This, That and Some More

Image Courtesy: https://www.anamoralesblog.com/en/sarnath-and-the-wheel-of-dharma/ Sarnath is said to be the place where Gautama The Buddha gave his first sermon, it is approximately 10 KM from Varanasi and it takes about thirty to forty five minutes to reach there, depending on the traffic. It is a place of pilgrimage for all Buddhists from all over the world and on itinerary of all travelers who come to Varanasi. Thanks to all the pilgrims and travelers from the east, Varanasi had a thriving south east Asian food scene, there were many Japanese, Vietnamese and Korean restaurants (now shut) here and the famous 'Blue Lassi' shop was named by a Korean lady as the story goes. However due to the many travel restrictions during the ongoing pandemic, the pilgrims and tourists from the east are not yet able to travel to India, I hope they can come back soon to uplift their spirit and put the pandemic behind them. Buddhism originated in India so we all know about Siddharta's journ...

Picture Courtesy: Bongeats Kolkata is where home and heart both are, Gunter Grass had a love hate relationship with Kolkata and Dominique LaPierre labelled it as 'City of Joy' and it truly is a joy to be home ensconced in the warm welcome of family and friends. Here, the people are harried yet politically aware with a vague sense of dissatisfaction around them, phrases like "eyi chole jachche" (it's going on) or "benche aachi" (I am alive) are common responses when asked "How are you?" I have always been saying that France resembles Bengal and before I could articulate that thought, it was written by someone else , anyway people like to complain about the politics, weather, transport, rising prices and whatever else is worth complaining about. The city is culturally aware, progressive in thoughts and actions, has an exuberant expression of art and creativity during festivals, it has a street dedicated to book shops and a road dedicated to worsh...

Image Courtesy: TripAdvisor Kashi, The Ganges flows North here  Creating a whole world here Shiva is the Chief Deity  here Parvati dropped her earrings here Kashi, People come to die here In the hope of attaining Mukti here By breathing their last here And to be committed to the pyre here Manikarnika, the funeral pyres burn here A person is nothing but a body here Placed on a pile of logs here To be set alight by a person once dear Manikarnika, the Doms rule here Their kitchen fires lit by the pyres burning here Doms are the sacred keepers of the flame here Being an 'Untouchable' and a 'King' is the greatest paradox here Manikarnika, the skull of the body is cracked here Bodies turn to ashes here Ashes sieved for valuables and immersed in The Ganga here May I also have the fortune to ascend the cycles of life and death and burn here An ode to my recent visit to Kashi

Image Courtesy: Times of India A few cities have a food or a snack which defines the city and what it stands for, for example if one was playing guessing games and if 'Vada Pav" was mentioned, nine out of 10 times the person guessing would say 'Mumbai' as is 'Croissant' for 'Paris' and perhaps 'Roll' for 'Kolkata'. There may be others as well like 'Idly' for 'Chennai', 'Bagel' for 'New York' and so on. Mumbai is an ever-growing city which is bursting at it's seams and has about twenty million people, the city has a frenetic pace and people are always spending time traveling from here to there. Local trains are the lifeline of this city and people (seven million daily) spend a significant amount of time on trains, they form friendships, save seats for special people (if they can), do their vegetable shopping and cutting in the train to save time so that when they reach home, what was chopped can be wa...

Image  Courtesy : Wikipedia Whatever is written here comes from an assimilation of personal experiences, readings, viewings, conversations and discussions and I don't claim to have any knowledge of my own and I am not factually correct. It is an attempt to write about my experiences which almost edges between dream and reality, so don't believe a word of what I write, go experience for yourself... What does one do on a long weekend? Now that's no dilemma really, because the answers are now quite standard, bingeing online streaming content, revenge retail therapy, meet friends and family or a short break to a resort nearby. From somewhere Kashi / Varanasi / Benares popped up and it was planned and booked, while being knowingly unknowing about the heat, the flocks of people, the temples (I am not religious) and my diet which forbade me to eat anything which tasted good. As the day came closer, the destination was much questioned and debated but finally the cancellation w...

Picture Courtesy - TripAdvisor   I have a Varanasi hangover and it refuses to leave me - I have recently returned from an amazing trip to Varanasi - an ancient, complex and unique city with so much of vibrant energy and positivity. while this city has a lot of temples which are on most travelers "to do" lists, the city is equally known  for its vast selection of street food. Every nook, corner and alleyway has food outlets tucked into a tiny niche, effortlessly dishing out their creations. Varanasi has many flavors, in mornings there is kachori-sabzi-jalebi - the holy grail of all breakfasts, chai and butter toast, choti kachori and you could have a few more variations around the same. These are primarily sold in the mornings after which the shops shut for a snooze and preparations for the evening menus. Most of these shops reopen in the evenings where they sell samosas, tikkis, bread pakaoras, bhajias and of course there are more shops specializing in various kinds of chaats...

I have a repository of around 8000 photographs from last ten years when mobiles started with cameras and I could afford to buy them. A vacation anywhere must have good clicks and they must be posted on social media with the help of some filters where a gray rainy day looks like it was the most perfect (if not sunny) day where we did not look as bedraggled as we felt. This seemed like a huge task which is mostly done by kids who want to look fab on Instagram but too tiresome for me.  Recently I have been told that I am a 'perfectionist' by a psychometric test - I never really thought myself to be one but yes now that I reflect over it, I may be one as that may be the only way I look at a thing / a task or a reflection in the mirror or a photograph. Speaking of which I always cringe when I see any of my photographs - in my opinion my facial expressions are always zombie like, spaced out, frowning or just not interested to be photographed. I officially have only 4 go...

My visits to France started in 2004 and then more frequently since 2013, my stays often included weekends where I would spend hours in museums and in Paris you cannot run out of  them, there are probably over a hundred museums on varied subjects. The good thing about museums is that its a temperature controlled space which protects you from heat / wind / cold / rain, has cafes within and access to toilets. Perfect weekend destination for a solo traveler if so inclined. The first museum I visited was Musee de Orsay, which is the temple of impressionism (the 4th floor), however I started from the first floor and by the time I reached the 4th floor, I was dog tired, my feet hurt and I was super thirsty. I had an audio guide which had a mine of stories and information about the paintings and the artists featured. I knew nothing about art, pointillism, impressionism, fauvism, cubism and so on and while I had heard about names such as Van Gogh, Gaugin, Monet, Manet etc, I had no...