Who are the chosen ones?
‘You’re the chosen one’, said their mail and I was suitably thrilled, happy, and began looking forward to this trip to the Tata Nano factory in Sanand, near Ahmedabad. Well, the journalist in me was, let me admit here, excited… for reasons that are obvious to anyone. I wanted to see for myself the relationship...
Toy Train to Shimla
‘This train is going to take us from 656 metres above sea level to 2076 metres above sea level,’ I said, ‘adding, ‘from Kalka to Shimla… and yet they call it a toy train.’ Specky, my wife smiled and said, ‘It is probably because it is a narrow gauge railway line.’ Well, travelling on a...
Ahmedabad: In search of art inside a cave
The one fact that never ceases to surprise me is a lot of people who have enough money to travel know more about Amsterdam, London, Bangkok, Dubai, and Singapore than they know about cities in India. So if I ask one of these travel-savvy friends if he knows about the floating market in Bangkok or...
Alphonso on a mountain trail
I was standing on a mountain trail that was around 7300 feet above sea level and was surrounded by deodar, oak, pine, rhododendron and lots of spiny bushes. The trail had become faint and Specky, my wife, had a doubtful expression on her face. ‘Are you sure this trail is going to lead somewhere?’ she...
The Pink City
If you open the window of your hotel room and do not get an overwhelming sense of walls or even avenues painted in pink, you’re probably not in Jaipur. This is one city that is meticulously divided into ‘six sectors by broad streets 34 m (111 ft) wide. The urban quarters are further divided by...
Attempt the absurd to achieve the impossible
This is me. I’m an optimist. I’ve always tried to achieve the impossible by attempting the absurd. And the best thing is that most of the stories that my life has got irretrievably inter-woven with, are those where optimism fuels the tone and character. No, optimism isn’t necessarily the material that the genetic structure of...
The toy truck
A toy truck by a real Highway Made me stop and click with joy Made of wood with bright hues The seller created Highway news! Trucks, Cars, & even planes Wait for buyers in sun and rains The sellers are poor but always smile And when you buy, they wave in style! . Travel Notes:...
Let the Chulha tax & other dumb laws become Travel USPs
We in India are living on a treasure trove of dumb laws and like the imbeciles that we are, we plan to throw them away. Our politicians are ready to make these laws the debating point during an election but none of those in power have the creative intelligence to employ these very laws as...
A TIGER without vowels
Well, a tiger without vowels isn’t a fantasy at all. Now before you start shoot inane queries like: A tiger can be without canines but can he be without vowels too? Have you got mixed up with your Bs and your Vs and did you really wanted to use the word ‘bowels’? Yes, they’re all...
Ranthambhore ka T24
What I really love about wildlife parks are the stories and legends that they are saturated with. The simply sensual and lilting names they have for animals. The goose-bumps a visitor experiences when sighting even a mongoose or a peacock. Every moment inside a wildlife park is like a scintilla that is ready to explode...
The predators in Indian politics
Some believe that humans are the most dangerous predators… more dangerous than all the tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, and wolves. To take this analogy further, I’d say that the political eco-system has the potential to produce the most feared predators amongst us. Just look around and you’ll see the lion-like jauntiness, the stealth of a...
PawanKali is in love with Batalik
‘First Aid Box. Check. Knife. Check. Spectacle Case. Check,’ I said aloud. ‘Knife?’ asked Specky, ‘Why are you taking a knife with you?’ I corrected her, ‘It’s that Victorinox Swiss Knife. And I need to have it with me. After all I’m going on a wildlife safari to Dudhwa.’ So this was how I began...
