The survival tips on flying becomes more intensive with more air connectivity and more Indians flying than ever before. Be on your toes from the moment you arrive at the airport. First check which terminal you are to take-off from. The biggest culprit is Delhi. The heady confusion between T1 & T3 gets the best [...]
Taste the heat in Agra, I thought. After all, Emperor Shah Jahan had survived it. Building a mausoleum called the Taj Mahal (and a township called Mumtazabad) to enshrine the memory and beauty of his wife, Mumtaz, forever. I checked into the Clarks Shiraz, which was just a stone’s throw away from the fabled Taj [...]
As a child I was always enamored by planes. I can still recall running out with my younger brother to wave at the aircrafts which used to sale past our home. Their sight used to fill me with such joy that I used to forget everything and get enveloped in the thoughts of the plane. [...]
Ours is an aural tradition, we’ve always learnt. The mysteries of our ancient wisdom have been passed on from generation to generation by word. Except of course the Sacred Verses, the epics etc. So it stands to reason that we are a voluble people! Picture yourself in a dark village, below the Peepal tree, the [...]
It was the height of summer in Delhi, and I really wanted to take of my shirt and shake off the heat and dust from all over my body. Dalhousie is 485 km by road from Delhi, so I set off in a hired air conditioned car and took the long winding route into the [...]
Nainital has earned itself the sobriquet ‘Lake district of India.’ I took off on the Ranikhet Express at 10:45 pm and reached Kathgodam early morning. I hired a car and checked into Chevron’s Fairhaven’s, some 35 km away. It had a beautiful view of Lake Naini, on the northern side of which was Naina Devi [...]
Dharamshala is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh and is located in the Kangra district. Prior to the British raj, it was ruled by oldest surviving royal dynasty in the world (dating 4300 BC!); the Katoch dynasty-which finds mention in both the Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. The second mention of Dharamshala is in [...]
My fascination with Manali has been never ending. Having already been there thrice since the millennium year, one more shot re-awakened the hillbilly in me. The last trip being just November last year, ending just before the snow closed all the roads. I changed the music on the i-pod to Jerry Garcia’s “Truckin’.” I got [...]
One of the most abiding memories of childhood is soaring up on the swing as you sailed up in to the sky. Or the joy of the seesaw, as you went up, only to come down with that reassuring thump. Guess that’s why people love to play with their seats the moment they are seated. [...]
Mussoorie lies 2000 metres above sea level and like other hill stations; it has some colonial back ground. While experiencing mid-life crisis in the torrid heat of Delhi and wondering where my get up and go has gone, I booked into the famed Avalon Resorts in Mussoorie. The town’s history I was told began with [...]
