World AIDS Day Ways AIDS are contracted:: - blood transfusions (not common) - being born with it. - having unprotected . - getting infected blood into yours.
In 2006 UNAIDS estimated that there were 5.6 million people living with HIV in India, which indicated that there were more people with HIV in India than in any other country in the world. However, NACO disputed this estimate, and claimed that the actual figure was lower. In 2007, using a more effective surveillance system, UNAIDS and NACO agreed on a new estimate – between 2 million and 3.6 million people living with HIV. This puts India behind South Africa and Nigeria in numbers living with HIV.
In terms of AIDS cases, the most recent estimate comes from August 2006, at which stage the total number of AIDS cases reported to NACO was 124,995. Of this number, 29% were women, and 36% were under the age of 30. These figures are not accurate reflections of the actual situation though, as large numbers of AIDS cases go unreported.
Overall, around 0.36% of India’s population is living with HIV. While this may seem a low rate, India’s population is vast, so the actual number of people living with HIV is remarkably high. There are so many people living in India that a mere 0.1% increase in HIV prevalence would increase the estimated number of people living with HIV by over half a million.
The national HIV prevalence rose dramatically in the early years of the epidemic, but a study released at the beginning of 2006 suggests that the HIV infection rate has recently fallen in southern India, the region that has been hit hardest by AIDS. In addition, NACO has released figures suggesting that the overall rate of new HIV infections in the country is slowing. Researchers claim that this decline is the result of successful prevention campaigns, which have led to an increase in condom use.
Some AIDS activists are doubtful of the suggestion that the situation is improving, though: “It is the reverse. All the NGOs I know have recorded increases in the number of people accepting help because of HIV. I am really worried that we are just burying our head in the sand over this.” -Anjali Gopalan, the Naz Foundation, Delhi
Mumbai Attacks Our symparhies go out to to the victims in the Mumbai attacks. I have traveled to Mumbai every year since December after the September 11th tragedy. I am familiar with the landmarks involved and hope these events bring to light the lack of security that exists at these facilities.
I have never felt safe in the area of Colaba where the Taj exists. Most police are unwilling to help and cannot speak very good english. There has never been security at the Taj during my visits and even if there was, bribery can easily get around that. These recent incidents will affect Mumbais tourism and if the commision is smart, they will develop programs in which guides are placed at strategic locations to help tourist and guide them saftely to their destinations.
Mumbaikars are generally very helpful but be weary of those that seem too eager. These people will generally lead you off your path into the arms of drugs or prostitution. Sometimes even robbery. After my experiences in Mumbai, I am always leary of the people I meet and their motives. My suggestion as a tourist is to always keep a low profile and trust your gut. If it doesn't feel right, then take yourself out of the situation. I am suprised due to the fact that many people hang out at the Gateway that not a soul noticed anything suspicious upon the arrival of this boat that reportedly transported these terrorists.
If you end up in a situation, please be advised that the consulates hands are tied unless the government allows them to have a presence. I have experienced this in the handling of a case that involved the assault of two foreign nationals by a local builder. It has been over 3 years since the case had started preceedings in court. Since its beginning, a witness has died and bribery provided many roadblocks in an investigation by local police who were involved in the incident.
Read more about this incident including press and court documents HERE
I hope 2009 will bring relief for these victims and pray that the victims of these recent attacks do not have to wait quite so long for closure. I also hope Mumbai officials take this seriously and develop programs that help ease the trepidations of foreighn nationals. I also hope Mumbaikars stay out of the streets and stop treating incidents such as these as a cricket match. Events such as these are not a public source of entertainment and you are only detering professionals from doing their jobs.
It is very dissapointing that something such as this had to happen in order to bring light to such a problem but to tourist such as myself, we knew it was inevitable by looking at the many bombings that have occured there in India.
Jamal Malik, a penniless eighteen year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, is one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s ”Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” But when the show breaks for the night, suddenly, he is arrested on suspicion of cheating. After all, how could an uneducated street kid possibly know so much? Determined to get to the bottom of Jamal’s story, the jaded Police Inspector spends the night probing Jamal’s incredible past, from his riveting tales of the slums where he and his brother Salim survived by their wits to his hair-raising encounters with local gangs to his heartbreak over Latika, the unforgettable girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of Jamal’s increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the show’s seemingly impossible quizzes. But one question remains a mystery: what is this young man with no apparent desire for riches really doing on the game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out…
No trip to the northwestern state of Rajasthan is complete without a night at Delwara village's Devi Garh hotel. The Delhi-based Poddar family renovated this eighteenth-century palace-fortress over a ten-year period, and their painstaking attention to detail is evident in 39 sparsely decorated but unmistakably posh suites, boasting floors inlaid with semiprecious stones and walls painted with miniature Krishnas. Liz Hurley threw a 40th-birthday bash for consort Arun Nayar here, and when PR executive Vanessa von Bismarck, who recommends the presidential suite, checked in over the holidays, she spied Paris Vogue's Carine Roitfeld. More information available at Devi Garh, http://www.deviresorts.com/.
