BEST OF THE BLOG
A small collection of personal favourites from the blog archives.
Not necessarily all from my favourite destinations.
Hampi, India, and its temples and rock studded landscape make it one of the most atmospheric UNESCO Heritage Sites in the country. You’ll hear the echoes of a forgotten empire.
#IndiaTravel #Temples #Photography #UNESCO #TravelInspiration
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The fusion of traditions at the Jodhpur Flamenco and Gypsy Festival is a visual and emotive exploration of rhythm. Of the passion and pathos of the Cante with the joyous, raucous melodies of the Thar desert. The mellow tones of the acoustic guitar with the shrill keening of the Kamaicha and the Sindhi Sarangi. The power and […]
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Everything, barring the intensely turquoise waters of the Indian ocean, felt startlingly familiar. The sultry weather, the spicy coconut infused curries, the colorful attire, the ornately chiseled doors. Even the traditional game of Bao. My Indianness, and the fact that I had grown up watching monsoon winds billowing the lateen sails of Arab dhows and dreaming of following in the wake of mythical adventurers, […]
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Photo essay on wildebeest migration in the Serengeti: the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth. Don’t miss the video of a memorable road crossing.
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The Armenian church is in Georgetown, the chaotic trading quarter of Chennai that I don’t ordinarily frequent. The last time I ventured into the area was in search of a particular shade and texture of hand made paper for invites to my stone furniture sale! That, I am ashamed to admit, was over a decade […]
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Let’s face it, we are not the most considerate or well mannered of people. If there is a rule to be broken, a line to be cut, or a traffic light to be jumped, you will likely find an Indian elbowing his way to pole position. Any indignant readers quick to rush to the defense of fellow citizens, are […]
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I had forgotten the smell of the hills. The fresh clean smell of rarefied mountain air mingled with the spicy fragrance of eucalyptus and the aroma of crushed tea leaves. But as we negotiated each tricky hairpin bend on our drive up the Coonoor ghat, it was the colours that opened the flood gates of my memory. The lush verdancy […]
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From dust to dust. Or in this case from the clay dredged from the bottom of the holy Ganges, and back to its murky depths. The journey of Goddess Durga, believed to be her annual sojourn in her maternal home, is a metaphor for impermanence and temporality. Of all life. But also, in the sacred ritual that […]
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R & I have had many turning points in our lives. Those serendipitous moments when things could so easily have gone the other way. And we have often argued over whether these were mere co-incidences or karmic interventions. R believes in hard work and sagacity. I do too. I really do. But I am too much of a romantic to […]
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The Taj Mahal, Agra, tops every India bucket-list for a reason. You’ll be awed by the magnificent architecture of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, by the simplicity of its perfection.
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On the couple of sublimely solitary hours we got to spend revelling in the magnificence of this necropolis and the serene silence of its pink stones.
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The crowded, choreographed, almost Bollywoodesque obeisance to the Ganga in Varanasi, is more spectacle than religious ritual. Performed daily at sunrise and sunset, the Ganga aarti was conceived by the savvy pujari (temple priest) Babu Maharaj in 1992, and it’s popularity has spawned more such spectacles in other cities along the banks of India’s holiest […]
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