Travel

Starting tomorrow, Gunher a sleepy little hamlet just outside of Bir, Himachal Pradesh’s premier para-gliding destination, is set to witness an art exhibition of a singular nature. The culmination of a three-week residency comprising contemporary artists from India and abroad, Shop Art is the brainchild of Frank Schlichtmann. Owner of the local 4TABLES Cafe and Gallery, Frank has rented un-utilised village shops and invited a number of conceptual artists to occupy them as their studios during the residency. Continue reading »

It all started in Egypt, I’m told, where acrobatics, balancing acts, rope walking and spectacles of human skill and daring were recorded as far back as 2500 BC. Though the circus (Latin for ‘circle’) as we know it today harks back to the amphitheatres of ancient Rome, devoted largely to chariot races, gladiator combat, animal slaughter, mock battles and similar blood sports. Of which the Circus Maximus was said to be the most spectacular.
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I was at the Kingdom of Dreams in Gurgaon earlier this month for an event that kept me otherwise occupied. Found the time, eventually, to take some photographs of India’s first live entertainment destination. Replete with sandstone elephants, betel-leaf shaped kiosks, giant mirror-studded plant motifs, and all manner of water bodies, it houses the Culture Gully – a contrived food-street under a sky dome suffused with twilight – and the hi-tech theatre, Nautanki Mahal.
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Way before I hit the road with a vengeance, as a perpetually broke college student, I recollect gazing whimsically at the Lonely Planet Guide on India, envying the list of authors who found mention as contributors to the Traveller’s Bible. Twenty-some years on, I can’t stop grinning as I, yet again, marvel at the list of authors staring back from the freshly printed pages. One familiar face jumps up: mine.
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I am reproducing here my article on trailblazing women travellers that appeared as a Women’s Special feature in The Tribune. Can’t think of a better tribute to our wandering tribe. More power to us!
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This was one of those rare moments I regretted my resistance against upgrading to a gimmicky super-phone that could carry out my every command. Except perhaps go powder my nose for me. Sans my camera, equipped only with a phone that beautifully fulfills its primary purpose (to receive & make calls, for the uninitiated) and some, a last minute plan had found a friend and me at a sitar recital by Ustad Shujaat Khan, as part of the two-week long Jashn-e-Khusrau festival held at a number of venues across Delhi. Continue reading »

Managed a few hours with astonishing artworks at the India Art Fair while on on a visit to Delhi earlier this month. Let us walk the talk. Continue reading »

It was on a visit to Cape Town that I chanced upon a community drum cafe for the very first time. A place where you can hire yourself djembe (West-African drum) and casually drum away to your heart’s content under the conductor’s guidance. Continue reading »

With all the buzz about the Jaipur LitFest in the media, I couldn’t help recollecting my own attendance of it a couple of years ago. But I am mostly reminded of my subsequent visit to the Pink City. It was a leisure trip and I stayed at a delightful place called General’s Retreat. Continue reading »

Come vacation time, Dr Harpreet Gill, an academician with MCM DAV College, happily puts away her saris and satchel in exchange for rugged outdoor gear and a rucksack; taking off for shores unknown and spaces unexplored, all by herself. “I love travelling”, she states matter-of-factly. Continue reading »