More than three decades after Ben Nevis first lodged in my head as a mountain beyond my league, I finally walked to the summit: 8 hrs 45 mins of rugged trail, fickle Highland weather, and the surreal sight of 600 others running it for sport.
Read MoreIs ArchiMate really used beyond the Netherlands? Does it deliver the traceability and code generation it promised? A skeptic's verdict: respected, not loved.
Read MoreAn evening break from exam prep turns into a rare close encounter – a Eurasian sparrowhawk lands metres away to eat its kill in my Amsterdam garden. A hawk, a dove, and goosebumps.
Read MoreGroosham Grange (Groosham Grange 1) by Anthony Horowitz
Read MoreRebels of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
Read MoreMovie on IMDB
Read MoreHow could I have not catalogued Michelangelo? Re-reading my Italy by train series reminded me of my intense admiration for him.
Read MoreWe went up Sinhagad countless times. Being the closest non-trivial trek to Pune city, it was the go-to trek, not only for us, but for the whole Puneri trekking …
Read MoreFrom a 1993 internship in Pune to a lifetime love of the Sahyadris – the Western Ghats that ring the city. Treks in all seasons, all weathers, with an inner circle of friends who had rules, standards, and strong opinions about what counted as a real trek.
Read MoreMar 2026
Read MoreMovie on IMDB
Read MoreThe final stop on a Moorish Andalusia rail trip – the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro, the Roman theater, the cathedral's stained glass, and New Year's Eve by the sea.
Read MoreEating vegetarian across Andalusia: why Spain's protein-first food culture left me hungry – and the few things it gets gloriously right.
Read MoreGranada, imagined long before I arrived – the Generalife gardens, the white Albaicín, snow on the Sierra Nevada, and a flamenco night that surprised me.
Read MoreTwo of Andalusia's off-beat yet dramatic towns in a day: Ronda's gorge-spanning Puente Nuevo and white cliffs, and Setenil, its streets tucked under the rock.
Read MoreAn honest reckoning with over-tourism in Andalusia – the residents' protests, the livelihoods it feeds, and the discomfort of being part of it.
Read MoreFour winter days in Seville – the Royal Alcázar, Plaza de España, the Giralda and Las Setas – and one traveller's quiet refusal of the bullfight.
Read MoreA reflective day and a half in Córdoba, where the Mezquita-Cathedral – a cathedral built inside a mosque – makes Andalusia's layered history visible.
Read MoreTwo unhurried winter weeks by rail through Moorish Andalusia – Valencia, Córdoba, Seville, Granada and Málaga – tracing its Roman, Moorish and Catholic layers.
Read MoreA relaxed day and a half in winter Valencia – Plaza del Carmen, the Turia Gardens, the cathedral and the City of Arts – opening a Moorish Andalusia rail trip.
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Read MoreOur Tonglu trek guide Satya wanted to show us the Sidrapong hydro-electric project not far from Darjeeling. Its claim to fame is that it is the first one in …
Read MoreWe hadn't planned this trek — Sandakphu quotes made us wince, so we winged it in Darjeeling instead. Two hours, 600 metres up through moss-draped ghost trees and cloud cover, Kanchenjunga somewhere behind it all. Hot daal-chawal at the top. Rain on the way down, as predicted.
Read MoreEnkhuizen has been one of my favorite places to take guests to in the Netherlands, but never visited with B – this was the occasion to fix that. My fourth …
Read MoreAn Easter long weekend at Rursee lake in Eifel NP, Germany. 3 hrs from Amsterdam. A 15-km hike that ended in getting lost, and B felled by a lung infection, coffee-smuggling priests, and a solo castle detour in a hailstorm.
Read MoreFrom back in 1990 P and I have had a major fascination for Dali. We used to drool at Dali's surrealistic paintings seen at BITS – can't remember how we came …
Read MoreDiscovered this Japanese-American artist accidentally when browsing for 2020 calendars in American Book Center, Amsterdam!
