Journey to India Nov 1-11, 202310 Nights / 11 days

The magnificence of a great civilization is defined by its artistic legacy, and India is surely among the foremost. Never has art and architecture presented itself in so many forms through the ages -from the prehistoric to the Buddhist cave art, the Indo- Aryan to the Dravidian, from the early Islamic to the refined Mughal to the colonial and finally the contemporary art in the modern metropolitan cities . We invite you to travel on a unique journey, exploring and wondering at the ineffable genius of builders and artists across centuries. Meet and be guided by local artists, museum curators and historians, gaining valuable insights and an overview of the social, cultural, and political conditions of the past and present through the medium of art.

Mumbai, originally a fishing village, comprising of seven swampy islands was acquired by the Portuguese in 1534. The city came under the British crown in 1661 as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza when she married Charles II. Over the years, Mumbai has finally evolved into a vibrant, confident metropolis and radiates high energy, which is almost palpable. It’s a city of striking contrasts, where skyscrapers stand next to stately Victorian buildings, government housing complexes, fishing villages and slums with noisy traditional bazaars near new glittering shopping malls. Mumbai is also home to Bollywood, the nerve centre of India’s film industry.

Arrive Mumbai by individual flights

On arrival at the airport, you will be received and transferred to your hotel the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, overlooking the gateway of India and with a panoramic view of the bay. Check in and rest of the day at leisure to recover from your flight.

Optional for the early arrivals: In the evening a curated walk viewing the Taj Hotel in-house collection of art by varied Indian masters over multiple periods of time like Shiavax Chavda, Jehangir Sabavala, M. F. Husain and Vasudeo S. Gaitonde. You can also visit to the Taj Art Gallery as well as the DAG (Delhi Art Gallery) at the hotel.

Dinner : On your own

Overnight Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai.

We begin our day after breakfast with an heritage walk of the UNESCO awardwinning heritage district with Harshwardan Tanwar , an award winning curator of Mumbai’s experiential tours. We start from the Gateway of India, the emblem of Mumbai tourism. This victory arch was built to welcome the British Queen to the city, and it’s only befitting to have it as our first stop. Post this, we will walk past the Royal Mumbai Yacht Club, the beautiful Dhanraj Mahal, the Police Headquarters, and the iconic Regal Cinema, to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India. It is one of the premier art and history museums in India. The museum collection comprises approximately 50,000 artefacts however highlights of the visit will be the miniature paintings and the sculpture gallery conducted by an art historian.

After the museum visit, drive to the Churchgate Station to get an insight into the life of a ‘Dabbawala’ in Mumbai. These are six Sigma workers of Mumbai sending over 5, 00, 000 boxes of lunch to their rightful owners with extreme precision for the last 130 years. Studied by consultants and business schools for the secrets of their proclaimed near-flawless efficiency, the dabbawalas have been feted by British royals (Prince Charles) and titans of industry (Richard Branson) alike. Even FedEx, which supposedly knows something about logistics, have visited them.

Watch them haul huge trays of tiffin boxes and then sort them for delivery outside the Chruchgate station and then cycle off, their bikes laden with carefully coded lunches for around 200,000 Mumbaites!.

We continue our drive past Mumbai’s iconic buildings before we break for lunch at Ekaa ,a contemporary restaurant where the cuisine is inspired by ingredients and seasonal produce , peoples and cultures.

Return to hotel for a few hours rest or proceed on an optional art gallery hop with Sanah Rehman ,an art expert and creative professional and founder of Open Call India, an online platform for artists, creative collaborators and organisations to locate each other, have conversations and join various creative opportunities, grants, art jobs and internships.

By 5 pm departure for Tarun Tahiliani Design Studio for an introduction to Indian craftsmanship and textiles. Setting out to create the image of India Modern, Tarun Tahiliani is a brand that straddles the present while rooted in India’s heritage of draped form and tradition of artistry. These quintessential techniques of craftsmanship, imbibed with love across generations, are made globally astute through the cut, construct and finish of Tarun Tahiliani silhouettes. These richly detailed, structured drapes are crafted to lend an edge to Tahiliani’s modern, Indian woman. Across couture, occasion wear and ready-to-wear, the designer’s studio creates unique combinations of historical opulence and contemporary chic through the fine crafts and textiles of India.

