Back in the Summers of 90s, when we had ‘Desert Coolers’, we would often draw the curtains in, switch off the lights and get the cooler to do magic. This was our way of boxing in the cold. In a couple of hours, the temperature would fall & it would get so cold that my…
Category: Jammu & Kashmir
Now experience the ‘Garden of Europe, Keukenhof, Netherlands’ in the Tulip Gardens of Kashmir, India
Last week, I decided to act on my readers’ opinions and launch a new campaign – Rediscover India, Incredible India. As part of this, I will choose a theme every month that would talk about the heritage, beauty and rich culture of Incredible India. Each theme will have 4-5 blog posts exploring unique and unknown…
A day of eternal romance in Pahalgam, Kashmir
It was almost afternoon when we reached Pahalgam. It had started to drizzle. I craved tea and before I could say anything, the hotel manager declared, “The tea is coming, ma’am” as if he read my expressions. But no surprises there! I am quite expressive. Anyone with a pair of eyes and a mind can…
12 things to take with you on your upcoming trip to Leh, Ladakh
Thanks to the growing popularity of travel bloggers, social media influencers, and the movie ‘Three Idiots’, Leh Ladakh has become a must-visit place on every idiot’s…errr I meant traveller’s itinerary. Come Summers, and people go berserk about making their already difficult life even more difficult by flying to Ladakh and gasping for breath at high…
Abandoned tales of an admired country: Kashmir of Incredible India
Disclaimer: This post is a combination of my experiences as a child who lived in North India & as an adult who has worked with people from Kashmir, travelled to Kashmir & spoken with locals. I do not claim anything. I know no mechanism to decipher truths. Only stories…that I am sharing here. All pictures…
Driving through Khardung La, one of the highest motorable passes in the world
Some trips are impromptu & fun, and some need immaculate planning that starts from booking your plane tickets at least three months in advance, planning your leave so that it doesn’t coincide with any program launches or business reviews at work & designing the itinerary to have a fulfilling experience (which means not miss anything…
Kehwa aur Kahaniyan!
Two days before our scheduled departure to Kashmir, there was news about stone-pelting & open firing in the valley. They were showing live footage on the news channels. It would scare the hell out of people like us who began watching TV in the 90s & have heard only one kind of news when they…
Mountains NEVER called me. I showed up uninvited.
The Mountains are calling and I must go”. When John Muir wrote this in a letter to her sister, in 1873, sitting somewhere in Yosemite Valley, little did he know that in another 140 years, his letter would become public knowledge and his words would form one of the most popular headlines ever to announce the love for mountains. When I think of mountains, I think of my childhood. That’s where it all began anyway.
Inside the Gurudwaras, and beyond this world, Amritsar & Leh, Ladakh
A few days back, I woke up early to finish off some pending assignments. I could feel all 50+ kgs of myself when I had to drag myself out of the bed and slow-walk to the living room, trying excessively hard to keep my droopy eyes open. The struggle was on when I heard a…
For my next spiritual retreat, I would head out to Ladakh, and this is why:
When I think of Ladakh, my compartmentalised heart gets flooded with joy, my three decade old memory that is on its way to develop early Alzheimer’s, starts behaving extraordinarily & pieces together my one week long Ladakh trip day-by-day. In that moment, my ever-anxious mind somehow manages to calm down, my heart beats a bit…
Don’t beat yourself. Beat Altitude Sickness in Ladakh with these 13 tips
Let me begin by saying that Altitude Sickness is for real. Popping pills is not enough. I know plenty of people who took all the precautions (as per them) & still spent days in hospital, or on Oxygen. Either way, it’s uncomfortable & a waste of your money and time. The thin air of Leh,…
Are you thankful enough? You would be at Hall of Fame, Ladakh
Come Fridays and my mind lights up a like a bulb. I get all the 51 ideas to make my life awesome, and not only the Left or the Right, but unknown sides of my brain get activated because my mind is endlessly creating lists of ‘how to make your weekends awesome’. It doesn’t end…
The trip of a Lifetime: 7 nights & 8 days in Leh Ladakh
You know why we call India, Incredible?! Because in no other country of this world, you will find such diversity of opinion, culture, food, language, clothes, art, handicraft, topography, flora and fauna, religions, festivals, terrain and beliefs. No other country. Period. Wherever you go in this country, you see a glimpse of ‘unity in diversity’….
The Jewel of India: Kashmir
Imagine yourself opening a box that’s been lying in the storage of your house. You don’t want to go, open the box because you dread the dust, the allergies & the dark. You know the box houses precious items but you put it off because – “who would enter the moist, damp & dark storage?”….
Paradise on Earth – of Tulip Gardens, Kashmir
गर फिरदौस रूहे ज़मीं अस्त हमीनस्तो, हमीनस्तो हमीनस्तो! If there is a paradise on earth, It is this, it is this, it is this! I never knew that Kashmir was so beautiful until I saw it. I often heard about the place as a child & I grew up reading about Kashmir & its beauty…
Life on weekends- Home 