Gypsy at Large

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...

This place is a gem, tucked away in Tripura, one of the seven north-eastern sister states. Carved out of giant monoliths, surrounded by lush green trees, the place has been a flourishing epicentre of Hinduism. Unakoti means one less than a crore and is supposed to have as many rock engravings and carvings depicting Lord Shiva in full glory of his various forms and other deities. It is exactly my kind of place of worship – located in a hill, under the blue sky, amidst greenery, closer to the forces of nature and provides spaces where one can sit without disturbances having a tête-à-tête with one’s soul. The journey to Unakoti has been a fortunate stroke of serendipity. We, me and my partner, have decided to mark all Indian states on our travel map and Tripura had eluded us for long. After trekking in Shillong, we headed to Agartala via Kolkata. One can take road from Shillong to Agartala as well. It was a three day stay in Agartala and had nothing much to do. So a ...

When I was amongst the people selected to go up to Gurudongmar Lake in North Sikkim I was exalted. I had to been to Gangtok many a times, but this was the first time I will go to one of the highest lakes in the world and the best part was it was located just 5 kms away from the Indo-China border.  Out of a group of 30 odd people only 15 were declared fit to go to Gurudongmar Lake, located at an altitude of about 17,100 feet. And I was riding high on my experience of having trekked all the way to Siachen Glacier in more inhospitable conditions. So began the journey from Gangtok to Lachen. We started around 9.30-10 am in a bus for our destination. The road was washed away in many places considering we were travelling in the month of September. But the rain had made the landscape amazingly beautiful. It was green and misty till where your eyes went. We stopped halfway at an army post to have hot Chai and Matthi!! It was the ultimate bliss in the weat...