Month: April 2016

Bylakuppe: A Visit To The Tibet Of South

Published by Dev

If you catch it at the right angle, where I found myself sitting, inside the premises of Namdroling monastery, in Bylakuppe, surrounded by the bright and cheerful company of Buddhists, among which many were the first generation Tibetan immigrants, it can give off something of the light of a fairy-tale. Speaking of the fairy-tale, one of the greatest miseries of the human condition is that we are not always keen to give up on our fairy tales. We expect our lives to turn into something magical, something extraordinary from the moment we are currently living in. “We are like dogs barking at the injustice of the universe when our keeper goes out, to buy us some more food” William James Most of the people of the 21st century are found either making such false promises to their future. But the people here, as it seemed, were all dedicated to their present. They appeared to have no more interest in the projections of romanticism than in the delusions of cynicism. A Buddhist, if you speak to one, …

Kanyakumari: Life In A Day (In Pictures)

Published by Dev

At the southernmost part of India is located the town of Kanyakumari, where India concludes its boundaries, almost gracefully, surrounded by the mighty Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Bay of Bengal – from all its directions. Known for its mesmerizing sunrises and sunsets, Kanyakumari entertains hundreds of Indian tourists flocking in here, every day. But when it comes to the life of locals who are living in Kanyakumari, everything becomes much usual and far more ordinary. Here, life in Kanyakumari in a day, for tourists and locals, alike: 5:50AM The city wakes up, as dawn starts breaking over the horizon, shell pink and faintly gold. 8:00AM A bunch of tourist figuring their way in Devi Kanya Kumari Temple – looking a bit confused. 9:00AM Little boy chasing his dreams, or perhaps shaping them, by taking inspiration from the majestic and the endless sea. 12:00PM A street seller awaiting his first customer of the day, during the wee hours of the noon. 12:00PM “He is very intelligent, always choose the correct card,” says a tarot card reader, trying to persuade me, a tourist, and make a …

Kerala: A Well-Behaved, Tranquil State; Truly A God’s Own Country

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Kerala, the southernmost state of India, as I found it, has some sort of warmth in its air.  Its people, despite walking fast – with their lungis, all tucked up –never seem to be in a hurry. This place has some sort of force full of magic, and if it is, it speaks for a magic that only knows the language of friendliness and peace. They say, people in Kerala are most educated, I say they are well learnt. And what makes them so qualified is the culture they follow and the kindness they preach. I always wondered what’s in this place (and perhaps in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu) that it gave India so many great teachers of philosophy – from Shankaracharya to Chinmayananda, and many others – and I found the answer only when I personally visited it. Almost every other person here – from the older, more religious to the younger, more practical – live in their own world of self-effacing originality. Their lifestyle is uncomplicated, simply unfussy and they seem …

How To Save Money For Travel: 4 Tips

Published by Dev

People often ask me how I make my travel dreams possible. They either assume that my dad supports my travels or that I am independently wealthy. Well, to honestly admit it, I am not independently wealthy; and no, my dad doesn’t contribute anything to my travels. Though you can call me a little lucky, for I’ve been travelling for almost two years now, and without having any steady source of income. But I’ve worked hard for it. Over the years, and especially while I was working, I saved every bit of my income. I later used the same money for the initial years of travelling (and blogging) until my blog started generating revenues! Just like with any business, becoming a digital nomad needs some investment too. Whether you’re into freelance writing, blogging, selling photographs, you need to have some money saved in your bank account so that you can travel for a few months, generate some content, and then sell and make money. So if you’re looking forward to making travelling a full-time career, save some …

Hampi: A Journey To The Unknown

Published by Dev

As the sun set down the dusk fell on the river, but no lights appeared along the shore. Hunters for treasure and the seekers of fame, it felt, this river has seen them all, back in time, when they came possessing whatever they found, within the greatness the of this land, until that greatness surrendered and started losing itself into the oblivious mystery of unknown. I wonder how many times Hampi fell prey to human greed, generation after generation, as people submitted themselves to the insatiable thirst to acquire more and looted Hampi and took back with them, all they assumed was of any value. It reminded me of that computer game I used to play, where you take a big army of knights and swordsmen and bring down your neighbouring empire, something similar – or perhaps much uncomfortable and eerily painful – as it felt, might have happened here, as you walk about a cluster of empty ruins in Hampi. Beautiful, but missed monuments, lying wasted, losing their significance to the impenetrable gloom. Temples, either sealed …

What Adventure Means To You?

