The aircraft had to land on this narrow piece of land that led straight to a valley. And that valley was where an ill-fated aircraft had crashed a few months ago, it had just gone on and off the runaway! That is all I could think of during my entire descent into Mangalore. I held […]
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Month: September 2013
The Stories Faces Tell…
I love faces. I love the stories in them. Faces with nervous twitches. Open faces. Stoic faces. Faces that draw you in. Make you think. Shut you out as the distant outsider And a face with a life written on it. The past leading to the present, intertwined on one face. Telling stories about living […]
Switzerland!
Tulfes is the most beautiful village I have ever seen. There are flowers everywhere, fat cats clean their whiskers on wood benches; apricot trees (yes trees) clamber up house walls; goats graze in fenced enclosures, horses neigh under trees, a beautiful church with paintings on stone walls stands sleepily at the corner and there is […]
Drive To Axalp
We hire a nine seater from Hertz at the airport the next day for the staggering figure of Rs 90,000 a week. It was much cheaper when we had checked from India but we didn’t book then and now it’s too late for regrets. The guys flash their newly acquired International driving licenses (Rs 500 […]
Cold And Wet In Vienna
Jet lagged and tired after 11 hours of flight, we land in Vienna. It is raining. We press our noses against the window of the taxi that is taking us to our hotel, zipping across the wet roads with some classical music playing softly in the background. It has cost us 70 Euros (nearly Rs […]
Europe Diaries: The Tulips Of Axalp
The blue waters of Brienz Lake are shimmering in the sun. Expressionless eyelashless cows are munching on some picture perfect green grass. Tulips are blooming prettily outside Swiss chalets. It could be a scene right out of a Yash Chopra film but there is no Shahrukh Khan traipsing across the yellow wildflower covered hillside, eyes […]
The Need To Destroy..
Ever wondered why disaster movies show iconic architectural landmarks crumbling to pieces? Why terrorist attacks target buildings that stand for something more than just brick and mortar? Why September 11 was not just about a terrorist attack but a terrorist attack on the beating heart of New York? Why 26/11 was not just about […]
The Rain Of Unbelief..
The darkness that we had all been waiting for, fell suddenly. With it came an uneasy calm. The pink and orange hues of the setting sun were no longer reflecting off the fast flowing waters of the Ganga, or Maa Ganga as they call her up in the hills. With its daytime sparkle gone; the […]
The Terror Of Uncertainty
I wish the world had ended in December 2012. The cause for this pessimism is the recent terrorist attack that hit Nairobi. To sum it up, for those who haven’t been in the loop, militants attacked this plush mall, Westgate, in the heart of the city with bombs, grenades and subsequent firing. The cause? As illogical […]
A Lunchbox Full Of Longing
There is this moment in Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox where Irrfan Khan’s Saajan Fernandez says a name aloud for the first time. And it reminds one of Jess C. Scott’s famous quote, “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth.” He […]
A Day Out Of Time..
Almost five years later..I can still see it. Feel it. The day..a haze of gold across acres of plantation land in Samathur, a quiet village off Pollachi in Tamil Nadu. And I sat in the back yard of the 6000 square ft Shenbaga Vilaasam, a heritage house where time was in no hurry to […]
Somehow..
I lost my lover….. but love renews itself and surges forever in my heart .. somehow… No vows …. but I still feel committed somehow… I lost my tears …. but still I cry.. don’t know how… I exist…yet I feel a part of me is lost in you somehow.. My soul knows you […]