Times Change

250. Going to the South ....

2026-08-18T11:05:53.014+05:30

(ही पोस्ट मराठीत इथं वाचता येईल.) One day I realised that it had been many years since I had been to Pondicherry. The last time I had gone there was in 2012. So I decided to go again. First, I had to sort out my accommodation there and, accordingly, book my train ticket.I used AI to help me plan how to get from Chennai to Pondicherry and what activities I could do in Pondicherry. I gave it

249. A visit to "BoShanKo": Part 4: Kali and Meghanad

2026-07-18T13:02:52.548+05:30

(ही पोस्ट मराठीत इथं वाचता येईल.) Our stay in Kolkata was coming to an end. Whenever I am in Kolkata, a visit to Dakshineshwar Temple and Belur Math is a must for me. We had planned to visit both on the last day of our trip. However, due to time constraints, Belur Math had to be dropped from the itinerary.I remember visiting Dakshineshwar sometime around 1985. Strangely, what I

248. A visit to "BoShanKo": Part 3: Old Kolkata

2026-04-22T10:31:22.898+05:30

(ही पोस्ट मराठीत इथं वाचता येईल.)Finally, our stay in Bolpur came to an end and we started towards Kolkata. This journey was by train. We went to a railway station called “Prantik.” A small station. Just three or four platforms.Prantik Railway StationThere was hardly any crowd. While looking for the meaning of the name “Prantik,” I realized that it is the title of one of Rabindranath Tagore’s

247. A Visit to “BoShanKo”: Part 2 – Santiniketan

2026-02-24T18:04:00.003+05:30

( ही पोस्ट मराठीत इथं वाचता येईल.)The moment one hears the name Santiniketan, the name Rabindranath Tagore immediately comes to mind. Open classrooms without walls, children sitting under trees, Gurudev, Visva-Bharati — a familiar picture appears before our eyes. We know this place as an educational and cultural pilgrimage centre, where education is not about examinations but about

246. A Visit to “BoShanKo”: Part 1

2026-02-09T17:01:00.002+05:30

(ही पोस्ट मराठीत इथं वाचता येईल.) You are probably reading the word “BoShanKo” in the title for the first time. You might also be wondering who this “BoShanKo” is—a person, perhaps? But “BoShanKo” is not the name of any person. In fact, I myself had never heard or read this word before. I have coined it today. It is a word formed by taking the first two letters from the first and

245. Thiruvanantpuram (Trivandrum)

2026-01-22T14:27:00.005+05:30

(ही पोस्ट मराठीत इथं वाचता येईल.)While planning my trip to Kanyakumari, I had already decided to stay in Thiruvananthapuram for two days. I had an assumption (I don’t really know why) that there would be plenty of buses from Kanyakumari to Trivandrum and that they would be frequent. In reality, there are almost no such direct buses. I was told that I would get a bus to Trivandrum from Vadassery

244. Wandering Around Kanyakumari

2025-10-05T23:00:00.001+05:30

(हा भाग मराठीमध्ये इथं वाचता येईल.) Part 2: Vivekanandapuram Since I reached Kanyakumari in the afternoon, it didn’t make sense to rush to the "Rock" (Vivekananda Rock Memorial) right away. I could have gone, of course, but by the time I reached, there wouldn’t have been much time to linger. So I decided to spend the first day leisurely exploring Vivekanandapuram. To my pleasant

243 Vivekanandapuram

2025-09-07T16:00:00.002+05:30

(Part 1: To Kanyakumari) (ही पोस्ट मराठीत इथं वाचता येईल.) Kanyakumari railway station is, in its own way, a charming little station. Yet this time, when I arrived, my first glimpse of it felt oddly depressing. Dust lay everywhere. Only when I stepped outside did I realize that repair work was going on. It struck me how easily our expect joy from smallest things, and how

242 To Kanyakumari

2025-09-01T12:55:00.001+05:30

(ही पोस्ट मराठीमध्ये इथं वाचता येईल.)Honestly, I had no plan to go to Kanyakumari. But a project I had worked on for nearly twenty months had just come to an end. Working online has many advantages, but I had grown weary of endless conversations through the computer screen. I longed to get away, to wander somewhere far. My original plan was to travel to Spiti Valley, but that trip was

241. Accidental Joy

2025-04-28T18:36:00.003+05:30

(ही पोस्ट मराठीत इथं आहे.)On that day I realized that for a long time I have been planning 'moments of joy'. When one is working, one has to plan leave, one has to arrange for work. Then planning the travel and stay, packing the bag .... come into picture. ‘Vanishing away’ is no longer an option for me. (Ah! Those golden days when I could disappear!) This has been my lifestyle for many

