Tag Archives: travel writing

India’s love of acronyms (or ILoA)

It was my first visit to India and I was staying in a hotel in New Delhi’s East of Kailash—a neighbourhood that always makes me think of the sunrise face of Tibet’s holiest mountain with which it has nothing in … Continue reading

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Hinglish—a language all its own

There is a language few outside of India have encountered that – like so many trends originating in the sub-continental mind – is quietly going global. This is Indian-English or ‘Hinglish’ as it is affectionately known. Spread mostly by Bollywood … Continue reading

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The end of the inner selfie

We have come to regard the universe as little more than our personal Paparazzi, with lenses zooming in and out in relation to our activities on the World Stage. Every ‘click’ is another reassurance that we are somehow solid, permanent and important. It is our misery that deserves the most attention. It is our happiness that is the most desirable. But how is this possible on a planet of almost seven billion people? Continue reading

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Journey of a neopilgrim— Kedarnath (Part 2 of 3)

September 10th, 2015 ‘Pilgrims recognize one another by a capacity for wonder, and a gut-level discomfort with bigotry.‘ From Pilgrim’s India The sun has not yet risen but my mood is already quickening. I dress fast, having prepared my pack … Continue reading

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Journey of a neopilgrim – Kedarnath (part 1 of 3)

‘There is no happiness for him who does not travel, Rohita! Thus we have heard, Living in the society of men, the best man becomes a sinner….Therefore, wander!’ Indra (Protector of Travelers) to a young man named Rohita September 9, … Continue reading

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Radical friendship and the end of the guru

Again I catch a glimpse of a recalibration of the politics of the knower, the known and the as yet unknower/unknown. I see Liberation Camaraderies replacing Mystical Theocracies. Continue reading

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Hitchhiker’s guide to duality

Surely, the man wasn’t going to tear Prem’s arm out of his socket while he was driving! Even cannibals must have some code of honour, even if they are short on table manners. Continue reading

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Song of the Kerala fishermen

I hunkered down on the beach trying to photograph the neon yellow crabs scuttling around in the surf. The crabs had this amusing habit of stopping dead in their tracks, eyes literally popping out of their heads, whenever I moved … Continue reading

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Wrestling Oysters

It began with a hearing glitch. “Are you resting on those stairs?” Siddhartha had come over for lunch that day. Had been winded by the time he’d reached my door. He was referring to the four flights of concrete steps … Continue reading

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The danger game

They sent out a couple of drones at first, hovering inches from my nose, casually racking up data in their tiny sensor fields. Elegant things, the colour of mandarins. Their torsos and abdomens joined by a single cellular thread. Then … Continue reading

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