Read MoreVan Gogh is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art, also one of my personal favorites. Though he died young (committed …
Read MoreLike a true Dutchie, B wants to ensure full "paisa-vasool" (loosely translated as best value for money) of his museum year card. So we plan a few museum visits …
Read MoreWhy you should visit Dubrovnik in Winter
Read MoreWe decide that this, our last day in Dubrovnik, we shall spend unhurriedly wandering in the Old Town, seeing some museums on our checklist. But first, I want …
Read MoreWhen we go places, I am slightly obsessed with experiencing the public transport there. So far in Dubrovnik, we got there by taxi from the airport, walked …
Read MoreA day trip from Dubrovnik into Bosnia to see two main attractions: Kravica waterfalls and Mostar. Went via Ston, a picturesque little Croatian town and over the new Chinese-built bridge.
Read MoreHaving got milk for coffee in our grocery shopping yesterday, I have a morning routine now. The apartment had a coffee maker and proper (not instant) coffee, …
Read MoreEarly in the day, we step out to the grocery store (the main chain is called Konsum market here) to get some supplies. Usually on our travels, we stay at …
Read More1st – 7th Jan, 2023
Read MoreWe fly on New Year's Day, 2023. Less crowds, smooth flights even with a layover. A layover, I am surprised to learn, is a rare and slightly anxiety-inducing …
Read MoreAnother Dutch artist I am fascinated by is Escher. Escher House/ Palace is a lovely collection of his works in De Hague, an hour's train ride away. Have been …
Read MoreMy first book, Mini's World, is in print! Okay, just a custom print of a family edition, not published in any store. But print, all the same!
Read MoreIt all started with my dislike for grey. Green-grey, silver-grey, insipid grey.
Read MoreA place to keep track of my favorites among lesser known artists, and friends and family who dabble in art
Read MoreMy permanent art fascinations — the painters and printmakers whose work I return to, write about, and occasionally drag people across cities to see.
Read MoreA weekend away, a timeout within a timeout. Magical and golden despite the grey skies and rain.
Read MoreShocked and saddened that the Notre Dame has burned down...
Read More-- Jai Natarajan, 3 Feb 2019
Read More23rd Nov 2018 – Day 3
Read MoreHere is a collection of quotes from all of you who shared your thoughts over whatsapp, in the days following the reunion.
Read MoreNov 2018
Read More25th Nov 2018 – Day 5
Read More24th Nov 2018 – Day 4
Read More22<sup>nd</sup> Nov 2018
Read More22nd Nov 2018 – Day 2
Read MoreOn this cold snowy day I am sitting comfortably on my couch, consolidating my different older blogs. Love the quiet after it has just finished snowing, …
Read MoreThe theme this year was Disrupt – here you can see the official exhibition info online: https://amsterdamlightfestival.com/en/edition-8
Read MoreBITS Pilani. The place that means so much, that influenced me in my young, impressionable years. As it did with every single student that passed through its …
Read MoreThe Outcasts: Brotherband Chronicles, Book 1 (The Brotherband Chronicles) by John Flannagan
Read MoreThe ocean dreams come back after months away, and for the first time you are in one – a rubber raft, a pier, a low canal bridge, and no destination at all.
Read MoreTwenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
Read MoreRacing a big bad bus on my bicycle for 500 metres to the next red light. The driver never knew – but I won.
Read MoreA Gentleman Always Remembers (Willowmere) by Candace Camp
Read MoreCall me wild (romance novel) by Robin Kaye
Read MoreThe Lean Startup by Eric Reis
Read MoreRahi and the Maya Jaal by Rohit Nayak
Read MoreWaiting for a flight to Oslo in Schipol's green-themed eco-lounge – bean bags, green carpets and benches shaped like tree logs. A bit fake in an airport, but a pleasant place to wait.
Read MoreWhile living in Pune, I had worked up the network to present my art at two local exhibitions. A promising start at that time, but then I moved to Amsterdam, …
Read MoreThe dragon breathes… his breath comes out in a white mist that spreads low across Kasterleepark… and makes a criss-cross pattern of icy rime on the glass …
Read MoreA poem from a slow bike ride through Amsterdam's November rain – soggy brown leaves, a red poncho, and thoughts of other rains and a far-away warmth.
Read MorePhotographing my Amsterdam bike route on a sunny afternoon – an old lady pointing me to a path of mooi bloemen, two grinning city workers posing, and why I love this city for its small things.
