a memoir of etchings and wanderings
One of the first fun memories I have, after moving to the States was the July fourth trip that I took to Minneapolis. It began not very different from several memorable trips I’ve taken – it started with a Google chat ping. I was a part of a conversation between Akshay V. and his childhood friend (and someone I’d heard loads about from common friends), Tulika where they were discussing … Continue reading “Minnesota Nice” →
It just dawned me on a few days ago that this September marked three years of my move from India to Oman. It was a dizzying thought, to picture how the time had flown past. When most people ask me what it is like, here – I usually complain. I find myself harping over the 10 months of summer, the lack of public transportation, the general aura of apathy that … Continue reading “Counting blessings.” →
They say that the friends you make at school and college are the ones who last a lifetime. I wasn’t so fortunate during school, but met the most wonderful people during my years in Pune and Gurgaon – and I am ever so grateful. When Ankita and I lived and worked together at Edelman, things were not always painless and tranquil, given our limited means, but I think of those … Continue reading “Paris of the East” →
As the years are going by, most of us can find ourselves being absorbed in our lives leaving little time to reflect and lesser opportunities to do impulsive things. But those days were the best, weren’t they? The living on a hilltop, the pathetic excuse of food that the mess served us, the small joys of a cancelled class, samosa-pav, the absolutely random conversations and the people – who kept … Continue reading “A Wedding & A Reunion” →
I’m usually known to procrastinate specific things in life like exercise, collecting on finances and making phone calls among others, but I feel most guilty when I delay writing travelogues. From personal experience, I feel that the memories and trivia are most fresh within the week of returning from a trip, making it the opportune moment to pen it down for memory’s sake. It has been over two months to … Continue reading “A Ceylon Odyssey” →
This has happened to me before. The getting overtly attached to people and places. Watching them inch away and stare helplessly. And then doing it all over again. In the past two years, TV series have sort of replaced my social life. The characters have become friends – faces that I look forward to seeing everyday. I laughed aloud at their silly pranks. And sobbed quietly when they hurt and … Continue reading “Euphoria…” →
A couple of months ago, on weekend family movie night, the parents and I were watching this Satyajit Ray classic – ‘Agantuk’. Translated into English, it means ‘The Stranger’ and is about a family dealing with the sudden visit of a long lost uncle. In the film, this uncle, having travelled the world, educates us about wanderlust (Did you know that this term is an English loanword which was already extant … Continue reading “Hrvatska!” →
The last time I saw my grandmother was a year and a half ago. I’ve been feeling the guilt for a while now. My baby nieces are growing by the day. Mamata Banerjee has changed almost all the names of the metro stations to utter ridiculousness. Winters are also the season for rasgullas made of jaggery. The closest cousin is going through awful times and I feel terrible for not … Continue reading “Calcutta, always.” →
So where does all of Oman go whenever we have an extended weekend? Step out during the Eid holidays to see the Muscat streets sparsely populated and you just know it. Everyone is in Dubai! While growing up, that’s what we did too. Drove down to the United Arab Emirates, stayed with friends or family and had picnics near the Creek. Even in the 90’s Dubai and Abu Dhabi was … Continue reading “DXB” →
Yesterday I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go out with my colleague, Abdullah. He lives by himself and drives to the UAE almost every weekend – and when he doesn’t – he asks if we would like to do something, but my laziness and driving guilt have always engulfed me. So when we decided to watch Captain Phillips, I felt a positive oddness at the act of booking movie tickets … Continue reading “The Movies” →