money is a reality and a part of the spiritual business, however, the way you can tell if someone is really dedicated to the dharma is how they spend any monies they have received

Makaibari (91-354-233-0181; www.makaibari.org) charges 750 rupees a person a night or 1,400 rupees for two, all meals included. Reservations can be made through its Calcutta office (91-33-2287-8560). Homestays with Makaibari workers can also be

Ayurvedic wines like Draksha-aristha use grape juice as their base. Grape juice can help avert heart disease.

Pundit Brij Mohan Misra, better known as Kathak guru Birju Maharaj, has pursued Lucknow gharana of Kathak in its purest form as it was handed down to him through the generations. Excerpts from an interview

So far, foreigners make up a small fraction of the visitors to Kerala. For example, 515,808 foreign tourists visited Kerala in 2007, compared with about 6.64 million domestic tourists. Even then, foreign visitors have increased by about 20 percent

Many of Tamil Nadu’s residents see the state as a repository of “pure” Hindu culture. In many ways, it is a country within a country, proudly preserving its ancient Dravidian culture, most noticeably in the widespread use of the Tamil language.

Any belief system that segregates cannot be a spiritual path. If we are unanimous in the belief that the Creator is One, He cannot be partial to any one clan or sect.

At the heart of Ayurveda is panchakarma, carried out using a mix of massage, plant medicines and the application of steam, oils and purgatives to cleanse the system of toxic 'ama'. Clearing out this old matter, it’s claimed, removes the cause of

Divine feelings generated by experiences close to nature compel one to ponder over the meaning of life and our place in the universe. This creates in us the urge to become one with the Divine to experience eternal bliss.

There’s an oft-quoted Ladakhi saying, or should I say, warning: Anyone whose head is in the sun and feet are in the shade in Ladakh will endure both heatstroke and frostbite at the same time. You’d do well to heed it.