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September 14th, 2018 
So, here I am, back in Delhi, after an absolutely wonderful 2 weeks in Leh, high up in the Himalayas. For those of you who know and love Ladakh, you’ll understand my reluctance to leave such a stunning part of the country and such lovely people. For those of you who have yet to visit Ladakh – well, you’re in for a treat. Leh, the capital of the Ladakh region is at about 3500m altitude, so the first day or view full post » […] Click to continue reading Back in the Big Smoke August 29th, 2018 
“Juley” is a Ladakhi greeting, and here I am sitting in leh, with a view of Namgyal Tsemo Gopal & the Palace, and I’m as happy as happy can be. So “Juley” everyone! Here you go. My view. Right now. The Gompa is the white structure & Leh Palace is the brown one, lower down the mountain side. I first visited Leh in 1984, and this is my 8th? 9th? visit to a part of India that I absolutely view full post » […] Click to continue reading Juley from one super cool little town August 15th, 2018 
WHAT a nice story, to mark India’s Independence Day today. A 12th century statue of Lord Buddha, stolen nearly 60 years ago, was returned by Britain to India today. Here’s a link to the story, & here is a photo of the bronze statue. This is a total feel good moment. Wonder where the statue will go? Back to its original home in Bihar, I suppose. I went and marked Independence Day with lots of my running view full post » […] Click to continue reading Happy Independence Day India. And here’s a stolen treasure August 10th, 2018 
…and Indian crowds. IKEA opened its first Indian store in Hyderabad yesterday and it looked a bit – er, umm – frenzied. Yup, that’s about right. Frenzied. This clip, below, went pretty viral over here. Stuff of stampedes, quite frankly. Then, of course, there was THAT photo of the traffic jam leading to IKEA. This also went viral: I read reports that there is only parking for 650 cars. Sounds like some serious (mis)planning view full post » […] Click to continue reading Namaste IKEA & welcome to India August 8th, 2018 
I mean the title of this blog both literally and metaphorically. This is the time of year when Delhi (where I live) witnesses the deeply disturbing spectacle of thousands of Hindu pilgrims marching through the city as part of the annual Kanwar Yatra. Here is a brief bit of background info. on this pilgrimage: “The Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage taken by the followers of Lord Shiva known as Kanwariyas. The devotees go on a pilgrimage to places of religious significance like Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand to fetch holy waters of the Ganga river. Millions of such […] Click to continue reading In the name of God, what’s happening? August 2nd, 2018 
This is THE most adorable story of the day. The iconic & much admired Indian company the Tata Group has just re-opened its heritage HQ in south Mumbai, after renovation and restoration work. AND… “While the newly refurbished building has plenty of interesting new highlights, a kennel for the stray dogs living around the area, has to be one of its most noteworthy features. “In a first for Bombay House, a kennel has been created for the canine friends who have been an integral part of the building for decades,” says the official press release by Tata, reports NDTV. This […] Click to continue reading Today’s lovely Indian feel good story August 1st, 2018 
4 years ago (gosh, where did the years go?) I took part in a blogger’s meet in Goa where I met lots of fab youngsters. In the intervening years, I’ve kept in touch with a group of these talented young people through social media, and so am sort-of up to date with their formidable achievements. One of these young ladies is on Insta and Twitter as “Caramelwings,” and I clearly remember asking Ashrrita in Goa “Why caramel wings?” She laughed and said that it was because she loves baking and is a pilot 🙂 […] Click to continue reading A young woman flying high July 30th, 2018 
Despite starting with the words “On my run this morning…” this is not a running blog post. Promise. So don’t worry – I haven’t got my blogs confused. (Quick, oh-so-subtle plug for my running blog www.runninginindia.rocks!) But, because I went for a run around Nehru Park this morning, I was witness to the sad spectacle of loads of trees down, doubtless due to the wind and rain last night. There were trees and branches galore all over the park and the adjoining streets, which are home to many embassies. All very sad. […] Click to continue reading More trees down, Delhi… July 27th, 2018 
I was up at 4.50 this morning – standard summer-running time – but it was absolutely bucketing down, so I went back to bed and skipped the planned run in Nehru Park. Now, of course I have serious running FOMO, but that’s another story and for another blog – clever plug for my running blog, huh?!! So yes, here I am, sitting out on my verandah, 2 soggy dogs at my feet. The rain is still pelting down. All our potted plants have been brought out from inside the house to get the ever present Delhi dust washed from view […] Click to continue reading When it rains in Delhi, this is what happens July 26th, 2018 I am still feeling distinctly battered by the Indian news these days, distressed by the terrible things that happen. Like 3 little girls starving to death, right here in Delhi. It does not bear thinking about. Their father, who is missing, is a rickshaw puller and their mother, all of 29, is mentally challenged. Poor little darlings. Starving to death. Makes you want to weep. Coupled with what appears to be a grim daily dose of rapes, as I said in a blog post last week, there are days on end when I just cannot bear to read the news. […] Click to continue reading Seeing another side of Indian politicians July 25th, 2018 Been deserting my blogging post of late. MIA. Guilty as charged. Basically, every day I fully intend to settle down and blog and cyber-chat with you all about what’s happening here in India, and then I read my morning papers and 99/100 times, I feel so sickened/fed up/hopeless that I decide not to inflict my misery on you all. But there’s not much point calling myself a blogger if I don’t blog, right? So I’ll ease us all back into what’s going on in the world’s biggest democracy with the kind of news that is so ridiculous that it makes […] Click to continue reading Roll up! Roll up! It’s time for the Grand National Young Achievers Matrimony Meet July 19th, 2018 
I’m going through one of those “I can hardly bear to read the news, it’s all too awful” phases. Naturally, this is not very useful to someone who fancies herself as a a blogger and, to boot, someone who is genuinely very curious about what makes India tick. Quickly turning over the page of my morning paper because I feel sick to my stomach about yet another rape, or yet another lynching, is tantamount to being an ostrich. I absolutely do not know what to make of the seeming increase in horrific rapes in this country. Perhaps these horrors always […] Click to continue reading Oh so wearied by the news… |
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