In the sun-baked ruins of Hampi, where granite boulders and shattered temples still gossip about the glory days of Vijayanagara, a far more successful occupation force rules the roost: the Brahminy starling (Sturnia pagodarum). These birds are not grand. Ask a child to draw a stick figure of a bird, and she'll most likely draw... Continue Reading →
Hampi is arid. A dry, deciduous surreal landscape of strewn boulders. If the myths and local lore claim it to be the Kishkinda of the vanaras, I can see why. Massive rocks lie scattered as if a giant hand has abandoned a game of marbles halfway through. “Vali and Sugreeva used to play here with... Continue Reading →
"Adhalle Adhinde Oru Sheri" Roughly translated, it means "Isn't that the right of it?" A simple, elegant, if slightly cryptic Malayalam phrase that gently reminds us: no matter the situation, there is an inherent rightness—a quiet spirit of goodness—in doing the better thing. It goes beyond legal obligation or strict equality. It’s a soft acknowledgment... Continue Reading →
"I had spent many nights in the jungle looking for game, but this was the first time I had ever spent a night looking for a man-eater." - Jim Corbett, Man-Eaters of Kumaon I had picked up a gorgeous copy of Jim Corbett's Man-Eaters of Kumaon some months ago—one of those timeless Aleph Classics with... Continue Reading →
Every four years, I reactivate my invariably expired telly license to watch the FIFA extravaganza. I relive the glory days of watching matches on a single channel at ungodly hours. I used to be able to rattle off names like Salvatore Schillaci (as I write this, I have sadly learned that he has passed away),... Continue Reading →
A few mornings ago in Mysore, I stepped out onto the porch, wincing from kidney stones. The Farm is usually my happy retreat — binoculars glued to my face, ridiculous grin in place. But that day, pain was winning. The previous afternoon, I had hobbled deep into the property, stick as a crutch, very aware... Continue Reading →
Just two days back, I drove 300 kilometers back home with a broken foot. All because of an Orange Minivet. Wherever I stopped on the way, mostly for waterbreaks, I hobbled out, leaning my weight on my car, wincing with pain. Despite the gritting of teeth and sweat pouring down my back, I was ecstatic.... Continue Reading →
Bangalore has been especially cold this year. Most early mornings for the past two months, I have been surviving with a steaming cup of golden-brown kattan tea and a shawl wrapped around me. Last week, I picked up Jim Corbett's Man-Eaters of Kumaon—it's gripping stuff: those tense stalks through the Kumaon hills, the way Corbett... Continue Reading →
Given how ridiculously common the Rufous Treepie is supposed to be across Peninsular India, it's frankly embarrassing that this bird has me acting like a hopeless groupie. Perhaps it's because Bangalore has been thoroughly colonized by the villainous Rock Pigeons (those sky rats) and their slightly less offensive cousins, the Spotted Doves (I'm team spotted... Continue Reading →
The Eurasian Hoopoe is my Proustian madeleine. I do not see enough Hoopoes nowadays, that whenever I spot one, I am taken back to childhood sunny gardens, chasing them away on aimless afternoons. Their fleeting presence evokes a warm nostalgia, stirring an innocent joy that’s hard to recapture. Mike Unwin, in his evocative book "Around... Continue Reading →
The Cricket Pages
I am taking notes
Life in Kana-text (er... CONtext)
Travelling with Fabulosity
Author
This is about my trips and adventures.
The Reluctant Book Worm 
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