This is a question that I get asked a lot when I tell people that I love solo travelling and that I’ve been doing it for more than a decade now.
Not that I don’t enjoy travelling with others, but there came a point in life when I realised that I enjoyed travelling more often than others did, and waiting for company to travel meant that the plans would never materialise. So, I decided to take the plunge and travel solo, and that decision changed me forever. It has been one of the most liberating experiences of my life and still is.
6 lessons I’ve learnt from being a vegan in India for 6 years
It’s World Vegan Day, and I thought it’s a good time to reflect on my journey of being vegan in India for almost 6 years now and pen down the lessons that I’ve learnt along the way.
Why I want to go back to Vietnam—Just to Eat as a Vegan
I’m planning to go back to Vietnam just to eat. Yes, you heard that right — I want to go to Vietnam just to eat.
Travelling to a new place for my birthday is a yearly ritual. As I sat down to research where to go this year, one country kept coming back to me — not for its beaches or bustling streets, but for its food and flavours: Vietnam.
An Ode to Indrayani Rice
The first time I tasted Indrayani rice, it felt like a childhood memory, warm and slightly sticky. It clung to my fingers and to my heart.
We had stopped at a dhaba on our way from Nasik to Mumbai, the kind mostly visited by travellers on route on the highway. I ordered a simple meal of rice, dal, and a sabzi. When it arrived, I frowned at the sticky-looking rice, unlike the semi-cooked basmati rice which is usually served. But my hungry hand ignored it and quickly mixed it with dal, took a bite, and then what I experienced, I can only call it rice nirvana.
Why You Should (and Shouldn’t) Visit the Ganpati Festival in Pune
Imagine a riot of bright colours. The heart-thumping sound of the dholtasha (drums), energised chants accompanying it and groups of people moving to its rhythm. The rhythm passes through your feet, moves through your body, and somehow you become one with the crowd. It’s an adrenaline rush like no other. And I wait for this rush every year – it’s the Ganpati festival in Pune.
In the City’s Heart, a Forest Beats
When you think of Mumbai, the first thing that comes to mind is high-rises, crowded streets and people busy with their day-to-day lives — everything almost happening in fast motion. And that is true on most days. But amidst all this busyness when the mind seeks some calm and tranquillity, there is a green sanctuary where you can go to rejuvenate your soul: Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
When the Plumber Unknowingly Taught me a Spiritual Lesson
I woke up to a leaky tap and a messy floor filled with water. I immediately got into action, trying to stop the leakage first and then mopping up the floor before it spoiled the furniture. Then, when I had a breath to catch, my first thought was – I don’t like adulting. And the second one was to call the plumber to fix the damage.
Molar Days: A Comedy of Filling and Fear
I hate visiting the dentist. I hate it with the entire core of my being.
My fear of the dentist is so deep-rooted that I will do all it takes to avoid the visit; I will even go to the extent of brushing my teeth thrice in a day. (Yes, now I know that too much brushing is not good too.)
But one of my chewing teeth started feeling sensitive for a few days, and I continued chewing on the other side, hoping it would automatically disappear if I ignored it long enough. (Like I do with some things in my life.) But it was as adamant as I was. Of course, it was a part of me. (eyes rolling)
World Poha Day is Here – So are the Memories it Brings
What other dish sparks regional rivalry, family loyalty, and childhood nostalgia all at once? Poha does—and now it even has a global day to prove it.
When I first heard that June 7 was being celebrated as World Poha Day—or Vishwa Poha Diwas—I was surprised. Don’t get me wrong, I am the biggest fan of poha, but having a day around it was what surprised me.
I am a wanderer, not a traveller
Travel for me is like looking at life in a place through binoculars. You see everything close enough, yet you have a certain objective distance from it.
It has its pros and cons. You get to see only what you want to see, and the first impression is usually the one that sticks with you.
And that happens both ways. The way we judge a place and the people there – vice versa, the way the people there judge us.