What else had unhinged him …something to do, perhaps, with the gap between our dreams and our realities. John Le Carre A narrow pagdandi meandered up the sheer south-west face of the looming mountain. Rahman climbed in slow deliberate steps, avoiding the jagged edges, drawing in long even breaths, as oxygen levels kept falling every […]
Dr Sengupta lives in CR park. He is older, doesn’t drive these days on Delhi’s ever-more maddening roads but his mind does at times drift back to now faint, adrenaline-tinted memories, and a nostalgic-ache for those more adventurous times. Meanwhile, in these last few years, Mrs Sengupta has taken complete charge of their new vehicle […]
It was the middle of January; another year had just started. A westerly wind blew stirring dust in the urban air. The usually bustling streets wore a deserted look, except for a few stray dogs loitering, stupefied by the sudden absence of humans after the frenzy of violence the previous day. Some had curled up […]
Can you drive a vehicle looking at the rear-view mirror all the time, or most of the time, or half the time, or even one-quarter of the time of your journey? It can only be occasional even if there is a glorious sunset behind, with the focus firmly on navigating the path ahead. Neighborhoods are […]
Sharing my mother (Sheela Tripathi)’s recipe for Amra (Ambda) pickle. This is in continuation of a few such posts earlier. An attempt to preserve her skills that result in home-made natural products to relish and remember. The images above tell the story. Its a two-to-three day affair. This amra could have been picked a little […]
Sunil and I wrote this book for the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), Sapru House, New Delhi last year. From the back cover: “About the Book” – In terms of strategic importance, Central Asia punches much above its weight. Not only is it in India’s “extended neighbourhood”, with a congruent security outlook, but given […]
“A child without education is like a bird without wings” – A Tibetan Proverb My journey with Vidyadhan started in 2019. Having served in the government for more than 25 years, it was a big change from working in the security domain to working with bright eyed students. To introduce Vidyadhan: it is a higher […]
There are few culinary ingredients that magically transform from the utterly unpalatable to surprising bursts of delightful flavour when processed or cooked in a certain way. Asafoetida (Hing) is an example that is yet to catch the eye of the international culinary cognoscenti; transforming from a root sap of the Ferula plant that grows in […]
Impossible to tell a river’s story. Ancient wisdom says: it flows and, therefore, is never the same. The river had coursed through swirling mist and searing light, since before the forests took hold and became near impenetrable, since much before the human settlements and civilizations had taken root. She had seen humans arrive in small […]
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learnt about life: it goes on” -Robert Frost “Nothing thicker than a knife’s blade separates happiness from melancholy” -Virginia Woolf “La tristesse durer a toujours” – the sadness will last forever -Vincent Van Gogh “Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who […]
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