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 →

the prettiest church in bandra

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Rama Arya

Just across the road from where I stay is a quaint, whitewashed 19th Century Protestant Church with red shutters, exquisite stained glass windows, and wooden rafters holding up the ceiling. Just across the road is a little bit of England.

The St Stephen’s Church of the Church of North India Diocese of Mumbai, was built in 1845 by wealthy English entrepreneurs who had made Bandra their home during the British Raj. In the mid-19th Century, Bandra was but a small village with Kolis and Kunbis. To cater to ‘the spiritual needs’ of the British Protestant Christians in the area, the British parishioners got together and pooled in a then magnificent sum of Rs. 8,000. This was, however, not enough. John Vaupel, a high court judge at that time, pitched in with the balance. Continue reading →

empress sisi’s vienna – today

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Rama Arya

“I am a seagull, of no land,
I call no shore my home,
I am bound to no place,
I fly from wave to wave.”
~ Empress Elisabeth of Austria aka Sisi (1837-1898)

A fervent traveler, the Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, Sisi, born Elizabeth, the Duchess of Bavaria, was a beautiful, lonely, reclusive woman. An adamant non-conformist and free spirit, she married her cousin Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria (1848–1867) at 17, and spent the rest of her life refusing to carry out the traditional roles of empress, wife or mother expected of her. The death of her eldest child at two, and the suicide of Rudolf, her fourth child, pushed her deeper into her shell. She was assassinated by an Italian anarchist in 1898. Continue reading →

art focus – rango ki rimzim – indian artist art center

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Rama Arya

Left: Naina Kanodia; Right: Prakash Waghmare. Both works untitled. Both stalwarts of India’s contemporary art scene

Reconnecting with art, albeit once a month, has become a much loved self-love ritual for me over the years. A ritual I have been fortunately able to carry through in my life in Mumbai. The contemporary art scene in India is pulsatingly alive, brimming with both stalwarts and newcomers alike. And never was it more obvious than during a recent afternoon spent at the Jehangir Art Gallery. Continue reading →

global travel shot: the london tube

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On one mid-afternoon, when the crowds are a little lesser, I went off to explore the platforms and escalators of the London tube. I knew the CCTVs were recording my every move as I clicked away. Even security was keeping an eye. But they were really sweet about it. Guess my enthusiasm was contagious. 🙂 Continue reading →

the 500 year old portuguese fort of bassein

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Rama Arya

Baobab, the upside-down tree indigenous to Madagascar is often considered as a marker for Portuguese sites in India

From Vasai to Baxay to Baçaim to Bajipura to Bassein to Vasai, the Vasai Fort is romantic, inspiring and shrouded in history, some factual, others – legendary.

When I moved to Mumbai earlier this year, I was told there is nothing to see there. You will miss the art, history and culture of Delhi. Wrong. I don’t believe, you can be anywhere in India, and be far from “art, history and culture”. India is steeped in it, and Mumbai is no less. Continue reading →

art focus – the passionate quest – amrita sher-gil

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Rama Arya

Self Portrait – the many faces of Amrita Sher-Gil, demure Indian, bohemian European (1930)

“It seems to me that I have never began painting, that I have always painted. And I have always had, with a strange certitude, the conviction that I was meant to be a painter and nothing else. Although I studied, I have never been taught painting in the actual sense of the word, because I possess in my psychological makeup a peculiarity that resents any outside interference. I have always, in everything, wanted to find out things for myself.”
~ Amrita Sher-Gil

Continue reading →

a walk through 175 year old khotachi wadi

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Rama Arya

The Virgin Mother with Infant Jesus, Khotachi Wadi Chapel wall painting

Just behind the buzz and lights of Chaupati aka Chowpatty beach in Mumbai’s third southern most island Girgaum, is a historical precinct – the village of Khotachi Wadi.

When a friend’s facebook update showed up saying that she was taking a guided walk through the precinct, I, a rather self-acclaimed art and history buff, nearly jumped with joy and excitement, determined not to let this opportunity go by. 🙂 An itinerary which consisted of endless strolls and complimentary high tea in a 155 year old bungalow, over lazy conversations with its fifth generation owners, was both the carrot and the cherry. Continue reading →

global travel shot: schoolgirls in iran war cemetery

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I traveled through Iran in 2007. My last stop was the Behesht-e Zahra, the main military cemetery for the millions who died in the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988). The cemetery was beautiful. Calm and serene. I know, it sounds kind of strange to describe a war cemetery with such words. But death is not mourned at these infinite rows of flower covered tombs. But rather celebrated, with flags, banners and children singing songs. These are the country’s heroes, and they have not been allowed to be forgotten. The faces smiling from the pictures placed on the tombs are still alive. The dreams and ideals of the activists still ablaze. Continue reading →

elephanta caves: mumbai’s 7th century shiva temples

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Rama Arya

Trimurti or Sadashiva – The Creator, The Protector, The Destroyer

Some 10 kilometers into the Arabian Sea, off the coast of South Mumbai, is a verdant island covered with five 7th Century rock cut temples dedicated to the Shaiva Hindu sect. Known as Elephanta Island and originally as Gharapuri, literally meaning the ‘city of caves’, its basalt rock hewn temples pay homage to the various forms and legends of Shiva. Continue reading →