African culture has intrigued men and women from other parts of the world for centuries-what they eat, how they eat it, how they marry, what are the social systems that are there in place, how several African tribes have managed to thrive without adopting anything from the rest of civilization-these questions have vexed many a(…)
Published On: Tuesday, February 17th, 2015
Continents are drifting. And so are people. Drifting along, and rubbing a little bit of themselves onto others. Food moved fastest. Indian Chicken Tikka Masala took Britain by storm while Indians fell head over heels in love with McDonald’s and KFC. Thereafter came economy and education. The world begrudgingly surrendered to China’s manufacturing might, and(…)
Published On: Monday, February 2nd, 2015
Imagine you are meeting a friend from France. You rush forward for a jolly good hug. Unnerved your friend immediately pulls back and tries planting a kiss on your cheek- awkward much? French people kiss lightly on the cheeks when they meet- something they call ‘faire la bise’. In fact, the French dictionary supposedly, has(…)
Published On: Wednesday, January 21st, 2015
Try talking to a Bengali about food. He will launch on the subject with a passionate fury and a scientific zeal, you would not have imagined possible from a person of a seemingly sanguine temperament such as him. So, when you are out on the streets of Kolkata trying to savor some of the food(…)
Published On: Friday, January 9th, 2015
Of all the transport options open to the general public, airplanes are the most technically advanced. However, many of us still do not trust technology enough to let ourselves be suspended among the clouds without checking and cross-checking every small detail. Indeed, left to themselves these aviophobes would individually inspect every screw on the airplane(…)
Published On: Tuesday, December 16th, 2014
‘How scary is too scary?’ We have taken a nice long look at all the scary rides around the world and come up with an answer. Nothing is too scary when it comes to amusement park rides. Once you have victoriously emerged from your virgin roller-coaster ride, you are well on your way to conquer(…)
Published On: Tuesday, December 16th, 2014
First a word about the Mission, to those who have not been to any of its branches or have not interacted with people ordained into the mission. The Rama Krishna Mission was established by Swami Vivekananda, a leading Hindu nationalist of his time, as a place where boys from poor families could strengthen their academic(…)
Published On: Wednesday, October 29th, 2014
Every time I sit down to write a travel story, it is about a place that I have seen in the past and would dearly love to visit again, or a place that I hope to visit at least once in this lifetime. When I sit back to take cognizance of what life has been(…)
Published On: Thursday, September 4th, 2014