When a friend told me that there was a hill station in the state of Haryana  I couldn't believe it. Even some friends from Haryana itself were ignorant about its existence.   Thinking of Haryana the image that comes to mind is of a predominantly agricultural province, with some highly industrialised and modern cities,  glittering... Continue Reading →

An election in Delhi is quite a drab and lifeless affair. It seems to be more so in this sprawling sub-city where I live. Even the warmth - let alone the fury - of electioneering was hardly felt here. Except for a few, very few, posters of the main warring sides and one small procession... Continue Reading →

The cave temples of Badami, and the temples of Aihole and Pattadakal together represent an extremely vibrant and productive period - between the 6th and 9th centuries - in the history of temple architecture in the Deccan.  My friend and guide Ananthakrishna said that Aihole, the ancient town, was a sort of laboratory of temple... Continue Reading →

"On the Banks of the Tungabhadra" is a historical novel in Bengali penned by Saradindu Bandyopadhyay, who perhaps is known to readers outside Bengal as the creator of the detective character Byomkesh Bakshi. In the novel, the web is spun around a story that the ruler of Kalinga offered his daughter in marriage to Krishnadeva... Continue Reading →

It started early - at an age when one was yet to learn reading. In those halcyon days children were not sent to school till they were old enough to join Grade I. In that golden period of life for us it was mostly playing, and maybe a bit of learning and memorising Bengali rhymes.... Continue Reading →

  As our car slowed down on the narrow, hilly road and came to a halt behind a long line of stranded vehicles, we noticed the men and machines at work. A huge crane was busy removing the boulders and earth that obviously had rolled down the hill and blocked the road. It looked like... Continue Reading →

In August 2010, when I told my relatives, and friends outside the Ministry of External Affairs,  that I had been transferred to Zagreb, many of them had no clue either about that city, or the country of which it is the capital. In fact, Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was better known to... Continue Reading →

It is a couple of weeks now that winter has said good-bye to Delhi.  The weather has turned balmy. There still is a hint of chill in the early mornings and late evenings, though the mid day heat is an indicator of the days ahead. It is that time of the year "when the dainty... Continue Reading →