Tarun Tahiliani started his professional career with a degree in Business Management from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. After returning to India, he saw the vast potential in the fine clothing and couture industry that was evolving in the country, and in 1987, he opened India’s first multi designer boutique, Ensemble, heralding a fashion and retail revolution in India. In 1991, Tahiliani decided to hone his technical knowledge in design, and received an associate degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York.

Welcome dinner at the Bombay Native Restaurant ,a testament to Indian culture, the cuisine represents diverse and authentic Indian flavours. Located in a 150-yearold restored ice factory (IF:BE) in the by-lanes of Ballard Estate-the colonial-era hub of Mumbai – a trip to Native Bombay is not only an experience that takes you back in time, but it also basks in the modernity of how far India’s F&B scene has evolved.

Overnight Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Mumbai

Optional: Wake up early 05.15 am to experience the award-winning Mumbai at Dawn tour.

See the bustling city of Mumbai wake up. Get a peek into the underbelly of the city with insights into what makes this magnificent city tick. From seeing hundreds of newspaper vendors sort out newspapers of 7 different languages, watching an auction of 20 tons of fish, to seeing an ‘only green’ herb market. Watch milkmen with their canisters, the melee of colour at the flower markets, the clamour and chaos of the arrival of over 100 tons of vegetables, fruits, and meat. The final stop is the Gymnastic art Malakhamb. Malakhamb dates back centuries and is a complete exercise for the mind and body. When you walk the same lanes a few hours later, you would not find any evidence of the morning’s hustle bustle. Mumbai by Dawn truly defines the mercurial character of Mumbai. We also visit the Dhobhi ghat (outdoor laundromat).Return to the hotel by 8.30 am for breakfast.

At 10.30 am we drive to Jitesh & Reena Kallat studio. Jitish Kallat is one of India’s finest contemporary artist. Visit their studio for an interactive session with him and his wife Reena for intimate glimpse of Jitish’s engagement with time and space, infinity and transience, and Reena’s with man-made boundaries and free-flowing ecological forces.

Jitish Kallat's works over the last two decades reveal his continued engagement with the ideas of time, sustenance, recursion and historical recall, often interlacing the dense cosmopolis and the distant cosmos. His oeuvre traverses varying focal lengths and time-scales. From close details of the skin of a fruit or the brimming shirt-pocket of a passerby, it might expand to register dense peoplescapes, or voyage into intergalactic vistas. While some works meditate on the transient present, others invoke the past through citations of momentous historical utterances. Frequently shifting orders of magnitude, Kallat's works can be said to move interchangeably between meditations on the self, the city-street, the nation and the cosmic horizon, viewing the ephemeral within the context of the perpetual, the everyday in juxtaposition with the historical, the microscopic alongside the telescopic.

Kallat has exhibited widely at museums and institutions including Tate Modern (London), Martin¬Gropius-Bau (Berlin), Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane), Kunstmuseum (Bern), Serpentine Galleries (London), Mori Art Museum (Tokyo), BOZAR: Centre For Fine Arts (Brussels), Pirelli HangarBicocca (Milan), Busan Museum of Art, Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art (Oslo), ZKM Museum of Contemporary Art (Karlsruhe), Henie Onstad Kunstsenter (Oslo), Arken Museum of Modern Art (Copenhagen), Valencia Institute of Modern Art (Spain), Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), Museum Tinguely (Basel) and the Gemeente Museum (The Hague) among many others. Kallat's work has been part of the Havana Biennale, Gwangju Biennale, Asia Pacific Triennale, Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale, Asian Art Biennale, Curitiba Biennale, Guangzhou Triennale and the Kiev Biennale among others.

His solo exhibitions at museums include institutions such as the Art Institute of Chicago, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum, the Ian Potter Museum of Art (Melbourne), the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya museum (Mumbai), the San Jose Museum of Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney) and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In 2017, the National Gallery of Modern Art (New Delhi) presented a mid-career survey of his work titled Here After Here 1992-2017, curated by Catherine David.

We break for lunch at the famous sea food restaurant Trishna for their butter garlic crab.

After lunch time at leisure to saunter through the shopping district of Kala Ghoda on your own. The Kala Ghoda district is blessed with rich architecture and heritage with blend of IndoSaracenic, Neo-Gothic and Neo Classical styled buildings, the Elphinstone College, David Sassoon Library and the Army & Navy buildings to name a few.

