Posted in Colors of the desert, Heritage notes, tagged fresco, fresco bueno, heritage, Mandawa, murals, Rajasthan, Shekhawati on November 15, 2009 | 6 Comments »
In Shekhawati, the future looks at the past…
Update: or, the past and future look at each other, as Arun says in a comment. I have also changed the title of the post to ‘Future Tense’ as a nod to the deplorable state of many of the mansions / frescoes in Shekhawati.
Posted in Colors of the desert, Heritage notes, Published, tagged Rajasthan Jodhpur "Marwar Festival" Maand Hindu on October 19, 2008 | 6 Comments »
Published in the Hindu Sunday magazine today. Read Celebrating Culture online…
***
Who would have thought kitsch could be so charming? The first evening of our stay at Jodhpur, when I venture into Mandore Gardens for the inauguration of the annual Marwar Festival, I do not have very high expectations. Blame it on everything I have read [...]
Posted in Colors of the desert, Published, tagged Bundi Rajasthan heritage travel Himal published on June 12, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Published in the June 2008 issue of Himal – Uneasy dreams of Bundi
***
If, today, Rudyard Kipling were to come back to Bundi, in Rajasthan, he would find that nothing has changed in nearly a century since he last was here. Indeed, traveling to Bundi is a bit like traveling back in time – except that [...]
Posted in Cities that never sleep, Colors of the desert, Published on February 3, 2008 | 9 Comments »
I had written a piece on Mohammad Ali Road – that appeared in this edition of Taste & Travel magazine along with another article on Shekhawati. Here is the iftaar piece…
Don’t worry, you will smell it much before you see it, said my cabbie when I asked him to drop me close to the [...]
Posted in Colors of the desert, Published on December 10, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Published in HT Brunch (Dec 09) as Burning Bright…
As always, link available online for a week – so here is Burning Bright, page 1 and 2.
The park opened in October after the rains and if you have not been to Ranthambhore yet, now is the time to go…
Posted in Colors of the desert on April 9, 2007 | 5 Comments »
I am a recent convert (extremely recent, to be honest, after my first and only encounter with the tiger at Ranthambhore last week) to wildlife love, but I have been a history nut for much much longer. Therefore, a holiday in Ranthambhore had to include a trip to the Ranthambhore fort from which the entire [...]
Posted in Colors of the desert on April 9, 2007 | 5 Comments »
It was intended to be a short holiday for our anniversary. Ranthambhore near Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan, home curently to over 30 “royal” bengal tigers. And I fell in love there. Our first safari ride into the Ranthambhore National Park, just before sunset, we sat and waited by the almost dry lake on one end [...]
Posted in Colors of the desert on August 9, 2006 | 4 Comments »
It is fascinating. It is colorful. It is even slightly bizarre. A freshly painted wall at Saraf haveli, with two images vying for our attention – one of the Wright brothers making their first trip up into the air, looking very tiny and unsure in their brown European coats. And right next to it, a [...]
Posted in Colors of the desert on August 8, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Aap yahan ghoomne ke liye aaye hain? [have you come here for sightseeing?] asks the aged shopkeeper as he hands us the bottle of Bisleri… I nod as I wonder whether his emphasis is on yahan or ghoomne…
Aap Jhunjhunu dekhna chahatey hain? [you wish to see Jhunjhunu?] he continues. The question unsaid but loud and [...]
Posted in Colors of the desert on December 19, 2005 | 5 Comments »
Street food, in fact, all food in India can be so colourful and interesting… Here is some arty street food from Amber, Jaipur. Photograph clicked from elephant-back…
***And here is one for the sheer dazzle and striking colours… Carrots so fresh they hurt the eye… From Mahabaleshwar…
Once you have travelled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey - Pat Conroy
The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight-seeing"
- Daniel J. Boorstin
All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware
- Martin Buber
A good holiday is one that is spent among people whose notions of time are vaguer than yours
- J. B. Priestley
For the born traveller, travelling is a besetting vice. Like other vices, it is imperious, demanding its victim's time, money, energy and the sacrifice of comfort
- Aldous Huxley
|
