I want to tell you about a few of the people we met in India, starting with Sarat Acharya of Discover Tours, who made our stay in India so pleasant. He arranged our three-week tour of Orissa and Chhattisgahr perfectly. We travelled in comfortable cars with excellent drivers and stayed in some special places, including three palaces. Sarat accompanied us for the whole trip, sharing with us his extensive knowledge. He also brought along two other excellent guides for different parts of the trip.
On top of that, he knew how to handle the noisy members of the group. He did his best to accomodate all requests, but was able to stand up to those whose requests were impossible to meet.
Sarat told stories. No, he didn’t just tell the stories. He acted them out, using volunteers. The story for which I volunteered involved Sarat pulling my hair hard. It hurt! But I’ve got over it now. All in all, Sarat provided a wonderful tour and gave me a taste for more. (But I might not volunteer again so readily!)
In the many tribal villages we visited, we were introduced to the residents, who seemed content and happy.
Some of them danced for us.
And some of us joined in.
Then there were all the people who wanted to take our photos together with them.
And the maharajas and maharanis, whose palaces we stayed in.
Last but not least, the friendly drivers, who also cooked several delicious meals for us.
Miriam Drori, Author 