a memoir of etchings and wanderings
I’m quite aware that I am probably one of the 12 people in the world who still use the Swarm (erstwhile Foursquare) app. But this morning it reminded me that it had been a year to the day that I hopped on a plane to begin what was going to be a slightly modified version of the great American road trip that I had always dreamed of. On the anniversary … Continue reading “August in the Midwest ?” →
For years I have been intrigued by the largest and oldest inhabited continent on the planet, the melting pot of culture and civilization from time immemorial, the home to the wildest and the gentlest – Africa. The only time I have stepped in it was as a teenager, when my parents took me to Egypt, and I distinctly remember being stunned by all what it had to offer, even at … Continue reading “South African Sojourn” →
They say that the friends you make at school and college are the ones who last a lifetime. I wasn’t so fortunate during school, but met the most wonderful people during my years in Pune and Gurgaon – and I am ever so grateful. When Ankita and I lived and worked together at Edelman, things were not always painless and tranquil, given our limited means, but I think of those … Continue reading “Paris of the East” →
I’m usually known to procrastinate specific things in life like exercise, collecting on finances and making phone calls among others, but I feel most guilty when I delay writing travelogues. From personal experience, I feel that the memories and trivia are most fresh within the week of returning from a trip, making it the opportune moment to pen it down for memory’s sake. It has been over two months to … Continue reading “A Ceylon Odyssey” →
When I first told people around me that I was going to Poland for the Eid holidays, there was more than one raised eyebrow. To start with, it made me a little sceptical, but my mind was made up, to visit. The country wears its charms lightly – so much that it doesn’t draw the attention of the average Euro-tripper. But step in, venture into its heart and you’ll find … Continue reading “Polska!” →
“So, let us be alert in a twofold sense: Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of. And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.” ― Viktor E. Frankl Wars are never good. But there are worse things, and until the year 1940 – probably nobody knew of them. Even as we march proudly through the 21st century, making ungodly advancements almost every single day, some parts of … Continue reading “Never Again.” →
Since I moved to Muscat two years ago and found a lot more time (i.e. earned leave) and funds to my disposal, it was a part of the agenda to ensure that I take an annual trip with the folk to places we have always talked about. Jet. Set. Go! We got our Schengen visas a day before we were to travel – so yeah, a couple of very tense … Continue reading “A Bohemian Rhapsody” →
A couple of months ago, on weekend family movie night, the parents and I were watching this Satyajit Ray classic – ‘Agantuk’. Translated into English, it means ‘The Stranger’ and is about a family dealing with the sudden visit of a long lost uncle. In the film, this uncle, having travelled the world, educates us about wanderlust (Did you know that this term is an English loanword which was already extant … Continue reading “Hrvatska!” →
I hardly ever procrastinate when it comes to travelogues, but I guess this maddening summer and the backlog of television series have collectively contributed to the laziness. This year’s first step out was owed to a work trip to a part of the world that I haven’t been to since I was in my teens. The Indonesian archipelago has 18,307 islands and I was going to visit one of the … Continue reading “Terima Kasih, Bali” →
I had lived in the national capital for almost three years, but had never visited the best known monument which lay only 200 kilometres from Delhi in a historic setting left behind by the illustrious Mughals. This Eid holiday, Milan and I paid a visit to Agra and tick the Taj Mahal off our bucket lists. The decision making process was not so simple, however J When we decided to … Continue reading “Mughal Grandiose” →