India’s ancient rhythm in an age of extreme weather A Monsoon Out of Step The Himalayas have provided the latest and most unsettling images of India’s monsoon. In Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, intense rain has triggered landslides, flash floods and the collapse of roads and bridges. Mountain slopes have given way, sometimes carrying away everythingContinue reading “When the Monsoon Changed”
Tag Archives: Nature
Nirmal Purja: A Mountain’s Measure
When news broke that Nirmal Purja had lost his life in the Karakoram, the world mourned one of its greatest mountaineers. The mountains, one imagines, remained unmoved. They have witnessed too many triumphs and too many tragedies to distinguish between them. Yet Purja’s untimely death is more than the loss of an extraordinary climber. ItContinue reading “Nirmal Purja: A Mountain’s Measure”
When Paradise becomes A Parking Lot
In the past few weeks, several friends have returned from summer visits to India’s celebrated hill stations. Their stories were remarkably similar. Not one began by describing pine forests, mountain sunsets, misty mornings or cool evenings. Instead, they spoke of traffic jams stretching for kilometres, vehicles crawling for hours along mountain roads, overflowing hotels, litteredContinue reading “When Paradise becomes A Parking Lot”
Leaving Bengaluru
I shall be leaving Bengaluru in a day or two, after having lived here during two distinct periods: first between September 2024 and July 2025, and then again during these recent months from March to May 2026. Between them, I have seen the city through almost all its seasons—under monsoon skies, amid flowering summers, in koel-filled mornings,Continue reading “Leaving Bengaluru”
Bengaluru Is Changing Its Mood
Some weeks ago, after an evening shower briefly interrupted the tyranny of April heat, I had written a piece titled “Rain, Briefly!” The rain that evening had felt less like a seasonal turning and more like a passing gesture—welcome, restorative, but uncertain of itself. By the next morning, the roads had dried, the heat hadContinue reading “Bengaluru Is Changing Its Mood”
Rain, Briefly!
This evening, in Bengaluru, the rain arrived—not with the authority of the monsoon, nor with the drama of a seasonal shift, but with a certain hesitation. It was preceded, as such moments often are, by a gathering restlessness. The wind rose first—uneven, exploratory—moving through the trees with a sound that was neither whisper nor warning.Continue reading “Rain, Briefly!”
Bengaluru in April
I have come back to Bengaluru for a while—long enough, hopefully, to continue understanding something of its temperament. It is a city that both fascinates and unsettles me: in the feel and fragrance of its air, in the interplay of its sounds and silences, and above all, in the restless energy of its people. ToContinue reading “Bengaluru in April”
The Unseen Orchestra
After months away—across continents and climates, through the tempered quiet of New York/New Jersey and the restless, choking urgency of Delhi—my return to Bengaluru has been, above all else, a return to sound. Not the sound of traffic or human industry, though those are never far, but something older, gentler, and far more enduring—the quiet,Continue reading “The Unseen Orchestra”
By The Window, After Snow
The universe outside my window has been gentled into whiteness. Snow lies everywhere—on roofs, on branches, on the grass now indistinguishable from sky’s reflection—softening edges, quietening intention. In such weather, it seems almost instinctive to remain indoors, to honour warmth as one honours safety. Why would anyone willingly step out into this hushed severity unlessContinue reading “By The Window, After Snow”
Between Falling Leaves and First Snow
Musings As the Year Closes Winter has arrived almost without notice. A few snow showers have already passed through, leaving behind a softened world and the promise of more to come. The brilliant colours and ensorcelling splendour of autumn have withdrawn without farewell. The golds and crimsons that once flared so confidently leave no trace.Continue reading “Between Falling Leaves and First Snow”
