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India 2025
  • Gina Steiner

India 2025

Een 14-daags avontuur van Gina Meer informatie
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  • Gina SteinerIndia 2025Reiziger

    Indian wedding - Baraat

    19 april, Indië ⋅ 🌙 34 °C

    There's an Indian wedding taking place at my hotel today, and I just stumbled into it. Or more precisely, I stumbled into the baraat.

    There are at least three days worth of celebrations to undertake at a Hindu wedding. The precise details and rituals performed in a wedding ceremony vary from region to region and often take several hours to complete. Here a brief introduction to the stages of a Hindu wedding ceremony:

    - The Baraat / The Jaan
    - Pokwanu - Welcoming of The Groom
    - Ganesh Puja
    - Vaarpooja
    - Kanya Aagman - The Arrival of the Bride
    - Granthibandan and Varmala
    - Kanyadan 
    - Havan
    - Mangal Fera
    - Saptapadi - The Seven Steps
    - Sindur & Mangal Sutra
    - Akhand Saubhagyavati – Blessings From Married Women
    - Aashirwad
    - Vidaai

    The part of the Hindu wedding ritual in which the groom rides a horse (or sometimes in a carriage or on an elephant) to the wedding reception is called "Baraat."

    The Baraat is the groom's ceremonial wedding procession to the bride's family. It is a lively and colorful procession with music, dancing, and much joy. It typically goes like this:

    Arrival of the groom: The groom traditionally rides a white-decorated horse, wears splendid attire (usually a sherwani and turban), and is accompanied by friends and relatives.

    Music and dancing: A live band or DJ accompanies the procession with loud, cheerful music, often Bollywood hits or traditional Indian songs. The guests dance exuberantly in the street in front of the groom.

    Welcoming ritual: At the destination – usually the wedding hall or the bride's house – the groom is ceremoniously welcomed by the bride's family. A small ritual takes place, often with an aarti (a lighting ritual), and the bride's mother symbolically feeds the groom or places a tilak (red dot on his forehead).

    Groom's Entrance: Afterward, the groom enters the wedding venue.

    The duration of a baraat depends on the location and size of the ceremony, but the baraat typically lasts between 30 minutes and 2 hours. Sometimes it is intentionally prolonged because it is a highlight of the wedding.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Gina SteinerIndia 2025Reiziger
    11

    Taj Mahal

    20 april, Indië ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    No trip to North India is complete without a visit to the Taj Mahal.

    The Taj Mahal is made of ivory-white marble, and a mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra.

    It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658) to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.

    Construction of the mausoleum was completed in 1648, but work continued on other phases of the project for another five years. The first ceremony held at the mausoleum was an observance by Shah Jahan, on 6 February 1643, of the 12th anniversary of the death of Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around ₹32 million, which in 2015 would be approximately ₹52.8 billion (US$827 million).

    The building complex incorporates the design traditions of Indo-Islamic and Mughal architecture. It employs symmetrical constructions with the usage of various shapes and symbols. While the mausoleum is constructed of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, red sandstone was used for other buildings in the complex similar to the Mughal era buildings of the time. The construction project employed more than 20 000 workers and artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by Ustad Ahmad Lahori, the emperor's court architect.

    The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Islamic art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". It is regarded as one of the best examples of Mughal architecture and a symbol of Indian history. The Taj Mahal is a major tourist attraction and attracts more than five million visitors a year. In 2007, it was declared a winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World initiative. The Taj Mahal and its setting, surrounding grounds, and structures are a Monument of National Importance, administered by the Archaeological Survey of India.    Meer informatie

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  • Gina SteinerIndia 2025Reiziger

    Red feet

    20 april, Indië ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    Indian women occasionally dye their feet with bright red dye. The dye is called alta mahavar and is liquid. This dye is used to color the palms of the hands and feet or to paint simple patterns. It is a common Indian tradition during religious festivals and weddings.Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Gina SteinerIndia 2025Reiziger

    Welcome to Delhi

    20 april, Indië ⋅ 🌙 32 °C

    This evening I arrived back in Delhi, and the circle is complete. I'm staying in a hotel room with a view of the skyline. Tomorrow I'll take a tour of the city, and the day after tomorrow I'll be heading back to Germany.Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Gina SteinerIndia 2025Reiziger

    Rajghat Memorial

    21 april, Indië ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Raj Ghat is a memorial complex in Delhi. The first memorial was dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi where a black marble platform was raised to mark the spot of his cremation on 31 January 1948 and consists of an eternal flame at one end.

