I have been wanting to read Jawahar Lal Nehru's Discovery of India for some time now, the reasons are many including the need to remind myself of India's history which is hazy in my mind now. I have also been wanting to read on India - its culture and traditions, people, it's impact on the world and... Continue Reading →
Western classical music in advertisements
Those who know me know that I am fond of Indian classical music, it's a music that I work on, walk to or just play it when mood strikes. And perhaps, it was just a question of time that this would have led me to Western classical, and it has finally happened over last few... Continue Reading →
We, the People of India
A couple of days ago, India celebrated its Constitution Day - the day when the Indian Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly, paving the way for the country to become a Republic and hold its first general elections. Gaining independence relatively late compared to many other democratic nations, India had the advantage of studying... Continue Reading →
My Sari Story
I come from family where sari was worn every day, my mother and masi were teachers in the University and I stayed in the campus where everyone wore saris to work. Even the school teachers those days wore saris everyday. Salwar-kurta was not the dressing norm till much later in my lifetime. Every year change... Continue Reading →
Story of India
I have read all of Amish Tripathi's books and have heard him speak couple of times. So when he announced the release of his new non-fiction book Immortal India, I was very excited as I am fascinated by Indology. But I have figured that I am a tsunduko, my to-be-read list is always longer than... Continue Reading →
Train travel is no longer fun
India is a land of billion people - and this is experienced best at airports, railway airports and metro stations as well as bus stops. Couple of weeks ago, I had a chance to travel by Indian Railways for work - it had been a while since I travelled by trains. And while I spent... Continue Reading →
A simple but delicious way to celebrate Birthdays
All households have their set traditions - either flowing through generations of forefathers or created because of modern family demands. And like most of them, we also have set traditions in our house for different festivals and most of them revolve around the food. One of the very basic and most frequently exhibited tradition is... Continue Reading →
A sojourn on the Ganges
It was a quick short getaway for a much needed break to The Glasshouse on the Ganges - a Neemrana property. Nestled in couple of acres, it is situated right on the banks of gushing river Ganges. It is a comparatively modern property amongst the Neemrana stable and the huge glass windows bring in the... Continue Reading →
Of Reading
I am a firm believer of Francis Bacon's analysis on Studies : "Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly." I read almost everything under the sky - fiction, non-fiction, I have dipped my feet in Indology, I have dabbled with biographies and autobiographies as well... Continue Reading →
The cacophony of Indian bazaars
Before the air-conditioned malls there were markets, and before these sanitised ubiquitous Galleria/ Defence Colony/ Khan Markets of Indian cities there were traditional Indian bazaars. Some of these bazaars were static in a smaller locality like Vishwanath Gali in Varanasi or Indira Market of Noida and some were moving bazaars called haats which travelled to... Continue Reading →
Daughter to Dictator – Indira Gandhi
You can either love her or hate her, but you cannot ignore her - so true for the only woman Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. The new biography on her, written by Sagarika Ghose was released today - I had first read about the book sometime last year and have been wanting to read when... Continue Reading →
Timeless reading – Pride and Prejudice
It is an annual ritual - the trigger usually is the movie which leads me back to the book - my absolute favourite Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen! I have read Pride and Prejudice atleast hundred times, and every time I pick it up again it reads like new. Over last few years, I... Continue Reading →