Revered enough by Hindus to roam the streets of Jodhpur, a bull is still not as sacred as a cow, which is surrounded by a great mythic aura. An ancient Hindu verse says that he who kills, eats, or permits the slaughter of a cow will 'rot in hell for as many years as there are hairs on the body of the cow so slain.
—From "India: Fifty Years of Independence," May 1997, National Geographic magazine
Journey across the Himalaya to the isolated peaks of Bhutan, where the Buddhist citizens of this "hermit kingdom" are catching up to the modern world at a slow and gentle pace.
Flush with wealth from its oil fields, Oman has catapulted from an Arabian Peninsula backwater to a modern nation while managing to keep many of its traditions alive.
Wedged between two enemies—India with its Hindu majority and Muslim Pakistan—both the land and people of Kashmir have been caught in the cross fire for a half century.
Peer behind the veil and enter the lives of Saudi Arabian women in this photo gallery that explores how these women of tradition are adapting as their society modernizes.
