It’s All About The Light And The Way A Gurkha Fights.

"If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or a Gurkha."-Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw A legendary statement made by a legendary man. I had my light bulb moment when I first heard of the Battle of Nalapani. It was fought between the Gurkhas and the British right here in…

Spots And Dots Of A Kumaoni Pichora

The last time we wore our ‘Kumaoni pichora’, or 'leopard spotted stoles' as my youngest insisted on calling, was for my cousin’s wedding two years ago. I took this picture of my mother around that time. She was among the few ladies who glowed in her distinctive Kumaoni nose ring. Draped on her was the…

Make A Wish At The Aeroplane Gurudwara in Punjab, India

So what connects a miniature airplane to a gurudwara (a place of worship for the Sikhs) in Jalandhar ? This particular gurudwara goes by the name of Shaheed Baba Nihal Singh Gurudwara except it is also referred to as the ‘Hawai Jahaz (aeroplane) Gurudwara’. Intriguing, right? A bit of online research and ...voila! So there…

Story Of my Spirited Hike To The Daultabad Fort.

A fort on a steep plateau like hill was the Daulatabad Fort in Aurangabad. Other than a faint outline, not much was visible from a distance. The fort sang its siren song and I was spellbound. I had a sudden urge to walk its highest ramparts. Climbing up to the fort was not easy even…

Stockholm- Striped And Checked

Say Stockholm and I think of impossibly blue water and cerulean sky, a quietness in the very air that’s always crisp and fresh and an underground that is lit. Serene Stockholm packed in loads of surprises. I was in rapture from the moment my flight landed at the airport. Floored! The airport was a delightful…

Now and then

Thanks to COVID-19, we have found ourselves in a pickle. Squashed at home, adjusting, adapting, remembering the pre-Corona days with plenty of time to do all the stuff we always wanted to. So pickling is one of the activities done with a gusto these days. Homemade Dalle Chili Pickle. Red hot, eat at your own…

Lingering In Lansdowne, India.

Lansdowne is a small military cantonment, tucked in the hills of Uttarakhand, India. I often find myself reminiscing of it, 'a land frozen in time'. It was the last place I visited before the COVID pandemic hit us all. Lansdowne is not flashy. You would recognize it as a small hamlet from a Ruskin Bond…

Travelling Into The Tuscan World

"A Chinese poet many centuries ago noticed that to re-create something in words is like being alive twice." -Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun Tuscany for me was Florence till I signed up for a day tour with lunch at a winery. I was truly excited! Out of the three places the tour promised, only…

FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) At Ajanta Caves!

Google Aurangabad and Ajanta Caves comes up as a must visit spot, every time! Incidentally the caves are around 110 kilometres from Aurangabad with absolutely no other historic or cultural site to see along the way. I almost missed it but the pressure of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) was tremendous! Anyway Bunker, our talkative…

Pompeii Calling

For me Pompeii always had a mystical aura around it. To think, it was obliterated when it faced the fury of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan himself and then it rose like a Phoenix from its ashes and lava to become a legend. Honestly, my imagination had run wild ever since I heard its…