CATEGORIES

Most alive at the ragged edge of life

We’d stopped once again due to exhaustion, and just then we could feel the ground under out feet shake

The Monsoon

MONSOON IS THE WRITER’S SEASON; the time to stay indoors, awed by Nature’s glorious majesty, focus on one’s own thoughts and put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.

WHEELING GLEEFULLY!

With bountiful life of all kind spread across its land, every bend reveals a pleasing visual in Odisha and offers great experiences

Stories of Rural India

AS TRAVELLERS, WE PAN THE LANDSCAPE FOR THE GOLD of insights about any destination and the people who inhabit it. At the heart of travel — between memory, the windows into the past, and imagination that open out into the future — lie stories. India, with its diverse landscape and cultures, is a land of infinite stories with a great spectrum of people who tell them.

THE Walking LIBRARY

In the hilly Mothakkara village of Kerala’s Wayanad district, a 63-year-old woman walks several kilometers every day for those who love to read but have no easy access to books

SAVING INDIA'S LARGEST LAKE

A fisherman-conservationist, who is part of a community setting up fish sanctuaries in Vembanad Lake says that the belief that a rising tide will lift all boats, will help save India’s largest lake

JOURNEY FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

A young girl from Sumda Chenmo, a remote village in Ladakh’s Markha region, shares her journey from growing up without electricity to solar-electrifying over 50 such villages

REACHING FOR THE STARS LITERALLY

A young astronomy enthusiast from a remote Ladakhi village shares how she is smashing gender stereotypes

THE ABOBE OF SNAKES

A guide from the Dang tribe of Baradpani village in Gujarat shares how a snake tried to save his life, and why he feels responsible for protecting the species

Destined TO BE

In this time of kalyug, a man embarks on a journey of sacrifice and penance in search of truth and knowledge.

Deer AT THE Door

EACH DAY, two villages, spread almost across an area of five kilometres, are chosen for the procession, which begins at around six in the evening and lasts till ten at night. While kids are the highlight of the procession, elderly folks accompany them to ensure safety. As the deer makes a stop in front of every household, the residents give grains such as maize and wheat along with coins to the kids. Some people also throw walnuts which the kids are happy to catch.

IMAGINATION AND Beyond

A teacher from Maharashtra’s Purushwadi village visually documents the craftsmanship of two brothers and their imagination to create sustainable vessels, ornaments and more www.voicesofruralindia.org

A passage through India

In Wanderers, Kings, Merchants, a brand new book I’m reading on the roots (and routes) of Indian languages, author Peggy Mohan writes, “When languages die, it is an omen, of things to come that are still beyond our range of vision.” But if dying languages are doomed canaries in a coal mine, what about stories and storytelling? Do they speak of invisible threats too, of impending loss, when they evaporate from our lives, our imagination? Do they also foretell the death of languages, the loss of dialects? (They do.)

LAND OF LORD BUDDHA

Odisha was once a major hub of Buddhism. The rich legacy left behind will take your breath away

A Day In Kyoto

NITIN CHAUDHARY remembers a pleasant day out in Japan’s old capital, in a time when such trips were still possible

50 Best Restaurants Asia

The ‘Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021’ list, now in its ninth edition, was announced on march 25 this year

THE HILLS HAVE Sighs

This hideaway may just have everything we want in a calming hill staycation

PINK CITY'S NEW JEWEL LEELA PALACE

The recently launched palace property joins The Leela Group’s iconic hotels in Delhi and Udaipur to cater to leisure travellers sojourning through the popular tourist circuit.

Parts UNKNOWN

North Kerala often gets overshadowed by its popular southern sibling. And that’s actually a blessing in disguise.

KWATI Sprouted Lentil Soup

This lentil soup is made by sprouting mixed beans for a few days. this dish is consumed during the monsoons on the day of janai Purnima; considered very healthy, it is eaten with rice. vegetarians can omit the mutton bones

Finding FLAVOURLAND

PRANNAY PATHAK went café-hopping in paragliding hotspot Bir, and found the billing justified

BHEEMLI RESORT

Bheemunipatnam, 40km from Visakhapatnam airport, 25km from the city » Just 28 elegant rooms

radar

HERE, THERE, NOW & SOON

On Food and Travel

I HAVE NEVER CONSIDERED myself a foodie. Over the years of travel across Europe, I have gotten by with whatever I have come across, which being a vegetarian has at times been only bread and cheese. Food was not a priority and I spent the least amount of time searching for the specialities that a place had to offer. Now I wonder though if I was missing something in my travels.

Ellora 1960

India is full of myriad secrets—in its mazelike streets, historical structures, colourful culinary space, its people and their stories. Its rich history is shaped by numerous rulers, their dynasties and fortified structures, ancient memorabilia and a conscious attempt to preserve it all.

REDISCOVERING India

Amid lands already known, hide certain gems that are worth revisiting. Here is Team OT drawing the road map for you

NURTURING THE ROOTS

ASHISH KOTHARI and SHRISHTEE BAJPAI check into Sagg Eco Village near Srinagar and come away smitten

stay

HOTELS, HOSTELS AND NOTHING LIKE HOME

Goa's TOP 10 MUST-TRY STANDALONE RESTAURANTS

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Goa is a foodie paradise. RUPALI DEAN came back sated—and with this list

THE White KNIGHTS OF Rewa

Tigers are luminous beings, and white tigers are the brightest of them all. PUSHPRAJ SINGH —the current Maharaja of Rewa—recounts an extraordinary legacy