• Adventure - Fun - Places

    The Road to Khodala

    June 26, 2013 - By 

    The road to Khodala is not paved with gold. Neither Khodala is a city of gold that awaits you. But for over 4 months in a year, when the sky brims with monsoon clouds, when the parched earth soaks up the rainwater and turns vibrant green, and when the hills and valleys are adorned with tiny streams and roaring waterfalls, the road to Khodala becomes much more than that. The best thing that can happen to someone itching to get out of the city on a Sunday morning while the clouds waiting to burst is perhaps Khodala!! Not known to…

  • Arts & Culture - Culture - Fun

    Kala Ghoda 2013 Diaries – #3: The Auto Show

    March 7, 2013 - By 

    Decorated or redesigned vehicles are part of KGAF every year. Of all the vehicle installations at this year’s KGAF, “Birth Story of Vespa” stood apart. This installation represents the famous Vespa scooter. It brings out the similarity in form that the Vespa shares with wasp. Vespa is Italian for wasp. A good option to reduce pollution and consumption of natural resources but cycling on Mumbai roads can be suicidal Artist Hetal Shukhla says the “poor artist syndrome is oudated, boring and uncool. The new artist wants CHANGE.” Eleven-year old Dev Mehta reflects the ever-changing colours of Mumbai on this car…

  • Arts & Culture - Fun

    Indikaleido: A Cultural Kaleidoscope

    February 27, 2013 - By 

    This year’s Kala Ghoda Arts Festival got over recently. While blogging on that, we realised that we forgot to write about Indikaleido, another cultural festival that delighted Mumbai’s music and dance lovers in November 2012. This 3-day festival, an initiative by Horniman Circle Garden Trust, featured a few really good performances. We could attend only the ones on the last day. One part of the Horniman Circle Garden was dedicated to stalls of NGOs. Stall of Trishul, an NGO involved in slum sanitation, teaching less-privileged kids, and women empowerment. A colourful collection of bags at one of the stalls Pottery…

  • Arts & Culture - Fun - Places

    Kala Ghoda 2013 Diaries – #2 Danger Art

    February 15, 2013 - By 

    Skulls, skulls, and more skulls. This year’s KGAF  was dotted with skulls, most of them made of electronic waste.   This is one of the seven Kapala’s totems installed at KGAF 2013. These totems by Sukant Panigrahy invoke awareness of the dangers of electronic waste. Of the seven, six were made using electronic waste. One totem was made of organic materials or natural waste.  

  • Arts & Culture - Food - Fun - History - Places

    Goa Carnaval 2013: Fun, food, and Much More

    January 30, 2013 - By 

    Goa Carnaval 2013 is almost here! The 4 days of fun, frolic and, feast is set to open on February 9 and will last until February 12. But for foodies and cultural buffs, celebrations begin a day earlier. Food & Cultural Festival, to be held parallelly with the Carnaval (Portuguese for carnival), is slated to be from February 8. Goa is known mostly for its beaches. All these years, tourism as well as all celebrations happened in and around beaches. But this time, there is going to be a conscious effort by the department of tourism to remove the focus from the beaches and…

  • Food - Fun - Hotels

    The Dosa Effect

    January 29, 2012 - By 

    The Dosa Effect is not as profound or complicated as those in the science—the Doppler Effect, Raman Effect, Faraday Effect and the like. The Dosa Effect is simply the impact Dosa lovers can create on your website traffic. We wrote about the Pai Thattukada of Cochin and its famous 36 varieties of dosas. Pai Thattukada is a famous eatery in Kochi (Cochin) for the past few decades. Of the 36 special dosas they make, one of them is called the Thattil Kutty dosa. We don’t know whether this is a unique recipe or this is available in other eateries as…

  • TravelWithacouple Unny Radhakrishnan Bindhu Unny Matheran
    Arts & Culture - Fun - Places

    Of Faith & Creativity – Part II

    May 6, 2010 - By 

    Most of us have grown up with the philosophy of seeing God in everything – in every stone, every tree, every human being, every animal and what not. Roadside temples are not anything new in India. We have earlier written about a tree with a slight resemblance to an elephant’s trunk turning into Ganpathi idol and a street side temple. (Of Faith & Creativity). This is another interesting version. A huge rock in the Matheran hills turning into another massive Ganpathi. Clever use of colours and artistic rendering have converted this huge rock into a divine statue complete with a…

  • Fun - Sanctuaries

    Who Can Assure You a Tiger ?

    March 8, 2010 - By 

    On our second safari at Tadoba, a few kilometers inside from the starting point, this  board welcomed us.  As if to temper our expectations. This was at the border of Tadoba range and Moharli range where there is a small settlement.  Soon after this however we did spot a tiger.