Read More A relaxed lunch in an old Spanish restaurant with lovely ambience. A glass of red …
Read MoreA common friend introduced us over email. His name was Dan. I was new in Amsterdam, and the common friend figured since Dan was new here too, we should get …
Read MoreFound showcased in Weesperplein (a Metro station) in Amsterdam: A sheepish answer to Tom Lehrer's "Cows with guns" (animated you-tube video)
Read Morea cat in controlled fury: cold green eyes, unblinking tail in precise motion, she bides her time waiting, watching – swish swash.
Read MoreFrom Heaven Lake by Vikram Seth
Read MoreOscar Wilde and the candlelight murders by Gyles Brandreth
Read MoreWas listening to "Shape of my heart" - Sting, and looked up its lyrics, part of which goes thus: "I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier I know …
Read More The gay parade in Amsterdam is, like football, a public …
Read MoreWorld Cup final Sunday 2010 at Museumplein – 100,000 people in orange, five hours of doodling on the grass, and a city gone berserk as the Dutch play for the title.
Read MoreCan't get away from corny love quotes where ever I go. They are follofink meeee! Eet's a conspiraceee... The cupboard in my furnished room, which I had no hand …
Read MoreAnnapurna a woman's place by Arlene Blum
Read MoreThe Sign of the Sea-Horse by Graeme Base
Read MoreEverest: Expedition to the ultimate by Reinhold Messner
Read MoreRansom My Heart by Meg Cabot
Read MoreA millipede painting with a nonsense rhyme to match – don't ask him where his million little legs are taking him, or he'll freeze and curl.
Read MoreThe ocean dream returns – a barefoot walk along a crowded beach, the familiar cove turned deep Prussian blue, and a wave looming over the sand bank.
Read MoreThe Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot
Read More26th Dec 2009
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Read MoreWhere the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Read MoreBride of Science: Romance, Reason, and Byron's Daughter by Benjamin Woolley
Read MoreEvery Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot
Read MoreBeating the best badminton player in our group 26–24 – and the moment at 15 points when I stopped assuming I would lose.
Read More"Goa in the rains" has been this concept in my mind and Ashok's for over a year. Finally made it this year, at the tail-end of the monsoon – 4 days at the end …
Read MoreNo water in the house, gym bag left at the office, the road barricaded for Navratri – a Pune morning where everything goes sideways and the streets charm anyway.
Read MorePlayground Mafia by Sarah Tucker
Read MorePaths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer
Read MoreBlue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith
Read MoreTouching the Void by Joe Simpson
Read MoreHaroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
Read MoreOpen: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage by Jenny Block
Read MoreDreams from My Father by Barack Obama
Read MoreAnother ocean dream – stepping off pale bleached sand straight into copper sulphate blue without meaning to, then walking dripping along the shore towards a hotel at the water's edge.
Read MoreIt is one more recurring theme in my dreams – where I climb down rock faces, dangerous rock formations natural or man-made, gripping the rock with my finger …
Read More1st Aug 2009
Read MoreFiesta: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Read MoreEat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Read MoreLimping to the Centre of the World by Timeri Murari
Read MoreGirl Alone by Rupa Gulab
Read MoreA late review of The Reader – a WW2 story told from the perpetrator's side, Kate Winslet's Oscar, and a young David Kross quietly stealing the film from Ralph Fiennes.
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Read MoreA snake painting and the six lines that go with it – rustling among the leaves, torn between hiding and letting you see its thoughts.
