Red Hills in the Nilgiris:A love affair with the monsoon!
It may sound pretty cheesy, but my first memory of Ooty is a dialogue from the 80’s film “Karz’, where a cheeky Jalal Agha turns around to a disturbed Rishi Kapoor ( who is unaware that his love-interest resides in Ooty), and in an attempt of persuasion to get him to station himself there, squeals out “Ooty, pyaar ki booty” (Translated, that stands: -Ooty, the reservoir of love!). I loved the movie, the picturesque locations and the songs. And thus began the love-affair! It was John Sullivan, the British Collector of Coimbatore who put Ooty firmly on the map...
Read MoreUbud: Idyllic, Artistic and Enchanting!
I don’t know whether it was the visual of the carelessly strewn frangipani flowers everywhere, the moss adorned statues of the dewas and the dewis that have red hibiscus flowers tucked behind their ears, the perennial scent of incense, the sublime spell of the monsoon evenings, strolls through untouched paddy fields, the heart-warming hospitality or the stunning sunsets at UluWatu and Tanah Lot that still make me yearn for a visit to the island. It could also be the brilliant colours from one street, that leads on to an alley and to the next, the extrovert ornate architecture,...
Read MoreTriumph of Triund- A Trek in the Dhauladhars
Many things serve as a muse to artists. People, countries, landscape or lovers. Many things motivate poets to rhyme their thoughts. Coffee, rains, hearts or smoke! And, there are many things that can spark an idea for a story. Words, pictures, films or food. In my case here, it was a piece of music. When you are lying down, under a blanket of stars, partitioned narrowly by the thin polyester sheet roof of your camping tent, snuggled thoughtlessly in your sleeping bag, and a fleeting whiff of a Miles Davis streams in, you know you couldn’t have got it all that wrong! When Davis and...
Read MoreWe Var at Varkala!
I have always been disillusioned with the dynamics between siblings. Having been a spoilt only-child myself, it is almost difficult for me to excavate this mystery. Ever since my twins surfaced, one of my hardest challenges had been to understand and live with the fact that every time T and N pull each others’ hair out, they spell love all the way! Through the years, I have predictably grown wiser. Apart from that I have also realized that there will always be a balance of characters between the two. It will balance out and compliment each others’ personae like two open ends...
Read MoreLeaving Footprints in the Salt: A Visit to the Rann of Kutch
There we were…a little apprehensive, a little unsure and a little paranoid, considering we were driving off track. On the second day of our tour, we were driving towards a spot that wasn’t part of our packaged itinerary. Taking a turn from the smooth highway into a rough patch of cracked mud and dried grass , we followed a track left dented by camel pugs, perhaps bullock carts and sometimes wheel tracks of an 4-axle vehicle. But something kept us re-assured that this experience would be somewhat worth it. We were promised migratory birds, flamencos and hundred of camels in herds, that...
Read MoreAn Indulgence With Royalty: Adaab,Hyderabad!
As I stood on the ornate balcony of the palace, drowning in a sea of rooftops and minarets below me, balmed in the hue of the pink twilight, hearing a myriad voices chanting the ‘Adhaan’, my eyes closed in reverence and my lips curved into a reflex smile. I have never heard the ‘Adhaan’, with an intent of listening to it. If I have, it has been always while passing by a way side mosque, or over hearing it from a friend’s room, while trying to catch up on tales friends share. This was a new experience. It is said that for every three minutes you walk in the old...
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