French jeweler Marie-Hélène de Taillac spends six months of the year in the Pink City of Jaipur sourcing stones and designing her collection. That's a long time to go without a fashion fix, which is why she partnered with Munnu Kasliwal of Gem Palace—the city's, nay India's, premier jeweler—to open Hot Pink, an airy boutique that stocks local labels like Manish Arora and Neeru Kumar. Hot Pink, Narain Niwas Palace, Jaipur, 011-91-141-510-8932
When Gillian Conroy and Danica Wilcox, alums of French and Japanese Vogue and partners in a new jewelry company, visit Jaipur (where their matte gold necklaces, cabochon labradorite earrings, and tourmaline rings are made), they invariably end up inside the Old City, searching for treasures at the Johari Bazaar. "It's colorful and chaotic, great for shopping for friends at home," says Conroy. "But be prepared to bargain hard." All that haggling can make a girl parched, so the duo quench their thirst at the nearby L.M.B. Hotel. Once refreshed, it's time for more shopping. Satayam, outside the City Palace gate, is their preferred tailor for made-to-measure clothes. More information available at Conroy & Wilcox, info@conroywilcox.com; Satayam, Laxman Dawra Road, Jaipur, 011-91-141-260-0555; L.M.B. Hotel, Johari Bazaar, Jaipur, 011-91-141-256-5844, info@lmbsweets.com.
New Yorkers hungry for a taste of home eat at Véda, the Delhi restaurant opened by the chefs at popular Manhattan Indian joint Dévi. But it isn't just Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur's famous Gobi Manchurian that keeps the Jaislamer-marble tables packed. Rohit Bal, a fashion designer who's been called the Versace of India, has decorated the brick-walled space in spicy orange hues and plenty of mirrors—the better to spy the well-dressed locals. Véda, H 27, Outer Circle, Connaught Place, Delhi, 011-91-11-5151-3940
For something wild, Deep Kailey recommends a trip to Madhya Pradesh, the "heart of India." The London-based stylist and managing director of Kim Jones' label stayed at a guest house in Kahna National Park, where "getting out really early in the morning meant seeing tigers." Hampi, left, is up next for this adventurer. The onetime capital of the large, rich Vijayanagara empire, it was destroyed in 1565 by marauding Moguls. The ruins are now a World Heritage Center—and a destination for today's time travelers. More information available at Kahna National Park, www.kanhanationalpark.com.
Franco-Indian relations are cheery, thanks in part to Jean-François Lesage, the expatriate son of François Lesage, the famous haute couture embroiderer. While la mode occupies the elder Lesage (Chanel bought the family business in 2003), the son, a former art auctioneer, focuses on interiors. "We do not do fashion," he asserts. Instead, his company, Vastrakala Exports, has been supplying embroideries made in a converted house in Madras to museums, as well as the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, Catherine Deneuve, and Steven Spielberg. Visitors to the balmy city can call ahead to tour the workshop. More information available at Jean-François Lesage, Paris, 011-33-1-4450-0101.
Dries Van Noten turned to Japan for inspiration for his spring show, but India is a recurring motif for the Belgian designer. Among the saris he's collected, two stand out: a vintage style printed with images of Indian Ambassador cars and another in fuchsia emblazoned with gold brocade. Van Noten's favorite sources are the Calcutta markets, including the old (it opened in 1874) New Market, housed in a red-brick Victorian Gothic building with a clock tower. New Market, 19 Lindsay St., Calcutta
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Here are a few stories about some of the people we have met during our travels through India.
Museum of Kitsch
Over the past 20 years, Dina has collected many items from the obscure to unique. Panning across the haunts of her home lays further evidence of her passion towards this hobby. Dina has devoted a majority of her time not only expanding her arsenal but also arranging its display. read more
A Rash of Good Behavior Contradictory to other Indian households, the welcome mat is ushered into the kitchen to continue its ugly discharge. The tea and biscuits are relegated to storage as if a precious commodity on the brink of extinction. Only to be filed out on display for those willing to flash their foreign currency. read more
The Chor Bizarre Being that posession is 9/10 the law in India struck great fear in the Irani household. Subsequently, locks were changed and the vicious circle created by the Ahmed's was relegated downstairs. read more
