Continental GT: Revving a culture, vaguely
There are some things nobody needs in this world, and a bright-red, hunch-back, warp-speed 900cc café racer is one of them – but I want one anyway, and on some days I actually believe I need one. Hunter S. Thompson, Song of the Sausage Creature 2008. In the motorbike market for my third ride, the […]
Of jolts and jhaans: The making of an oracle
After telling me his story – from enfant terrible and Mall Road Romeo to successful farmer and responsible father and village oracle, he told me not to take his photograph as it sapped his energy and not to publish his name or that of his village. “Then,” he asked, “is my story so strange that […]
The stones and other marvels of Dholpur
Delhi – Agra – Gwalior – Orchha – Khajuraho is the hottest heritage circuit in the country. Starting with the Kosi Minars, mile stones from the Mughal era, along the NH2 as you exit Delhi, the best way to do it is from the highway. I drove till Orchha in October this year and rediscovered […]
Aram Bagh to Ram Bagh: A Mughal legacy, a Maratha conspiracy and an efflorescent extravaganza
My heart, like the bud of the red, red rose Lies fold within fold, aflame; Would the breath of even a myriad springs Blow my heart’s bud to a rose? Babur, the great conquistador from Kyrgyzstan, descendant of Timur and Chenghiz Khan, founder of the Mughal dynasty in the subcontinent, actually wrote these lines. Not […]
Halloween travels: Ghosts tales from the road
One more Halloween. And more of Pirates and Jokers, Grim Reapers and Draculas. Isn’t it strange that in a country inundated with faith healers, psychic mediums, temple oracles, exorcists and haunted dak bungalows, we are yet to come up with an indigenous spectral line up? Here are some spooky tales, from the road, which might […]
The Red Taj and More of Less-Seen Agra
First blank then incredulous stares are flung my way when I ask a local the way to Taj Mahal. ‘In a city that grew around the Taj, you don’t know the way?’ They seem to ask. Awkward tinged in condescension raises a nodding head when the ‘dummy out of town’ realisation sinks in. Ask a […]
Indian Grand Prix: The Last Lap?
Bernie Ecclestone is to Formula One what N Srinivasan is to Indian – and by extension international – cricket. At 82, the patriarch of the sport is an angry old man. What cheesed him off were the tough Indian tax laws and of course, the ubiquitous red tape which we the natives have come to […]
Why We Don’t See the Viceregal Lodge
Disclaimer: You are forgiven if you start to strut about, one hand behind your back, head tilted at an imperious angle. No hard feelings if you give the gardens a critical once over, though impeccably maintained your disdain frowns forth. However that glint of pride in your eyes is hard to conceal – can be […]
Survival Guide for the Lone Female Traveller in India
The gory so far. A Swiss tourist was gangraped while cycling with a friend from Orchha in Madhya Pradesh to Agra. The assailants – five of them – then decamped with her mobile phone and cash. A British national had to jump off the second floor of her hotel room in Agra after the property […]