Who said, only in India?

While I walked down Kyoto’s Shijo-dori, I discovered a sight I never expected to find in this immaculate city — a tangle of wires; not that it was a common sight.

Memorable Mumbai

Photo courtesy: Whitney Lauren — Wikimedia Commons

Have you ever visited a place and then years later, read a book set exactly in that location?

On my first encounter with Mumbai (Bombay back then), I convinced someone to accompany me to the city’s red light district. We trekked past The Cages, but within minutes, the atmosphere had a, why are you here atmosphere. We turned on our heels and raced away, but I have never forgotten those waiting women.

Tandoori

Tandoori was once a dish of the poor until the Moguls stumbled upon the unique flavour and turned it into one India’s most popular dishes.

Unfortunately, I never discovered its delight on my Indian visits, but once I reached East Africa, I soon learned what I’d missed.

Pongal

I ate a Tamil Nadu breakfast while my eyes wandered over a menu painted on the wall above, deciding what to eat for breakfast the following morning.

Bollywood Invasion

 

In spite of being in Kollywood territory, I lost track of the number of Bollywood stars in advertisements on television from Irfan Khan (and other Khans) to Ashwaria Rai-Bachan and her in-laws.

Chennai alleyway street food

After catching ae bus, then another from Mamallapurum to southern Chennai, I idled in alleyways; anything to avoid the roar of traffic on the main road.

Mamallapuram’s main heritage site

Nestled within the boulders of Mamallapuram, were temples carved into granite boulders just west of the shore temple. I wandered through a labyrinth of paths where elaborate friezes were carved into the stone as well as temples fronted with columns.

Afternoon nap time

Sometimes when the heat just became too much, I headed back to my room, turned on both the fan and the air conditioner and picked up a book. After I few pages, I found myself nodding off but hey, I wasn’t the only one was I?

India’s first car

On my first trip to India, there were no imported cars. It was India’s Ambassador or nothing. Taxis were Ambassadors. Private cars were Ambassadors. It was like the food, you ate curry or you didn’t eat back then.

At the feet of Gandhi

How could I be in India without taking at least one photo of a statue of India’s beloved Mahatma? It seemed every Indian vacationing in Pondy wanted to do the same.