Read More13th Jun 2009
Read MoreThe orange headed one Goes skiing, A whizz of color, He starts off lazily downhill, Gathering speed as he goes, Lithe and graceful, Zooming down the slope, A …
Read MoreI had written this a looong time ago.. seems like a different lifetime now. Finally got around to posting it here. --------- You touched my life in a unique …
Read MoreThis election year somehow it has become a personal milestone for me to vote. Several weeks before the election date, R finds our names registered to vote in …
Read More <a href="">In a maze of colours</a>
Read MoreI dream of the waves again. I had almost forgotten that place in my dream, it had stopped for a long time. But yesterday I went to the same place in my dream. …
Read MoreGood night moon (children's picture book) by Margaret Wise Brown
Read More5th Jul 2008
Read MoreMama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse
Read MoreJonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Read MoreDo I know you? I seem to know how your thoughts flow, how your eyes look for mine among a bunch of others. Making that connection with you seems so natural. It …
Read MorePillow Talk by Freya North
Read More1st Jan 2008
Read MoreMade some progress this morning – woke up another 15 mins earlier, but still the vultures are way ahead of me. The various colored and flavored darjeeling teas …
Read MoreThe night is incident free – Akash has gotten more used to the toad, and we've moved Aditi to milk powder – Rohit figured the change in milk consistency is the …
Read MoreThe next morning I wake up late in spite of going to bed relatively early. Gotto do something about this constant feeling of not enough sleep. Waking up at …
Read MoreOne of my most memorable holidays from my India years – first impressions of Thekambattu in pictures; the day-by-day follows in the rest of the series.
Read MoreA family holiday after ages... and for Rohit, a reunion with Sunder and Sonati after several ages. We set out early from my brother’s place in B’lore to catch …
Read MoreTurn off the thousand watts. Pack up the moon and stars, Roll out the thunder clouds, And let it rip!
Read MoreMy hair still wet from the shower I let it dry in the afternoon sun as I sit out on the back porch, sipping lukewarm pearl tea. I love the chunky feel of the …
Read MoreAfter a good deep sleep night, I wake up early. It’s my turn to potter about in the room. Our last day in Kathmandu – there are some sight seeing plans. After …
Read MoreRafting day! Sadly none of us have slept enough. We walk into breakfast like zombies. I can’t face a veggie cutlet today. The checking out and formalities are …
Read MoreOur “extra” holiday in Pokhara. The other two have tucked into breakfast. In fact we’re in danger of missing breakfast, that’s how late we wake up. We scramble …
Read MoreWe know today is a short trekking day, so we’re in no big hurry to leave. MShah and Kanaks are down at breakfast already when I come down. I wolf down a couple …
Read MoreI have a so-so night and wake up early. Get out of bed trying not to disturb N. Wrapped in some warmies and armed with my little notebook, I go out to the …
Read MoreThe much dreaded 6000 foot ascent is today. Everyone we met in Tatopani yesterday, who are doing the trek in the opposite direction to ours, gave us a lot of …
Read MoreI wake up quite early and potter about. No bath today. I sit in the front lawn and watch other trekkers leave early. The Israeli chicks are nowhere in sight – …
Read MoreMorning has broken… and with it comes our wake up call with a menu in hand. I shoo him away: “g’morning… 5 mins please…”. Yesterday was a long day – elapsed …
Read MoreFor a change, I wake up early this morning. Having checked that Nitya is still breathing, I try to be as noiseless as possible, without too much success. It’s …
Read MoreNitya again wakes up bright and early and orders masala chai in the room for us. We order a “simple breakfast”: toast, butter/jam, fried eggs or omelette, and …
Read MoreNits has woken up real early (the woman seems indefatigable!), taken a walk around the beautiful garden, has had her morning masala chai… and is urging me to …
Read MoreWe have a bus to catch at 7 am, and somehow we do catch it, after a sketchy sort of breakfast. We continue to chat for a bit, and finally fall asleep in the …
Read MoreThe trip starts off on a high note, with free upgrades to business class. I can see each of us disconnecting from “real life”… finishing the last cell phone …
Read MoreTrekking in the Himalayas has always had a special allure to me. Having done a 6 day camping and trekking trip in the Himachal Himalayas opposite the Kailash …
Read MoreHigh Adventure by Edmund Hillary
Read More9th Oct 2005
Read More7th Feb 2005
Read MoreCooking with Fernet Branca by James Hamilton-Paterson
Read Morean early start to the saturday... i spent a long while on the phone first thing in the morning. then had a leisurely bowl of cereal. i made my way to the san …
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Read More15:20 – 21:05, 20th Jul 1997 On the train south: after Bologna the countryside was uncannily like Maharashtra – green and hilly, the farms and houses more like …
Read More20 Jul 1997
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Read MoreThese are from six pages of typed notes from Jan 1996, written about my first trip to Paris with a bunch of colleagues who were my social circle. We were all …
Read More31 Dec 1995
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