Work, Sing & Love Together

Earlier this year, Homi Adajania’s misplaced tribute to women making their own choices didn’t quite get the stamp of approval from everyone. It fell somewhere between patronizing and superficial! One didn’t feel the need to hear it from a Bollywood diva swishing her hair to a gripping soundtrack, interjected by rapid visuals of women from […]

White Out

The Chopta-Tungnath-Chandrashila trek in Uttarakhand’s Himalayan region is no appalling challenge in the summer. In fact, for a seasoned mountain goat, it is at best, an easy hike. The blazing sun keeps your joints well oiled and the rolling green meadows double up as stunning scenery and cheerful company. Maggi and chai breaks are accompanied […]

Chateau Woods

A plush, jungle- and plantation-fringed boutique property in gorgeous northern Kerala that promises an uncluttered view of low hills stacked one after the other, carpeted by clumpy tea bushes. Think stunning sunsets, the best brew in your hands and a million shades of green all around. When travelling through a destination as well-trodden as Kerala […]

Shivavilas Palace

Sink into luxury at the refurbished palace of Sandur’s royal family, located just an hour’s drive away from Hampi’s boulders.The Raj-esque grandeur of this heritage hotel starts right from the long driveway that curves into the high-roofed porch of Shivavilas, and extends to each nook and cranny of the Ghorpade family home. The decidedly vintage […]

Cultural Landmarks Of Bangalore

Bangalore just doesn’t feel the same. Each time I visit the city, even after a short hiatus of 20 days, something has relocated, closed or altered, and standing in its place is a glitzier, swankier or more kitsch version of the previous establishment, undoubtedly one that serves beer (which is nothing to complain about!). Once […]

How To Spend Your Time In Cochin

Kochi, or Cochin, is certainly the most captivating of the not-quite-islands around the large Keralan coastal conurbation, and district, of Ernakulam.While Ernakulum proper is largely residential with lots of traffic, Kochi and its Fort Kochi and Mattancherry neighbourhoods are more laidback. As a tourist, this is where you are likely to spend your time.

Dera Mandawa

Dera Mandawa is a place that, like its owners, has great personality. The family’s Shekhawati (a certain clan of Rajputs) lineage is evident around the house, in the aesthetics of the rooms and most certainly in the delicious food. There are 9 suites in total, spread across the main block and former zenana(women’s quarters) which […]

@ Home

Contributed to the Times of India @Home book, a repository of homestays across the country. I reviewed and wrote about the South India homestays for this book.

A Goddess For A Day

Our maali was an uncontroversial man. Digging at the soil with relentless vigour, transplanting creepers from one edge of the wall to another, watering two large sprawls of grass and a long stretch of furrowed area with a thin hose with trickling water thanks to the compromised pressure. To watch him go about his business […]

Beastly Luncheon

If you didn’t know better, Abdul Latif Kureshi would appear to be the Pied Piper of the Rawaton Ka Bass area in Jodhpur. After all, he does have at least 15 dogs trailing him for 2km every afternoon, as he makes his way to the Mehrangarh Fort at a funeralesque pace. No haunting tunes waft […]

Periyar

Typical of a famous tourism destination, Kumily (or Thekkady), the base town to visit Periyar National Park, is inundated with guest houses and hotels over a range of budget. Though this town is not that significantly big, there are ample options for travellers to choose from. Since this place has no dearth of accommodation options, […]

Hampi

The surreal landscape of Hampi and Anegundi is not just a reminder of the formidable empire of the Vijaynagara Kingdom. The towns, hold within them, a trail of more than 83 monuments, a bear sanctuary and fascinating spots for bird watching, ancient cave paintings amongst other sight seeing options. The mighty Tungabhadra River cuts across […]