Winter special treats
As children growing up in Pondicherry, we hardly owned any sweaters. I distinctly remember 1984 when Dad was transferred to Chandrapur in autumn. The first winter caught us unawares and there was a rush to buy navy…
The ancient ruins of Nalanda
There are times when you tour the world hunting for treasures, while the treasure lies buried in your own backyard. One of those telling moments when I felt most proud to be Indian was when I visited…
Dantakali: The tooth-goddess in Nepal
A few kilometres from Dharan in Nepal, as you go uphill towards Bijaynagar, stands the Dantakali temple. It is a 20 minute drive from Dharan, and located at an altitude of 1572 feet above the sea level.…
Fading traditions
There are things you take for granted. And before you realize it, people are gone and there is no one else to carry forward the tradition. Durga Pooja was always celebrated with traditional fervour at home. My…
My dosa disasters
My mother and I shared a love-hate relationship. I always felt that she favoured my brothers, and I came second to her sons. This was something I never stopped fighting about. And my most vehement argument towards…
Discovering the pinnacle of love
On one of my visits to Pondicherry, after my mandatory visit to the Aurobindo Ashram, I stepped into their book shop and brought a laminated poster. It was called ‘Radha’s prayer’. It was originally written by The…
Wardha East ke famous vade
There is a serene calm about small railway stations. My favourite railway station is Sewagram. It is always clean, never cramped with crowds and has that open spacious feel to it. I love to wait there and…
Hiuen Tsang and his pilgrimage of discovery
Indians traditionally have never been good at recording history. Knowledge was often transmitted through the oral tradition. Most of what we know about our ancient history comes from the writings of foreign travellers. Hiuen Tsang was one…
Passage through history: Heritage walk in Ahmedabad
We happened to be in Ahmedabad to attend the convocation ceremony of my niece Jyotsna at the Indian Institute of Management. Since we had an extra day in Ahmedabad, we were wondering how to spend it, and my…
