We crossed the Deccan Plateau, heading east and descending to the coast to get to Pondicherry, a six-hour journey that went through the Eastern Ghats. The Ghats, clumps of loose granite boulders in places, loomed over housing erected precariously in their shadow, making me wonder about earthquakes and avalanches. The myriad establishments in the vicinity […]
Pondicherry – on the Tipu Trail (part 2) Read More »
The air was clean, the sky blue, and the temperature moderate when we arrived in Bengaluru, the Garden City and former hill retreat where people had vacationed from bygone times. But why was the place so damned crowded? Traffic was a cacophonous nightmare with tuk tucks, cars, busses, pedestrians and cattle merging and blending around
Karnataka – on the Tipu Trail Read More »
Based on a promise made eight years ago, we returned to Sri Lanka this winter, visited some old haunts and some new ones, and got to say goodbye to both the land and the people, for another visit seems unlikely, although I “never say never.” A lot seems to have happened in the eight years:
Sri Lanka Revisited – Again! Read More »
“If you are not with us, you are against us,” said President George W. Bush following the 9/11 attacks. Was that the beginning of our world’s extreme polarization? But this saying goes back to Biblical times. Check out Matthew 12:30 for similar wording, or Luke 11:23 for “He who is not with Me is against
Conflict-Ridden Statements Read More »
I returned from six weeks in Sri Lanka and India, a trip back in time, in the company of beautiful people, great food, and warm breezes, and was looking forward to capturing my travels on paper and reliving the memories, only to find my adopted homeland of Canada in the middle of climate-challenging winter storms
Junfraujoch (elevation 3450 feet) The 90-minute ascent from Interlaken up to the Jungfrau took three trains of constantly narrowing gage to penetrate many tunnels, but it took only a 20-minute gondola ride to descend into Grindelwald on the return journey. Even in this, the off-season, the lookout at the peak was packed with tourists –
Swiss Miscellany – Part 2 Read More »
Switzerland is a country I had constantly avoided during my travels around Europe. It lies in the middle of the continent, protected by mountains. Neutral and boring, I thought. I was surprised when I finally bit the bullet and put it on my bucket list as Country #70 to be visited according to my “one
Swiss Miscellany – Part 1 Read More »
I was raised to regard loyalty as one that once earned, remained for life, or until the demise of those to whom we were loyal, or until that loyalty was betrayed. So, one was loyal to one’s family, one’s country (even in battle), to one’s old school, and beyond academic years to being an “old
Loyalty Died With Advertising Read More »
When I entered high school back in the old country, when “streaming based on aptitude” began, I asked my dad which of the three available streams should I enter: Science, Commerce, or Arts? Dad replied, “Well, in my time, the bright kids went into Science, the average ones into Commerce, and the duds went into
The Value of the Arts Read More »
I remember the closing scene in the movie Camelot, in which a sad King Arthur rests his hand on old comrade Sir Pellinore’s shoulder, looks upon his burning kingdom being destroyed by lust and greed, and says, “You know, Pelli – the Roundtable was ahead of its time. Perhaps in a thousand years, people will