All change is not growth,as all movement is not forward. ~Ellen Glasgow Little heed has been paid to the preservation of the traditional tile roofed structures of my once charming hometown in its race to ‘big-townhood’. Their distinctive profiles are fast being replaced by characterless concrete high-rises. And malls! What is it with Asians and […]
Read MoreAncient city gates – those gigantic entryways, patiently clocking the footfalls of generations – hold a special fascination for me. Set into heavy fortifications or floating on water, these gates were more than mere access points. Most were hubs of trade, places where city edicts were read out and hangings executed. Some were symbolic and exclusive, […]
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Stepping on the ancient, lichen covered stones of Beng Mealea, in the deep, dark shadows of late afternoon, is almost meditative. No armies of tourists to vie with for the best camera angles here. Just us and a couple of nimble footed little descendants of the Khmer. Beng Mealea – meaning ‘Lotus Pond’ – situated 45 km East of […]
Read MoreWhen I got married my culinary skills were limited to brewing tea and coffee, and not very well at that. It helped that I went into a plantation house with an army of household help or R and I would have surely starved. My mother worried endlessly. Not as much for R’s welfare – I […]
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Imagine for a moment, that you are an early French explorer. You are stumbling upon these crumbling ruins in the shadowy half light of dense tropical jungle and making the startling discovery that those tree covered towers are, in fact, eerie, mysterious faces! Hundreds of them! With hooded staring eyes and implacable smiles. In the […]
Read MoreMy sister suggested we get our futures foretold at the Kau Cim stall in the Asakusa shrine in Tokyo. I didn’t think it was a good idea. I do not believe in divination and felt it would play on her mind if she didn’t ‘draw’ good luck. But she was insistent and so we went […]
Read MoreI almost always forget to click pictures when we sit down for a meal. I have been trying hard to remedy that, but I relapse sometimes. Like I forgot again yesterday, until most of my fish was demolished! Good conversation distracts me….and an inadequate breakfast. This gallery consists of a few lunchtime memories, that I […]
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This giant flower sculpture of a West Highland White Terrier puppy is part of the permanent collection of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Designed in 1992 by Jeff Koons – an American artist renowned for his “Neo-Pop art – for an art exhibition in Arolsen Castle, Germany, it was purchased by the Bilbao museum in 1997 (after a short stint in […]
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If only one of two historic monuments were to be saved from the wrecking ball based purely on antiquity, cultural relevance or singularity, which factor do you think should take precedence? In a city full of Wats, the sacrifice of a heritage Art Deco theater to expose yet another Wat concealed behind it for years, and one of later vintage, […]
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If I have to, I can do anything. I am strong, I am invincible, I am Woman I remember lying in bed one night and the words, ‘I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman’, kept going over and over in my head. That part I consider to be divinely inspired. I had been […]
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We found the children of Cambodia even more enchanting than the temples of their ancestors that we had come to see. They are pesky, persistent and beautiful. And most, exceptionally bright! Like the little girl in the purple blouse, who rattled off numbers from 1 – 10 in Hindi, before I had time to react to her question about […]
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When Meenakshi of Laughing Penguins kindly agreed – thank you Meenakshi! – to pair her verses with my images of the iconic ‘Lara Croft’ temple of Ta Phrom, I knew she would bring more to this post than just her evocative words. Here is her homage to the desolate grandeur of the tree strangled monument. […]
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The Urge To Wander 