Viren Pawar - Travel Diary

12/05/2018

Few months ago I stayed with Turkana tribes in a remote village near Baragoi in northern Kenya. The kids there had never seen a foreigner before. At first they were shy, curious, even scared. But slowly they warmed up to me and eventually they were so happy to be around me that, they spontaneously made a song about me and started singing and dancing. A truly memorable moment. 😊

04/05/2018

Click' Click' Click'... 😆

Have you seen the movie 'The Gods Must Be Crazy'? It is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. I remember as a child, me and my brother watching this movie for the first time and rolling on the floor laughing 🤣🤣... especially when the bushman enters and starts talking with clicking sounds. At the time I thought it was some made up thing, just to make the movie funnier. But later on found out that not only this language exists, but also these bushman(San tribe) people still live in the Southern Africa.
So when I was in Namibia, I knew I had to see these people. It was not easy to find them, but when I did, I was delighted to finally meet them and hear them speak their 'Khoisan' language for real. The family I stayed with loved to joke, laugh and have fun. This woman was the funniest 😆😆

27/04/2018

https://youtu.be/_yxqaOF-IKY

Watch this funny video of elephant walking backwards. I shot this video when I was traveling in Etosha National Park, Namibia. There doesn't seem to be any practical reason for doing this. Is this young elephant just having fun? 😆😆

I shot this video in Etosha National Park, Namibia. There doesn't seem to be any practical reason for this young elephant to walk backwards. Is it just havin...

26/03/2018

I will be presenting my travel story 'Travel Abstract - Journey of a lone Indian backpacker for 14 months across 3 continents' along with my photographs at this charity event on Sunday 1st April 10:30 am. Anyone who is interested in listening about planning and interesting experiences of my backpacking expedition, please do attend.

Anybody interested in contributing to charity by buying the artwork, below is the link to the artwork that will be presented at the exhibition. Also please forward the link to all your friends. Every art piece sold can facilitate an underprivileged child.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lTME8U5QZbwguCPMWgd50OXdfHuts5SV?usp=sharing

22/03/2018

A sneak peek into amazing Colombian culture. Watch this short movie clip I made of fast and elegant dance from La Macarena, Colombia.
Colombians know how to live and enjoy life. Sometimes I felt.. wouldn't it be nice, if everyone in the world lived like Colombians. Enjoy 😊

03/03/2018

CHOLITAS - Easily identified by their distinctive, elegant outfits...high bowler hats, puffed skirts,..these women are integral part of Bolivian culture. Until recent decades, these indigenous Aymara and Quechua women could be refused entry to certain restaurants, taxis and public buses. For generations, they were not permitted to walk freely in the capital La Paz's streets. Predominantly rural peasants who had migrated to cities, they were seen as a lower strata who stayed at home, or worked as servants or hawkers.

But now these women are empowered, more confident and taking control. They are considered as the keeprs of Bolivian culture and are respected and loved for that. I could see it in the way the spectators were cheering them on the streets during 'Fiesta de Gran Poder' in La Paz.

02/03/2018

Colourful energy from a dancer in festival 'Fiesta de Gran Poder' on the streets of La Paz, Bolivia. Locals take pride in their performances and put lot of efforts in their dances and costumes.

02/03/2018

Today is Holi, Festival of colours in India. On this occasion, I would like to share a picture from another colurful festival from other side of the world.

I love festivals. It is a great way to experience the culture of the place. So whichever country I am in, I always check if there are any festivals during that period and I make sure I am there for it.

One such amazing festival I was able to experience was 'Fiesta de Gran Poder' in La Paz, Bolivia. Every year, more than 30,000 dancers representing LaPaz's neighborhoods, dance along 6km route through city's streets showcasing the rich and divers Bolivian culture.

Inspired by historic events, the conquistador, inca, slave and indigenous costumes are bright and colourful, weighing upto 25 kg each.