    Located on Delhi's Ring Road, a stone footpath leads to the walled enclosure that houses the memorial. Later the memorial complex was expanded to include memorials for other prominent Indian leaders including Charan Singh, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Chandra Shekhar and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.    Meer informatie

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  • Gina SteinerIndia 2025Reiziger
    12

    Gurdwara Bangla Sahib

    21 april, Indië ⋅ ☀️ 40 °C

    Gurdwara Bangla Sahib is one of the most prominent Sikh gurdwaras, or Sikh house of worship, in Delhi and known for its association with the eighth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Krishan.

    It is also well known for the holy pond inside its complex, known as the "Sarovar." It was rebuilt as a small shrine by Sikh General Sardar Baghel Singh in 1783.

    In the temple you can find a community kitchen, where everybody can eat for free. The kitchen is financed by donations and people also help out by helping in the kitchen.

    Sikhs place great value on a virtuous lifestyle. A socially oriented family life, earning an honest living, and lifelong spiritual development are considered cornerstones of Sikhism. Service to others and efforts to eliminate social injustice are considered important forms of devotion. Women and men have equal rights and responsibilities.

    Our bus driver is Sikh and has a nice orange turban, like Sikh do have.

    The Sikh religion is a monotheistic religion originating in the 15th century and tracing its origins to its founder, Guru Nanak Dev. Founded in Punjab (northwest India), the religious community is known worldwide as Sikhism and today has around 25 to 27 million followers, the majority of whom live in India. The Sikh religion emphasizes the unity of creation and worships a formless, gender-neutral creator god. Other key characteristics include the rejection of so-called superstition and traditional religious rites, such as those prevalent in Hinduism. Although the caste system permeates everyday life among Sikhs because it is overwhelmingly dominant in Indian daily life, it is rejected. In religious practice, there are various formal requirements, for example, regarding clothing, naming, and appearance.

    The Sikh religion is not based on the observance of religious dogmas, but rather aims to make religious wisdom useful and practical for everyday life.    Meer informatie

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  • Gina SteinerIndia 2025Reiziger

    Ready to leave

    22 april, Indië ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Now I'm sitting at the airport, waiting for things to happen. The vacation is over, and I'm looking forward to going home.

    Check-in and check-out went smoothly, and I still have about 9000 rupees left. That's less than 10 euros, so I'll just keep it for next time. Whether there will be a next time, I can't say; it certainly won't be northern India.

    It really is very interesting here, and the people are incredibly nice, but northern India isn't my thing. Too hot, too dirty, too "indifferent," too loud, and too much. Maybe southern India again, but I can probably think of 1,000 places I'd rather go to. Nevertheless it was a great adventure and I wouldn't have wanted to miss it.

    Right now, I'm enjoying the relative peace and quiet at the gate and will report back from Dubai.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Gina SteinerIndia 2025Reiziger

    Arrived in Dubai

    22 april, Verenigde Arabische Emiraten ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    The first route to Dubai I've put it behind me. Now I'm going on to Hamburg soon, which will take a little longer than 6 hours.

    Unfortunately my stomach is starting to rumble...

    Zie vertaling
  • Gina SteinerIndia 2025Reiziger

    Home sweet home

    22 april, Duitsland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    At home!

    Unfortunately, I catched a stomach problem on the last few meters at breakfast this morning, but I made it over the flight in a good way. Well and now I have a bath all to myself 🤣.

    Zie vertaling
    Het einde van de reis
    22 april 2025
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