‘We Will, We Will Rock You’… I hum as we drive from Pune to Panchgani (2 plus hours) through flat farmlands towards rugged hills and frisky rivers visible through gaps in the crowning greenery. I wonder if young Freddie Mercury, lead singer of rock band QUEEN was mesmerised by swaying […]
The Gateway of India, Mumbai ….the symbolic doorway to India welcoming visitors… the friendly and not so friendly. It was a symbol of power and majesty constructed by the British to commemorate the arrival of King George V and Queen Mary to India in 1911 for the Delhi Durbar. They were […]
Sikkim…. a combination of Limbu words: su, which means “new”, and khyim, which means “palace” in reference to the palace built by the state’s first ruler, Phuntsog Namgyal. To a Tibetan, Sikkim is ‘Drenjong‘ or “valley of rice” while the Bhutia call it ‘Beyul Demazong‘ or ‘the hidden valley of rice“. The […]
A sure way to get the patriotic adrenalin overflowing in any Indian’s vein is to mention China and Pakistan vis-a-via sports, trade, cricket, the 1962 Indo China war etc. Nathu La, about 52 kms away from Gangtok the capital of Sikkim State, is the official border check post between China/Tibet and […]
