• English - Travel

    The Desert Speaks

    July 14, 2025 - By 

    Ayaan Venkatesh Sand Without Time Haider Khan stepped down from the rickety minivan with the stiffness of a man far older than his 38 years. The heat pressed against his face like a hand that didn’t care for permission. Red sand stretched endlessly ahead, framed by towering rocks carved into bizarre, wind-scoured shapes. Wadi Rum. He’d seen it once in a documentary, years ago. “The Valley of the Moon,” the narrator had called it. But here, in real time, there was no poetry. Only stillness. Only silence. The group disembarking with him was an odd assortment — a French woman…

  • English - Romance - Travel

    Postcards from Hampi

    July 13, 2025 - By 

    Sahana Pillai Chapter 1: Arrival in Ruins The sun was slipping behind the rust-coloured boulders when Tara stepped off the bus at Hampi Bazaar. The air smelled of dust, old stones, and wild basil, and the landscape looked nothing like the glossy travel blogs she’d scrolled through. This place felt older than time — a skeleton of an ancient empire, wrapped in silence. Her sandals crunched over gravel as she made her way past stray goats and rusted bicycles, dragging her suitcase with one wheel jammed. She had booked a guesthouse last minute, something called “Kishkinda View,” tucked behind banana…

  • English - Travel

    The Road to the Valley of Flowers

    July 12, 2025 - By 

    Aarohi Desai One Isha had always found solace in the delicate balance of nature. A botanist from Bangalore, she had spent her life studying the intricacies of plant species, tracing their evolution, and discovering the hidden stories that each leaf and petal held. But when an invitation arrived from a prominent research institute, asking her to explore the Valley of Flowers in Uttarakhand, it felt different. The valley, renowned for its rare and sacred blooms, had always captivated her imagination. It was a place of beauty, mystery, and whispers of the extraordinary—plants that only bloomed under the most sacred of…

  • English - Travel

    Arrival in Mumbai: A City of Dreams

    July 10, 2025 - By 

    Atrayee Mullik Part 1: Arriving in Mumbai – A City of Dreams I arrived in Mumbai on a humid summer morning, and the city immediately made its presence felt. As soon as I stepped out of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, I was swept up by the chaos. The air was thick with the combined scent of street food, diesel, and the unmistakable smell of the Arabian Sea. There was no mistaking it—Mumbai was alive. I wasn’t prepared for the magnitude of it all. Mumbai, India’s financial capital, is often described as the city of dreams. But standing in the…

  • English - Travel

    The Heartbeat of Punjab

    July 9, 2025 - By 

    Arvind Khurana Chapter 1: The Call of Roots Karan sat in his small, dimly lit apartment in Delhi, staring at the empty screen of his laptop. The cursor blinked mockingly, as if daring him to begin. He was a documentary filmmaker, known for his insightful work on urban issues, but something was missing. His recent projects felt detached, devoid of a deeper connection. He had often heard stories of his Punjabi ancestors, of the vibrant land of Punjab that his grandparents spoke of with such fondness. Yet, despite being born into a Punjabi family, Karan felt a profound disconnect from…

  • English - Travel

    Breezes of the Lost Horizon

    July 8, 2025 - By 

    Atreyee Pradhan Part 1: The Call of the Mountains Neha sat by the window of the train, watching as the landscape shifted from the concrete chaos of the city to the serenity of the countryside. The air felt lighter, the rhythms of the world slowing as she neared the foothills of the Himalayas. It had been weeks since she made the decision to leave behind her life in the city, a world that had started to feel more like a cage than a canvas. She had always felt tethered to a life of constant motion: deadlines, meetings, and the unrelenting…

  • English - Travel

    The Hidden Villages of Sikkim

    July 5, 2025 - By 

    Vikram Patil 1 David stepped off the bus into the crisp, mountain air of Pelling, a small town nestled in the Sikkim Himalayas. The journey from Delhi had been long, but as the sun set behind the towering Kanchenjunga range, the sight before him made the weariness fade away. The town, draped in mist, seemed almost ethereal, its narrow streets lined with small shops selling colorful fabrics and local handicrafts. The houses here were built from stone and wood, their sloped roofs covered in vibrant moss. It was a world far removed from the chaos of his life back in…

  • English - Travel

    Tea, Taboos, and Tuktuks

    July 4, 2025 - By 

    Deepa Krishnan 1 It began with a samosa and a breakdown. Nithya Ramanathan, 29 years old, certified English teacher and closet emotional hoarder, sat on her balcony in Chennai biting into a lukewarm snack while a pigeon judged her from the railing. The samosa’s stuffing had slipped out like her resolve, and the WhatsApp group “Kalaiyarasan Ma’am’s Wedding – RSVP ASAP” blinked expectantly on her phone screen. Everyone was going. Even Kavitha, who once pretended to faint during sports day just to avoid social interaction, had posted “Can’t wait, girl!” followed by a waterfall of emojis. Nithya, however, couldn’t bring…

  • English - Travel

    Winter in Shantiniketan

    July 4, 2025 - By 

    Sudipta Sengupta Part 1: The Quiet Escape Ananya had always found solace in the chaos of Kolkata—the honking cars, the bustling markets, and the never-ending hum of the city. Yet, after months of relentless work, she felt like a piece of her soul was being swallowed by the noise. The endless deadlines, the shallow conversations, and the incessant pressure to keep up with the world had drained her. What she craved now was stillness. What she needed was a pause. And Shantiniketan, with its promise of peace, had always lingered at the back of her mind. It was the first…

  • English - Travel

    Passport, Please!

    June 29, 2025 - By 

    Dinesh Rao Chapter 1: “Congratulations, You’re Going Abroad!” It was a dusty April afternoon in Kanpur, the kind of day where ceiling fans give up and men in banyans sit outside complaining about rising electricity bills. In the midst of this sweaty monotony, the Tripathi household was suddenly turned upside down by a shrill ringtone and a louder shriek. Sunita Tripathi had won something. She’d been entering supermarket contests for years—sending SMS codes, dropping coupons in steel boxes outside sweet shops—but this was different. This time, the universe answered. “Ramesh ji! Dekho! Dekho!” she shouted, waving a crumpled paper. Her…