1. Delhi : The country’s biggest travel show, TTF&OTM, was inaugurated today, 24 Feb 2011, at the Ashok Hotel, by Shri Sultan Ahmed, Hon’ble Minister of State for Tourism, Government of India, in the presence of senior diplomats and a large number of dignitaries and officials from the travel and hospitality industry from all over India and abroad.

    India is a coveted outbound market, currently with 12 million Indians traveling overseas annually, and a growth rate of 12-13 per cent per year projected till 2015. As many as 27 countries are represented at the show apart from participation from 17 Indian States.

    Mr. Ahmed said that travel and tourism remained a key driver of economic growth globally. According to World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Country Report for India, travel and tourism sector contributes 8.6 per cent to the GDP, which is expected to increase to 9 per cent by 2020. The sector currently employs 4.9 crore people and this is projected to increase to 5.8 crore by 2020.

    source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article1487072.ece
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    Labels: india tourism travel events travel trade
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  2. The above son-et-lumiere at Jaipur is the best one place to sit, relax and immerse oneself into the history of the 'Land of Maharajas', Rajasthan There's more at Gourmet Tour In India
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  3. "India is a land of festivals and fairs". That’s what I inherited and mugged-by-heart during my early essay-writing classes. I never questioned this time-worn expression then. Now, I believe in it. Someone who believes with me in this cliché in the first place, Thank you!

    For the non-believers I’ll briefly trot out the top attractions of the first two months of the calendar:

    So, by now, we have Kites, crafts, camels, cattle, cuisines, dances, music, carnival and so on…and the good news is ‘it ain’t over yet’. Add colors to the list for it’s Happy holi!. And if it’s not enough club it with some 40-odd Elephants parading and thumping the ground of Chaugan Stadium at Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, the state that will spoil you with reasons to visit it.

    Finally, in polite terms, shall I ask you “Where the bloody hell are you?”

    To make it easy, I have attached the Golden Triangle Tour that could be scheduled around the Festival of Giant Pachyderms, i.e. the elephant festival, on 10th March**.

    Regards,
    Amit


    ** Date is 19th March for 2011 for the elephant festival. The above is my mail to my aussie friends, dated 1st March 2009, inspiring them to settle for India for their next vacation


    source
    http://www.ashokaholidays.com/elephant-festival-travelogue.html
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    Labels: color crafts culture dance elephant festivals india festival tours music rajasthan festivals
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  4. Our office's backyard was littered with 10 of these cute little puppies. The video is from their good-old mummy days. the pups are still there for adoption.

    We posted the thing on facebook,

    More than the pale looking campaign on facebook our friends network worked for 1 lucky pup that found home.Now we are left with 4 of them.

    IDEAS INVITED @ backoffice@ashokaholidays.com or log.amit@gmail.com


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  5. lamp of faith - photo by anjali

    Next time you wish to travel with a difference or a subject add religion to it. India will surely cross your mind and itinerary. Let us find a little.

    India's religious identity, today, is an expression formed by the presence of world's oldest religion and customs complimented by those of the incoming explorers, traders, immigrants, invaders and conquerors, which gave birth to many of its off-shoot school of thoughts and practices and religions.

    statistics speak volume of the religious-cultural profile of India, cross-check authentic source for we, the promoter and seller of country so vivid, might have bragged in the process...
    • India has played mother to four of the world's major religious traditions viz. Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
    • India has the largest population of people adhering to Zoroastrianism and Bahá'í Faith anywhere in the world.
    • Third largest Muslim population in the world is in India

    No wonder this profile shows in its landscape in the form of places like Old Delhi's Chandni Chowk, where Azaan from Jama Masjid, Bhajan from a Gauri-Shankar Mandir , Musical Instruments from the Digambar Jain Lal Mandir, Ardaas from the Shishganj Gurudwara creates the religio-musical harmony without getting pushy and the Central Baptist Church is the mute listener save for the Sundays when even it is abuzz with mass and prayers!


    saffron and sadhu are but only the guidebook image of the religions of India - photo by anjali

    So, I echo, next time you wish to travel with a difference or a subject add religion to it. India will surely cross your mind and plan. When it does, try Religions of India, the 11 days tour that highlights:
    • Glimpse of few of the various faiths that have existed in India maintaining their own dignity.
    • India's biggest mosque (Islam), Lotus temple (Bahai), Golden temple (Sikhism), Monasteries ( Buddhism), Vaisno devi (Hinduism)
    • Arti (evening prayer) on the banks of holy river Ganges
    • 11 days tour across Delhi - Haridwar - Amritsar-Dharamshala - Jammu (Vaishno Devi)



    related tours:
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  6. Venue    : Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh
    Time Period : 1 - 7 March 2011

