my first guest post at inspiringtravellers.com! thanks andrea for posting my ‘what to do list for a first visit to south mumbai’ at her travel blog! over to the guest post…
Continue reading “20 & more things to do on a first visit to south mumbai!”
matheran is very close to where i spent most of my growing years, but was never tempted. even been dissuaded by friends.
i went there for the first time 5 years ago, and then willingly went again last year! and i wish to make it a hat trick with one more visit in the coming months!
here are my TEN reasons why you MUST MUST MUST visit matheran!
Continue reading “10 reasons why everyone should visit matheran”
i do not get politics and i don’t like to get involved in it… but this has touched a vein deep somewhere. while i am not equipped to comment on politics (don’t know much, or follow much), i am certified to comment on my life! over the last two days, mumbai has been held at ransom. i work from home and have a cocoon-like existence … Continue reading when mumbai came to a standstill…
there are many beliefs about solar eclipses in india… superstitions. i had heard all these growing up!
bad time. deformations. don’t go out. don’t look at the sun. stay indoors. don’t go out!
in 2010, when the annular solar eclipse was passing and would be visible in india, i decided to go and watch. the inspiration came from a friend who was planning to come down from pune for this, but cancelled her trip. i am no star-gazer, or astronomer. i have studied about eclipses in school, but forgotten most about it. i went because i was curious – to watch a total solar eclipse, to visit rameswaram again.
Continue reading “can i walk out of my house during a solar eclipse?”
i visited the mysore palace many years ago. and everyone tells you ‘come back at night, it looks gorgeous.’ it does. the entire palace gets lit up with a series of lights on every sunday night for around 45 minutes! you can see every bend, every curve and every edge. the palace shimmers in front of you. every inch defined. i loved it. and i … Continue reading lighting up a palace or homes?
there is this quaint part hidden in the midst of a large, hip suburb with big buildings on either side with a suspension bridge on the third stuck in time. between modernity. this little village. stays afloat. islamic architecture melts into christian porches crosses at every turn that date to the 17th century. drying teddy bears dot today’s presence graffiti welcomes in freedom of expression … Continue reading walking down the lanes of bandra…
it had been a long journey. it had been difficult to sleep all night on that tiny seat of a mini-van with loud music, only on to keep the driver awake. but, given that our train tickets didn’t get confirmed, we were forced to make do with a last-minute haphazard plan which involved two buses and two car rides to get ketti (near ooty) to trichy! and given that it eid, and thus a long weekend. there was a never-ending stream of traveling who all seemed to be better prepared than us or rather better equipped to handle uncomfortable rides!
lesson: always book in advance when there is a long weekend in india. everyone is on the road! Continue reading “driving from trichy to karaikudi”
had heard so much about chettinad cuisine over the years, but being vegetarian it never really excited me. but, then my husband and i saw pictures of some old mansions in chettinad and knew we had to visit… the old mansions looked beautiful, and there seemed to be way more to chettinad than food and saris!
first steps we had to find a nice place to stay. we chanced upon Visalam managed by CGH Earth. it seemed to have captured that old-world charm without going over-board! none of the places in karaikudi or nearby seemed nearly as good! when we reached at an early 8am, we were awed by the beauty of the house. how they had managed to renovate it! Continue reading “chettinad – love at first ‘site’!!”
an angry rivulet rushes down the calm valley announcing its presence at every curve and every bend with a loud gush colliding with another river at dev prayag, to become the mighty, revered and feared river of india continues coursing through settlements and cities almost dismissive of their large presence and almost dawdling like a large pregnant woman at varanasi but still seething below then … Continue reading meeting the lifeline of india…
i was commissioned (for a lack of any other word) to write audio tours for a company based in europe! at first i was worried. yes, of course i know my city – bombay, mumbai and all of it in between. but do i know it well enough to tell others about it? so i walked, talked, photographed and re-discovered my city!
in this series, i want to document all the little tit-bits that made me get awed, charmed, amazed, angry, delighted and interested in bombay & mumbai!
we begin at watson’s hotel!
merry to go around 