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 ineffectively – to explain that this is not the case. “If you stand a little far, I can see you completely,” I explain. “Otherwise, I […]
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 watching people. There are all sorts there. People come with yoga mats, some get floor chairs for a back-rest, some come with all their picnic […]
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, she has to find her way into the affections of a money-hungry man, an attention-seeking girl and a guilt-ridden woman. She has to surmount the […]
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 always asking for ice-cream or cotton candy or, in the case of my cousins, soft drinks. I, sadly, did not like anything aerated, so I […]
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 train what to do, and she wrote for us the name of the bus stop to which we needed to go to see the leaning […]
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 had to be cut along the dotted line. Below the dotted line, it said: I can/ cannot attend your birthday party. (Please cut one) I […]
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. I loved the flat despite that, though, and I particularly liked my landlord and landlady. They were extremely curious about a girl who wanted to […]
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 more usual, though, and two instances stand out. As children, a gentleman came up to us. “Excuse me, but are you twins?” Taught never to […]
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 diplomatic. And ‘interesting’ was exactly the word associated with my first experience of artichokes. I had read about artichokes and was willing to try, especially […]
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 shoes get kicked, sometimes quite far away. One child came up to me with worry written all over her little round face. “Miss, my feet…” […]
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 with a French family for three weeks and I was to attend French school in that time. And because I was 17, I was not […]
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 out my little green book that’s falling to bits – a book called Refrigerator Recipes. I remember liking the book very much because of its […]
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. Everyone wants to talk to young Indian backpackers, and conversation with a co-passenger from Vienna to Salzburg was natural. She told us she lived in […]
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,” replied the lady and walked away. I wonder if she even understood the question. We made ourselves comfortable in the waiting-room, as comfortable as we […]
Nagarahole
It was not the first time we were going to a wildlife sanctuary. We had been to Kanha and we loved it. The idea of going into the jungle once more was thrilling. Safaris in jeeps, the quiet anticipation of a tiger’s approach and the sudden sight of a wild boar or a peacock hiding […]
Learning to Communicate
“Do you speak English?” we asked three police-people standing at a signal in Milan. The policewoman shook her head and turned to the men. “Just a leetle,” said one. Then began our attempt to tell them we were lost and looking for our hostel. The hostel had given us a map, but we had walked […]
Raghurajpur
If you have a day in Puri, visit Raghurajpur. You can see the Konark temple in history textbooks; you can’t see the little craft village with all its passion and creativity. Raghurajpur is famous for painting on Tussar silk and for its palm-leaf engraving. Watching the process of engraving palm leaves was fascinating, as was noticing […]
The FERRY
I had been on a ferry before – to Essel World. I knew all about ferries, I thought. In any case, what was to know? Five hundred people on a boat that could accommodate about three hundred, all carrying fish and other things I did not want to identify. That was what we were prepared […]
First Day at School
I moved to a school in Pune when I was five years old. I was like any other excited girl in the first standard with my new tiffin box, my new water bottle and my new bag with new books. I came from a smallish school in Vashi, so even the city was new to me. […]
Parikramaa 2012
Parikramaa 2012 – this weekend at Balgandharva, Pune!