Tag Archives: India

The Banyan Tree

Posted on June 6, 2020 by Archana

Just outside my native home in Ambajogai, there is an old banyan tree. It is as old as time, it feels, because everyone simply refers to it as “vadacha zhaad”, or “the banyan tree”. There is no need to describe … Continue reading →

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Travel Tales: Odisha

Posted on November 24, 2018 by Archana

Odisha is perhaps India’s best kept secret. I visited this gentle state recently and felt like I had entered one of Satyajit Ray’s films from the 1950s. Fields of paddy cover the land as far as the eye can see. … Continue reading →

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Marathwada Diaries: Where Everyone Knows Your Name

Posted on November 11, 2018 by Archana

You know that feeling when you walk down the street and people call you by your name? As a city-dweller, I’m not used to it. I consider myself lucky that my neighbourhood grocer and cornershop proprietor recognize me enough to … Continue reading →

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Kerala Needs Us

Posted on August 19, 2018 by Archana

Kerala, God’s own country, is getting lashed by Nature’s watery fury. The rains have been descending, wrathfully, unrelentingly, mercilessly until the whole state has been submerged under water. My tears add to the levels even as my heart breaks for … Continue reading →

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Want to be cool? Use a toilet, says the Government of India

Posted on January 15, 2017 by Archana

Remember when you wanted to be a part of the cool kids’ group in school? Everyone wanted to be with the cool kids, and if you were one or associated with one, you were accepted. Not just accepted, you were … Continue reading →

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My Indian Valentine

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Archana

I’m not a fan of Valentine’s Day, which, in the way it is celebrated in the West, makes single people feel like they shouldn’t be taking up space on the planet, and even those in relationships cringe with the burden … Continue reading →

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