Like a thakur in Fort Auwa

The efflorescent shower, marigold garland and crimson tilak – de rigueur of a star-studded hospitality welcome – take valiant moorings when you enter Fort Auwa. Rightly cued, the jeep that picks you up from Marwar Junction stops just short of the yett from where you are requested to proceed on foot allowing the red carpet […]
Ten types of terrible (fellow) travellers

The swelling tribe of the solo traveller is no fluke and has more to do with whom you go with than where you go to. Your fellow traveller is unfairly vested with the power to make or mar your trip. To mangle it or make it memorable. A well-travelled fella who isn’t garrulous is a […]
Alpine awes: Kuari Pass Trek / Lord Curzon Trail

This is one of the most picturesque treks in the country; the irresistible landscape overwhelms even the locals – you will find many of them sitting over a rocky outcrop and admiring the view. Join them for a few memorable minutes, listen to their tales, share yours, take pictures. And continue with a spring in […]
Of suqs and sambuqs: Exploring Oman with Ibn Battuta

‘It is a fertile land, with streams, orchards, palm gardens and fruit trees of various kinds… has fine bazaars and splendid clean mosques…’ wrote Ibn Battuta in his epic tome, Travels in Asia and Africa 1325 – 1354 about Oman. The only medieval traveller who visited the countries of every Muslim ruler of his time […]
Har Ki Dun: Trekking in the ‘vale of gods’

A magical cocktail of people and place, the Har Ki Dun trek will not only bring you up and close with the legendary Garhwal landscape but also with the famed charm and warmth of the pahaaris, the mountainfolk. What might on the surface seem a life of languor, you will soon enough realise to be […]
A celebration of location

A review of Lonely Planet’s ‘Filmi Escapes: Travel with the movies’ Leading Hotels of the World, a luxury hospitality consortium, has listed a ‘Midnight in Paris’ package; those who can’t afford the Panoramic Suite which was featured in the Woody Allen movie take pictures of the prestigious Hotel Le Bristol Paris. The New Zealand government […]
By the Supin to Osla

A tailor usually takes pride over the fine cut, the thread even, but Saheb gloated over the fabric. “This kind of wool you get only in the Garhwal region.” He said running his fingers fondly down the braid of his coat, eyes urging me to do the same. He took a long pull from his […]
From the Himalayan foothills, with awe

The horizon fringed by jagged snowlines is recurring but not repetitive. You wrestle figuring the Gauri Peak from the Barmal but the white-capped ballad that plays out before you very soon take your mind off such mundaneness as names. The Dunagiri looks better awash with the amber glow of the setting sun? Or with the […]
Don’t be an airhead in the mountains

Driving in the hills is as much about skills as it is being courteous and considerate The pickup truck swung at a squirming angle, automotive viscera vulnerable in a groaning metallic crochet. A Honey Singh number gushed forth from the cabin like an aural flame thrower at the serene deodars lending the incongruity a flinching […]