    This annual Festival is organized jointly by the Uttarakhand Tourism and Parmarth Niketan Ashram. The program includes over 100 hours of Yoga classes from world class Yoga teachers plus evening discussions with some of India's leading spiritual leaders


    Daily Program
    • Start everyday at 6.30 am with a 1 hour yoga class, followed by a simple breakfast.
    • At 8.30 am you can join one of three 2 hour yoga sessions followed by a series of lectures from 11.00 am to 12.30 pm.
    • A traditional Indian lunch is served from 12.30 pm to 1.30 pm.
    • The afternoon starts at 2.30 pm with three instructional classes followed by three Yoga classes from 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm.
    • From 6.00 pm to 7.00 pm attend the special light ceremony, Aarti on the river Ganga.
    • Dinner is served at 7.30 pm followed by an evening with spiritual leaders finishing by 9.30 pm.

    Additional events
    • Special Indian Vegetarian Cooking Lessons
    • Lectures on the connection between mind-body
    • Cultural song-dance programs musical performances

    The International Yoga Festival is open to all, with full accommodation, food and the 7 day Yoga conference program included at the certain composite cost.

    source:
    ashokaholidays.com/india-travel-happenings.html#Internattional-Yoga-Festival
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  7. 'kathaa kahe so kathak' , meaning 'that which tells a Story is Kathak'

    The North Indian dance style Kathak is one of India's eight classical dance forms. Kathak, meaning a storyteller were originally the nomadic bards of ancient Northern India which also included Pakistan. Narrating mythological and moral tales from scriptures during those period Kathak, evolved into a much bigger dance form involving influences from the Bhakti era, Mughal Era and from Central Asia. This Classical Dance form is still alive and presently has four Gharanas or schools: Jaipur, Lucknow and Benaras or present day Varanasi and the fourth gharana is Raigarh.

    The above video was taken at he Khajuraho Dance Festival, which is being held for three decades, and is organised every year jointly by the culture department and Ustad Alauddin Khan Sangeet and Kala Academy.

    And a little important
    "...For me it was a wonderful experience and the only one of a dance festival. But, I have a word of advice, of course not for the connoisseurs but others of my type who are planning to attend the dance festival to double the worth of their money and time they spend in visiting Khajuraho. If you do not follow classical dance much then you must attend this festival on the days when there are group performances as you can then enjoy their harmonious movements without going into the details of the dance form with which you are not that well versed. But,overall, I can emphatically say that music and dance are such universal expressions of emotion that you just don’t require to understand them really; they automatically find their pathways into your heart and mind to lead you to the ultimate trance."
    .....an excerpt from a travelogue - 3 d's at Khajuraho: Dance, Devotion and Deity at Ashoka Holidays.

    P.S. So, have you been to the just concluded Khajuraho Dance Festival whose dates were changed to 1-7 Feb for 2011 and may stay changed for the future.
    Posted by Unknown
    Labels: ashoka holidays culture fairs and festivals Indian Classical Dances jaipur Khajuraho dance festival madhya padesh travel events Varanasi
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  8. If the title sounds too worn-out to be even bothered a feel, Delhi, Agra and/or Jaipur also appear on two of our special tours to India
    1. ‘The Taste of India - a gourmet tour in India’  
    2. ‘Knotty India Affair - a wedding tour in India’
    Delhi - Agra - Jaipur…anyone who has slightest of hint about tourist places in India can easily decipher what is being referred to. They are the three vertices of the most sellable and much talked about triangle tour in the heart of India. For the unawares, the Golden Triangle Tour is unarguably the quintessential tour of Indian Tourism Industry for it has all the features that support it qualify for such a title. Each of these three cities is reasonably high on all the parameters of tourism industry viz. attractions, accommodation and accessibility

    • The places covered on the itinerary are the most sought after destinations in India thereby making the circuit one of the most frequented and best known tours in India
    •  Delhi, Agra and Jaipur are at short distance from each other and are very well connected especially by road. Delhi has India’s major international airport and thus majority of the inbound tourists have to embark their tour of India from Delhi.
    • They are replete with a range of accommodation options. Hotel Imperial at Delhi, Amarvilas at Agra and Rajvilas at Jaipur list among the top hotels of the world.
    •  The Golden Triangle circuit gives the traveler a wholesome experience of India in merely 6 nights/7 days and can be done without much expense.

    see shop savor @ delhi

    The capital of India, Delhi, offers you the unique opportunity to get a glimpse of each and every corner of India as Delhi is basically a city of migrants. By virtue of its strategic location, it is and has been the most happening city of the country. Every crumbling wall of Delhi has a story to tell. It is the best place of experience the range and richness of India in every aspect be it culture, cuisine, and craft etc….or anything for that matter.

