Traversing Time In Ooty


Everyday

The last time I came to Ooty was when I was graduating from high school. I was a certified loner then, and I remember thinking that my biggest fear then was if anyone would agree to be my roommate. I don’t remember anything of Ooty. Not its hills, not its climate, not its gorgeous chocolates. […]

July 9, 2016

Dante And Butterflies


Everyday

It’s not often that you meet a man called Dante. Come to think of it, I have never met anyone called Dante. Dante the playwright, yes, through his works. But this Dante, I meet in the beautiful Philippines island of Siquijor. On my way to visit Mt. Bandilaan, I see this little sign that says […]

March 31, 2016

An Escape To Wine


Everyday

It’s morning but the heat is already enervating. A dry, barren plain stretches out before me. The air is dry. The landscape almost like a surreal scene from a dystopian flick. The odd patch of green struggling against the aridness. Your car turns the corner, off the Sholapur-Pune highway, onto a rough road, and then […]

March 24, 2016

Finding Faith In Siquijor – Part 2


Everyday

Siquijor has healers of all kinds. Herbolarios like Ann, who you read about in my previous post. Then, there are bolo-bolo healers. There are also the darker mambabarang – the ones who will cast a curse with their potions. But the ones I want to find are the bolo-bolo healers. Bolo-bolo healers use a drinking […]

March 12, 2016

Finding Faith In Siquijor – 1


Everyday

The sun is already fierce at 10 in the morning as I make my way through narrow winding roads up the hills on a little Vespa-lookalike motorbike. On my left, in the distance, the turquoise sea stretches away, oblivious to my quest. After an hour, I wipe the sweat from my brow, remove my helmet, […]

March 8, 2016

Burma: Monks And Monkey Minds


Everyday

  Burma or Myanmar? A country that is democratic or authoritarian? Modern or traditional? Yangon or Rangoon? The contradictions of Burma are apparent from the time you land in Yangon’s international airport. It is winter and the city is wrapped in a slightly colder haze. The roads are wide swept and clean and the visions […]

November 11, 2015

Goa In The Monsoon


Everyday

The sun is playing a game here. Kissing the clouds. Pushing them away. Rain here. And then rain no more. Vagator doesn’t have much in the way of ‘seeing.’ It’s just an ordinary beach, if you really want to describe the serenity of the ocean in such manner. But there is a ruggedness to the […]

July 22, 2015

Journeys and More: Vagator Calling


Everyday

I hadn’t posted to this blog in a while. A combination of ennui, chaos, and a sense of wordlessness had gripped me. As always, when I feel that I have reached the end of my tether, there is just one God I turn to – the God of Travel. The long Eid weekend was a […]

July 21, 2015