You don't need to travel bodily to India to feast your eyes on her beauty, thanks to these 17 Instagram feeds. But chances are, inspired by the beauty in these images, you'll be on the first available flight India-bound!
See India's more remote corners through the beauty-seeking eyes of Catherine Allie, founder of We Are KAL, as she builds her house and family in Ladakh, and her business across the mountain ranges of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Assam. All the things we love: natural dye, hand loom textiles, entrepreneurial spirit & mountains, and everything beautifully captured by Catherine on film.
Serene interior and exterior vignettes of a slow life, lived well (and, reflectively) in a pristine pocket of the Himalayas.
Fiona Caulfied’s love affair with India has given us the celebrated Love India Travel Series, part field research, part personal anecdote of places to see/be/eat/sleep tackled by city and region, that has left many travelers indebted (grateful) to her and her eminent talent for finding hidden jewels. Her Instagram is a more colorful, real time version of that.
With tabs on the most beautiful rugs of both India and Morocco, Francesca’s IG is a textile lover’s escapism portal (especially in these times) sprinkled with beautiful interiors/exteriors and spontaneous snaps of everyday moments.
Border and Fall is one of the most pivotal voices online that has moved the dialect and documentation of Indian crafts, fashion and culture into it’s most exciting epoch yet. Their IG is the best way to stay on top of all the various curio they're exploring at any given time.
Raghua Rai, one of India’s greatest photographers, spent the last 50+ years capturing some of the most compelling pictures that lay bare the heart and soul of his country. His IG is a digital exposé of many photos that lived analog lives until recently.
Escape to the Himalayas, through the eyes and artistry of the team behind Shakti Himalaya, a travel agency that leads intimate, luxury tours through some of the most remote regions of Ladakh, Sikkim and Kumaon, even if, like us, your piggy bank restricts you to virtual tours of village folks smiling deeply and children laughing innocently against a backdrop of various jaw dropping Himalayan mountain ranges and snow capped peaks. It will be well worth your tap and a scroll.
Our friend Rachel has been coming to India with her family for 12+ years and her talent for capturing the kinetic energy of flower markets and Holi celebrations amongst quieter moments of near holy solace, gives us an intimate portrait of the way India seduces those who fall for her.
A rich, virtual encyclopedia capturing and sharing the history of India’s countless religious monuments, architectural marvels, and historical ruins.
In addition to curating unique travel experiences, this team of creatives has an eye for searching out and telling the story of daily life in India while capturing some of the most compelling and poetic visual narratives.
As one writer in the New York Times said, “All of his work together may add up to one of the most eccentric and encyclopedic ground-level portraits of a megacity in the Internet age”. Mayank Soofi, AKA The Delhi Walla, has been obsessively trying to profile at least 1% of Delhi’s population over the last 13 years. A very accurate portrayal of what life looks like in Delhi, even if it’s not always the most beautiful.
This one resonates more personally- when I see artist Joya Logue’s watercolor paintings capturing meaningful moments along with other artistic observations something happens to my soul, a sense of tenderness and beauty washes over my heart.
The name says it all. For you lucky ones who have been to Calcutta, no explanation needed. And for those of you who haven’t, welcome to the streets of Calcutta where all manner of derelict, houses effuse age old charm in their fight with nature and time. The city where even looking at the houses makes you dream up characters to write entire books about.
Another hyper specific scroll, if you’re at all interested (like us) in a visual retrospective of Indian fashion as seen through Bollywood movies, ancient artwork and advertisements spanning the last 70 decades.
An ongoing visual anthology by Border & Fall, that documents the Indian Sari as a multi-faceted tool for personal self expression. And our go-to bible for all things draping inspo!
Our 16th pick is a hashtag (tisk, tisk-I know) but we couldn’t help it when you find such a swoon worthy scroll that within seconds has transported you to the fragrant flower markets of Pushkar, the decaying patina’d walls of Rajasthani palaces and sitting amongst the bright, effulgent smiles of the people that are the lifeblood of this country.
Last but not least, if, like us, you'd love to discover the depth and breadth of India through a focus on her artisanal and textile heritage, look no further than House of Wandering Silk's own IG account!