India – Page 7 – Tom Vater

Writing About India

May 15, 2012May 16, 2012tomLeave a Comment

Many Asian governments don’t like their citizen to discuss their country’s history, culture, politics or current affairs. Severe restrictions, both in the form of laws as well as unwritten rules, suppress civil society entering into a dialogue with itself. Powerful elites introduce taboos of expression that one may cross only at one’s peril. In China, […]

From the Archives: Devadasis – The Sex Angels Of Life And Insanity

March 18, 2012March 18, 2012tomLeave a Comment

In 2004, I traveled to Hubli in Karnataka, India to investigate a temple which allegedly still had devadasi, traditional temple dancers cum prostitutes. The Indian government had already made moves to ban the practice of enslaving young girls in Brahmin temples but old tradition tend to linger in India. I think this story has never […]

From the Archives: Hampi: Ruins Forgotten in Time

March 18, 2012April 22, 2012tomLeave a Comment

Gone are the days when these kind of stories could finance a trip across India. This particular story Hampi: Ruins Forgotten in Time appeared in Lifestyle + Travel in a special segment on India in around 2005 and was republished several more times in travel magazines across Asia. Here is the entire pdf, also featuring […]

Andaman minority turned into tourist circus for rich Indians! Again.

January 11, 2012January 11, 2012tomLeave a Comment

British newspaper The Guardian reports that the Jarawa, a tribe of Andaman Islanders who number just a few hundred, have been coerced by Indian police to dance naked for tourist ‘safaris’. Unfortunately, this has been going on for many, many years. When I visited the Andamans in 1997 and 2000, Indian VIPs, speak politicians and […]

Mirrors in the City of the Blind

October 5, 2011October 5, 2011tomLeave a Comment

Kya poochho ho haal merey karobaar ka Aaeeney bechta hoon andhon ke sheher mein You ask me about my business, what I have in mind I sell mirrors in the city of the blind. Urdu Couplet Courtesy of Kushwant Singh

From the Archives: The Greatest Show On Earth – Trailer!

August 31, 2011June 7, 2016tomLeave a Comment

The trailer for the first documentary film I worked on (screenplay and production manager), The Greatest Show on Earth, can now be viewed on director Marc Eberle’s website. The 30 min documentary follows Alok Sharma, the top policeman in charge of the 2001 Maha Kumbh Mela, the largest gathering of people on planet earth, ever! Being […]

In heiligen Höhen bei Amazon.de

August 9, 2011August 9, 2011tomLeave a Comment

Mein Reisebuch, In Heiligen Höhen, ist bei Amazon.de erhältlich und hat derzeit vier sehr positive Leserrezensionen. Es geht um die Quelle des Ganges, den Klimawechsel in den Himalayas, den religiösen Supermarkt Indien, die Schriftsteller Nordindiens und die Umweltprobleme des heiligsten Flusses Indiens. Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags: Schneebedeckte Berggipfel, unheimlich knackende Gletscher, wandernde Asketen und zahllose Pilger; […]

Tom Vater and Aroon Thaewchatturat present Sacred Skin at the Indian Cultural Center, Bangkok, June 30th

June 28, 2011June 28, 2011tomLeave a Comment

Writer Tom Vater and photographer Aroon Thaewchatturat will be giving a talk on the history of Sak Yant at the Indian Cultural Center in Bangkok – Sukhumvit Soi 23, Jasmine Tower, 27th Floor – on June 30th at 6.30pm. Signed copies of their brand new book, Sacred Skin, Thailand´s Spirit Tattoos, will be available at […]

From the Archives: Once Upon A Time In Rajasthan

April 20, 2011May 15, 2011tomLeave a Comment

In 2005 and 2006, photographer Aroon Thaewchatturat and myself traveled across Rajasthan, India´s popular north western desert state to visit some thirty heritage hotels. The two trips led to the publication of a photo book in Germany by Reise Know How Verlag, naturally called Rajasthans Palasthotels. To finance this venture we published stories on the […]

In heiligen Höhen – Rezensionen bei Amazon

October 12, 2010tomLeave a Comment

Fünf Rezensionen sind inzwischen bei Amazon Deutschland über mein Buch In Heiligen Höhen – Unterwegs zur Wiege des Ganges gelandet. Anbei die Meinungen glücklicher Leser! hochoben – 24. Mai 2008, Von le_pröf In Heiligen Höhen von Tom Vater ist eine packende und aktuelle Bestandaufnahme des indischen Subkontinents. Pflichtlektüre also für Leser, die etwas über das […]