when have you stayed in a place for just 2 nights and actually hoped that they served you the same food for dinner on both nights? i did! what got me weak in the mouth? good ol’ pumpkin soup… yes, thats all! let me explain. in south indian homes, we have our rasams. they are gloriously warm in colour, spicy and sour at one go, … Continue reading ‘parangikkai’ or pumpkin soup shines through from chettinad
these are ten good-to-know things before you make that trip to purushwadi, maharashtra where valleys twinkle with the little flashers aka lightning bugs aka fireflies… and some of them are things i didn’t know before i went there.. hope they are helpful! 1. there are more than 2000 species and each has a unique flashing pattern 2. they are alive for only 2 months of … Continue reading 10 things to know before meeting fireflies at purushwadi, maharashtra
as bombay begins to get warm again, i dream about the himalayas, which means the abode of snow (from hima “snow”, and ālaya “abode”)… when i was there december, i woke up early morning, shivered my way out of the room hoping to catch the first rays of the sun light up the snow-capped range in front of me… there was little sun but more clouds. so i shifted … Continue reading weekly photo challenge: golden hour
the indian railways has been a recurring theme of my life. i grew up in mumbai & then pune, both of which are around 1300 kms away from my parents’ native city of chennai. when summer creeped up on us we would all head down to chennai, then madras. 20 years ago, this was a long, exhausting 24 – 30 hour train journey and my … Continue reading weekly photo challenge: nostalgic
the website says this is a homestay, but it’s not; it is a heritage hotel… but not the fancy kind like the neemrana property near jaipur… not the kind where i would be embarrassed to walk in with my chappals and sit cross-legged at the dining table! this is simple, elegant, welcoming and warm. the attention, space and homely food are just like a homestay. … Continue reading vivienda dos palhacos: a brilliant heritage home near majorda, goa
in my quest to see goa beyond the beaches, we drove inland, away from the sea. and as you go away from the sea, you almost step away from the glamour that surrounds goa and the reasons why you first started going there – the beaches! the first stop was velha goa (yes, and not goa velha, only recently i came to know that those … Continue reading central goa: velha goa & the islands of chorao and divar
just 15 mins near panjim, down the ribandar road, after the divar jetty and post the old campus of GIM (goa institute of management) you reach a gorgeous looking door to your left hand side… park your car there, or let go of the auto there. and step in… WELCOME TO CASINHA RAIBANDAR! this is a chalet (yes, i said that right, a chalet) set … Continue reading casinha raibandar: a brilliant chalet near panjim, goa
we started the day early (atleast by goan standards). we had to cover great distances in one day, and had to get cracking, immediately. water bottle filled to the brim, camera battery charged, petrol filled in the car we headed out from bogmallo towards the south of goa by 10am. we were traveling right across the state! one must say that the roads in goa … Continue reading two places off the goa tourist map: budbudi tali & tambdi surla
am off! to go see valley full of fireflies at purushwadi, near mumbai.. excited! the day began later than we expected with multiple delays as went on – from a maid who came back after two days and insisted on not being laid off, a flat tire to be fixed, a thirsty petrol tank to be quenched and no petrol pump in sight, a never-ending … Continue reading fireflies twinkle at purushwadi
usually a post on a holiday in goa would begin with the sea, and end with the sea and there would be many mentions of the sea in between all of that too… words about the lovely beaches, the lovely sand, the private beach which you couldn’t reach, the lounging, the shacks, ‘susegad’, the packed shacks, martin’s corner, sunset at betalbatim, interspersed with vegetarians cribbing … Continue reading goa without the beaches
merry to go around 