Idle Strolls

One of the most well known locations of New York City is Wall St. Everyday, crowds throng wall street, visiting its most famous spot - as everyone knows, the new york stock exchange. Just a few steps away, however, a site which holds much significance to american history hides in plain sight. I say 'hides', but it is just that people in their excitement over the NYSE mostly just tend to overlook this building and rush to the next tourist attraction on their list (which mostly tends to be the bull, a short walk away). I had done the same many times until i decided to stop and explore what was here. The history of Federal Hall Memorial in Wall St goes back to the 1700s, before the American Independence. It is interesting to note that the history of wall street itself goes back much further - in the early 1600s, before New York was New York, it was New Amsterdam, a Dutch settlement. And Wall Street is believed to be the site of an actual wall, serving as a boundary of the dutc...

The region comprising of the town of Karaikudi and a cluster of villages around it, in the Sivaganga district of tamilnadu, is known as Chettinad. It is called so because it is home to the community of people known as chettiars or nagarathars in tamil. There is so much that is unique about this region and this community, that one can write any lengths about them. indeed, everything that can be written probably has been written, from blog posts to doctoral dissertations to coffee table books - and yet, i'll dare to add a little of my own. The chettiars, or nagarathars, have traditionally been a community of money lenders and traders, though with the advent of modern times, like everyone else, they have spread out to various different fields. They are known for their business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit, as well as generous philanthropy. Chettinad is known for its craftsmanship, evidenced in everything from intricate woodwork, colourful tiles, bronze and brass utensil...

'The City by the Bay', 'San Fran', 'Frisco' - San Francisco is a city that is known by many names, and known for many things. Its geography, its climate, its culture - there is so much that makes san francisco special.  One of those is that, on one side it is home to the world's tech giants and has its fair share of skyscrapers, and yet on the other, it has landmarks, buildings, and neighbourhoods that are so full of charm and character. The very first impression that will strike one is that SF is such a picture postcard city. The list of places to be seen in sfo is no doubt a long one, but i just want to share here a handful of pics from my archives. Any list about sanfrancisco should unquestionably begin with its most famous, most photographed and most loved landmark - which is of course that stately suspension bridge, the golden gate bridge. opened in 1937, spanning the waters of the pacific over the sf bay, it stands regally, the very sym...

The winter in our neck of the woods has been so long now that it feels like i accidentally opened a wardrobe and walked into narnia. while im waiting for the bleak days and bitter winds outside to give way to spring, im thinking of one of my earliest spring memories after coming to the usa. nothing says spring more than flowers, especially the cherry blossoms and magnolias - and visiting the cherry blossoms in washington d.c was one of our very first road trips. it has been a decade now since i first saw them, but i still remember how enamoured i was the moment i set foot in the tidal basin in washington d.c during the cherry blossom festival. how do you put down in words the feeling of seeing more than 3000 trees at a time covered completely in white and pink blooms ? these cherry trees came to the usa as a gift from japan in 1912, from the mayor of tokyo, and were planted around the tidal basin, which is a reservoir for the water flowing in from the potomac river. called '...

Travel, like charity, is best begun from home. It is not until we appreciate what we have close to us that we can truly appreciate what we seek elsewhere. And the farther we travel, the more our appreciation deepens for these sights, sounds, and smells that collectively evoke that sense of 'home'. Home, to me, happens to be madras (chennai), basking in whose sunshine and sweating in whose humidity i grew up. regardless of how far away from it i happen to be, i feel the wind of its beaches, the sounds of its streets, every time i hear its name. life may take me anywhere, but i think my soul will come to roost in chennai. it is only natural then, that any attempt of mine to start a travel blog shall begin with sharing an image or two of this city that has seen the best and worst of me. a twilight view of the iconic marina beach of chennai, seen from the top of the lighthouse. the kapaleeswara temple in mylapore, the bright electric lights on its centuries old fac...