The World is Talking About India

Last week, TIME magazine carried a story by its writer Joel Stein entitled “My Own Private India”. His piece on Indian Americans didn’t go down well with the Indian community settled there. In India too, those who read the article were critical of his article. Before the issue could snowball into anything larger, the magazine came out with a public apology and said didn’t mean to offend Indians .
So this week, I surfed international news sites to see what news of India was making the headlines.
In the World section of The New York Times, Kashmir violence is featured as a slide show with little details of the reason of the conflict. But what is more prominent is a long article on Switzerland being a preferred travel destination for Indian tourists, all thanks to Bollywood and one man in particular, the eternal romantic, Yash Chopra.
But looks like Switzerland is getting stiff competition from an equally breathtaking country- New Zealand. The recently released ‘I hate luv storys’ chose to skip the Swiss alps for the New Zealand countryside.
Even before the “jaadu ki jhappi” was popularised by Sanjay Dutt, one person had been preaching its healing powers. Amma (as she’s popularly known) is said to cure the ailing, comfort the lonely with just a simple hug. Huffington Post features “India’s hugging saint” in their Living section. This comes in the wake of sainthood in India coming under the scanner, due to the likes of Swami Nityananda and his shenanigans.

“‘Shining India’ makes its poor pay the price of hosting Commonwealth Games“, screams a headline in The Guardian. With the CWG fast approaching and the demolition drive continuing to displace many who’re in its way, we ask – what exactly are the Commonwealth Games about? India as a tourist destination, an elaborate eyewash to lure in more tourists or India’s sincere attempt at making its presence felt in the global sports arena?

The Daily Telegraph, Australia, has a travel feature on the world’s best hotels. And guess what, of the 11 hotels in the list, two are from India- the Oberoi Amarvilas and Oberoi Vanyavilas.
Which are your favourite hotels in India? Care to share your experiences with us? And which would you rate as the top luxury hotel in India?