Festival Time – Mumbai Style
This week it’s Janmashtami that the city celebrates – the birth of Lord Krishna. Baby Krishna loved home-made butter and he’d help himself to all the butter pots in the … Continue reading
The Thanjavur Maratha Palace
Every now and then, I come across interesting people I yearn to meet. No – not Brad Pitt or George Clooney. But people like Dostoevsky. And Lee Kuan Yew. Chanakya. … Continue reading
Wall Paintings & Murals – Tanjore
The number of visuals vying for the attention of my eyes is mind-boggling. What should I see – what should I stop and stare at, what should I stop and … Continue reading
Stone Sculptures & Bronze Statues – Tanjore
Disclaimer: Compared to other forms of art that I know very little about, in the field of stone and bronzes I know absolutely nothing. My reactions when I saw these … Continue reading
Shiv Lings at Tanjore
The city of Tanjore is not big geographically. In a single day it is possible to visit the 2 important world heritage sites. But to look at everything that those … Continue reading
Art in Architecture – Tanjore Temple
Traveling again. Gaining experiences. Learning more. Feeling more. And hoping to share them all here. *** Contrary to intuition, on this trip I learnt that the time spent on an … Continue reading
Art in Combs!
Beauty can be exhausting …. Because there is no end to the numbers that can offer this delight. With all the freedom in the world to look at beautiful objects, … Continue reading
A Fabulous Walk in Ladakh, 1982 – Guest Photos – PART II
Too many good things have wandered into my life and so until proven otherwise I shall continue to believe that I am a favorite with the Gods of serendipity. And … Continue reading
A Fabulous Walk in Ladakh, 1982 – Guest Photos
I’ve always felt that I am one of the extremely fortunate ones on earth defying the odds of an average or even sub-average life. For, how else can one explain … Continue reading
Ganga Snaan & Cleansing the Soul
In my opinion, the philosophy held within religions offer very useful supports to manage one’s own mind. Mind control of one’s own mind. And when one is on a downward … Continue reading
Ganga Arti, Haridwar
The city wakes up to attend this pre-dawn arti, in which the Ganga is worshipped with lamps and flowers. The devout take a bath in the chilled waters of the … Continue reading
Chance Encounters / Haridwar
Just walking around absorbing the culture of Haridwar and I get to witness some important ceremony by Radha worshippers: p.s. the music is original – a little live band led … Continue reading
Heritage – Genealogical Records in Haridwar
I’d heard about the family-historians or Pandits in Haridwar many years ago. Their sole work in life is to maintain records of families and they have been doing this as … Continue reading
The Flow of Ganga – A lesson learnt
When one thinks of the Ganga, one thinks of serenity and calmness and peace. But the form that the river takes in Haridwar is anything but that. She is more … Continue reading
Life by the Ganga – Street Scenes
“Those who believe there are only 7 wonders in the world need to explore more ….” And I see too many daily-life scenes in Haridwar by the river Ganga that … Continue reading
Honor Rituals & Red Phulkaris – A Hypothesis
“Use of Phulkaris in Wedding Rituals – Social Practices in Punjab pre-1947” is a report based on an independent exploratory study that focuses on the use of Red & White … Continue reading
A Manganiyaar Concert
It was the evening after I’d arrived into the small town with a population of 50000. Am supposed to head out to the rural area in the morning. A casual … Continue reading
An Interesting Anecdote….. Dowry
In a recent conversation with one of my rural friends, we were speaking about a tribe that lives mainly in the desert of Rajasthan. He told me of the unique … Continue reading
Note on Red Phulkaris / Use in Wedding Consummation Rituals
Immersive exposure and study of the 29 white-base phulkaris led to certain observations. Supplemented by readings of published material (Cooney (2019), Hershman (1981) and Ibbetson (1939)) led to the formation … Continue reading
Stay Tuned: Report on Cultural Use of Phulkaris coming soon….
Old books on the culture of Punjab surround me. Notes from the fieldwork done in 8 cities in Punjab surround me. 29 white & red Phulkaris surround me. And a … Continue reading
The “Goze” of Japan – Notes from Arm Chair Travel
“Well into the 20th century the Japan Se coast was the haunt of the Goze – the blind wandering musicians. They went from village to village in the old province … Continue reading
