Here are some useful and important tips for travellers touring Maharashtra.
Tips for tourists
Emergency Numbers
- Police - 100
- Fire Force - 101
- Railway Enquiry - 301
Customs to keep in Mind
- Not only in Maharsahtra but also in whole India, tourists have to remove shoes before entering any shrine.
- Tourists are prohibited from using alcoholic beverages or speaking in a raised voice on the premises of any shrine.
- Women are advised to dress properly, and should cover their head before entering a Sikh Gurudwara or a mosque.
- Visitors are supposed to step the right foot first into the courtyard when anybody enters a mosque.
- All leather products like shoes, belts, handbags, camera cases etc. are prohibited in some Hindu and Jain temples.
- Visitors are to wash their hands and feet under a tap or tank available on the premises before entering the shrines.
- No visitor in a gurudwara should keep his feet pointing towards the Holy Book or step over any one sitting in prayer or meditation.
- While spinning a prayer wheel of any Buddhist monastery, one must always remember to follow the clockwise direction.
- Cushions and chairs inside the monastery are reserved for lamas (monks). Visitors may sit on the steps outside or on the floor.
- Incase one gets the opportunity to meet a Rimpoche (head lama) or a respected monk, it's polite not to turn one's back on him while leaving.
- Also removing the hat and lowering an umbrella within the confines of a monastery is advisable. This courtesy is also observed in the presence of a lama.
Language
Official and most common language of Maharashtra is Marathi. However, both Hindi and English are also widely spoken.
Official and most common language of Maharashtra is Marathi. However, both Hindi and English are also widely spoken.