The Art Traveller

Tourists don’t know where they have been, travellers don’t know where they are going; art shows have been a reason to rewrite many an itinerary. While Paul Theroux actually said the first part, the second bit I made up. Then come to think of it, is there any traveller worth his curious salt who can […]
Gay tourism: Out of the closet

“’Ind-j-a’ tastes better on your tongue… try it,” Sanjay Malhotra told me. I did and it did. I mean, I wasn’t too sure about how it tasted, but it definitely sounded different. Well, may be better too. In a whacked-out sort of way. Sanjay Malhotra, the much-awarded fashion designer is also the director of ‘Indja’, […]
Capital Burps: ‘Dilli Ke Pakwaan’ Street Food Festival

The frizzling aloo tikkis lay like golden islands in a shallow sea of applauding oil. Gol gappas were stacked in a brocade of delectable disarray, pomegranate seeds lazed about in the savoury water that would be filling them up soon. The diced tomatoes lent a fiery red to the simmering paav bhaji gravy made of […]
Shankar’s International Doll Museum: But seriously

Each one has more intricacy, information and culture, beauty and potential making you wonder at the iconic status of Barbie. Each one speaks volumes about a nation – the prevalent social conditions, religious sentiments, traditions, even the economy of the period. The costumes are perfect renditions of the fashion of the times. Some are laid […]
Urban Nomad: The heart of fashionable travel

Side zip or flip flop boots, fitting trousers, button or tie waist cardigans and tee shirts with no serious cuss will all breeze us through the airport security. Blanket scarves, shades and the tech-case cum travel wallet were designed to make travel cushy and hassle-free. Then, what about the other side? How do you keep […]
Tracking the conscience tidal

December 29, 2012, New Delhi. ‘When the body and the brain give up, the heart takes over.’ I was pondering over this status update on Facebook when Damini died. She gave in to the diabolic assaults and rapes she sustained a fortnight earlier. ‘An abominable upbringing is no excuse for a monstrous adulthood.’ I vented […]
The many colours of the desert: Rajasthan on a festive high

In a land of 330 million deities, the risk lies more in running out of devotees than running short on festivals. Staking a righteous claim to the title ‘land of festivals’ is almost every second state of the republic – starting in the south from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan […]
There is no end to adventure: Leo Le Bon

My kitty of some 30 odd pugmarks counted at least a dozen. There was also the unending one which striped my boat’s wake for some distance or so I thought looking back on life till then but was actually headed for the herd of deer grazing on the banks across. Who counted it or whether […]
Crazy driving in a disturbed area

Come December and an almost-traditional lull in violence draws a comforting, silencing blanket over Kashmir. I was always fascinated by this phenomenon – why and how was this possible? Why would militants and separatists chose to stay indoors, stoking their butt-reddened palms by the fire? Do ideologies have Christmas offs? Or after an active year, […]