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Travel, Food and Books |
This short humorous video titled History of English in Ten Minutes qualifies to appear here for three simple reasons:
Not given to poetic outbursts as a natural reaction to beauty, I simply couldn’t help invoking the form on a recent visit to Shanag, a picturesque little hamlet (from where I was looking) in Manali, upstream of the Beas.
Manali, perched on the banks of the River Beas in Himachal Pradesh, has never felt the need to nurse a colonial hangover to draw visitors to its naturally bestowed verdant bounty. So when I suddenly hear a lot of chatter about a certain Gothic castle near the Hadimba Temple, curiosity bites me hard.
The Alluring North, one of four books that make up the ‘Intriguing India’ series, is not a travelogue, nor a guide-book, nor even a retelling of ancient folklore. It is a little bit of all three. It is, in deed, the vivid journey of India’s ancient history, culture and customs, brought to life through two well-informed people who have travelled, questioned, and analysed.
It can be done. You just need helluva lot of courage, is all! Sohail Abid, who is touring Pakistan on a motorcycle shows us how. Read on to discover if you have it in you to follow suit.
Funny how you can visit the same place over and over again without really seeing it, if you know what I mean. It took a recent dash with first time visitors to reveal to me the colonial quaintness that sets Kasauli apart from other hill stations in Himachal Pradesh.Thanks largely to the Indian Army that continues to oversee the administration of this former British cantonment.
Manju Jaidka’s novel Scandal Point is set in a colonial India approaching the twentieth century. A handsome young ruler of an Indian princely state angers the British rulers by falling in love and eloping with the Viceroy’s daughter. It is not an ordinary romance, as the elopement has far-reaching consequences.
With the irreversible changes in reading trends in this age of digital information becoming a disheartening yet certain reality, a song extolling the virtues of physical books and reading in general comes as a breath of fresh air for spine-loving purists.
A current professional assignment is also serving in enlightening me about all things Punjabi. I have for the past many weeks been vicariously experiencing, and thus re-acquainting, with the history, culture and quirks of a place I call home. I have called time-out from exploring the story of its cuisine to share this over-the-top video I chanced upon during my …er… research.
An all too brief meeting recently, with a dear friend returning to Japan, has left me a little richer in ‘spirit’. Along with lunch and affection, I received from her a hamper of Japanese goodies. One of those, served chilled, is what I sip while I write this post. This is a first for me, sharing an experience even as I savour it…
