Indian Journeys The Fortune Select Grand The Fortune Select Grand is new, I'm told. There’s a bareness in its rooms, rather like in a budget hotel. You get only one key, even if you’re with spouse.
Travel Singapore: A Walk in the Padang Area I stay a distance from the monuments. This is work-hard-play-hard Singapore, and I need a moment to contextualise these sacrifices.
Travel At Hanoi's Old Quarter At the Hanoi Opera House, locals have massed again and again to mark momentous events. In 1945, Uncle Ho proclaimed a sovereign Vietnam to them.
Travel Paris and Milan: Some Shows and Sights While On Business Before the Picassos, it was possible to linger before each display, lose oneself in it, read descriptions unobstructed. Most tourists were out at the Duomo.
Travel Putting Aside Some Thoughts Before I leave For Paris I'll go to the Picasso Museum, and the Louvre Apple Store. I can't take the rainy, windy cold anymore, so I'll leave the Parisian streets to themselves.
Travel Dolce Far Niente "We are simple people," Leonard said in his soothing voice on our way back. "Our approach to life is dolce far niente."
Indian Journeys Michael Wood, and The Story of India Michael Wood is an adorable host of his BBC program, and a guest very welcome in India, brimming with respect and curiosity toward her people.
Musing Alexa, My Muse "What do you want?" Alexa said. "I want ideas to write a blog post," I said, cowed somewhat by this assured voice and tone of woman.
Indian Journeys Happy in Hampi It is 34º at daytime these September days in Hampi. You walk a lot in that place covered in rocks and boulders.
Bangalore The Yelahanka Clan and The Mayo Hall Museum The emperor was Krishnadevaraya, and Kempegowda, a trusted vassal. Kempegowda asked to establish a new city, a mercantile centre. Krishnadevaraya said yes.
Travel Salim Ali, Maa, Salim Ali! Many birdie questions came to mind at The Leela Goa. How far over the sea can the crow fly? What was that golden, hawklike bird that landed by the greens?
Bangalore Bats That Camped In My Tree Are Now In My Head "You don't like bats, no?" my conscience is telling me. "You're scared they bring you bad luck. Admit it!"
Musing The Eleventh Day, A Dream It was the eleventh day after I’d died, they were meeting at the Dublin, where I first went in 1990, and where I’ve been going on and off ever since.
Indian Journeys Before Aurangzeb’s Tomb As for Aurangzeb himself, to die asking to be buried so far south from Delhi, from the seat of his empire — how did it feel? Where lay his heart? In Delhi? In the Deccan, where he’d honed and proved himself when young?
Travel Indian Christmas In the small world I move around in, Hindus appear to have appropriated Christmas.
Indian Journeys Saru Maru, Sanchi, Satdhara, and Stupas and Stupas There’s the wind of the plains about the monuments, but the sun bears down hard on the place, and the few trees around don’t help so much the crowds of tourists and devotees. As regards the stupas, they aren’t designed to offer shade.
Travel On Business in Paris During Midsummer There was time to go about Paris, watch Parisians enjoy Midsummer's Day on June 21, and listen to music by buskers who'd taken every available public space.
Coffee Planter's Diary Death by the Trunk of an Elephant Such a death everybody had been anticipating — somebody would go like this, somebody other than them. Everybody was proved right, all but a 40-year-old, owner of the plantation next to ours on our east.
Indian Journeys In Kolkata, Remembering Sister Alphonse’s History Class Walking about Calcutta — Kolkata — I remembered Sister Alphonse’s history classes in school. I couldn’t help my mind doing its bit of wandering as well.
Indian Journeys Tagore and Shantiniketan At Shantiniketan, sunny winter had turned the soil dry, and there was dust in the air, and haze, and acres and acres of chiaroscuro carpeting.
Indian Journeys A Short Stay at Pasumalai in Madurai The animals, having always owned the hill, have their own scheme of entrances and exits. The back of the hill is wild and closed to man.
Indian Journeys Rajesh Vaidya at the Brihadisvara Temple in Tanjore The man tossed his head up and about a lot, sending his long hair flying, adding drama to mastery. The style was Carnatic, the sound of the veena as always was sweet.
Indian Journeys The Chola Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram The form of the Chola statue is lean, slender, its pose delicate, and the features of male and female are so sharp you can cut with them.
Indian Journeys Havelock Island, Andaman Sea "We've no tigers on these islands. No leopards. No cheetah. But we have 48 types of snakes, so please use this," they said.
Indian Journeys The Cellular Jail in the Andamans The Andaman Island’s Cellular Jail, the jailer settlement of the British on Ross Island, and the son et lumière at both places.
