The city is cold. This is not a statement on weather here. Even on weather’s count, cold season of cities in lower latitudes is Oslo’s summer. It manages to keep an attractive and highly refined façade of affluence and lifestyle that unfurls into layers of nuances only on repeat visits. Parts of the city that … Continue reading Hate Cleaning? I love it! – Scraping through in Oslo
Category: Travel
They know it better
There is a subcontinental society that we form - of material status, skills, nationality and race, in countries where South Asians gather. Among those living in economically prosperous parts of the world, whether temporary or for long term, this pattern can be recognized. It doesn't matter how skilled an immigrant from this region is. It … Continue reading They know it better
On the night express
17/04/2018 Onboard This is a train of regulars, of amorphous provincials. In a span of a night it will traverse the southern peninsula terminating at the geographical tip where Kanyakumari is located. The languages spoken, food carried in packed cases and the many shopping bags with names of places spread over an area almost the … Continue reading On the night express
Tiruvannamalai – Lives Lived
There is a town marked by a hill that rises abruptly in the vast flat landscape around it, Tiruvannamalai. It is known for an ancient and grand Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, worshiped in his fire form. It entered by life more than a decade back, not for its temple. Instead, it was an ashram … Continue reading Tiruvannamalai – Lives Lived
To become young fools again
'We travel, then, in part just to shake up our complacencies...' Pico Iyer writes in a reflective and philosophical piece on why we travel. His keen eye on how the experience changes the traveler and the place he travels to, is revealing in a way. In these years that I have re-read the piece, it … Continue reading To become young fools again
Is travel writing dead?
Granta Magazine pursued this question with a clutch of writers in Issue 138 on Journeys. In the bookstore last week, I took to a corner and began pouring down the responses. It wasn't driven by curiosity. Instead, it was to figure out if there is a general perception among the authors (many of whom are noted … Continue reading Is travel writing dead?
Outside familiar & routine: A cycle ride
This is about a week spent cycling to Leh from Manali, alone. This distance of 480 kilometers has sent me home with a few lessons. Some obvious - about physical capability, perseverance and comfort with uncertain weather, and some less obvious that I hope to probe with this act of writing. Besides, every journey works … Continue reading Outside familiar & routine: A cycle ride
Reading Pirsig on road trips
It was a ride to Ooty in the monsoon of 2013. Being no good with dates, the ride registers a clear memory because Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM) by Pirsig was in the bag. At the breakfast table, hundred kilometers down on the road to Mysore, ZAMM was making partial sense. Details … Continue reading Reading Pirsig on road trips
Policy lessons from Nepal
This week completes over six months of formal engagement with Nepal's development sector. On the sidelines of the second Nepal Investment Summit which is being held for the second time, after the first one in the 1990s, there seems to be a recognition of need for investment in economic growth of the country. There is also … Continue reading Policy lessons from Nepal
Kathmandu: Thamel, Jamel and the local
Among the capitals of the world Kathmandu perhaps has nothing noteworthy than its location on the road to Himalayas.The famous ones make it to the lists - "best cities to..." (travel, live, work etc). Whereas, Kathmandu makes it to none. This capital is on the itinerary than being on the bests list. It already does … Continue reading Kathmandu: Thamel, Jamel and the local
Contested Realities 