Category Archives: Global Travel Shot

global travel shot: my best friend sends her season’s greetings

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Did you have a good year? Was it placid and calm or one roller coaster ride? No matter which, it helps to have a friend to talk to. One you can unburden yourself to, without the “I told you so” or a bunch of preaching.

The lady above has been my closest friend since I moved to Mumbai. I have gone to her with tears rolling down my eyes, bursting at the seams with anger, and starry eyed, in love with every colour and nuance of life. I have had conversations with her where I have poured my heart out or just sat in stony silence, confused to the core with life’s mysterious incongruous ways. And at the end, before I left, I’ve looked at her face, and whispered “Thank you.” Thank you for listening and giving me whatever she felt was best for me.

To a non-believer she is merely a wooden statue of Mother Mary in The Basilica of Our Lady of The Mount, brought all the way from Portugal to Bombay in the 16th Century. To a believer she has miraculous healing powers. Continue reading →

global travel shot: remembering german nazi auschwitz, 70 years on

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When the bus dropped me off at Auschwitz II–Birkenau—a former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp on the outskirts of Krakow in Poland—on a summer day in 2012, I was not sure what to expect.

I was no stranger to scenes of debased humanity, having wandered through the Killing Fields in Cambodia, and explored the corridors of Robben Island in South Africa. I knew I would see pain, suffering, and the manifestation of an absolute ruthless version of humankind. But to what extent and how it was mourned 70 years on in Auschwitz II–Birkenau gave me both the jitters and hope. It still does. Continue reading →

global travel shot: the unknown 5th century shiva saptamurti in parel

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You may well say, Aah, I have seen this sculpture before. That is, if you are a museum buff. Wrong.

Allow me to make a confession. I often find myself torn between awe at the cultural treasures with which India bursts at its seams with, and angry at the apathy, neglect and state of degradation in which many lie. I know I am not alone in this conflict.

Exactly a year ago I visited the sculpture gallery at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India. Like very many others, I fell in love with one piece. Continue reading →

global travel shot: self portrait, persepolis

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Thought I would do a self-portrait for a change. 🙂 The above picture, hence, is of me in Persepolis, Iran. Continue reading →

global travel shot: children taking care of children, laos

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I was at a local village primary school in Vang Vieng, Laos in December 2006. I saw this little girl and started talking to her. She kept frowning at me. I don’t think she understood a word I said and most probably thought I was cuckoo in the head for chatting away. I wanted to give her a big bear hug. Her threatening frown said “talk, but don’t you DARE hug me.” 🙂 Continue reading →

global travel shot: sani pass, from south africa to lesotho

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Aah, that adrenalin rush! That sense of adventure in exploring unchartered, gruelling terrains and then coming back to tell the tale. For many travelling to South Africa, and to me, it simply means the Sani Pass. Continue reading →

global travel shot: travel essentials, road trip to kutch

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I am off on my first road trip in India to explore the Kutch district of Gujarat. The first of many more road trips I hope. 🙂 Travel essentials—my canon camera so I can bring back with me some of Kutch’s beauty, my blackberry (yeah, I am not an iPhone/smartphone person 😀 ) so I can SOS if need be, and my notebook to scribble along, jot down conversations, make notes and smileys. Continue reading →

global travel shot: five girls and five emotions in yazd

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One of my favorite travel images. Taken in Yazd, Central Iran in October 2007.

I was at the Ateshkadeh (Zoroastrian fire temple) in the new city when a group of five young girls placed themselves in front of me. Five girls, with five different personalities. Five different emotions. At the same place, same time, same age, validating the richness of human expression and thought.

Clockwise: The imp, the assured, the serious, the shy, the open laughter.

global travel shot: baobab tree in namibian village

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A centuries old baobab tree in a Namibian village on the banks of the River Chobe, at the confluence of Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia.

Africa. It is only those who have traveled to it, who can feel its call.

global travel shot: cape town’s african penguins

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The company of nature never disappoints.

Boulders is a sheltered cove with unspoiled beaches, 540 million year old granite boulders, and a thriving colony of African Penguins in South Africa’s Cape Peninsula. Starting off with just two breeding pairs in 1983, the colony now numbers about 3,000. The birds are monogamous and listed as a vulnerable species; the lifelong partners take turns to incubate their eggs and feed their young. Humans, I guess, can learn a lesson or two from them on loyalty and gender equality. 🙂 Continue reading →