Hello everyone,
I am Apoorv Shah. I am from Gujarat, India. I am here to answer all your doubts or questions regarding India. Ask any question you want to. From locations to visit to questions about the cultural or educational structure. I will answer all questions which I can.

So Shoot.

Hello Apoorv!
Since tickets from Amsterdam to New Delhi aren't that expensive, I was dreaming about a trip to India some day. But it would be better to see more of India then just one city, so I was wondering if it's easy to travel by public transport, and which cities or places would be best to visit by your opinion.
Thanks !

Hey Steffy,
Public transport in India is a tricky issue. The trains and buses are not that efficient. I think you should come here and hire a car for the specific number of days. It will be cheaper and much more comfortable. I don't think people from outside India can get used to the public transport. About the cities that you should visit, I think that every city in India has a unique place to see. All the cities are totally different. It depends what do you like. Deserts, mountains or beaches. Taj Mahal in Agra is something that you should not miss.
For example,
Mountains : Manali
Beaches : Goa
Deserts : Rajasthan

I stay in Gujarat and here too there are a variety of tourist attractions.
If you want to know anything more specific I can provide that too.

Classes (I believe they are called Varnas in sankrit) are officially abolished in India for some time now in India if my information is correct

Did this bring any differences with more people choosing the partner they want or have these classes still a lot of influence for example marriages?

The importance of classes is very relative. If you stay in a city then their importance is not that much but in a village or a town, classes are still important. They do play a major role in marriage. There are various rules regarding which class of people you can marry and which class you cannot. I have just read about them in books, never seen it in real life. I know its practiced.

The thing with India is that all these so called rules are applicable only if you want to follow them strictly. If you don't want to, then no one can force you. Its only the social pressure that you have bear, legally there is nothing which stops you from marrying anyone from any cast. There are laws which punish you if you discriminate or prohibit someone on the basis of caste or creed.

Now we can also see a lot of inter-caste and inter-religion marriages too. According to me, this is a very positive sign and it shows the development of the society.

In the end it all depends on whether you can face social pressure and also on where do you live. Developed society will give freedoms and conservative society will impose restriction.

That is indeed a very positive sign; intermixing marriages. And it's a good sign too the government prohibits discrimination based on that. It can be the beginning of a nation wide development that it becomes normal people stop doing that, when a government makes a law on it.

How is the social pressure? I guess in the cities it's not that much a problem? But for example in the villages, will your family stop talking with you, or do they "just" blame you? What shoul I imagine for that?

Very good to hear all this by the way, so thanks for the questions and information =)

The social pressure is more seen in villages rather than in cities. In cities people are more open-minded. There are a few people in the city too who don't accept such marriages.

Social pressure in the sense if you show your intention to marry someone from the other caste then first of all they parents don't allow. Most of the marriages are stopped at this stage only. If someone runs away from home and marries without the consent of their parents then they are excommunicated from the village or their family. Such instances take place only at under developed places and not in developed places.

I don't want people to think that India is still bound by old customs and beliefs. The social system in India has changed a lot recently and will keep on changing.

I don't get the idea that India bound by old customs and beliefs. But I do believe India is changing and developing very soon these days! It's interesting to hear all this from a primary source.

But now I have a complete different question
I recently read that a court in New Delhi said sex between two men isn't a violation of the law. I guess this is a positive sign too! But I was wondering, do gay people run into a lot of discrimination in India?

(I'm not saying in the Netherlands they're not, I guess even in the liberal Holland there are some improvements to make in some parts of the country )

Yes the Delhi High Court did pass a judgement which said sex between two men isn't a violation of the law.

India is a type of country where people are very concerned about what the SOCIETY would think about their actions. Gays are not open about their orientation here. They are treated as aliens by others if others ever find out about their orientation. The secrecy levels that they have to maintain to hide this fact from others is tremendous. I have read reports about people who have committed suicides because they were too frustrated with hiding their true identity. Discrimination against gay men is not outward. It can be seen only if we observe closely. General public still do not know a lot about homosexual adults. There are a lot of misconceptions about them. This leads to stupid decisions by them and creates unnecessary fear in the mind of homosexuals.

The situation is getting better, but still a lot more needs to be done. This is just the beginning.

I think the judgment is a very good signal to the public and a good beginning indeed. I can't imagine how it must be to hide your identity in the fear of people alienating you! Must be very hard.. Hopefully this development will go as fast as India is developing in a lot of other ways

hello,
I am from sri lanka.me also a traveller and was Europe last month too.I would like to have friends from your counry.I hope to come again your country.I think it is nice place for you to visit sri Lanka.I am a cs member.you welcome.

samathasiri

Hi,
I must say that India is one of the wonderful place to visit and explore.. There are so many places to visit and one thing which I really like about this place is that there are so many religions and all people live together.. The attractions, food, people, everything is very nice.. One should visit it..
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That sounds so good rigocampos!
I really want to visit it one day, heard so many great stories about it!

Hello..
The information you shared in the post about the India is very informative. I am soon traveling there with my friends for a short vacation and I must say that the destination is full of adventure and there is so much to see and enjoy.
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