The taxi drops us off at our pilgrimage spot — Ruskin Bond’s house — and we get out in awe and respect. The doors and windows are shut tight; any hope of glimpsing Mr Bond is immediately dispelled. We are probably just two of thousands of people who stop here…

Do the Himalayas ever get out of your system? I hope not. Every time I return from the mountains, they linger with me for a while. The Himalayas, in particular, seep in and settle into nooks, to be rediscovered periodically through books, music, and once in a few years, visits. …

Evening is my time for books. It is also the time for music. I’ve been making my way slowly through Requiem in Raga Janki. This is my first book by the author, Neelum Saran Gour, and while the occasional floweriness of the language is not to my taste, there are…

My mother always made it a point to tell me how she hardly watched films. After all, respectability lay in books. But over the years, her fib unravelled as we watched movies on TV and she told me about going to watch Guddi with Kala, Abhimaan with Satyan, Yaadon ki…

The earth near the top of Mt Rigi has lain quiet for a while but is gradually recalling its spring promise. Tiny flowers emerge from the soil, even as the snow melts not too far away. …

G. and I went to drop off some books at our favourite Mylapore pavement ‘bookshop’ this afternoon. We also picked up a couple of books for which the owner (one of the sisters who run the shop since their father’s death) declined payment — ‘You are already giving us so…

One of our neighbours in Vizag, Rakesh (name changed), was a seemingly happy-go-lucky man. He smiled and laughed, gave liberally, and generally endeared himself to people, especially his boss, whom he plied with fresh fruits every evening. ‘Alaage promotion sampadinchukunnaru (That is how he earned his promotion),’ smirked his wife…

Part I here. I’ve had a copy of Doctor Copernicus for a few years now, but it needed the push of a trip to a university city in Europe for me to actually get down to reading it. Now, as I traverse the streets of Cracow and Bologna, I think…

A pleasant breeze rises from the Rhine and the sun warms us on the steps as we watch the boaters and the walkers and the idlers. Some men play music on a large speaker. The tables at the restaurants by the river are occupied and spirits flow aplenty. …