Travel Musings – Being Shiva – Create with love, Abandon without a care
Travel musings
Solo travel has a great way of clearing the mind. It allows one to think and delve into the self in relative anonymity. Paradoxically, the constant movement of travel induces a strange stillness of the mind - Samatha and hence Vipassana, as the Buddhists would have it... These are some of my travel musings...
Chambal Valley – Protected by Infamy, Curses and Crimes
Chambal Valley – Protected by Infamy, Curses and Crimes The Chambal Valley is a cursed land as per mythology. It boasts of a barren and ravaged landscape, ravines, gorges and jungles. Bandits and dacoits. Outlaws and lawlessness. The setting for many iconic movies and the backdrop for many legendary Indian Robin Hoods… It remains pristine and untouched...
Malana, The Magic – Of ancient Sages, Myths, Alexander & Malana Cream
Malana, The Magic - Of ancient Sages, Myths, Alexander and Malana Cream. This is a strange story and a real place. It involves ancient sages, kings, mythology, legends, history and drugs. To understand this, you have to get to know the ancient sage, Jamadagni, and a bit of Hindu mythology. Let me start with ancient times...
Quarantine Queues
Quarantine Queues
This is a ramble about the Quarantine. And the self. Why Queues, you ask? No reason, I say. Of course, the Quarantine has Queues – in front of the provision shops, transport hubs, liquor vends, etc. Hence, Quarantine Queues. There is no other connect that this blog has with queues. Actually, I used the word...
Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, Tree of Life, IIM Ahmedabad and the medieval Afro-Indian connect
Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, Tree of Life, IIM Ahmedabad and the medieval Afro-Indian connect. What, you may ask, are these three doing together. A place of worship, a tree, a business school and medieval Afro-Indian connect... There is a link, I assure you. Read on… The Sidi Saiyyed Mosque is in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India....
Trichinopoly Cigar, Churchill, World War II, Sherlock Holmes and Trichy in India
Trichinopoly Cigar, the one that Churchill loved and Sherlock Holmes used was from a town in British India that lent its name to it - Trichy What was it that Winston Churchill, Sherlock Holmes and the average Balaji in South India loved? The Trichie or Tritchie. The Trichinopoly Cigar which is a type of cheroot that...
Dance of the Seven Veils, Striptease and Travel
History of the famous Dance of the Seven Veils, its link to the origin of striptease and how it is similar to Travel experiences I have always felt travel is a bit of a strip-tease like the famous proverbial Dance of the Seven Veils. Most times that I travel to a place, I find some facet...
Tower of Silence, Sky Burial and Birds of Prey
A look at the Parsi Tower of Silence, the ritual of Sky Burial, the legends and rationale behind it and the link to the Birds of Prey. Sky burial is the practice of ritualistically leaving the dead as food for the birds of prey and Mother Nature. Sounds gruesome doesn’t it? There must be some rationale...
KudaKkallu – Ancient Umbrella Stones of Kerala
The KudaKkallu are ancient umbrella shaped burial sites in Kerala Kerala is located in the southern part of India. Stunning natural beauty, beaches and a very relaxed way of life typify this land. For this reason, it has become a staple for tourists visiting South India. Many other things make it a much-visited place. For instance,...