India Beyond the Guide Books

A palace in Gujarat, an art village in Maharashtra, and three more amazing places in India that you wont find in the Guide Books.

The Ancient Buddhist Caves of Bhaja

Through our meandering journey across India one of the recurring themes we have come across are ancient rock cut Buddhist caves. These monuments, which date back (in some cases) thousands of years served as settlements where monks lived and worshiped and can be found strewn all across the country. From Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh to Udaygiri…

The Magical Valley that is Ziro

Agar firdous baroye zameen ast, hami asto, hami asto hami ast”  – Amir-e-Khusru Dehluvi While Khusru was undoubtedly talking about Kashmir and perhaps rightfully so, the concept of paradise on earth can easily be attributed to many places in Arunachal. Nestled amongst imposing mountains and surrounded by deep green forests is the almost mythical Ziro…

9 Beautiful Doorways that will take you back in time

For as long as we can remember, doors and windows have always held a strange fascination for both of us. Something we discovered about each other early on. To us, they were always things of great beauty and mystery. Often times as you walked down a street, be it in an old city in India,…

Kirtan Das and the Art Village of Orissa

Something about his quiet demeanour stood out, his smile was humble, warm and inviting. His small home, dimly lit by a single naked bulb, was cluttered with rolls of canvas, painting materials and shelves full of curios.

A Glimpse into Tribal Orissa

Travel around India, to the extent that we are attempting to do, is incomplete without an opportunity to interact with the myriad indigenous populations of the country, be it in Ladakh, the Andaman Islands, all over the North East or for that matter in the interiors of any of India’s 28 states.  Recently on the eastern leg of…

The Sun Temple and the One that came before

Sun temples are fascinating in themselves. Most of them are built in alignment with the light of the sun, such that on specific days (usually the equinox) the rays from the sun create a straight line directly down the centre of the structure. This was true of the temples built by the ancient Pharaohs in Egypt as well as the Kings in the subcontinent, apart from elsewhere in the world. Added to this great feat of science thousands of years ago, is also the beauty and art that surround the temples. Keeping religion aside, sun temples are great places to visit to experience a wonderful coming together of science and art, especially at sunrise.

Kutch, beyond the Rann

During the dry season the Rann is cracked and hard, caked with a thick layer of salt which shines a brilliant shimmering white, but come monsoon the region is flooded first by sea water and then river water, a unique ecological phenomenon that attracts not only tourists but many a migratory bird species from thousands of kilometres away.