaurant does the buffet seem as nearly compulsory as it does for Indian.

Why is this? Is there something about Indian food as opposed to Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Thai, etc. that makes it particularly suitable for the steam-table treatment? Are there buffets in restaurants in India? In Indian restaurants outside India and the U.S.? Was there some single entrepreneur in the U.S. who opened the first Indian lunch buffet and inspired everyone else to get on board?

Tips for a monthlong business trip to Hyderabad

jules1651 — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:02:16 -0800

I am going to be in Hyderabad for a month (February) for work and would welcome any feedback and suggestions. I read this thread but I have some more specific questions: I am staying in Banjara Hills at the Taj Deccan. I will probably be getting home around 9pm on weeknights. Are there restaurants, etc., in walking distance that would be worth checking out, or should I stick to the hotels? Is it an area one can easily walk around in? How safe is a woman alone at night? Are there any quick weekend trips worth doing, say leaving Sat and returning Sunday? What should I see in Hyderabad itself? I don't want to be too skittish about eating/getting sick, what are commonsense rules to follow? What are tipping conventions for hotels, restaurants, cabs, tours? Are there any guidelines I should follow in terms of dress? I would also welcome any and all other tips. Thanks!

What percentage of Hindus are vegetarian?

peacheater — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:58:21 -0800

Is there a reliable source (preferably online) for the percentage of Hindus in India who are vegetarian? I am Indian non-vegetarian who is tired of seeing being Hindu conflated with being vegetarian, most recently in this New York Times article (scroll down to the end of the part about restaurant Devi). As far as I know, a substantial percentage of Indian Hindus are vegetarian but probably not as high a percentage as perceived. One probable reason for this could be that higher caste Indians are more likely to have the means to travel abroad for higher education and are also more likely to be vegetarian.
I tried to access the Indian Census to see if they had this information but their website seems to be down.

Why so many Indians at Niagara Falls?

Meatbomb — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:31:43 -0800

Is there some special historical / cultural reason that (South Asian) Indians are really big on Niagara Falls? When I was there this summer I was really surprised by the number of Indian tourists there. I swear, it must have been at least 10-15% Indians (my woman says it was 90%), and not just local resident-looking Indians, I mean people in saris that look like they had just stepped off the plane from Delhi / Mumbai / Calcutta. Big multi-generational family groups, kids, teens, adults...

So, I figure that there are a few possibilities:
1) I happened to be there coincidentally on the same day that some massive tour group from India was also passing through;
2) There is a huge Indian community somewhere near Buffalo that I am unaware of;
3) (this is the one I really hope is true!) There is some special cultural reason that Indians love / want to see Niagara falls. Maybe similar to the Japanese with Anne of Green Gables, they all read about it in school? Or there is some spiritual Hindu thing about seeing a huge waterfall? Or some other special reason?

Anyone who can shed some light on this, I thank you in advance!

Books on India

hadjiboy — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 20:32:20 -0800

If you please—I urgently require a few good recommendations of novels that have India as a backdrop. It should be set up in India, so that a foreigner can understand a bit about Indian Society, their traditions, and customs. I’m asking this so that I can gift the book to a friend of mine, who is a foreigner, and will be leaving shortly. So I would appreciate it if you could reply as soon as possible. Thanking you very much in advance!

Fashion resources for South Asians

divabat — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 08:22:21 -0800

What good fashion/style/beauty resources are out there for South Asian (Indian/Bangladeshi/Pakistani) women that aren't all about saris and lenghas? Thanks to the response to this question, I have been investigation fashion and style a lot more that usual, and am developing my personal tastes further. (I'm keeping a log of what I like; link's in profile.)

One thing that's struck me, though, is that none of the models are South Asian - none of them look like me. They're all mostly white and skinny (and often blonde). When they bring "people of colour" in there are no South Asians, and plus size is way too big for me (I'm a 12-14 with a typical South Asian belly). So it's hard for me to tell if anything I've seen would actually look good on me because there's no one to compare it to.

My tastes run towards the gothic (Velvet Garden is AWESOME), geeky (injoke tees), businessy (I LOVE suits), and ethnic (not just South Asian). I've been thinking of trying out mod, after seeing a photo of Edie Sedgwick, but she's the complete opposite of me bodywise and I have a feeling the typical mod dresses are going to make me look pregnant.

It's harder to find makeup because I have no idea what colours would suit me. I hardly wear makeup but when I do (for very special occasions) I like to be dramatic, particularly with my eyes. However, all the talk about warm/cool/yellow/blue skin tones confuse me. Some websites have pictures or notes of people whose skin I'm supposed to match, but none of them are ever South Asian! I can't even tell for myself because my skin tone can change - right now it's on the fair side because I'm hardly outdoors, but my face can get quite dark, especially when standing next to fairer people.

Searching for South Asian fashion resources is difficult, because I keep getting stuff about saris and lenghas and salwhar khameez. They're nice, but that's not all I want to wear!

Are there any sites or places that tackle South Asian people but have a more Western idea of style?

Music from India & Bangladesh?

valleys — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:34:51 -0800

Looking for suggestions of Indian & Bangladeshi music to help get me in the mood for an upcoming trip. I'll be in Bangladesh and India in a couple of months. What music would be good to listen to as I wade through my Lonely Planet books?

All genres are welcome, as my musical tastes vary wildly. I'm interested in music from the two countries as well as bands that might take inspiration from them. (I'm aware of bands like Cornershop, Asian Dub Foundation etc, but don't yet own anything. Where should I start? )

Bonus points for music available on iTunes Canada.

Availability of B&W photographic film and processing services in New Delhi

hellhammer — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:12:18 -0800

A few questions about the availability of B&W photographic film and processing services in New Delhi, India Could Knowledgeable Folks please recommend to me a good photo lab (or a few) in New Delhi?

I am primarily interested in shooting Fuji Neopan 100, Ilford HP5+ and Ilford Delta 3200, all for 35mm.

Are these films commonly available in New Delhi? If so, how do their prices compare to typical prices in the US (about $4.50 - $6 per 36 exposure roll, depending on the film)?

Also, what have your experiences been with the processing of these films?

Thank you!

How much spending money should I bring for a 15Day trip to India??

lonemantis — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 14:04:42 -0800

How much money (in US$) should my S.O. and I bring on a 15 day trip to India? Here's the backstory: My wife and I are going to India, so that my parents can at least have a Hindu wedding ceremony so that extended family can join in the festivities of me (an only child) get married (to a non-Indian). Basically this trip and the ceremony is for my parents. We're going to be staying with family in Mumbai, so lodging would be free, but I'm sure that we'll be eating out, as well as taking tours, tipping cab drivers, and all the other charges that come with being out of the country on a pleasure trip... so... being that the US dollar doesn't command as much value as it once did:

How much spending money for 15days in US$?