‘Spiti’ means the middle land. The land that lies between India and Tibet, the origin and the epicenter; Buddhism straddles across this valley and Tabo has proved to be a ligament. For many centuries, maybe millennia, monks carrying the wisdom of Buddha and their own meditations have crossed over from the highlands of Tibet to […]
The ‘Queen of Hill Stations’ has been dubbed so due to its location deep within the dense forests of the Nilgiri Hills. At first sight, Ooty appears to be a frenzied, crowded mess. But as the old adage of looking behind a book’s cover goes, the city redeems itself. The colonial roots of this town […]
It’s early morning; you open your eyes to a misty river flowing down a hilly valley. You doze off again. Slowly, through the fog of lucid dreams you realize, there is no river. It is only the mist; thick, heavy, in-motion. Soft, cushiony wallops of clouds in a chug-chug train… This massive river of mist […]
Hush! There are whispered travelers’ tales of a tiny village in the clouds! They say it exists almost within the city but realms beyond. They say the forests are deep, dark and tall. They say this place is visited by the forest spirits and beasts of the mist. They say the view is for miles […]
The fabled backwaters of Kerala, oft shown and regularly talked about, are a beauty to witness. This is a watery landscape carved by the onrushing Arabian Sea and outgoing river deltas. They form a labyrinth of islands and atolls with waterways to wander amongst it. This is Alleppey or Alappuzha. Alleppey is known as ‘the […]
Coonoor is like a drop of high tea from a bygone British era of dainty bungalow parties, carriage rides, church tolls, flowering gardens and leafy walks. Apart from the town center which is a conspicuous bustle, the rest of Coonoor is calm and composed – an intriguing combination of Indian and British culture; in the streets, in […]