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Despatches from India... the lines out of here are very, VERY slow. The front door is open and a few feet away a camel has couched, surrounded by droppings. Outside in the town square, two or three vendors are asleep on their barrows in the afternoon sun. A sacred cow browses nearby. To make a call, you may have to close the door on a devout Hindu clanging his cymbals.
Delhi, City of Ghosts India's capital is haunted by the ghosts of British and Mughal invaders now departed. Many of today's Delhi-wallahs took up residence only after the Partition of British India, moving into the historic havelis abandoned by traditional owners.
Diu for a change Time out from trekking around India? Goa, with its Mediterranean-meets-tropics ambience, is where planeloads of palefaces go to flop on an Indian beach, but there's a less frenetic alternative north of Mumbai. The sleepy tropical island of Diu clings like a flea to the underbelly of the Gujarati elephant. As you cross the causeway to Diu, you arrive at a scaled-down Goa. Looking back from the formidable 16th-century fort one might imagine Diu to be in southern Europe, with spires standing out against the skyline and pastel-hued villas tucked into each of several bays.
Gujarat, Lion of India Hours after stalking one of India's last lions and her cubs, we joined in a garba, a neighbourhood carnival, for the third successive night, joining in a Gujarati folk dance for the amusement of hundreds. Gujarat, between Mumbai and the better-known Rajasthan, is where London's East India Company and Gulf Arab traders first engaged with the Moghul Empire, yet Gujarat's defining feature seems to remain its staunch Indian-ness. Here Hindu and Muslim communities form a volatile blend; in Ahmedabad Gandhi founded the ashram from which he set forth to defy British rule on the famous Salt March.
Push along to Pushkar's annual camel fair, when a dusty throng of camels and their owners, ash-streaked sadhus, pious pilgrims and backpackers from all over descend on this sleepily sacred outpost on the edge of the Rajasthani desert.
Corbett Tiger Reserve: track down the elusive tiger, or cast your rod for the golden mahseer in the national park and tiger reserve named for the celebrated tiger hunter turned conservationist, Jim Corbett. Tigers aren't easy to spot here, but park director Rajiv Bhatari explains why this is as it should be. Corbett's legacy to the hill country people of Kumaon also includes the creation of a model sustainable community on his own estate.
Lutyens' Legacy One of the most important English architects of the early twentieth century, Sir Edwin Lutyens' most important work was the layout and planning of New Delhi. Although Lutyens was commissioned to design an imperial capital, India gained independence almost as soon as construction finished.
Mughal magnificence: much more than the Taj Mahal; discovering the architectural and cultural legacy of the Muslim conquerors of northern India.
Slowly down the Ganges From Sangam, the confluence of the sacred Hindu rivers, drift downstream to Varanasi, the holiest city.
Stark naked, the middle-aged man stands surrounded by devotees, their hands clasped in reverence. Sacred India's fervour is manifest in all its creeds: the naked Jain priest; the Muslim faithful prostrated at the casket of a 14th century saint; Sikhs kissing temple steps, heedless of tramping feet;and of course Hindus for whom the Ganges is life itself.
Trains, planes and auto-rickshaws Not to mention cycle-rickshaws, riverboats, elephants, camels, chakdas and coolies. Meet the chai-wallah (tea-seller), the snake charmer and the sadhu: getting around in India is half the fun.
Yoga capital of the world At Rishikesh the glacial milky-blue waters of the sacred Ganges break free from the Himalaya, spilling out onto the plains. Even if you take your peace and love with a dose of scepticism, the 'yoga capital of the world' still repays a visit. At the nightly candlelit ceremony on the banks of the Ganges, young saffron-clad devotees clap and chant and sway. As the chanting builds to a crescendo, western women take up the rhythm with unseemly gusto. From the Sixties onwards, westerners in search of Eastern wisdom have made the pilgrimage to the ashrams of Rishikesh. In 1968 the Beatles arrived to immerse themselves in Indian spiritualism at the feet of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. A young Canadian photographer was staying at the ashram at the same time, and stumbled upon the band; Paul Saltzman's rare pictures were published only recently.
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