India is a pretty awesome country; countless worlds in one. One lifetime is simply not enough to see it all—one can only scratch the surface.

This section includes links to my travels exploring my homeland and are categorized state-wise. Please note it does not contain posts on Bombay and the city’s surrounds which are listed in Exploring Bombay:

BIHAR

• rajgir, the ancient capital of magadha
• temple-hopping in bodh gaya: from tibet to japan
• buddha’s bodh gaya: the sacred hidden treasures of mahabodhi temple complex
• global travel shot: nalanda, the world’s first residential international university

DELHI
Monuments and Heritage Parks

• the story of qutub minar
• a heritage buff’s guide to the eight cities of delhi
• india travel shot: jantar mantar, a slice of jaipur in delhi
• a travel guide to colonial delhi
• a culture vulture’s guide to delhi’s 7 best heritage parks
• in search of rahim das aka rahim khan, the 16th century warrior-poet
• lodi garden: eleven monuments and 7,000 trees
• travel diaries: a mughal wazir’s tomb in day and night
• sunder nursery: delhi’s loveliest secret
• photo essay: delhi’s red fort, stories told and untold
• humayun’s tomb: an ode to destiny’s child

Museums

• global art shot: kampani kalam, when east met west
• national crafts museum, new delhi – 90 minutes at the museum
• delhi’s national museum bronze gallery: where bronzes sing tales of god and art
• national museum, new delhi – 90 minutes at the museum

Places of Worship and Neighborhoods

• lodhi art district’s 16 most dazzling street art paintings
• delhi’s shahjahanabad unraveled: heritage, sacred places, markets, and food
• travel shorts: delhi’s 800-year-old spiritual retreat for eunuchs
• an urban monk’s guide to delhi’s spiritual oases
• new delhi’s most beautiful church: cathedral church of the redemption
• lal mandir to jama masjid: the magic of chandni chowk during ramadan
• global travel shot: baha’i temple, a marble lotus in full bloom

GOA

• goa travel tips
• the backwaters and fort in aldona
• the 12th century mahadev temple at tambdi surla
• museum of christian art, old goa
• a walk through old goa and fontainhas
• a village called colva

GUJARAT
Ahmedabad

• beyond the unesco sites: what not to miss in ahmedabad
• 36 hours in india’s only unesco world heritage city: ahmedabad
• incredible gujarat: from 4,400-year-old lothal to 120-year-old utelia
• travel diaries: the padlocked past of sidhpur
• a 1,000-year-old royal couple’s expression of love and piety: modhera and patan
• global travel shot: an ethiopian soldier’s gift to ahmedabad

Kutch

• uncut: road trip to kutch
• palaces of bhuj and mandvi
• than monastery of the slit ear yogis, and fossils of kutch
• koteshwar temple, kutch: an 1820 ode to shiva
• the 4,500 year old harappan site of dholavira, kutch
• temples of bhuj: the grand and the familial
• lakhpat: kutch’s ghost town of millionaires and saints
• the 18th century kamangari wall paintings of kutch
• white desert of kutch: one rann, many faces

Vadodara

• the 6 untold treasures of vadodara
• champaner—the muslim part of champaner-pavagadh unesco world heritage site
• pavagadh—the hindu part of champaner-pavagadh unesco world heritage site
• the mythological frescoes of nandalal bose in vadodara
• global travel shot: champaner, a 500-year-old indo-saracenic poem in stone

HARYANA

• narnaul: of all-powerful medieval nobles and incredible wealth
• travel shorts: the taj of haryana
• the treasures of farrukhnagar and jhajjar no guidebook tells you about

HIMACHAL PRADESH
Dharamshala

• 36 hours in dharamshala, home of the dalai lama
• the ancient art of tibetan thangka painting in dharamshala
• travel diaries: the true blue heroes of dharamshala

Himachal’s Popular Hill Stations

• india travel shot: shimla’s toy train

Lahaul and Spiti

• self-portrait: happy in spiti

KARNATAKA
Mysore

• once upon a day in mysore: a one day itinerary of south india’s royal city
• srirangapatna, historical capital of tipu sultan: the why, what, where, when, how guide
• travel diaries: in search of shravanabelagola’s bahubali
• poetry, myths and stone: the millennia-old sculpted hoysala temples of karnataka
• why tipu sultan’s dariya daulat bagh will take your breath away
• global travel shot: the durbar hall in mysore palace

MADHYA PRADESH
Bhopal

• 11 incomparable experiences only to be had when in bhopal
• bhimbetka—the prehistoric rock art wonders of india
• photo essay: buddhist sanchi, stories told and untold
• india travel shot: pithora painting, the art of ritual in tribal madhya pradesh
• preserving a disappearing heritage: the bagh cave paintings at bhopal state museum

MAHARASHTRA
Aurangabad

• the essential travel guide to aurangabad
• travel diaries: hiking in the lonar crater
• india’s classical masterpiece: the ellora caves
• aurangabad: remnants of a despised emperor and his iranian queen
• the painted and sculpted caves of ajanta
• global travel shot: lonar crater, a meteorite’s shot at earth

