Heritage Country Nepal Part 3: Bhaktapur Durbar Square
The following travelogue on Nepal is based on the series ‘See More Nepal’ written and directed by me for Travel Trendz TV. Were there nothing else in Nepal save the Bhaktapur Durbar Square, it would still be aptly worth making a journey half way round the globe to see. E.A. Powell, The Last Home of […]
Heritage Country Nepal Part 2: Patan Durbar Square
(The following travelogue on Nepal is based on the series ‘See More Nepal’ written and directed by me for Travel Trendz TV.) The ancient city of Patan, known as the city of fine arts, is just 5km southeast from Kathmandu. It is widely believed to have been founded by Emperor Asoka in the third century […]
Heritage Country Nepal Part 1: Kathmandu Durbar Square
(The following travelogue on Nepal is based on the series ‘See More Nepal’ written and directed by me for Travel Trendz TV.) Here, heritage lives. It is revered and celebrated. It embodies not just the culture and the traditions of the land, but epitomises a way of life. It is a source of pride and […]
The Hornbill Festival: A Traveller’s Account
(This is a reproduction of the travelogue I wrote for the North East Sun magazine published from New Delhi. Basically a compilation of the the individual accounts from each of the seven days, this is a quick reference for anyone who wants a glimpse of the festivities. Not so much details though. I have been […]
Woodstock lives
“Excuse me, do you smoke?” A brawny guy wearing dark glasses – it was pitch dark even on the outside – and a shocking pink jacket asked me. “No, I quit.” I replied. “Of course you know I didn’t mean just cigarettes,” he said laughing and dipped into his pink pockets for a cigarette that […]
Hornbill is rock
Hornbill Rocks. Because any band worth its, well, rocks, has to earn its stripes from Hornbill. Preferably by winning. With screen days crowd of over 15,000 and close seven times that on the finals, the benchmark is well set. “When we started the Hornbill rockfest, there were only two small speakers…the sound seldom reaching till […]
Ways of seeing
(This is the fifth in the Hornbill series. Apologies for the delay in the uploading…several reasons, including the really, terrifically crazy rockfest finals the day before. And whatever afterwards…) Somebody akined cars to a tin box. By extension trains would be jolly rides with Tutankhamen and flights, plush cells. So, I decided to give the […]
Gone in 60 seconds…well, almost
(This is the update from day four of the Hornbill Festival, December 4, 2011) “It is not a very advisable thing to do,” a worried Dr Thorsie said. The pork eating competition was about to start in a few minutes. “But the participants are mostly members of the cultural troupes you know,” he added as […]
A story in every step
(This update is from day three of Hornbill Festival. Dear reader, apologies for the delay in the update as businesses take a strict break in Christian-dominated Nagaland.) Petering out crowd is a challenge to any festival. Keeping the audience interest alive is a comment on the organisers’ ingenuity and imagination. Day three of the Hornbill […]