Is it possible to write about France and not talk about the food? Much more plastic conscious than ever before, I didn't buy any of the little cups of fruit yoghurt, or the chocolate mousse at the supermarkets, or anything that stood there on the stands in single-use plastic. But staying in a French family brings so much to the table that I missed nothing!I've written before about being what I once called 'impure veg'. I do eat meat, yes, once in a while. But I rarely - if at all - choose to eat meat. When I was younger, I was keen on eating everything; I tried hard to fit in. Now, I continue to try to taste everything, but I don't push myself to do so - no FOMO anymore!In Europe, my favourite meal, I realise, is breakfast. When our French friends came here, they commented, "Indian breakfast is typically savoury; how lovely!" A savoury breakfast is possible in France, of course, … [Read more...]
Surviving in the Jungle
Eight safaris with the same guide ensured that we became friends of sorts, and once he realised that three people out of five in the jeep understood Marathi, he opened up fifteen long years of experience to us. One fascinating safari was devoted to attacks by different animals, and how to save yourself."If a tiger is nearby," Vishwas told us, "just be calm. If he doesn't feel threatened, he won't attack you." For me, this translates as, "If a tiger decides to attack you, you have no hope. Your best bet is that it won't attack.""If a bear attacks you," Vishwas said, "climb the bamboo. Bears are great climbers, so climbing any ordinary tree won't help; you must climb bamboo. They can't follow you." For most city-people, this translates as, "If a bear decides to attack you, you have no hope. There's no way you can climb a bamboo, even if you are adept enough to climb a tree.""If a … [Read more...]
Tadoba
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 I was awestruck by a hare bounding into the jungle, chased by a wild dog. "Khargosh?" he laughed. "Hehe..." But truly, for this urban creature, it was fabulous to watch that hare leap away!Our guide saw chital (spotted deer) so often that he counted how many in a herd while we lost our hearts to those eyes.Our guide told us, "People come from all these cities - Pune, Mumbai and all - and all they want to see is tiger, tiger, tiger. I tell them to go to the zoo." Yet, the tiger was breathtaking. People who take photos of tigers have to be accustomed to seeing tigers. Otherwise, it's impossible to remember that such a thing as a camera exists when the tiger is looking at you. I thought I was very smart and set my video camera … [Read more...]