‘Duomo’ just means ‘cathedral’, but the duomo in Milan is just something else. The first time we travelled in Europe, we started with Milan. That made it exciting in itself. We drank from water fountains. We ate real pizza and real pasta. We tried talking to real Italian people with real Italian accents, sometimes talking […]
Experiences on Stage IV
Every time my sister Nisha and I performed in France, we had far less time to practise than usual. The last two performances were easier – we practised long distance on Skype before meeting and practising. Before that, it was individual, separate efforts, followed by coordination once I reached France. I remember the time we […]
‘Stranded’ in Ahmedabad
I remember the time when my father decided to surprise me by coming along with me on my flight to Kolkata. My flight had a stop over at Ahmedabad, and he decided to pop into Ahmedabad to see a friend. Until we reached Ahmedabad, things were happy and smooth. I was duly surprised, duly happy […]
‘Stranded’ in Paris
I don’t exaggerate when I say that my poor guardian angel is overworked. I don’t exaggerate when I say that I have the craziest possible travel experiences. Proof of the fact was given to me yet again in 2010 with the most unbelievable of problems. A volcano erupted. The famous volcano eruption that caused GPS […]
‘Stranded’ in Milan
Coming back from France in 2006, we had an Alitalia flight via Milan. Everything until Milan was fine – except one thing. This is an aside, but I must say this. In Milan, like in Vienna, I was asked to take off my belt and lay it in the tray to be passed through the […]
Travel Woes
I could write a whole book about things that went wrong while I was travelling. I have a very dear friend who says that my poor guardian angel is always overworked because I make him work overtime keeping me safe through everything. In some AC trains, there’s a little metal box above the berth that […]
Chenonceau
The little castle that appears on the Disney logo is, I am convinced, Chenonceau. The château de Chenonceau has to be a Disney castle. In the World War II, the castle marked the boundary between war zones and safe areas. People were often smuggled through the castle to the other side – the idea itself adds the […]
On the Expressway
Driving to Mumbai last evening, I noticed all kinds of things that bewildered me. People do the strangest things, and make my imagination soar. In the middle of nowhere, there was a man walking on the divider, in the direction of Mumbai. I wonder, was he walking all the way? On the ghats, returning in […]
Experiences on Stage III
Performing in Chidambaram is an experience that any dancer would cherish. Mythologically, it is the place where Lord Shiva came and danced the Ananda Tandava, at the request of the sages. The golden temple of Chidambaram finds its way into many traditional songs, thanks to its splendour and history. When we danced there, one of […]
Southern Adventures
Travelling with two friends in the south of India was the experience of a lifetime! Our plan was essentially to go to Pondicherry, but friends convinced us to go to Kodaikanal as well. Buses to and from Kodai were very frequent, so we were willing to try it out. Going to Kodai was longer than […]
Trains in India
I remember when two friends of ours were coming to India from France, and wanted to travel across the north. We warned them that reserving tickets on trains here is necessary, unlike in Europe. We had to book two months in advance (it was two then, not four, as it now is). They were surprised, […]
After the Burggarten
I wrote, some time ago, about how we hunted for, and eventually found the city garden – https://varshaseshan.com/blog/burggarten-bitte/. In English, somehow, people we spoke to called it the ‘Rose Garden’ rather than the ‘City Garden’. Not unnaturally, we expected to see roses, but we saw none. The garden was truly beautiful, but we saw no roses; […]
Power Cut
I remember going to a creperie in Grenoble a few years ago – an important part of my French experience. I was in a large group of Indians for once, and soon after we had placed our order, our delicious lunch was served to us. And then, there was a power cut. We were surprised, […]
The Golden Rule
During our exchange programme with a school in France, my sister formulated for me The Golden Rule. If you don’t know a word in French, pronounce the English word that you do know in the French way. The likelihood of its being the real French word is very high. We used it for the first […]
A Train to Vienna
Why do people like us? Why do random people whom we will probably never meet again come up to us and do things for us? I wonder if we look young and innocent and vulnerable – if so, how long will we stay that way? I remember our journey to Vienna from Venice. I have […]
Getting back from Olympia
We managed, somehow, to get to Olympia, thoroughly unprepared. (How do we go to Olympia, please?) We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly there – how could we not? Yet, the whole day out in the sun got to us, eventually. And living on juice, bread and cheese is never a good idea. At Patras, we had an […]
Local Trains
I have a distinct memory of a ride in a local train when I was two years old. I remember crazy traffic on Mumbai roads – the reason why my parents chose to take a local train even though they were with two young children. I remember boarding the local with my mother, somehow. I […]
Walking in Varanasi
Varanasi, the immortal, eternal city, is one with narrow lanes and even narrower by-lanes. Getting to the hotel was like winding our way through a maze, where we had to walk in single file, lugging our backpacks and looking down to avoid stepping in fresh dung. I plodded grumpily at the back of the line. […]
Peach Juice
My sister and I coined a beautiful parameter for comparison. “It’s like peach juice” means something special to us. Backpacking in Greece, we did something very smart. We realised that we were constantly thirsty and often in need of energy. So we took to buying large packs of juice, rather than shopping all the time […]
Chestnut-Headed Bee-Eater
Before going to Tadoba, we talked about the fact that sometimes, we see no animals at all. Two of us had been to wildlife sanctuaries before, and wanted everyone to be prepared for an experience that might prove to be disappointing if you only want to see a tiger. Just being in the forest has […]