For lonely people, rain is a chance to be touched…  Simon Van Booy Having spent almost half of my life in Delhi, I still sometimes feel like an outsider. Someone who somehow couldn’t completely connect with the city. This particular feeling becomes more evident on some occasions, the monsoon brings the most intense experience of this disconnect. Varsha Ritu, or the monsoon has always been like a raga for me. The way it starts with its soulful alaap of light rain and persistent drizzles. And then journeys through the changing rhythms of vilambit and druta layas to finally reach its …

  I want the species to outlive me, and for tigers to continue sailing past us, unconcerned and unworried. And I can only hope there is enough distance between our devious plans and the wild tiger   The sun shone with the intense clarity that comes in between rain showers. It’s as if the centre of the galaxy felt angry that its shining face had been blocked by monsoonal banks of clouds, and it was now compensating for its absence. The trees in the forest moved occasionally, shedding baggages of water from their arms. It had rained some time ago, …

He wanted to know how they prayed to God in El Dorado? “We do not pray to Him at all”, said the reverend sage. “We have nothing to ask of Him. He has given us all we want, and we give Him thanks continually.”                                                                                                   Voltaire    Before we commence our journey to …

By Sabahat Afreen पुराने दरख्तों की लम्बी शाखों की तरह बहनें कितनी भी दूर क्यूँ न चली जाएँ, उनकी जड़ें उसी मिट्टी से बंधी रहती हैं। इस बार राखी और ईद साथ पड़ रही है। ये ख़बर सुनते ही मेरे चेहरे पे बेसाख्ता मुस्कुराहट उतर आयी। ईद की ख़ुशी अपनी जगह है लेकिन रक्षाबंधन की प्यारी सी महक दिल में अलग ही एहसास जगा रही है। होंठ अपने आप गुनगुना उठते हैं वो गीत, वही मीठी धुन – “इसे समझो न रेशम का तार भैया मेरी राखी का मतलब है प्यार भैया…” भाई बहन का रिश्ता मेरे नज़दीक सबसे हसीन …

‘Her love for Him, made her the Almighty’ the opening lines of the film set the tone for a tale of love that’s divine My first, real encounter with Sufism happened on a school trip to Fatehpur Sikri. On the second day of our three-day excursion we visited the tomb of Salim Chishti. The walk to the shrine from the mighty Fatehpuri Darwaaza was anything but pleasant. There were touts, shopkeepers, self-appointed guides who kept tugging at our sleeves asking us to avail of their services. The scorching summer heat only made things worse. But the chaos of the outside …

BY RAJESHWAR VASHISHTH यज्ञ आजकल नींद से बोझिल पलकें लिए देर तक जागती है चिड़िया पेड़ सुनता है उसकी कौतुकी कहानियाँ। पेड़ जानता है, किसी व्यक्ति से प्यार करो तो सिर्फ़, उसे सुनो प्रेम में सुलगते हुए शरीर हवि बनते हैं काम-यज्ञ में गुंजरित होते हैं वात्स्यायन के दिव्य सूत्र और भस्म हो जाता है सारा कलुष। सुनेत्रा, प्यार में सब चाहते हैं कि उन्हें सुना जाए, शरीर से आत्मा तक।   व्यस्तता चिड़िया ने नाराज़ होकर पेड़ से कहा – व्यस्तताएँ प्रेम की दुश्मन होती हैं हवा व्यस्त रही नीले बादलों के नीचे, उसे तो फूलों के प्रेम पत्र …

Hello Readers, I’m back with another miraculous tea to keep you all in the pink of health. Come August and we have a line of festivals to feast upon. Not wanting to be a killjoy (why, even I shall plan a festive meal for the family!), I shall just remind you to have a hot cup of this delicious tea to calm your digestive tract after you’ve devoured the khasta kachauri on Raksha Bandhan day! The Humble Tej Patta Of all the ingredients of our garam masala, without which the kitchen cabinet will become poor, the tej patta is the cheapest …

    There are special friends whom we may not meet for a decade; not speak with for years together. But, just like a dry branch sprouts fresh leaves in the first monsoon shower, these friendships take off effortlessly from where we had left them last. July 2004. 5500 feet above mean sea level. It was drizzling the morning I stepped out of my guest house in Gangtok, Sikkim. After travelling a couple of days in the Darjeeling hills to report on a cover story on the status of hill stations in India, I had reached Gangtok the evening before, …

Over the last few years, Dipesh has transitioned from his IT career to hospitality. He is a passionate, self-taught baker, cook and photographer. Apart from working as a hospitality consultant, he is now the Chief Baking Officer and Bread Coach at The Enthu Bakers teaching people to bake artisan breads. When not in the kitchen, you will find him travelling on his motorcycle looking for a muse for his camera.   Editors Note: Dipesh’s journey has had stops in several cities around the world. In this column he shares with us his unique interpretation of them through his special lens tinted …

Dear Readers, before you read this article, raise your hand if you have never heard about fasting before? I am sure most of you have heard about fasting or at least have seen someone on their Fast.  It is a universal practice, which is followed by many cultures across the globe. In everyday life, our body uses 80% of its energy in digestion and the rest of the energy is used in healing. So, when we fast it works the opposite; our body uses less energy for digestion, and it uses more for repair and healing. My first fasting experience …