Gypsy at Large

It is not the classic of the travelogues. But it owes its genesis to our very own modern day memory keeper – Facebook that keeps reminding one about how we spent our bygone years. It was a few days earlier that Facebook brought back the memories of one of the very few experiences when my hair were standing on their ends – at the Indian Military Academy’s Passing out Parade. I have had the good fortune of attending the Passing out Parade at the National Defence Academy as well twice. But this one scene from the whole passing out parade that made my heart race and I could feel the adrenaline rush. The Gentlemen Cadets were given the weight of the hopes and faith that the 1.2 billion strong nation reposed in them, in the form of the stars on their shoulders.  After the parents of these few good men (or shall I say boys as most of them just came out of their teens) did the piping in ceremony; the newly commissioned officers moved to the grounds of this sprawling academ

It was the work and the memories or should I say nightmares inspired by the childhood books about Dracula that I undertook the travel to Romania, my first in the Transylvania. After three days of struggling with the food (the only time I ate at McDonald’s/KFC instead of local eateries while traveling), I had lost my enthusiasm of venturing out of my room. My traveling partners dragged me out of my room and it was then I had this out of the world experience – boating at 370 feet deep under the earth surface at Salina Turda! It was my last day in Cluj-Napoca, the unofficial capital of Transylvania, and I was cranky to have been denied my right to sleep till late. The idea of visiting a salt mine failed to impress me even if it was 2000 years old. An information leaflet read out that people with respiratory diseases visit this place for health benefits. But then I entered the mine and whoaaa!!! was instantly swept off my feet. The place has been anything unlike that I have visit

Gujarat has been a home for me for the last four years. For a Delhi girl, used to carry a constant frown on her face as a time tested safety drill, Gujarat - Jamnagar - to be precise, came as a refreshing change with girls roaming around unhindered on the roads till late in the night, with no person trying to cat call them or trying to grope them was the much needed impetus for my traveling dreams. This state of Gujarat just celebrated it 50 years of foundation. On this occasion I tried to curate my own reasons to visit this state on the west coast of India. 1. Rann of Kutch - The white desert aka Rann of Kutch is a marvel of nature that is seen to be believed. A marshy stretch of white salt is shared between India and Pakistan. The unending white stretch till your eyes can see and the sun going down at the horizon is a sight to behold. Stay in Bhuj, Gandhidham or Dhordo in case you do not want to shell a bomb for the tents in Rann of Kutch during the Kutch Festival in winter