“perhaps, if one wishes to remain an individual in the midst of the teeming multitudes, one must make oneself grotesque.” ― Salman Rushdie I grew up in an environment of conformity. There was little room for free thinking in an all-girls Catholic school. Uniformity was the order of the day. Faith was always measured in morality…
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Morning Walk We woke up early the next morning (after our visit to the Garden of Morning Calm) and decided to explore the area around our B&B. Basil and I walked along the road that ran parallel to the river and mountainside. It was a cloudy day with a strong possibility of rain and the mountains…
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I always thought marriage was for other people. I lived blissfully through my teenage years thinking: it would never happen to me. Unfortunately, I had failed to include an important parameter in the grand scheme of things. LOVE. Even rational minds have found it hard to resist the charms of love. And when it strikes, I…
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Chuseok is the traditional Korean Thanksgiving Holiday and is the time when most Koreans (especially from Seoul) visit family across the country. Last year, Chuseok (clubbed with other national holidays) extended over a 10-day period in the month of October. Public holidays of this duration are rare in Korea and many Koreans made advance bookings…
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“If you can’t go back to your mother’s womb, you’d better learn to be a good fighter.” ― Anchee Min Mum and I have always shared a special relationship. She’d take my side when my older siblings would bully me. She’d remind me it was important to have faith in myself and work harder whenever I…
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“All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts and made up of our thoughts. ― Gautama Buddha The everyday can be brutal. It’s easy to get lost in the pile of bills, the dull hum of the washing machine, parents’ visits to the doc, late hours…
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In August 2017, we travelled across Central Mongolia over a period of 10 days. Our journey took us through National Parks, a lush forest, desolate valleys, nondescript towns, forgotten cities, and of course Ulaanbaatar. It was a trip of a lifetime and it has taken me a rather long time to complete our account (link of story so far)…
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People and motion are the only two constants in a city. Everyone has to reach somewhere and everyone is in a hurry to get there. The fight to be the first is a rough one and rush hour does a brutal job of weeding out the weakest link. And where there’s motion — there’s noise.…
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In the seventies, my parents and my toddler brother set out to explore a foreign land. Their expat life was short-lived, but their stories lasted for a lifetime. As a young kid who hadn’t travelled at all, I found their stories to be alluring. I was hooked by a life that was alien to the…
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I can’t believe it’s December already. It’s been an interesting and challenging year so far. Our travels have taken us to culturally diverse countries, isolated locations, and stunning landscapes. It’s been a conscious effort to escape the noise, the realities of life, the things that get me down, and find comfort in the serenity of…
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