Bengaluru To Ramanagara: On The ‘Sholay’ Trail
“Thakur,” my colleague called out from across the cubicle. “Can you please send me the weekly report?” The thick shawl wrapped around my shoulders as protection from the air-conditioner’s draught perhaps made the nickname inevitable.
Delhi to Naggar: Mountain Lullaby
Daydreaming comes naturally as I sit on the terrace café of my hotel in Naggar, a small town in Himachal Pradesh that borders Manali. The morning light is perfect—I don’t have to squint to keep the sun out. I prop my feet up on a wooden bench and dig into a bowl of home-made crunchy […]
Bengaluru To Pollachi: Beating The Heat
Tamil Nadu? In this heat?” My mother questioned my seemingly ludicrous pick for a weekend break from Bengaluru in June last year. After all, April and May are the region’s hottest months, with June bringing a few relieving showers. The best time would have been from November-February. What I had held back—to surprise her later—was […]
Foot Notes: Street Theatre
It’s one of the best ways to experience the architecture and culture of a city. Walk along some of India’s most interesting streets on these five heritage walks.
Knocking On Heaven’s Door
This happened ten years ago, when I used to travel ‘mapless and ungoogled’! My first significant solo trip off Bangalore. The thrill of discovering a place through a chat with a local or getting willingly conned into an extra long auto ride was how I started. Throwing caution to the wind and clueless that I […]
More Than Just Beaches
I was the youngest of six playmates in a large house with two sprawling gardens, a busy mango, plum and guava orchard and a sticky floored cowshed. A large patch of veggies was covered with grape vines for the much needed shady breaks in the bright Dehradun summer sun. There was always a large bushy […]
Secrets Of The City
The people of Varanasi don’t wear their city too lightly on their sleeves. They live with intense devotion to its narrow network of streets, crumbling forts drooping over the stepped ghats, the ruddy flush of lamps in dark sanctums of temples, full throated laughter and arguments surrounding tea shops and ofcourse, its lifeline, the Ganges. […]
French Benefits
The name Pondicherry conjures up an image of a laid back breezy coastal town, with French and vernacular Tamil architecture juxtaposed in the ‘White’ and ‘Black’ towns respectively. It offers an experience of India’s colonial past still embedded in Tamil roots. The striking European flair of the cobble stoned streets, criss-crossing through the French quarter, […]
Beyong Tipu’s Legacy
A city of palatial buildings, decided vintage vibe and serene tree-lined boulevards, Mysore constitutes as the rite of passage for many new Bangaloreans, for a daylong getaway. Afterall, the erstwhile capital of the Wadiyar Rajas of Karnataka is steeped in history and brings one up to speed with the background of the state. It was […]
Hoppy Times
There might be little chance of one feeling beat or overworked in Copengahen. After all, it is the capital of one of the happiest nations of the world – Denmark. But if you were to feel drained at some point of time, a shot of Hoptomist cheer is all you need. A round happy face […]
Ancient Treasures
It’s hard to digest the sight of a Nagamese Morung replica on a warm balmy Fort Kochi afternoon. I remember the wide-eyed moment when I first saw this large wooden erstwhile dormitory in Mopongchuket village in the North Eastern state a few years ago. This instance is not too different – but for a perplexing […]
Bedtime Stories
As I plonk on the yellow couch at Stops Hostel in Delhi, I am immediately joined by Jenny, Ginger and Pepper and together we sink in further into the large soft cushion. The blast of cool drift from the air conditioner nudges us to a comatosed half an hour snooze in the middle of a […]