dchakrab

Hi all, My nonprofit is developing a new portal site to the holy city of Varanasi, India. We're interested in getting some feedback from all of you on specific areas that we should focus on for the site: Varanasi The site aims to be the perfect online resource for tourists, travellers, researchers, scholars, and anyone else who is interested in visiting or living in Varanasi (also known as Banaras, or Kashi). The site will also include a forums section for discussions on anything and everything to do with Varanasi. Some areas we propose to cover already include Varanasi hotels and places to eat, maps of the city and the surrounding areas, a review of the temples of Varanasi with accompanying articles on spirituality and the spiritual / religious importance of Varanasi as a city, an overview of the educational atmosphere of the city (ranging from schools, colleges and universities to traditional forms of learning in artisan communities and communities of musicians), articles on the holy Ganges river, an article on the popular bathing locations, and of course, a rich and ever-expanding photo gallery from our own archives. What are we leaving out? Since the site is still in the design stages, this is the ideal time to rethink our content, and add or remove sections. We also plan to supplement our main site sections with more amusing glimpses into Varanasi life...such as articles about the animals of Varanasi, the pollution, problems faced by the population, the predominant religious and social communities and how they are stratified, etc. The basic site template is already up, so if anyone would like to take a look and give comments or criticism on the design, please feel free. Again, this site is being developed by my nonprofit (Nirman) as a resource site or portal site for Varanasi residents, as well as for anyone and everyone interested in visiting the holy city or living there. Nirman, in case anyone's interested, is a nonprofit that has been active in the Varanasi area for about 15 years now, seeking to help build a new India through development projects based on education, and on researching alternatives to existing educational systems that are more in harmony with the lives of artisans or the socially discriminated against minorities. Thanks, Dave.

Another bump, in the hopes of getting some feedback...come on, some of the readers on this site have to be interested in education issues, or on religious minorities, women's issues, pedagogical methods, research...something? The site now has a completely new forums section and the main site's been redesigned several times since it was first published. All questions and comments welcome, even if you hate it... -Dave.

No one? I'd really appreciate feedback from someone with a background in South Asia, and up till now i've mostly gotten feedback and advice from tech forums... The main site is also now up, and under construction: link -Dave.

Namashkar, I just thought i'd post and mention the website i am currently working on for Nirman, a not-for-profit NGO that has been working in the field of education for over 13 years now. They have a small school, and a research centre, located in Varanasi, and are involved in the areas of Gender, Children, adult literacy and education, research, pedagogy, and a host of other related topics. I've just finished a forums site for the organisation, similar to this one, with a more general theme...would any of you care to take a look? The idea behind it is to foster discussions on any and all of the organsiation's areas of interest, which include the topics explored on this board as well as other areas. I would much appreciate any comments or feedback you all might have regarding the layout, colours, ideas, organisation, etc, of my forums. And of course, feel free to register and post! I'd love to see some of you there. I am hoping to benefit from some advice from the people on this board, since you've been around a lot longer than i have, and will have more experience in this field. The link: http://www.nirmanweb.com/forums Thanks, Dave.