’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 …
Continue readingAuthor: Shubhrata Shankar Iyer
A SPIRITUAL OASIS IN MUDDLED MUMBAI -PART-III

It was like stepping into a mystical fairyland! Just that it wasn’t exactly one. I was about 10 when I first stepped into this ethereal fane & everything seemed magical! Ensconced in a beautiful bower, …
Continue readingA SPIRITUAL OASIS IN MUDDLED MUMBAI -PART II

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 …
Continue readingA SPIRITUAL OASIS IN MUDDLED MUMBAI- PART I

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 …
Continue readingPUNTING IN CAMBRIDGE

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 & …
Continue readingLessons From Around the World..

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 …
Continue readingOn Cloud Nine in Switzerland

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 …
Continue readingA Slice of Heaven ―Interlaken, Switzerland

I landed in Zurich Airport with my family and a mind loaded with images ―images of lush green valleys dotted with exotic alpine blossoms & the snow-clad Alps at the backdrop. Oh yes, how could …
Continue readingThe Lotus Land of Keukenhof

Summer … & wanting to avoid popular hill-stations, we scouted for options. Europe had been in my mind but we had only a fortnight at our disposal. Choosing the places was proving to be a …
Continue readingGeithoorn

Faraway, in the Netherlands, crisscrossed by canals brimming with wading ducks & punctuated by little thatched cottages, is a charming little countryside, called Geithoorn. Straight out of a fairy-tale book, this hamlet I feel is …
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