Journey Chronicles

We have been living in Bangalore for more than 20 years now, but never had a chance to visit Hampi. It had been on our bucket list for years, but we only recently made it happen. Little did we realise that this trip would transport us back to an era when time seemed to have stood still.   As we wandered through the majestic ruins, stone-carved temples, and once-flourishing bazaars, the air whispered the grandeur of the Vijayanagara dynasty. The giant granite boulders stacked on top of each other against the backdrop of the Tungabhadra River define the landscape of Hampi. These boulders have been formed over billions of years and create a spectacular scenery .   Hampi is an experience of our rich cultural history and takes us back to the times of Ramayana, when it was the famous Kishkindha kingdom ruled by the monkey king Sugriva . A few months back, I had watched the documentary ‘ Legends of the Ramayana ’ by Amish Tripathy on the Discovery Channel, where he had beautif...

                                                                                   Pic: Freepik How many of you start drooling when you think of India’s super snack, samosa’? A golden, crispy triangle stuffed with potato filling, served with tangy and spicy chutney. Of course, along with its best accompaniment -  garam chai ! The very thought of this humble combo gets us excited and brings a smile to our faces.  It’s a part of our culture we grew up with, our favourite childhood memory, a mandatory snack in our birthday parties, and all family gatherings. With society now obsessed with calorie count and making a villain out of our samosa, with some also suggesting that it be blacklisted, I cannot but agree more with Rujuta Diw...

                                                                                     Pic: Freepik I went for a weekend lunch with my family to a nearby restaurant for a hearty meal. We placed our order and sat patiently waiting for the food to be served. I noticed a small boy, hardly five years old, accompanied by his father, sitting right opposite our table. Both sat silently. The father gazed around, pretty uninterestingly, sipping his Kombucha from a bottle, while the boy stared at the phone, held just an inch away from his face. What caught my eye was the content running on the phone screen, which seemed quite inappropriate for a five-year-old child. He did not seem to even blink his eyes and was glued to the screen. I suddenly felt...

  A few days ago, I had the opportunity to attend Soul Jams , a beautiful platform for music lovers where everyone comes together for the sheer love of rhythm and melody, jamming to their favourite Bollywood songs. It was their third anniversary celebrations hosted in Sunburn Union, Koramangala , Bangalore . One of my friends’ daughters suggested that we attend this event with them and experience a fun evening. My first thought was, what would I even do there? It seemed like a place for young people to hang out, and I might feel out of place. But then I thought, why not check it out? I’d get to groove to Bollywood hits with my friends and have a blast. So, the tickets were booked, and we were all set to go, dressed in white as the event’s dress code suggested. When we reached the venue, a long queue of young, enthusiastic and fashionable people had already formed. They were full of life and buzzing for the show. As we stood in line, a sudden realisation crept in, we mi...

Living in Shimla, our weekend excursions mostly meant strolling on the Mall Road during the evenings, enjoying pastries and éclairs from the Trishool bakery, softy from the Ridge, coffee and samosa from the Indian Coffee House and dinner at the Baljees or Fascination restaurant. Our parents would also take us out for picnics to the nearby places.  As kids, we just loved it, especially because we would go out with our favourite cousins. My mother and aunt would pack sandwiches and aloo paranthas along with some biscuits and water in a picnic basket. It was an adventure that brought big smiles to our faces, and we would all be charged up for these outings. One such destination was the Tara Devi and Sankatmochan temple . Tara Devi temple is a beautiful hilltop temple overlooking the town of Shimla. One had to trek through a thick forest to reach the summit, an arduous yet exhilarating experience. We would walk the rugged trail, chit-chatting and taking breaks in between to ...

Nowadays, news keeps buzzing about celebrities’ grand visit to the holy shrines of our country. The amount of importance and facilities that are provided to them makes me wonder if such privileges should be extended to them, especially in places of worship.  Shouldn’t everyone be treated equally, at least in front of God? If we look at the general norm, the common man has to stand in long queues while visiting the temples,  wait patiently for several hours, just to get a glimpse of the deity and is usually shooed away hurriedly by the priests or the security from the temple premises. It does not really matter how far you have come from or how long you have waited. Not much concern is shown for the elderly, either. In contrast, when any Bollywood star or a celebrity visits a temple, grand arrangements are made, the entire premises is cordoned off so that they can leisurely walk around, perform elaborate pujas and rituals, get special attention and blessings from the priests...