I had the pleasure of interacting with Ilaan Garware, a class 12th student with IB board. Along with his schoolmates, he has launched the Youth Historical Foundation Maharashtra, a body aimed at kindling a profound appreciation for Maharashtra’s rich heritage and culture among the younger generation. The essence of the foundation is to “… ensure that future generations understand the past and take pride in their roots. … Some people ask, why should we bother studying history? It is the past, it is irrelevant. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Without history, we lose our sense of identi ..read more

Chhavi and I often travel to Jaipur for Tennis Tournaments. It is one of the venues that I like going to. I try to make a mini holiday out of it. One afternoon we were looking for a new place to go for lunch. We opened a website that had many restaurant recommendations in Jaipur. She put her hand on a blue looking restaurant called Cinnamon. I looked at the address and it clearly said Jai Mahal Palace. I somehow thought it was a shopping complex. We booked an Uber from our hotel, Ibis Jaipur and we were on our way. It was a short distance and soon our taxi driver said, ma’am it is going insi ..read more

Of late life has been too much about tennis because of my daughter’s tournaments and too little about anything else. So, when I got a few free days, I accepted the invitation from Brij Bageecha Kukas, Jaipur and spent two nights at their beautiful property. A lot of people wonder why I sometimes like to travel alone. Let me set the record straight, I really truly certainly definitely need that me time once in a while. There is a serious lack of it in my life right now but I know this too shall pass! So, when I got an opportunity to fit a blogging trip around my daughter’s tennis, I went and I ..read more

If you are like me you love looking out of the window of a plane. You also constantly wonder on which side of the plane are the gorgeous views. I was curious about my Delhi Paro Druk Air flight and randomly choose my seat and I was rewarded but let me take the guesswork out for you. Views on the Delhi Paro Flight On the Delhi Paro flight the views are on the A side of the window seat. If you like to include the wing of the plane in the shot, once again like me, you will have to pick up a seat at the back of the plane. If you don’t care about the wing, you can choose any seat on the A side. Ju ..read more

I love traveling by the metro train in any city where I can. Chhavi and I have been visiting Jaipur frequently for her tennis tournaments. We stay at Ibis Jaipur which is right next to the civil lines metro station. I now regularly use the Jaipur Metro, particularly to go to the old city as I can avoid all the traffic. We also use it frequently to come and go from the Jaipur Railway Station. Jaipur Metro has One Line As Jaipur Metro has just one line, it is really easy to use. The line runs from Mansarovar to Badi Choupar. There are 10 stations in all between these two ends. I have used it fr ..read more

I took a short break in June at Jaipur. And as if that was not enough, in a fit of madness I booked a table for one at Steam at the Rambagh Palace Jaipur. This was a personal vacation for me, I was traveling solo. Steam is the Mediterranean Restaurant at the Rambagh Palace at Jaipur. It is a railway station themed restaurant with a real train parked right out there! It’s uniqueness appealed to me and I was looking forward to my dinner. I took an Uber to the palace. The driver asked me if I would go inside the palace or my drop was nearby. I told him I was going inside the palace for a dinner ..read more

It was a beautiful sunny day in February at Fagu in Himachal Pradesh. Chhavi and I had a leisurely breakfast at the Himalayan Shire lawns. All I wanted after that was to sit down and doze off in the sun. These days I perpetually feel tired and that day was no exception. Chhavi and Rishabh after Breakfast But Rishabh, who owns the Himalayan Shire proposed a small hike on this beautiful day. Chhavi was instantly hooked. I was hesitant. My hiking days seem to be behind me. These days, I have to remind myself that I was someone who did the Everest Base Camp trek successfully. After a minor interna ..read more

Chhavi and I went to Pokhara on a tennis trip. She was playing in two ITF qualifying tournaments at Pokhara Nepal. So we stayed for about 10 days. Tennis trips are different than vacations. We see the tournament venue more than anything else. She spends some time on court almost everyday and then is the emotional roller-coaster of winning, losing or getting a walkover in the matches. The highs are okay but the lows sometimes can really get low! Still we said to each-other that we will try a new restaurant for every meal and try to make a bit of a holiday. It was Chhavi’s first time in Nepal wh ..read more

Chhavi and I traveled to The Himalayan Shire near Fagu at the beginning of February for short non-tennis Holiday! And how we cherish that time spent in the beautiful surroundings of the Himalayan Shire in Himachal Pradesh. It is quite close to Shimla, Kufri and Fagu. Chhavi with a Lot of Chai and Pakora The Journey to the Himalayan Shire The Himalayan Shire is a 7 room, tastefully done, luxury homestay owned by Rishabh Goel. He was there to greet us when we arrived at the property in the evening. We took the Kalka Shatabdi Express train till Chandigarh and then a taxi to The Himalayan Shire. T ..read more

I recently visited Nepal as my daughter, Chhavi, was playing an ITF juniors tennis tournament there. It was a breath of fresh air for me, to be able to combine her tennis with my travels! This was my 4th trip to Nepal and surprisingly I never gave much thought to the views of the Himalayas on this route before! While doing the web check in it occurred to me that there might be view and I went with the A side window seat! And that is where the views are! If you wish to enjoy the views of the Himalayas on a Delhi Kathmandu flight choose the A side window seat. On the Kathmandu Delhi flight the v ..read more