Dhanaulti: Boys Day Out in the Eco Park
“Park…park…park.” Only one of them could read, two figured out from the familiar shape of the words and one just parodied the chorus. “Park…park…park…” the boys screamed with a maniacal unison like frenzied rock fans in an upper-fuelled concert. We were only 25km out of Mussoorie, on our way to Rishikesh. The only thing on […]
Rishikesh: The Other Side of Rafting
“‘Where are you headed to?” “Rishikesh.” “What’s up?” “Rafting, of course.” Now try this. “What’s up this weekend?” “Going rafting.” “Where?” “Rishikesh, of course.” Once upon a time famed as the ‘world capital of yoga’, The Beatles came visiting Rishikesh in 1968 and John Lennon recorded the memorable The Happy Rishikesh Song. Amidst lots of […]
McLeod Ganj: Little Lhasa Loves You
Pierce Brosnan fixes his Remington gaze – slightly more sullen drunk – on you as you flip through the menu of the most popular eatery in town. It is almost like he is quietly challenging you to a binge. After a couple of hours I look around and the entire world is smiling at me […]
Reckong Peo: Between God and Man
You buy vegetables from a market overlooked by snow-capped mountains. You pray standing amongst the heavens. A gush of pure and cool breeze greets you as you get off the bus. Look around and your pert, pretty little town is hemmed in by bosky barrancas and mountains awash in a thousand hues. It was early […]
Mussoorie: Camel’s Back, Kempty and a little secret
In a region where you wouldn’t find even a stray camel, naming a road after the ungulated dromedary should have been the work of some intrepid imagination. Or a distinct lack of it. During the British Raj both were in abundance. But whatever the Camel’s Back road lacks in nomenclature aptness, it makes up with […]
Fort Kochi: Memories of a bygone era
You see the palm fronds swaying an eager welcome even as you come in to land. Reach by rail or road and the greenery doesn’t wait for you to cross the border before gathering you in a lush embrace. Nature, it would seem, has been taking lessons in haste from the natives. For a long […]
Lads of the Dal
The vodka came as promised. That it was equal portion water helped me drink it straight from the bottle. “There seems to be no shortage of water,” I told Abdullah the handsome scrawny teenager with shifty green eyes who was at once the janitor, porter and concierge. And now, my lifesaver, my brother. “Yes brother,” […]
The Dumka Shot
As I entered through the bamboo gate, the pigeons fluttered up like a John Woo scene. I pointed this out to my cameraman who guffawed nervously. But we had to can some happy visuals for a CSR documentary and not action sequences with borrowed faces. All through the trip we were worried about filming in […]
Hornbill Opens the Doors to Nagaland
The seven sister states are in deep slumber year round but this one nudges herself awake every December. Once she is awake she doesn’t waste any time yawning or stretching; she hits the track running. Come the Hornbill Festival – December 1 to 7 – and Nagaland, coyly tucked away in the north eastern tip […]