People of Kumaon, Uttarakhand (Part 2)

It is difficult to escape their charm. Every time I travel to Uttarakhand, the loveliness of the people I meet seem to only increase. I recently wrote about the women who I met in Kilmora and Chirag and as a continuing part of my conversations with the people of Uttarakhand, I’d like you to meet two…

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The Kilmora Women of Kumaon, Uttarakhand

Two of my three travels to Uttarakhand, last year, introduced me to some of the most enthusiastically independent women I have met. The first bevy was in Chirag (Central Himalayan Rural Action Group) in Kasiyalekh. Chirag is a social enterprise that works with local communities by diversifying and creating various livelihood opportunities. In Chirag, I…

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Brewbot, Mumbai

I miss good beer pubs. And the humidity in Kolkata takes me back to the warm evening in Mumbai. Along with couple of my friends, we visited Brewbot. Situated amid an array of restaurants and bars, the ambience of this craft brewery was surprisingly pleasant and the outdoor space, fairly large. The Decor No sooner I stepped…

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Climbing the Mountain Meadows

Last month, I spent a good couple of weeks in Himachal Pradesh. On one of the mornings, we hiked up to an ancient temple called Giri Ganga and stopped by the neighbouring meadows for lunch. I was with my homestay’s host and a couple of his friends. The four of lunch sat on the open…

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Memories of the Unfamiliar Land

Is it possible to have memories about a place we have never been to? As I dwell deeper into this question, I know that there are more places that make me feel like this. These memories or in most cases, visual reveries formulate themselves from the existing information I have. This information is either stories I’ve heard…

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My Seasonal Job in Turiya Villa and Spa, Goa

In April 2014, I moved to Canacona, Goa from Mumbai as a seasonal worker. I stayed and worked there for six months and saw it as an opportunity to travel across Goa and parts of Karnataka. Turiya Villa and Spa is a delicate and beautifully done up Portuguese villa in a village called Chaudi in…

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