Optional - An art gallery hop with Sanah Rehman ,an art expert and creative professional. Or return to hotel to relax.

Evening an early dinner at the legendary oriental restaurant at the hotel The Golden Dragon restaurant.

Overnight Mumbai.

Very early morning you with be escorted to the airport for your flight to Aurangabad.
Departure Air India 0705 hrs. Arrival Aurangabad 0810 hrs.

The sprawling city is one of the fastest-growing industrial centers in India, and while it's the most convenient base from which to visit two of India's most exquisite historic attractions, the cave temples at Ellora (30km NW of Aurangabad-1hour) and Ajanta (106km. NE of Aurangabad- 2 hrs), it's not really a destination in its own right. However, time allowing, it has a few attractions worth noting.

Fly to Aurangabad. On arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel the Taj Vivanta Aurangabad.

After a hot breakfast , rooms will be allocated at the earliest , time to fresh up , there will be an orientation talk by Dr Naveena Jafa. Dr Jafa is a cultural activist, academician and renowned performing artist. She has done research on rock art under the tutelage of M N Deshpande.

After lunch you would be taken to visit the Ellora caves, which are located about 45 minutes from Aurangabad.

They are a fine example of cave temples with almost 34 caves with intricate interiors and ornamental facades. Carved during the 350 A.D. and 700 A.D., the rock temples, and monasteries of Ellora represent the three major faiths of India — Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Return to your hotel.
Evening at leisure.
Buffet dinner at hotel (included)

After breakfast, accompanied by Dr Naveena Jafa, you will drive to Ajanta (2 hours each way) in a luxury air-conditioned coach.

It was as late as in the 19th century that a party of British officers discovered the Ajanta caves on the banks of Vaghora River. Buried in the debris of time, these 30 caves were built to offer seclusion to the Buddhist monks, who lived, taught, and performed rituals. Ajanta offers a rich tapestry of images that speak of palaces, royalty, cultures, and tales of everyday life of ancient India. From images of the Buddha to nymphs and princesses and various other characters, the Ajanta engravings are an unmatched visual treat. Broadly speaking, these caves are either Chaityas (prayer halls) or Viharas (places of residence for monks).

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Your will return to your hotel late in the afternoon and would be at leisure rest of the evening.

Buffet Dinner at hotel (included)
Overnight: Aurangabad

After breakfast transfer to airport for flight to Hyderabad.
Indigo departing at 0820 hrs. Arrival Hyderabad. 0945

Hyderabad is a bustling 400-year-old metropolis. It was once the seat of the powerful and wealthy Qutb Shahi and Asaf Jahi dynasties.. The city is famous for its art, jewellery, poetry, and architecture. Over the years the city has seen centuries of great prosperity and innovation. The whole city is laced with architectural gemsornate tombs, mosques, palaces, and homes from the past. Hyderabad, often called the gateway to the south, blends the north and south Indian identities, and yet has a distinct personality of its own.

You will be received and transferred to the iconic Falaknuma Palace.

Falaknuma “mirror of the sky”. The Palace is a testimony to the lifetimes of the Nizams of Hyderabad. Located 2000 feet above Hyderabad, the Palace was built in the shape of a scorpion in1894 at a cost of four million rupees by Nawab Vikar Ul Umra, a Hyderabadi nobleman from the Paigah family and gifts “nazar” the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, Mehboob Ali Pasha.

Time to relax and enjoy facilities at the palace. Lunch on your own. Later in the evening there will be an orientation talk by our expert Jonty Rajagopalan and you be conducted on a historical tour of the palace. Revel in the opulence of its large Venetian chandeliers, rare furniture, grand marble staircases and gurgling fountains, priceless statues, and objects d'art, stained glass windows, unique sketches and murals encasing ornate frames, a world class collection of crystal as well as the Mughal, Rajasthani and Japanese gardens personally conceived by the Nizam. The Palace Library, a replica of the one at Windsor Castle, is a collector's envy as it is home the rarest of manuscripts, books and one of the most acclaimed collections of the Holy Quran in the country, all of which were selected and brought back by the Nizam himself.

Dinner at the Gol Ghar with dancers and Sufi musicians (included).

Overnight Faluknama Palace.

