Shubhrata Shankar Iyer, Author at tra-verse

JOY IN JAPAN (MYSTICAL Mt. FUJI)

By Shubhrata Shankar Iyer On November 11, 2024

An artist’s muse, a poet’s afflatus, lovers’ hideaway & a devotee’s halidom ―that’s Mt. Fuji, as the world has known it!! Be it Fujifilm rolls, or the famed Ukiyo-e paintings with the iconic wave lashing …

JOY IN JAPAN (TONY TOKYO)

By Shubhrata Shankar Iyer On June 1, 2024

Planning, designing & arranging a visit to the Land of the Rising Sun had become our Ikigai ever since we ideated the trip. The Sakura season (cherry blossom season) that usually lasts a fortnight, is …

BLACK MAGIC IN KURSEONG!

By Shubhrata Shankar Iyer On December 25, 2023

Among the many spooky places in India, Kurseong is one. Or is that a hype created by the locals, who are perhaps hand in glove with tourists & media? We were keen to explore & …

THE HAUNTED LAND OF WHITE ORCHIDS 😱

By Shubhrata Shankar Iyer On January 11, 2023

’10 Days in Darjeeling?’😳 It’s not worth it!’ That’s what we heard from those who had visited the place. However, it goes without saying that we had spent 5 days in this Queen of Hills …

A SPIRITUAL OASIS IN MUDDLED MUMBAI -PART-III

By Shubhrata Shankar Iyer On October 4, 2022

It was like stepping into a mystical fairyland! Just that it wasn’t exactly one. I was about 10 when I had first stepped into this ethereal fane & everything seemed magical! Ensconced in a beautiful …

A SPIRITUAL OASIS IN MUDDLED MUMBAI -PART II

By Shubhrata Shankar Iyer On July 31, 2022

A SPIRITUAL OASIS IN MUDDLED MUMBAI-PART-II-AMBERESHWAR SHIVA TEMPLE-AMBERNATH If one temple is an embodiment of tranquility, another could be a treasure trove of an artist’s creativity. ‘Where’s the need for such elaborate artistry & display …

A SPIRITUAL OASIS IN MUDDLED MUMBAI- PART I

By Shubhrata Shankar Iyer On July 15, 2022

A SPIRITUAL OASIS IN MUDDLED MUMBAI- MINI SHABARIMALA Perhaps it’s your dream to find a spiritual sanctuary in the city that never sleeps. Where the rickety footpaths reflect the city’s squalor, where the thunderous trundling …

PUNTING IN CAMBRIDGE

By Shubhrata Shankar Iyer On June 6, 2022

Once upon a time, more than four decades ago, our prelapsarian adolescent days were spent anticipating nights that marked sleep-overs, which were still uncommon back then. Our sleepovers were spent poring through Linda Goodman & …

Lessons From Around the World..

By Shubhrata Shankar Iyer On November 21, 2020

Christmas of 1987. I, a teen was aboard a Gujarat bound train with my parents & brother. Ours is a family that loves to gallivant & my parents never lost an opportunity to break the …

On Cloud Nine in Switzerland

By Shubhrata Shankar Iyer On October 22, 2020

What’s a trip to Switzerland without a visit to the snowy Alps? That’s what we were told & it was hard deciding between Mount Jungfrau & Mount Titlis ―the 2 popular spots, given our short …