Travel - Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Travel: Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh

Buddha’s Delight Sheila Kumar emerges almost as peaceful as the Enlightened One after a quiet day at Sanchi. Buddhism has always appealed to me since I’m a sort of middle-of-the-roader myself. Not one to glut on excesses in deprivation or indulgences, I go my way trying to live like a decent human being…

Travel: Red Earth Kabini Resort, Karnataka

On a visit to the lovely Red Earth Kabini Resort, my first impressions is that the Kabini is such a beautiful river. In full spate now, whirlpools and eddies glimpsed in the far-from-still waters, the colour of gunmetal. Every now and then, the backwash rocks our reinforced coracle. But I have full faith…

Travel: Mother Mary`s House, Turkey

The house on the hill Legend has it that after the crucifixion, Mother Mary went to live in Turkey. We go explore the site. Our guide Cengiz is telling a fascinating story as the vehicle climbs the steep inclines of Mt. Koressos, the Bulbul Mountain, on the outskirts of the famed historical site of Ephesus….

Travel: The Bosphorus, Turkey

I just can’t help it. As I stand looking at the rippling swath of blue water, a line from an old Hindi film song comes to mind: “…tumsa nahin dekha.” I’m on the European side of Istanbul, staring at the Bosphorus. Over the last four days, I have taken in all of Istanbul’s many delights….

Travel: Bhutan

Kingdom of happiness Every step I take is hard work. My breath has started coming out in gasps. I am more than halfway up a very steep gradient. I just can’t turn back. Is this a time to measure my happiness quotient? Not really. It’s a cool day, mercifully, and the hills that…

Travel: Ireland

Demystifying the misty isles of Ireland Ireland makes for the prettiest montage ever, that much is certain. Imagine peaty boglands, still lakes, fields of golden gorse, the enigmatic Round Towers. Cottages with thatched roofs, pubs with parquet floors, wainscoting and old ladies in tweed devouring scones with clotted cream, complete this picture. However, not everything you…

Travel: Kannur, Kerala

A superb coastal gem You have to come see Kannur’s buddhu fish,” the colonel, an old friend, tells me. And I’m hooked. What is life if you haven’t caught a glimpse of buddhu fish, whatever they might be? Which is why and how I find I’m in Kannur, a very tiny strip on the…

Travel: The gypsies of Granada

A touch of India in Granada I’m sitting in a small cave high up in a barrio in the Sacromonte hills of Granada in Spain. The walls are rough in texture and look white-washed. There are copper and brass utensils hanging from the rafters and on the walls, and they look oh-so-familiar: pots, pans, woks,…

Travel: Toledo, Spain

A flash of blades It is the dream tourists dream of when thinking of old Europe. Toledo conjures up images of ringing steel, of sabres flashing in a rakish manner. However, there is a lot more to the place…. While Toledo invariably conjures up images of ringing steel, of sabres flashing in a rakish…

Travel: La Maison, Kotagiri

Misty heights LA MAISON KOTAGIRI USP: Tryst with Nature He stood at the door of the colonial villa. Some three feet from the ground, pristine white feathers plumped. This red-necked turkey gobbled at us, till our hostess Anne-Helene rushed out of the homestead, La Maison. In some trepidation, we asked if the turkey was being…