(Sanskrit – Śrāvastī; Pali – Sāvatthī) To my parents. The curiosity to know about the genesis of Sravasti played on my mind from childhood. I had to explain the spelling and meaning of my name to most people. If I did not have to explain, then it had to be a Bengali...
The adventurous life of a female guide of Nepal's Everest Region The warm smile on Kandu Sherpa’s face belies the hardships she has experienced to become a guide and help trekkers walk the challenging Himalayan trails. Like her smile, her petite frame gives no...
Fishing among Crocodiles and Rhinos Dusk settled stealthily on the banks of the East Rapti River, sandwiched between Nepal's Chitwan National Park (CNP) and the picturesque tourist village of Sauraha. A group of men loitered around the thatched mud hut of Rishiram...
Consider these facts : 1. Emperors Akbar & Jahangir used to hunt tigers in and around Delhi and Agra 2. Jhalana in the outskirts of Jaipur has a lot of leopards 3. We have...
Gaetano Ciniselli, an Italian circus performer, founded the first brick-built circus beside the Fontanka River in St. Petersburg, Russia, in December 1877. The building has a large stage, stables and the first circus museum in the world. The Russian State Ice Circus...
A few miles north-east of concrete Singapore, lies the natural island of Pulau Ubin – the last real village in Singapore. An affordable 10-min ride in a bumboat from the Changi Ferry Terminal will take you to this quirky and rustic destination. The weather is...
It's late afternoon in late December, as I walk past the Subok lily ponds, over a wooden bridge up into the woods. The incline is steep for a kilometer up to a sandy path running along a ridge. Sometimes enclosed in rainforest and other times open or fringed by fern...
Experiencing Ethnic Bengal at the Rare Earth Farms and Homestay, Shantiniketan, Bolpur Train rides and villages of India bring with them a nostalgic feeling. Wanting to expose our children to both, but having limited time in hand, we went on an overnight trip...
(JP/ALL- Jaipur/Pushkar- India) Imagine the cities of Jaipur and Pushkar, two big hubs of tourism in Rajasthan, home to the Thar Desert. I know what your first mental image would be- two cities, dry and hot, a climate fitting of a desert? My friends and I recently...