This gallery contains 29 photos.
Pondicherry was established in 1674, when La Compagnie française des Indes orientales, otherwise known as the French East India Company acquired a plot of land on the Coromandel Coast from the Sultan of Bijapur. As trading settlements went, Pondicherry was a … Continue reading
This gallery contains 15 photos.
The Connemara Hotel was the grande dame of the Madras hospitality scene. Its earliest incarnation was a private residence bought in 1815 by one of the foremost merchants of the city at the time, Mr John Binny. The road on which … Continue reading
This gallery contains 22 photos.
In 52 A.D., so it is said, St Thomas – one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ – landed at the Malabar Coast (the South-west Coast) of India, and travelled across the sub-continent to the ancient (and magnificent) port … Continue reading
This gallery contains 41 photos.
This second part of our leisurely wander through Old Madras (today’s Chennai), takes us down three major thoroughfares in the city – Poonamallee High Road, Mount Road (and the suburb of Egmore), and South Beach Road along the Marina. These … Continue reading
This gallery contains 37 photos.
Our first walking tour of Old Madras takes in the two oldest sections of the city, both of which date from the initial founding of the city, some 370 years ago. They constitute Madras’ Old Town and make for a charming, though … Continue reading
This gallery contains 23 photos.
Madras (today’s Chennai), is India’s fourth city, after New Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta. It has a fascinating history and a rich wealth of architectural heritage, but is often looked over for its more glamorous sister-cities. What is perhaps surprising for … Continue reading
This gallery contains 17 photos.
Nadesar Palace is a dream of a boutique hotel. First built by the East India Company in the late 1700s, it was then taken over by the Maharajah Prabhu Narain Singh of the Royal House of Benares from 1889, and … Continue reading
This gallery contains 27 photos.
Further inland from the river, beyond the ghats, lie two different parts of Benares. The first is its sprawling, bustling old town; the second, lying even further afield, is the Cantonment, built by the British when they too, found their … Continue reading
This gallery contains 26 photos.
Part Two of this wander through the legendary ghats of Benares takes in Dashashmewadh Ghat to Panchganga (“five river”) Ghat. Beyond Panchganga, I venture no further, nor would the river boats take me onwards. There are three major ghats here worth … Continue reading
This gallery contains 26 photos.
The main event in the sacred city of Benares, are its supposedly 87 ghats, which the grand tourist can take in from end to end in a single, three hour walk, or an hour-long boat-ride on the Ganges River. I … Continue reading
Dream Of A City 