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 […]
Om Ashram: The eternal sacred, in stone
Jadan would have passed by like any other town in rustic Rajasthan during midday – an ochreous vastness permeating in all directions, including upwards, which turns out to be buildings as you get closer – if it weren’t for Dipu who was with me to take the car, lent by my gracious host the Thakur […]
Camel Centre, Bikaner: Rides, milk and draught power
For a full ignoble minute I remember thinking Conan – Barbarian and Destroyer – was right. These halitosis hurricanes ought to be thwacked. I lay sprawled clutching handfuls of ebbing sand, my heart trying hard to squeeze itself out through the ribcage. Shooting stars swam in slomo in front of my eyes and I would […]
Iso lafiya, folks!
Dear dad, mom I am hoping by now one of my – four – sisters would have told you about my blog Wanderink.com. Mom, a blog is essentially a website only that it takes up a lot of time and gives nothing in return… something like what you said about cats after you had to […]
The ceremonial opium. Controversial too.
Doda in these parts is not just for the anchorite or the ailing, it’s for everybody. It is a permanent fixture in riyan or ceremonies like weddings or housewarming and shop inaugurations. It is indispensible in sabhas or community meetings called to settle issues. For generations doda has played the role of icebreaker and relationship-cementer, […]