  • Arts & Culture - Food - Fun

    Christmas Cake: A Heady Mix of Dry Fruits, Innocence, Wonder, and Laughter

    November 17, 2009 - By 

    It’s already jingle bells time at the ITC Grand Central! Last week was the ‘cake mixing ceremony’ – mixing loads of dry fruits with spices, honey, and fruit extracts. The mix is let to ferment for a month or so, for baking those delicious plum cakes for Christmas. This year, the students of Akanksha Lower Parel Centre were invited for the cake mixing ceremony at the ITC Grand Central, Parel, Mumbai. Saroj maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons were the celebrity guests for the event.The kids were so thrilled and charged up that they managed to convince their…

  • Fun - People

    The Pleasure of Meeting Them …

    September 4, 2009 - By 

    Traveling and blogging have opened up a whole lot of interesting experiences for us. Of which, one we cherish the most is the blogger friends. After interacting with them online for some time, meeting them in person (that too unexpectedly) adds to this pleasure. Thomas and Shilpy of Walkthewilderness (http://walkthewilderness.blogspot.com/) is another couple-blogger like us. Passionate about wildlife and photography, their blog is a visual delight. Thomas has been generous to us with his tips on photography. We were looking forward to meet them at the auditions for the Great Driving Challenge. After three fun-filled days, the exuberant Thomas and…

  • Fun - the great driving challenge

    The Missed Post: Top 3 Announcement

    August 19, 2009 - By 

    After our last post on Top 12 results of the Great Driving Challenge, we haven’t updated on Top 3 results. Soon after the announcement,  we had to pack our bags from Royal Palms and get ready for the journey. So here is the video of Top 3 announcement. [HTML2] We started our 10 day trip through the heart of Western Ghats on 7th morning and had a great time.

  • Fun

    Oh My God! From Top 100 to Top 12!

    July 23, 2009 - By 

    We can’t express what are we feeling now. We have made it to the Top 12 from over a thousand contestants. This challenge is getting interesting for sure. The 12 contestants will now meet for a ground event somewhere near Mumbai for three days. 3rd August to 5th August. The Jury is expected to grill us on all possible skills. And 3 will make it to the final round and get to drive 3000 kms. Once again thanks, friends.

  • Fun

    In the Race …

    July 21, 2009 - By 

    The first hurdle is over. We are in the race. As one among the 100. Thanks for everyone who voted for us. As the digital clock ticked seconds on the TGDC website on 20th July, we anxiously waited hoping that as it turns 1.00 pm, the home page will transform into a list of names and we have to search through the 100 names. But Sandip had one more trick up his sleeves. Sure the home page changed. But to some 100 blocks of letters. One had to click each of those letters to find whether he/she is in the…

  • Fun

    The Great Driving Challenge

    July 5, 2009 - By 

    Mitsubishi, with its Indian partner Hindustan Motors is organizing a contest open only to couples. Couples who love travel, who can blog, photograph and drive. We have jumped at it. Close to 400 couples are in the list now and a 100 will be shortlisted based on the application forms. Shortlisted people will have to go through a second and third round of evaluation – details of which are not known now – and a final three teams will be selected. These three will have to travel 3000 km during a 10 day period, blog about it with videos and…

  • Fun - People - Places

    A Different Trip

    May 17, 2009 - By 

    Meet Sraddha. She is about 12 years old and stays in a one-room house along with her parents and siblings. The sparkle in her eyes perhaps hides the difficulties of her daily grind. Since the past five years, she is experiencing a new life. Apart from her school, she now tries to fast track her learning of English and Maths. And hopes to fulfill her dream of becoming a police officer. Thanks to Akanksha, a Mumbai-based non-profit organisation working in the field of education. Akanksha’s core belief is that giving a strong educational foundation, self esteem and values to the…

  • Fun

    A Copy Writer’s Passion!

    December 9, 2008 - By 

    Did you know how well they make modular kitchens in Belgaum ? Well, a copy writer who wrote this advertisement copy for this brand in Belgaum seem to know. And a passionate copy writer he/she is. We saw this on the back cover of Belguam-Dharwad-Hubli Yellow pages, published by a private publisher in Belguam.

  • Fun

    Another Guess. What Is a Cabel Duck?

    September 14, 2008 - By 

    Ask any biologist or an expert in ducks. They will tell you that there are a variety of ducks. Appleyard, Crested Ducks, Indian Runners, etc. But what is a Cabel Duck? Even experts are at a loss.   We found this board in a hotel in Mangalore. If you can guess this, leave a comment.