All The Little Things, Bright And Beautiful

All it took was a walk in the campus of the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun for my sense of awe to awake. Set up by my favourite walking group, Been There Doon That (BTDT), a winding trail took us through a forest of green canopies, dangling vines, bushes and a carpet of brown…

Ghats And Nawabs In Faizabad, India

I’m in the middle of my winter break and I am travelling. So yes, 2022 couldn’t have got a better start than this. I have actually dubbed this trip as my grand ‘Spiritual Rejuvenation Tour’. Presently I am in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh. Many don’t recognise the place so I find it easier to call it…

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…

Special Spots in Aurangabad

Think of Aurangabad, Maharashtra in India and Ajanta and Ellora Caves come to mind except they are really far from the city. Meanwhile what does one do in Aurangabad other than make travel arrangements to the caves? Well, you pack the family into an auto rickshaw and go see Deccan's Taj Mahal- Bibi ka Maqbara.…

October Bytes#4: Cave walk At The Thousand-Fold Spring

We call it Sahasradhara, the Thousand Fold Spring. With a name so lyrical, the place is famous for its natural beauty and the sulphur springs. I remember it from my childhood, a quiet picnic spot, surrounded by tall limestone hills, a sparkling stream, the sun shining, birds chirping and the gleeful shouts of the local…

Twisted

I confess, I am guilty of holding on to scraps and stuff. Sometimes I keep them for sentimental reasons but mostly for the kids if they ever wish to build a spaceship in the backyard. While my family despairs at my inability to deal with my hoarding syndrome, in a twist of fate I found…

Painting a town called Jaipur pink

We had been friends for aeons now so it was bound to happen. More than a million conversations later, that stretched for hours on the phone, the girl gang of two (Number 3 dropped out), decided to take the long overdue no men or kids, girls only trip. We picked Jaipur, famed for its opulent…

The clue in the ancient writing.

It was billed as a walk among ancient edicts, read a message from King Ashoka himself, a man who lived 2000 years ago. Today he is a rockstar of his times, his life story is the stuff what legends are made of. Reputed to be ruthless, he renounced his blood thirsty ways at the height…

Going Elephantastic in Jaipur

I am in a train returning from Jaipur and this is all I can think of- elephants in Jaipur and not the usual camels associated with the desert state. Apparently I came across one on each day of my short visit, which is mind boggling in itself. I had hoped to see camels roaming the…

WPC- Another face in the crowd

The path winds, golden rays, a hint of green, Are you really seeing it? "Nope. I'm into a portable screen." Clicking pictures, freezing moment in time, That's right, they can speak a thousand words. They scream,"We are all doing just fine." Red, orange, happy and loud, Congrats! A handcrafted persona. "Yay! I'm not just a…