Published by Dev

So, I often talk about the term ‘Adventure travel’ in my blog posts. But I never shared here what do I mean by Adventure. Is it adventure activities like Scuba Diving or Bungy Jumping or some other extreme activity that spike in us adrenaline a little more than, say, jogging or cycling? Or is it something else than that? Well, speaking of it, here’s what I understand by Adventure: Adventure For Me Is The Power Of Thought When we first look at the brochure and imagine in our head who we’ll become when we go to that place. When we fantasize about that beach, that sunset and dream of what, of who, we might become in that moment – Adventure is that power of thought. It’s in hacking the reality of our yet-to-be-discovered journey and a desire for self-transcendence, a desire for rebirth, for apotheosis. That moment when we create itineraries or book our tickets or call our friends, for me, is the purest Adventure of all. Adventure For Me The Joy In Getting Lost We are bliss junkies, chasing the …

A Wonderful Way To Navigate Through Places

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The sun was scattering diamonds as we left our campsite – home to our few temporary nights – and started heading back to Bangalore. Driving through the wilderness and the many sleepy settlements around Coorg, we slowly turned onto the snarl of bigger roads that clog and clutter the modern city life. The final drive, back to where it all started, was rather strange. Everyone kept silent, despite much going in their head. I think it was the melancholy, kicking in hard, as no one, it seemed, had a perfect set of words to start a conversation. The silence felt awkward, creating a sense of discomfort, almost the way you feel the moment you first meet a group of unknown people. But this silence had some meaning to it, some memories, which kept reverberating in our head, with every passing minute. As I personally drew it out, everyone was, at least, quite satisfied with how this three-day trip went by. We were quite thrilled, in fact, with the experiences and the memories the journey had …

Varkala: The Dying ‘Benares’ Of South

Published by Dev

Despite being an avid traveler myself, I often find myself discouraging the idea of frenzied and mass tourism. I’ve seen local cultures turning into commodities when religious rituals and traditional ethnic tires reduce and sanitize, to conform to tourist expectations – as so was the case with Varkala, a coastal town in India’s southernmost state of Kerala. Once a destination is sold as a tourism product, it starts losing its originality, which, with time, brings about nothing but yet another modern tourist destination, providing us with perfectly staged, not so authentic, experiences. Varkala is a calm and quiet hamlet, having its presence on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram district. It is one of those places, which has a perfect beach and a great crowd. The only thing, however, that differs Varkala among its other tropical Indian counterparts is its rich cultural and religious history, which, unfortunately, is slowly dying today. It was less than 20 years ago when Varkala, which today, has become an ideal spot to amble, for tanned westerners, was always found swarm with …

Kanyakumari: A Place Constantly Inviting Us For A Secular Sabbath

Published by Dev

When you visit a place what is that one thing that you look out for, the most? The experience that makes that particular place unique. Sure you want to have a good time and follow your own way of travel. Those, who are all into leisure, for example, are always looking for a place to relax, which makes them hungry for beaches, when travelling around places like South India. When I came to Kanyakumari, I was expecting the same. Though I am not claiming that I travel for leisure and that I was expecting fancy beaches. But the picture I had crafted in my head was of a place, much tranquil, surrounded by sea, leaving almost no trace back to India’s much confused and muddled mainland. After all, this is where India concludes and finds itself gracefully surrounded by the mighty and the endless Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Bay of Bengal – from almost all directions. But when you’re in Kanyakumari you don’t feel that tranquillity. Nor do you get to experience the deafening …