After breakfast we start our exploration of the city with a tour of one of the hidden treasures of this city -the Paigah Tombs. During the Nizam’s rule, the family next in nobility to the rulers were the Paigahs. Apart from playing an important role in the politics of the region, they also left behind their mark in the palaces they built for themselves. Some of them have been converted into clubs, resorts and other important buildings. In the late 18th century and early 19th century, they also built some magnificent tombs. The Paigah tombs have a unique architectural style with a combination of Turkish, Mughal, Persian and Rajasthani styles of architecture.

We carry on to visit to the Salarjung Museum which houses one of the biggest oneman collections of antiques of the world by Mir Yousuf Ali Khan, Salar Jung III,who in his lifetime obtained over 40,000 pieces from across the world. The tour will be led by one of the former staff members of the museum. Among the most notable pieces would be the Veiled Rebecca, a magnificent Italian neo-classical marble sculpture carved by Giovani Mario Benzoni. The visit will also include the Ivory Gallery and the unique walking sticks collection.

After the museum tour proceed to Pitte Haveli. Hidden away in the bye-lanes of the Begum Bazaar Area is a magnificent haveli belonging to a Rajasthani business family that has called Hyderabad their home since the past several generations. Lovingly restored a few years ago, the architecture of this haveli is a superb blend of Rajasthani and Mughal style with the addition of European touches in some parts.

The lady of the manor Vineeta Pitte is also a famous fashion designer and a part of the haveli is dedicated to her workshop where she uses traditional fabrics and embroidery to design kurtas, dresses and jackets with her unique touch making them extremely wearable and stylish. Her hospitality is unmatched and we will enjoy a traditional vegetarian meal in her house.

Post lunch proceed on a historical tour of the city which traces the history of the Nizams of Hyderabad who were well known for their grandeur and wealth. They ruled the region from the period between the early 18th century and 1948.

Take a walk around the four palaces of the Chowmahalla Complex and see the opulence wit which this dynasty lived and ruled. Walk through the imposing Durbar Hall and the various rooms which have recreated a slice of life from the past. Begun in 1750, it was expanded over next 100years, absorbing Persian, Indo-Saracenic, Rajasthani and European styles.

No place can give you glimpse of Hyderabadi lifelike the Charminar area can. It is a brilliant mosaic history, culture, modernity, crafts, business and old-world charma perfect slice this city's life. Walk through Laad Bazar and get dazzled by the shiny lac bangles that Hyderabad is known for, take the by-lanes and meet the craftsmen who create the ‘bling’.Watch artisans working with shiny threads and glittery sequins creating intricate patterns on silk fabric and others mixing and stamping bright colours on cotton to produce striking sarees. We will end the experience at a popular tea shop watching the hustle bustle around Charminar while sipping on sweet Irani tea and dunking just-out-of-the-oven.

Return to hotel.
Evening at leisure to enjoy hotel facilities.
Dinner on your own.
Overnight Faluknama Palace, Hyderabad.

Optional Extra Round of Golf at the Golconda Golf Course Or Optional tour to Golconda Fort & Qutub Shahi Tombs (Included)

The Golkonda Fort, originally built by the Kakatiya Rulers has amazingly advanced acoustics systems that were used for signalling approaching enemy as well as for detecting conspiracies being hatched in palace corners! The Fort also is unique in the use of the natural boulders (that date back to a billion years), distinctive of the Deccan plateau, as foundation stones for the structure. The Fort was once a walled city to a large population. It has some very interesting features; a 900-year-old temple in close proximity to almost as old a mosque, reflective of the healthy intermingling of different cultures of those times, spaces that were naturally air cooled, remnants of a fairly evolved water supply system. The climb up the Fort would be a sometimes steep, sometimes easy climb of about 360 steps and has excellent views of the Qutb Shahi tombs just outside the Fort area, the Charminar in the distance and the rest of the city’s landscape.

The Qutub Shahi Tombs are probably the most magnificent of the tombs in the city. Built by the Qutub Shahi rulers prior to their death, each ensured that their tomb is better than their ancestors! This intense competition of course resulted in a more than happy situation for us today when we are able to stare at awe at their magnificence. The elaborate architecture in the hammams (or bath) is reflective of the rituals that were followed before the burial of the kings. Walk around the complex where you feel dwarfed by the immense proportions and hear stories of the kings who ruled this region, the negotiations that they carried out with the invaders and the intrigues and politics that were such an integral part of those times!

