Thank you "Half baked beans" and Rohan Kalia for mentioning "You and India" on your blog.
Here is the blog on HBB written by Rohan Kalia:
Travel Guides in India
Travelling is fun but when you travel in an alien land, you need a guide. No matter how much you read or hear about a place, you can’t become connoisseur without knowing the ground realities of a place. This is precisely where the role of a travel guide becomes of cardinal importance. In a country like India with a wide spectrum of cultures, the importance of travel guides is huge. Even in this era of digital technology, social networking and technological navigation; we cannot eschew the importance of travel guides.
Specially, if you want to explore and feel the essence of a place, the guides play a crucial role. As they say, travelling is not about merely covering distances. To travel is to live!
In India you will find different sort of travel guides. You will find some really vocal and eloquent guides at places like “Lal Qila (Red Fort)” and “Taj Mahal”. At the same time, there are mild and soft-spoken guides near the great Himalayas. The essence of travelling becomes a lot more intense when you travel without any pre-planning. That is exactly when the role of a travel guide becomes all important; as you don’t have even an iota of idea and you almost completely hinge upon the guide!
A guide who is local to the place is indeed a bliss and of immense utility. A local guide is well versed in the lingo of that particular place and this helps a lot. The guide has in-depth knowledge about the local trends and cultures. Furthermore, a guide who is local is a known figure in that particular place which just adds as an asset.
Well, credits must be given to the movie “Guide” for bringing the guide culture in trend in India. The movie starred the legendary actor Dev Anand who did full justice to the role of a travel guide. The plot of the movie is full of twists and turns and the concept is super classy! Raju (Dev Anand) was a freelance guide, who earned his living by taking tourists to places of cultural and historical importance. Whenever people hear the word “guide”, especially the ones who connect with bollywood- They think about the movie “Guide”. Truly, the movie deserves credit for bringing and promoting the guide trend in India.
People visiting India from foreign countries find these travel guides really useful source of information and convenience. India is a country with immense cultural heritage and there is a lot to be seen and explored! The food, the fashion, the local cultures, religions, wildlife; there are ample things to experience and explore. It is really great and refreshing to know that new models have been created to prepare a platform for travelers in India. These models not only provide fantastic hospitality but also help the foreigners to explore the “Real India”.
A quintessential example of such a model is “You and India”, a model that strives to offer real Indian taste to the visitors. “You and India” strictly believes in the famous jargon- “Atithi Devo Bhavah (The guest is God)”. You and India has come up with innovative ideas like- food walks, village trips etc. to ensure real Indian experience to the core! We hope ideas like these keep coming, so that we can take our tourism to the highest level.
Rohan Kalia
Repost from: Half Baked Voices: Travel Guides in India
