Things to see and do India

From here you will find neither hotel nor dhaba. They are replaced with joy by hills, torrents, mountains with steep peaks, which are bursting with spectacular waterfalls, glaciers, and, of course, countless flowers that only have the target of your camera. Signs indicate the name of the flowers and their date of flowering. Perhaps you will have the chance to see some rare "Brahma Kamal" in the beige colour bulb. Whatever the time and season, this poetic walk is still an enchantment. Please note that camping in the valley is strictly forbidden.

With a difference of close to 1 200 m for only 5 km travelled, this trek is no rest. It takes 5 hours for the climb and 2 hours to go down. In clear weather, the show at the top is sumptuous. The small lake is surrounded by seven snow-capped peaks, and the brave pilgrims are groups their feet before praying in the gurdwara in the surprising architecture. Govind Singh, the tenth and last gourus (the Builders builders of Sikhism), would have reflecting at the edge of this lake in a previous life, which explains his sanctity.

This small lake (4 135 m) is mainly a pretext for a beautiful trek towards Mount Chaukhamba.

Lake Ana Sagar, founded in the 12th century, offers a beautiful view of the surrounding hills. It was dug by the local population, under the aegis of Arnoraja, Prithviraj Chauhan's grandfather. The baradari, a pavilion with twelve openings, was added by Shah Jahan in 1637. Emperor Jahangir later adorned the baradari with Mughal gardens: Daulat Bagh. The Ajmeri meet there at sunset for a bucolic walk. If you want to go around the lake, know that it is still 13 kilometres in circumference.

After a kitschissime start showing anemones and rhododendrons dancing to the sound of zither, the film focuses on efforts to preserve the site. The third part is a description of thirty flowers (name, period of flowering, and medicinal use…). As a bonus, you will be entitled to a few images of the Smith expedition in 1931! This informative film may not delight everyone, but it's a way to help protect the local environment. The small bookstore sells some trekking routes as well as Frank Smith's Book of Flowers.

This museum allows the public to discover works of art dating from 1850 to the present. In addition to the permanent collection, there are occasional exhibitions. It is located in the old Maharaja palace of Jaipur, where you can admire the works of many contemporary Indian artists in different styles. The Museum of Modern Art was born under the impetus of Nehru and Maulana Azad, Minister of Education from 1947 to 1958 and considered one of the major authors of Urdu language in the th century. It opened its doors in 1954.

The 17 000 works owned by the museum allow to trace the different currents in the history of modern Indian art in a particularly clear and interesting way. It reveals the liveliness of Indian contemporary art, which is completely unknown in our surroundings.

. The story begins with miniature painting, a pictorial tradition very practiced in northern India from the th century. This school is still in practice in Rajasthan or Punjab.

. and Mysore. You can admire works of the pictorial tradition of Thanjavur and Mysore in southern India. Most are of religious inspiration and are a style rich in detail and often enhanced by the gold leaf. The school of Mysore is mainly expressed on paper, while the Thanjavur school is a practice of fabric painting.

European travellers. The movement of travellers from Europe was particularly successful with British painters who travel to India from 1770 to the search for contracts. This tradition lasted until the mid th century and most works are oils on canvas, Western techniques glorified by a orientalist vision that gives India a mysterious and exotic image.

Period of the Company. This style refers to the period from the th to the th century, under the Eastern Company of India. Indian artists, who meet the requirements of British settlers, focus on painting flora and fauna, folk traditions, monuments and landscapes. This school is at the crossroads between naturalism and intimacy and the medieval style of miniaturisme.

Academic realism. From 1870, Indian painting is a radical turning point. It is mainly due to learning the technique of Indian painting, as well as to the public's taste for a realistic and naturalist vision of the themes represented. One of the greatest artists at the time was Pastonji Bomanjee, a painter born in Trivandrum, Kerala.

The school in Bengal. Launched by Abanindranath Tagore, the famous family of intellectuals in Calcutta, the movement is created in total failure with the school of academic realism. Tagore draws on old techniques, materials and forms of Indian pictorial expression to create a pan-Indian movement. It will then expand its movement to the whole of Asia by studying Japanese techniques. The result is a nebulous and romantic vision of India, its landscapes, its historical or pastoral scenes.

Amrita Sher-Gil (1913-1941). This artist, born of Indian father and Hungarian mother, trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His first canvases, dating back to 1930, reflect European style and style of life. Back in India from 1934, his style is self-indulgent and she takes on the colours, textures and vitality of the country. The museum has the largest collection of this major artist, with no fewer than 100 different paintings.

Jamini Roy (1887-1972). This Bengali artist drew in the traditional folk expression, pratiquant and simplifying forms. Throughout his career, he used only a palette of 7 different colours.

School of Shantiniketan. In 1901, the immense poet and artist Rabindranath Tagore founded a small school in the village of Shantiniketan. Education is based on studies in the natural environment rather than on studio work. This results in works inspired by natural contexts where each artist could print his own vision. Nandalal Bose is one of the major artists of this school.

Abstraction in Indian contemporary art. This section presents works by artists very different parties in search of purity of lines, shapes and colours, from the years 1950-1960. Gaitonde, Patel and Mohamedi are among those artists who have initiated the movement.

Movements of the 1970 s. In the early 1970 s, the narrative form turned more towards the mythical and mystic. Artists express their fears and obsessions in a dreamlike, enchanted manner. The works of KG Subramayan or Prabhakar Barwe reflect this new metaphysical dimension.

Contemporaries. The early 1980 s marks a gradual reversal of the themes that undermine the "old". Young artists turn to new forms of artistic expression and taste in painting, video, photo, screenwriting of three-dimensional elements. The themes are about gender, the environment and the urban crisis.

In addition to galleries dedicated to painting, the museum also includes galleries dedicated to sculpture and photography.

Mathura was home to a famous school of sculpture between the 1st and 6th centuries. The city was one of the capitals of the Kushana empire under which the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara (the ancient kingdom of Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan) was developed. The Mathura school is characterized by the use of red sandstone, the fineness and grace of the faces and bodies. You will especially notice the statues of Buddha, including one dating from the first century. Hindu statuary took over the techniques of Greco-Buddhist art. You will also notice statues from the Hindu Middle Ages.