    See – Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Humanyun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar, Akshardham temple, Lotus temple, India Gate, Rajghat, National museum, crafts museum, rail museum, international doll museum, Dilli Haat etc read about these Delhi tourists attractions

    Shop - You can practically find anything from any of the States of India.

    Savor – Chaat (spicy snacks) and Mughlai food at Karim’s. Delhi has the best restaurants of the country so you can get to taste most of the things you look for.



    see shop savor @ agra

    A city with 3 world heritage sites to flaunt definitely deserves a visit, especially if one is a history buff. Being the city of Taj Mahal, Agra has emerged as the face of India’s tourism industry to the world. Akbar, the 16th century Great Mughal Emperor, who recently appeared in the TIME magazine’s top 25 political icons of the world, catapulted Agra's status to a world renowned capital city while his grandson Shahjahan with his dream in white stone (Taj Mahal) has made it an eternal city.

    See – Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Tomb of Itmad-ud-daula, Sikandra. read about these Agra tourists attractions

    Shop – Marble art pieces

    Savor – Mughlai (non – vegetarian) food, Namkeen, petha, bedami kachori with aloo sabzi (hot spicy potato curry with deep fried stuffed bread) and jalebi



    see shop savor  @ jaipur

    The cultural hub of India, Jaipur is one of the most enticing tourist destinations of India. Every nook and corner of the city corroborates its cultural richness. Painted in pink (the color of hospitality) to welcome the Prince of Wales, come Jaipur to check if the hospitality quotient still exists.

    See – Amber fort, Jaigarh fort, Nahargarh fort, Hawa Mahal, City Palace, Jantar Mantar, Albert Hall, Birla temple, Govind dev ji temple. read about these Jaipur tourists attractions.

    Shop – Gems and jewellery, blue pottery, brocaded saris, suits and sherwanis, block printed clothes, puppets, lac bangles etc.

    Savor – Dal, bati, churma, gatte ki sabji, ker sangri, pyaaz ki kachori, mirchi vada, ghevar



    related posts/page
    ashokaholidays.blogspot.com/2011/02/venutian-and-martian-this-is-important.html
    ashokaholidays.blogspot.com/2011/01/gourmet-tour-in-india.html
    http://ashokaholidays.blogspot.com/p/tours-to-india-list.html
    Posted by Unknown
    Labels: agra best known tour delhi golden triangle india jaipur tour
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  9. "...Initially, I asked my wife for any five reasons to invest our time and money on some Dance festival in some part of India, to which came her retort:
    1. “The festival of Indian Dances… classical and all...performed by the best in the field…I have been waiting for such a thing and Khajuraho Dance festival is late”
    2. “Weather’s great at the tropics”
    3. “Venue is a beach resort and its beaches are inviting”
    4. “Venue’s a world heritage site too and the bas relief is the largest in the world”
    5. “I have made my mind and you’re coming, the fifth one!”
    A man of sound reason and quick decision, I could easily sense the logic in the fifth reason and readily joined her humming “Be, what you wanna be, taking things the way they come, nothing is as nice as agreeing to your wife and sipping on the tropical fun…here in Mahabalipuram!!”. No doubt, mine was a good decision..."

    The above is an excerpt from an interesting account documented by one of our repeat traveler guests (a couple) for ashokaholidays post their mamallapuram-sojourn
    Posted by Unknown
    Labels: ashoka holidays fairs and festivals india tour tour-making traveler travelogue
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  10. Ashokaholidays does a surprise visit to Sameer Gupta - aka Uncle Sam - at his kitchen where the class for Italian delicacy is on. Uncle Sam, the renowned Culinary Expert , is one of Ashokaholidays' Food-Mentor cum Chef for the gourmets from around the world. For the foodies waiting to dig into India have a Taste of India, the gourmet tour in India

    related posts
    http://ashokaholidays.blogspot.com/2011/02/images-gourmet-tour-in-india.html
    http://ashokaholidays.blogspot.com/2011/01/gourmet-tour-in-india.html
    http://www.ashokaholidays.com/gourmet-tour-in-india.html
    Posted by Unknown
    Labels: cuisines of india culture gourmet tour in india special tour tour
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