The Kohima Drift
(This is the third update from the Hornbill Festival, 2011.) In Nagaland there are no bad drivers; there are only good drivers and there are those who don’t drive. This is a terrain where simple manoeuvring calls for exceptional skill at the wheel. The adrenaline rush is everyday. For some, it is a living. For […]
And the Hornbill takes off
The bull and the bolero became one. Colour charged the air. You could touch the permeating pride. The fine film of dust that hung about added to the surrealism of a whole culture played out over centuries compacted and capsulated in the confines of a fair ground. Each of the 16 tribes gathered from all […]
One extra day this year
(This is the first in the regular series of updates from the Hornbill Festival, 2011. I am trying to make this daily for the 500 and counting subscribers of Wanderink.com. Did I say daily? Got to see if I can push my 8pm deadline…) The setting sun was sending out jagged rays through the cotton […]
The Mehrangarh Fort and Other Reveries in Jodhpur
History of branding says that you try harder when you are number two. ‘Blue City’, ‘Sun City’, ‘cultural capital’ – epithets attributed to Jodhpur, the second largest city in Rajasthan, are industrious at best. But they also give the impression of trying too hard – something which they don’t have to. As long as the […]
Dhanaulti: Boys Day Out in the Eco Park
“Park…park…park.” Only one of them could read, two figured out from the familiar shape of the words and one just parodied the chorus. “Park…park…park…” the boys screamed with a maniacal unison like frenzied rock fans in an upper-fuelled concert. We were only 25km out of Mussoorie, on our way to Rishikesh. The only thing on […]
Rishikesh: The Other Side of Rafting
“‘Where are you headed to?” “Rishikesh.” “What’s up?” “Rafting, of course.” Now try this. “What’s up this weekend?” “Going rafting.” “Where?” “Rishikesh, of course.” Once upon a time famed as the ‘world capital of yoga’, The Beatles came visiting Rishikesh in 1968 and John Lennon recorded the memorable The Happy Rishikesh Song. Amidst lots of […]
McLeod Ganj: Little Lhasa Loves You
Pierce Brosnan fixes his Remington gaze – slightly more sullen drunk – on you as you flip through the menu of the most popular eatery in town. It is almost like he is quietly challenging you to a binge. After a couple of hours I look around and the entire world is smiling at me […]
Reckong Peo: Between God and Man
You buy vegetables from a market overlooked by snow-capped mountains. You pray standing amongst the heavens. A gush of pure and cool breeze greets you as you get off the bus. Look around and your pert, pretty little town is hemmed in by bosky barrancas and mountains awash in a thousand hues. It was early […]
Mussoorie: Camel’s Back, Kempty and a little secret
In a region where you wouldn’t find even a stray camel, naming a road after the ungulated dromedary should have been the work of some intrepid imagination. Or a distinct lack of it. During the British Raj both were in abundance. But whatever the Camel’s Back road lacks in nomenclature aptness, it makes up with […]