We shall visit a local restaurant called Simply South to taste a “spicy” flavours of the South Indian states.

Return to hotel.
Afternoon at leisure.

Early evening depart for an artist studio visit . Indian Art has been and continues to be expressed in various forms; through paintings, sculptures, fabric and various expressions through modern techniques as well. Today, we will experience it through an unique individual styles.

Parmeshwar Raju has created a name for himself through a unique calligraphy style that represents religious iconographic art by making a few masterful strokes with nibs and vermillion coloured paint that tell a complete story in a single glance. His deep understanding of the use of space and knowledge of writing ancient scriptures which he has used in the creation of images that are evocative and beautiful.A man of few words, Rajuji lets his work speak for him and if possible, we will interact with him in his studio or his home where he works on his masterpieces.

We proceed to the beautiful home of Shalini Bhoopal, an avid art collector. She opens her home to admire her collections and enjoy cocktails with a traditional meal of delicious Hyderabadi cuisine.

Overnight at Faluknama Palace.

After breakfast, early check out and transfer to Hyderabad airport for flight to Udaipur. Departure 0845 am Arrive Udaipur 1045 am.

Dubbed the ‘Venice of the East’, the city of Udaipur is drenched in romance and beauty. With its marble palaces, beautifully laid out gardens amidst gently sloping amethyst Aravalli hills dotted by placid azure blue lakes, Udaipur seems straight out of fairy-tale book. Built as the capital for the house of Mewar by Udai Singh II in 1559, the current Maharana is the 76th descendant of the Sisodia dynasty, which is one of the longest uninterrupted royal lines in the world. Udaipur today is a charming city with a small-town atmosphere and is also one of Rajasthan’s great centres of traditional miniature paintings and manufacturing of silver and inlay furniture.

Arrive Udaipur. Transfer to the iconic Lake Palace hotel. Lunch on your own ,afternoon at leisure to relax and enjoy the facilities at the hotel.

Evening proceed for a sunset cruise on the Gangaur boat on lake Pichola ,returning to the Lake Palace for dinner on the rooftop Bhairon restaurant (included) with magnificent views of the City palace.

Overnight Lake Palace Udaipur

After an early breakfast you will proceed for an exclusive curated visit of the City Palace, the majestic 16th century City Palace on the banks of the Pichola Lake, is over 30 m high and rises above the city laid out below, offering a panoramic view from its balconies and windows. The main palace complex now houses the museum, which has various smaller palaces housed within it including the Baadi Mahal, KishanVilas, Mor Chowk (Peacock courtyard), Surya Chaupad and the Zenana Mahal. Galleries showcasing royal memorabilia, silver, and rare collection of miniature paintings.

Visit the lavish Durbar “royal audience” Hall and Crystal Gallery at the Fateh Prakash. It is one of the grandest chambers in Udaipur. In 1909, Lord Minto, the then Viceroy of British occupied India laid its foundations. It is surrounded by viewing galleries from where the ladies of the palace could watch the court proceedings from behind their veils. Its ceiling is adorned by the most magnificent crystal glass chandeliers and its walls are lined with an awe-inspiring array of priceless weapons and portraits of royals and paintings of battles.

We also visit the Hindu, Jagdish Temple whose 79-feet high spire dominates the skyline of the city. It has a white marble façade with intricately carved pillars and sculptures of dancers, elephants, horsemen and musicians. The main deity is a black stone idol of Lord Jagannath (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu).

You will have time to explore the colourful local markets. There will be an open buffet lunch at the Palkikhana restaurant located in the city palace main courtyard (included). Afternoon at leisure.

Cocktails at the Shiv Niwas Palace hosted by Lakshayaraj Singh Mewar.

For our final dinner we move to Darikhana at the Jag Mandir “Temple of the Universe”, the 16th century island palace. Huge stone lephants welcome you at the entrance. A visit to the Gol Mahal built in bluestone in the midst of an expansive green lawn with thickly shaded trees is a must. As it is festival of lights , the venue is decorated beautifully and gives an magical ambiance as you are served like royalty a traditional Thali dinner with accompanying musicians playing in the background.

After dinner , you are transferred back to the lake Palace.

Overnight Lake Palace. Udaipur.

Morning at leisure to enjoy the facilities at the Lake Palace. Post noon check out and transfer to airport for flights to Mumbai or Delhi for onward journeys.