Pune

• photo essay: ftii, stories of indian cinema told and untold
• 36 hours in pune
• st. mary’s church in camp, the oldest anglican church in the deccan
• kelkar museum: one man’s collection of 21,000 objets d’art
• pune heritage walk: lal mahal and shaniwar wada
• global travel shot: a sweetmeat shop owner’s gift to pune

PUNJAB

• photo essay: sirhind, the lost atlantis of punjab

RAJASTHAN
Alwar

• 36 hours in alwar, the road less travelled

Bikaner

• bikaner: the forgotten jewel of the thar desert
• global travel shot: silk road opulence in bikaner

Bundi

• 5 best kept secrets of bundi, india’s best kept secret
• the bundi-kotah school of miniature painting in kotah’s garh palace
• the painted palaces of bundi
• why bundi’s stepwells will take your breath away
• photo essay: in search of bundi’s prehistoric rock paintings
• global travel shot: the prehistoric rock paintings of bundi

Chittorgarh

• chittorgarh: stories of valour, jauhar, and gods

Jaipur

• travel diaries: jaigarh and nahargarh: 2 forts and 1 traveller
• 15 memorable experiences only to be had in the world heritage city of jaipur
• photo essay: amer, the unesco-listed fort and beyond
• royal splendour in jaipur’s city palace

Jaisalmer

• travel diaries: call of the khuri dunes
• thar desert: stories told and untold
• exploring jaisalmer: one of the world’s few surviving living forts

Jhalawar

• the complete travel guide to the hidden gems of jhalawar

Jodhpur

• india travel shot: a temple for a rajput biker and his enfield
• 36 hours in jodhpur, capital of the kingdom of marwar
• stepwells and temples of jodhpur’s old city
• off the travel radar: the secret treasures of historic nagaur
• navchokiya: brahmins and the blue city of jodhpur

Pushkar and Ajmer

• 8 hours in eclectic ajmer, rajasthan’s centre for sufism
• pushkar: where the gods and seekers meet

Ranthambore

• travel diaries: in search of the bengal tiger at ranthambore

Shekhawati

• the complete travel guide to the wonders of shekhawati

Udaipur and Surrounding Towns

• a self-guided temple and craft trail from udaipur
• the glories of mewar: impregnable kumbhalgarh and exquisite ranakpur
• 11 reasons udaipur needs to be on every travel bucket list

TAMIL NADU
Temple Towns

• art focus – three dimensions of divinity – thanjavur art revealed
• palaces of madurai and thanjavur, a peek into tamil nadu’s 17th century royal lives
• photo essay: tamil nadu’s colourful gopurams, stories told and untold
• trankebar: 5 danish memories in tamil nadu
• chettinad: opulent mansions and spicy chicken in sleepy villages
• the unesco-listed ‘great living chola temples’ of tamil nadu
• dhanushkodi: the indian border ghost town where mythology and cyclones meet
• india travel shot: wonders of trichy’s vishnu temple—travel like today is all you’ve got

TELANGANA
Hyderabad

• 8 reasons why golconda fort tops the hyderabad bucket list
• 36 hours in hyderabad old city
• the forgotten qutb shahi royal tombs of hyderabad
• global travel shot: the 6th nizam of hyderabad’s wardrobe
• the walking sticks collection at salar jung museum, hyderabad

UTTAR PRADESH
Agra

• #7 beyond the obvious: 7 reasons why agra should be on every travel bucket list
• #6 colossal sikandra: 7 reasons why agra should be on every travel bucket list
• #5 roman catholic taj mahals: 7 reasons why agra should be on every travel bucket list
• #4 itimad-ud-daulah’s tomb: 7 reasons why agra should be on every travel bucket list
• #3 fatehpur sikri: 7 reasons why agra should be on every travel bucket list
• #2 agra fort: 7 reasons why agra should be on every travel bucket list
• #1 taj mahal: 7 reasons why agra should be on every travel bucket list
• india travel shot: breakfast in agra be like this

Allahabad

• 24 hours in incredible allahabad

Lucknow

• beyond the obvious: lucknow beyond its heritage precinct
• a self-guided walk through lucknow’s historical precinct
• lucknow, revolutions of 2 kinds: residency 1857 and ambedkar memorial 2008

Varanasi

• photo essay: varanasi, stories told and untold
• global travel shot: alamgir aurangzeb’s mosque in varanasi
• in search of buddha’s sarnath: the traveller’s guide

UTTARAKHAND
Haridwar and Rishikesh

• an urban monk’s guide to rishikesh and haridwar
• photo essay: the hidden graffiti of rishikesh
• india travel shot: hari ki dwar – doorway to god – haridwar

WEST BENGAL
Calcutta Kolkata

• 36 hours in kolkata
• indian sculpture’s 1,500 year journey at the indian museum, kolkata
• a pan-indian carrom board match: volunteering in mother teresa’s hospice