Travel Stories
Evolve Back: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
Six hours from Bangalore, this modern-day palace attempts to recreate the grandeur of the Vijayanagara Empire that ruled South India and Sri Lanka in the 14th century. Its pink façade and Indo-Islamic architecture take design cues from the Unesco world heritage sites down the road.
Taj Meghauli Serai: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
For wildlife lovers who want creature comforts alongside rhino, tiger and sloth bear sightings, Meghauli Serai, bordering Chitwan National Park, Nepal, provides pitch-perfect service— marrying hospitality from the Taj hotel group with ‘naturalists’ (park rangers) trained by South Africa’s &Beyond group.
JW Marriott, India: hotel review: The Telegraph UK
With its running trails, tennis courts, birding and photography groups that convene on weekends, Cubbon Park is an oasis amid the bustle of Bangalore, and right across the street from JW Marriott. As well as great access for the town centre, there are the pubs, restaurants, boutiques, and art galleries that are nearby on Lavelle Road - a two-minute walk from the hotel.
The Park Chennai: hotel review for The Telegraph UK
Once the site of the cutting-edge Gemini studio, this 14-year old hotel takes its design cues from the movies, marrying dramatic public spaces with kitschy Bollywood bling. Avant-garde when it opened with its leather-floored bar and nightclubs, this packed hotel still has its swing.
ITC Grand Chola: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
Recreating the grandeur of Tamil history ITC Grand Chola, Chennai, India Telegraph Review/ Shoba Narayan/ Travel writer 8/10 With its signature Kaya Kalp Spa, nine award-winning Italian, [...]
Haveli Dharampura: Hotel Review: Mint Lounge
Haveli Dharampura and the future of India’s past Home » Mint on Sunday » Big story Last Modified: Sun, Dec 25 2016. 12 20 AM IST The restoration of Haveli Dharampura offers a template [...]
For Travel & Leisure Southeast Asia on Nepal
Elephants, birds, nature and a posh lodge in Chitwan, Nepal.
For The National Abu Dhabi on London comedy
And I got to interview the legend: Keith Johnstone
For The National, Abu Dhabi on Indian safaris
So every writer aspires to be a photographer or at least I do. Here are the photos I took at Kanha and Pench. You have to be patient and refresh the page many times. On [...]
Latest Articles
Poem: Keeper of Harmony: in Mukoli- the magazine of peace
Keeper of harmony Women are like creepers; my mother tells me-- or ought to be. Creepers braid themselves around trees-- no dissonance, [...]
Poem: Calendared Intention: in La Piccioletta Barca
Calendared Intention My mother calls me every morning and recites the panchangam = the Hindu calendar, beginning with the year, which shows, [...]
Poem: in these eyes lie ancient secrets: in The Madras Courier
in these ears lie ancient secrets (a riff on the film Roja) she tickles my ear with a golden brush i wake [...]
Poem: Crows and ancestors: in Indian Literature
Crows and ancestors A crow, dead? Hung from an Indian elm tree, splayed like black shorts on a fickle clothesline, except this was [...]
Poem :The price of tomatoes: in Indian Literature
The price of tomatoes the other day, Ma told me that she regretted not climbing Mt. Kailash seven decades ago then she asked for [...]
WisdomCircle: Mental Models
No matter what the field, there are three things that all of us need for success. The first and the foundational factor is content, by which I mean talent, knowledge, expertise, rigour, all of these that each of us have learned and cultivated since childhood in our chosen field. The second is attitude, which is the set of character traits that each of us have, either through genetics, through how we were parented, or because of the circumstances of our particular life. The third factor is projection, which has become increasingly important in this digital age. It refers to how comfortable we are with being well-known, either in our chosen field or adjacent ones.
Hindustan Times: Inclusion
How did the MacArthur Foundation with an annual budget of about $160 million, a staff of around 250 people and a jury of about a dozen become so spectacularly inclusive not just in terms of gender parity but also in every other domain? The answer is both obvious and very hard to achieve: by acknowledging their bias, and actively seeking to overcome it.
Hindustan Times: Show your love
An uncle passed away. At his funeral and subsequent days, I witnessed an outpouring of love and from his family, relatives, people he mentored and neighbours. All of which led me to wonder about the age-old question: what will your obituary say? What will people say about you after you are gone? What will they speak about at your memorial service? Which is another way of asking: who are you and what do you project to the world?
Hindustan Times: Secret Bangalore
To write this, I asked a few old and new Bangaloreans for suggestions of where to go and what to do. Here below is a list of “Secret Bangalore” suggestions, in honour of India’s 75th Republic Day. They include chaats to masalas to juices. Thank you Sowmya Nandan, Naresh Narasimhan, Vishal Nagpal and Jay Bhow.
