It was a freezing cold morning in Tawang; and we were supposed to go to Bumla. We had a reasonably late night at the Tawang Festival. It was the end of October and night temperatures in Tawang were already hovering in the negative. On top of the cold, the local alcohol that we all had…
Category: Timeless Villages
Discovering timeless villages and going off grid.
Alternative Living in Kasar Devi, Almora
In hindsight, I can say it must have been a fortuitous moment when I revisited Kasar Devi near Almora. It was the long Holi weekend in March 2018 and the trip had began with great difficulty from Delhi. It is a well known fact that migrating workers from across India go back home for celebrating…
Champaner Pavagadh Archaeological Park – In Pictures
On a heritage project for an assignment in and around Vadodara in Gujarat; the UNESCO World Heritage site of Champaner Pavagadh was high priority for me. And it did not disappoint; I spent an entire day savouring the Islamic architecture of the 15th Century town of Champaner and even older temples of Pavagadh. While the…
Samode Village : A Day Trip from Jaipur
It was as unplanned as something could be. Arvind Bhai of (Jaipurthrumylens) had an invite for Dal Baati Choorma at a function in Samode and since we had discussed visiting Samode Village numerous times, I instantly said yes when he asked if I was interested in going! Not that Dal Baati Choorma wasn’t reason enough…
Must Have Experiences in India : Loktak Lake
Manipur was turning out to be a destination that would change my perception of the North-East. Exploring Imphal was a breeze; also because the weather was perfect after a downpour. I had a day and a half to spend at Loktak Lake and was totally clueless about it. As the shared taxi rolled into Moirang,…
Life on Loktak Lake, Manipur : A Photo Story
If I ever made a list : Top 10 Experiences in India; it would have to include Loktak Lake in it. It is a unique eco-system with floating phumdis (land mass) on the lake housing moving homes. I know it sounds superficial or too good to be true; but thats exactly what this jewel in…
Backpacking in Wayanad : Top Offbeat Experiences
After detailed explorations of the mountains in North India, I’d set my sights on slow travelling in South India. It was by pure chance that I started off with visiting the most popular state tourism-wise that side, Kerala. I’d arrived in Kochi and the need for some cold weather had automatically led me to the…
Mateura Jari : Timeless Village in Parvati Valley
It had been a strange sort of a day in Parvati Valley. After having enjoyed solitude in Grahan, we had made our way to far away Kutla. The descent from Kutla and the subsequent arrival in Tosh, waiting in the rain in Barshaini and then wasting time in Kasol (in the dust and diesel fumes) had left…
Going Offbeat : Kutla in Parvati Valley
There are places that you make elaborate plans to visit and then end up visiting. And then there are places you rarely think about but destiny takes you there, and you can’t help but thank your stars for the random decisions and the twists and turns. Well, Kutla was one such place where we ended…
Celebrating a Traditional Festival in a village in Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh
After years of travelling through my favourite state in India, Himachal Pradesh – and witnessing many festivals in different seasons; I finally got lucky to attend a traditional village festival in Kullu Valley. I had reached a small village in Sainj Valley after changing a few bus rides and special buses had been started to…
Life in a Secret Village : Near Great Himalayan National Park in Himachal Pradesh
I was feeling feverish due to the sudden weather change in Parvati Valley (in May, of all seasons!) when I received a phone call inviting me to a previously unheard of village located close to Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) near Tirthan Valley, Himachal Pradesh. It was afternoon and I was uncertain if I would…
Grahan Village Trek from Kasol : Happiness and More
I was returning to Parvati Valley in 2018 after a year long hiatus; chiefly because of the crowds that I’d seen around Kheerganga on an earlier trip. I must have thought of Kalga though when a trip was planned with friends. When we boarded our HRTC Himsuta Volvo from Delhi to Bhuntar, there was no…