my article: “6 water bodies with a story to tell” is now up at The Alternative. this piece talks about crocodiles, 17th c rain water harvesting and a bubbling tank – amongst other things! let me know other water bodies with crazy stories that you have come across while traveling or in your city. pasting the link and text below. 6 Water Bodies in India with … Continue reading 6 water bodies with an unusual tale
let me begin by saying that i am a confused atheist. my parents never really took us to temples; no childhood memories of peeping over those bars for the ‘darshanam of shiva’. my mother prayed fervently till i was around 14 – she bribed god, begged god, gave up chocolate in exchange for better marks in exams for her kids… you know the stuff. and … Continue reading amritsar and her golden temple
i’m off to chennai… the land of my forefathers and the land of my parents. i never grew up there but in pune. i recently read degree coffee by the yard and you might have read my review here. it got me thinking that i didn’t know the history of chennai. so while this trip is a family reunion, it is also about me rediscovering, … Continue reading chennai “rediscovered” (coming up soon)
somewhere in the himalayan range, hidden between two passes lies the spiti valley. it is a 5 – 7 hour rocky journey from manali or shimla, depending on which side you enter from. an arid landscape, above the snow line, with no trees and just shrubs eating up the sun with a hungry thirst. it was a jeep safari, that lasted 9 days, but a … Continue reading a taste of spiti, himachal
it was the first night at varanasi. as i decided to venture into the dark & dingy ganga-fuji restaurant. the owner waxed eloquent about his food and chatted about tourists, varanasi and everything by the river. the food turned out to be decent though not as brilliant as he promised it would be. he was warm and chatty and made the experience interesting. what i liked … Continue reading varanasi by the ganga: a sketch
I love Varanasi. And at the same time, I hate Varanasi! Read no further, if you cannot understand this emotion… if you think you feel the same, continue. Varanasi startles each of my senses every time I visit… and it always takes a little time getting used to the city. From the loud, incessant horns and the clanging temple bells to the dung-lined lanes with … Continue reading why i LOVE to HATE varanasi
Island of a Thousand Mirrors by Nayomi Munaweera is erotic and sensual. It is not a story of lust, but it is a story of human emotions and turbulence. It is erotic in its descriptions, it is sensual in the nakedness with which it bares the protagonist’s soul. It is contained in its depiction of a war-struck Sri Lanka; the country and it’s turmoil is neither … Continue reading book review: island of a thousand mirrors
First published on the AudioCompass Blog, written by moi 🙂 This is the link to the piece there: Five Best Places to Celebrate Holi Holi, the wildest Hindu Festival is loud, chaotic, lively and colourful. And, of course, you want to celebrate it. This festival is not celebrated in the South of India, so we focus our lens to the cities and towns in the rest … Continue reading five best places to celebrate holi
holi is not one of my favourite festivals. i know its got tomatina festival like status amongst tourists, but growing up in india i did not like it. playing as a child 0f 7 and then later as an adolescent of 15, this festival takes on different colours! i did not like the free license it gave boys to touch girls, anywhere. it was like during … Continue reading the non-religious origins of the festival of HOLI
every year, the ganga changes during the monsoon. she becomes mightier than ever… moves swiftly, charging down the slopes, and everywhere by her banks are signs of warning. “do not enter the water”. she becomes inaccessible to the fervent pilgrim & untouchable to the adventurous rafter. she courses down the mountain, as if she owns the land. as if she was never tamed in shiva’s … Continue reading desilting the ghats of varanasi
merry to go around 