240: An Experiment in 2024

2025-02-03T14:02:00.001+05:30

(ही पोस्ट मराठीत इथं वाचता येईल.)Questions like "Who is your favorite teacher?" or "Who is your favorite author?" often seem amusing (and sometimes even pointless) to me. The reason is simple—there is rarely a single person who stands out so distinctly that no one else comes close. We can admire multiple teachers and/or authors simultaneously, each for different reasons. Our memories of people

239. The Search... for a Book

2024-08-18T15:07:00.000+05:30

To begin with, this post is both about 'that one novel' and yet, it isn't. It's not about that novel because this post doesn't aim to introduce the book. Yet, it is about that novel because... well.... In truth, this piece is less about that novel and more about myself. As usual 😉*****This story dates back to around 1993-94. It's so old, and the details are so hazy that I might even be

238. Just Walking!

2023-07-15T21:45:00.002+05:30

Within a day or two I would probably reach the destination! The destination is none other than 'the Earth's Core' according to this Pedometer! Well, this is hypothetical destination. So far human beings have not been able to travel to the Earth's Core - except for the trio Axel, Otto, and Hans - who travel to this destination in the novel ' A Journey to the Center of The Earth' by Jules Verne!

237. To Burma: With Love

2021-02-02T13:25:00.001+05:30

It is now almost 36 hours since the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) took over Myanmar by detaining legally elected party leaders. It has been a hard day for me. I can just imagine how hard it would be to the people of Burma. Burmese friends are aware that they will be cut off from the world at any moment. I do not know how to reach out to them if this happens. I do not know how to support them. I

236.Investigators of Truth (InTru)

2020-07-18T12:05:00.000+05:30

This post has been published by me as a part of Blog-a-Ton 59; the fifty-ninth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. In association with IndiCreator. For Creators. By Creators.. Share Your #LockdownTales at indicreator.com 17 July 2120. I will never forget this date – that is until they wipe out my memory and recharge me, which is a kind of routine for

235. Ten days of Lockdown (Curfew notes)

2020-04-03T16:50:00.000+05:30

#Coronavirus, #SocialDistancing, #CurfewNotes Part 1 As I said in the earlier post, the Curfew did not end on 31st March. We are now in ‘21 days Lockdown’, which is supposed to end on April 14. Again, it is supposed to end. Depending on the gravity of the situation, this could be extended. To begin with, I was confused. Is it Curfew? Is it Restriction? Is it Lockdown? Even before

234. #Coronavirus Curfew Notes: Day 2

2020-03-23T23:08:00.001+05:30

#Coronavirus, #SocialDistancing, #CurfewNotes (Well, Day 1 notes don't exist) Though my short stay in Afghanistan was kind of 24X7 Curfew, it is amazing to note that it is my first experience of a Curfew in India. I am old enough and I have known many Curfew occasions, but somehow, I was never in the area where the Curfew was imposed. So, it is my first time to experience what a Curfew

233. Thadingyut

2016-10-29T08:00:00.000+05:30

This post has been published by me as a part of Blog-a-Ton 58; the fifty-eighth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. In association with Saravana Kumar Murugan, the editor of Shades Of Life book series. This year I celebrated Deepavalee a bit early. Hmm, not a bit early but almost two weeks earlier. I was surrounded by crackers, small earthen lamps

232. Glimpses of Bangkok: 1: Bangkok Art and Culture Center

2016-06-22T16:29:00.004+05:30

Bangkok was never in my "To Visit" list. Suddenly I had to come to Bangkok for some work. First surprise was the name of the Bangkok airport - "Suvarnbhumi" (Golden Land). My first impression of the city on that Thursday night was good. Wide roads, no traffic jam, and shining skyscrapers. The receptionist at the hotel welcomed me by folding both the hands. It was only next day

231. #PledgeForParity

2016-03-07T21:27:00.000+05:30

Tomorrow is 8 March. Tomorrow is ‘International Women’s Day’. Tomorrow is a day of exchanging best wishes. Tomorrow will be presented women’s problems with statistics and concerns will be expressed. Tomorrow there will be speeches, articles and sighs. Tomorrow people will be hopeful after coming across examples of women’s success. Tomorrow Radio, Newspapers and Television channels will salute

230. Meena

2015-12-28T16:37:00.000+05:30

When I was in Kabul, I came across www.rawa.org, which I found to be very insightful and trustworthy. RAWA stands for ‘Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan’. This in local language is ‘Jamiat-E-Inqalabi Zanan-E-Afghanistan’. There is a sentence which attracts the attention of readers. It says, “If you are freedom-loving and anti-fundamentalist, you are with RAWA. Support and help

229. Guess Who?

2015-11-07T23:20:00.000+05:30

This post has been published by me as a part of Blog-a-Ton 57; the fifty-seventh edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. In association with Madhu Vajpayee, the author of Seeking Redemption and Shades Publications, the publisher of Friendship- Bonds Beyond Time. Voting day is an important day in sustaining and strengthening Democracy. There are

228. Pessoas Estranhas

2015-07-07T15:34:00.001+05:30