yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

Wild Madhya Pradesh Editors: Bittu Sahgal and Lakshmy Raman Publisher: Sanctuary Nature Foundation ISBN: 819354964-3 Pages: 174 It is not a good idea, a friend had quipped after reading one of my articles on wildlife conservation, to – each time – raise questions, point out the gaps and make people uncomfortable and unhappy. On occasions we need to move beyond cynicism and technical details, to not just accept but also celebrate what we have. A celebration which enthuses people to take a plunge, venture into the forests, get closer to its denizens and make them take steps to protect them. This book does just that. It celebrates the central Indian forests. This is a premise it makes clear at the onset. The book is an effort of a large team – authors, photographers and designers amongst others. Most of the chapters are based on personal experiences and carry vivid descriptions. Diversity brought about by the wide range of authors - from those with half a centur...

Orchha Images of the fort / palace complex had had me keen on visiting Orchha since few years. My increasingly falling belief in long-term and detailed planning enabled me to land up at Orchha finally. As the tempo took me ( and 10 others ) from Jhansi, I noticed a board stating, ‘ Welcome to the town of Ram Raja’ . This is a place where the Lord is the King. Image Credit: Kumar Radhakrishnan Fort / palace complex At the fort / palace complex guides appeared like at other tourist places. What came to fore, what informed me of Orchha, was a question to a security personnel. Your small question has a longish answer he warned and gauging from my body language, went on. A guide or a scholar would have found it difficult to match the emotion and connect he brought in. It was his story as well. He also made me re-realize that small towns in my country are way different from its cities. A large proportion of people in these towns have their moorings and identities clea...

Allahabad : Beyond the Kumbh Why do we not talk about this aspect of Uttar Pradesh – the aesthetic appeal of its towns? Why is Uttar Pradesh not the state of beautiful towns I wondered as I moved around Allahabad. Lucknow has a charm of its own, from the Nawabi history to the display of political power and will in its recent structures. While Banaras is well – Banaras. Walking in Allahabad I came across more elegant buildings in a day than I had seen over the past few years. Structures which repeatedly left me in stunned silence. They belonged to an age where grace possibly was not rare. Even the two branches of the State Bank of India, I came across, had grandeur and charm written all over them! By   सत्यम्   मिश्र  -  Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40701039 These roads and lanes also took me to my days with Amar Chitra Katha books. Sketches of the Peeli Kothi, and other Kothis, that were depicted in more ...