Telling Tales: From Himachal Pradesh
Mangal and the state of happiness Two seemingly disconnected sights abound in parts of Himachal Pradesh – cannabis plants growing in disarray by the roadside and cafes announcing Israeli culinary delights. Then, there has to be a connection. Going by history at least. History: Charas – made from the resin of the cannabis plant – […]
Marilyn-spotting and other pastimes in Thekkady
“Look, there kaattupothu,” bellowed the tribal tracker in unfettered relief at finally being able to spot game after hours of squelching through sodden tracks, sweat-drenched in the tropical humidity, plucking out leeches that squirted a gallon of blood when quashed between thumb and forefinger. The incongruity of the lingual mismatch in the exclamation was lost […]
Lord of the Lie does not discriminate and other seasonal warnings
“Any travel tips?” A friend from Hawaii asked me before she embarked on her first trip to India. “Do not carry anything in your pockets and do not accept any food or drink from strangers.” Even my house-bound mama could have handed her these gems. Nevertheless she took it with the beautiful aloha-grace of the […]
Pink slips: Jaipur is red and orange
Driving around Jaipur, you aptly wonder why it is called the ‘Pink City’ – for it is anything but pink. It is a fiery to a sunburnt orange in some places, brick red in some while all the upcoming quarters are Gurgaon-gray. But the ‘pink’ goes way back and we are not prepared to let […]
Kerala: Veritable, verdant, violent
Surely God Himself made Kerala. And this is not because we call Kerala ‘God’s own country’ but the place is really great to look at. More so when it rains. And boy does it rain! When god made Kerala, He had his kicks too. Can’t blame Him as any kind of mesmerising beauty gets boring […]
Telling Tales: Seethasharan, superstar
The ‘it’ factor. This is what makes a superstar stand out from the rest of us. Repeated attempts by the learned ones haven’t resulted in its decoding – yet. If the at first theoretically postulated God Particle was found to actually exist, then some day the ‘it’ factor too will be revealed to inhabit probably […]
Telling Tales: Choying Drolma, the ‘singing nun’
The world knows Ani Choying Drolma as ‘the singing nun’. But Ani (honorific for ‘nun’) was at first an accidental nun. “I did not join the monastery out of any divine calling,” she says with all the nonchalance of an everyday fact. “My father used to abuse me physically and I joined the Nagi Gompa […]
Telling Tales: Koul, the Kashmiri Pandit in Kathmandu
This is the first in an occasional series ‘Telling Tales’ which are stories of people from my different journeys. On a coarse sheet of paper Koul drew some lines and circles. “Here,” he said pointing to the lines, “are electric posts with wires.” “And these,” he said tapping the hurriedly-drawn circles, “are birds. They are […]
Clouded views and blue certificates: Is it worth it?
Dramatic translucent smoke billowed out of the open cockpit doors into the narrow aisle. I espied the numerous shiny consoles and knob-headed levers fading into a thickening blanket from where I sat with my cameraman Santosh. My co-passengers, mostly pilgrims from Hyderabad and Mumbai began to panic. The startled murmurs reached a feverish crescendo to […]