Our guide at Tadoba said, “All these people who come from big cities – Pune, Mumbai and all – they take photos of anything!” He laughed incredulously at me when […]
An Old Lady in France
Having performed at Aix-en-Provence (close to Marseilles), and being readers of Dumas, we couldn’t not go to Marseilles and visit the Château d’If. We had read and heard enough about it […]
Pirated Books
I don’t like pirated books. I have repeatedly been very vocal and passionate about my criticism – I don’t like the quality of paper, I don’t like the quality of […]
Jeep Rides
Some people say that if you can drive in India, you can drive anywhere in the world. Others are more specific. They say that if you can drive in Calcutta, […]
The Eiffel Tower
I was not at all impressed when I first saw the Eiffel Tower. My problem with the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal and the Mona Lisa is that they look […]
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan
I listened to Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan and they were beautiful. In fact, I listened to many musicians over the last few days, and enjoyed most. Yet, when I […]
One-Arm-Distance
Children in dance class believe firmly that the closer they are to me the better I will be able to see them. I try every now and then – very […]
Sawai Gandharva
Sitting at the bharatiya baithak on the second day of the Sawai Gandharva festival, I realised once again that for me, the festival is as much about the grand music as about […]
My Name is Rose
I could say that Smarties Gold Medal winning author Sally Grindley’s book is about a Romanian gypsy being integrated into a dysfunctional recomposed English family. Orphaned during a road accident, […]
Cool Cans
When cans of soft drinks were launched in India, they were both ridiculously expensive and ridiculously cool. I remember the summer holidays – four cousins in Bangalore, always hungry and […]
Torre Pendente
We had just a few hours at Pisa, but we could not travel all over Italy and not visit the famous leaning tower. So we asked a lady on a […]
Cut
My sister and I often got invited to the same parties. Once, when I was about seven, both of us received birthday invitations that had a fancy RSVP slip that […]
No Television
I moved into a flat that looked as if it had been painted by the landlord himself. It had definitely been painted by someone who had never painted anything before. […]
Twins
My sister and I have repeatedly been told how alike we look. A few have also told us how different we look, astounded that we are sisters. The former is […]
Interesting Artichokes
The word ‘interesting’ is a perfectly tactful word that expresses nothing. It has become a word that’s neither positive nor negative, conveying that exact degree of neutrality that is considered […]
The Right Words
At dance class, children frequently cannot find their shoes. They leave their shoes in a mess outside the hall, and in their eagerness to leave when their parents come, other […]
Ramayan in French
My association with France began with a French exchange programme in 2004. I was vegetarian, I barely spoke French, I had never heard the French accent, I was to live […]
Complete Instructions
I revisited a very old recipe-book today. A little bored of baking cakes and pies, I decided to look at different kinds of dessert for a change. So I took […]
Crisp Apple Strudel
When we went to Salzburg, we knew more about The Sound of Music than about Mozart. Now I’m mildly embarrassed about that, but when we went, I was just plain excited. […]
A Night in Florence
“Is the station open all night?” In Florence with no hostel to stay at and frightfully expensive hotel options, we had no choice but to stay at the station. “Yes,” […]