• Arts & Culture - Places

    Solapur, Chadder, and Fashion Ramps

    Solapur was once a bustling textile town. The Solapur chadder is famous even now, though the number of mills has dwindled and many of the looms have moved out of the town. We wanted to visit one of those looms and speak to a few people and made our enquries, but only to realise that there are only show rooms and not any mills/looms around the town. So we were directed to the largest and the most popular one – Pulgam Textiles. We were not disappointed for there were some unique cotton bedsheets. The chadder certainly has its charm, going…

  • Arts & Culture - Food - Fun

    Christmas Cake: A Heady Mix of Dry Fruits, Innocence, Wonder, and Laughter

    It’s already jingle bells time at the ITC Grand Central! Last week was the ‘cake mixing ceremony’ – mixing loads of dry fruits with spices, honey, and fruit extracts. The mix is let to ferment for a month or so, for baking those delicious plum cakes for Christmas. This year, the students of Akanksha Lower Parel Centre were invited for the cake mixing ceremony at the ITC Grand Central, Parel, Mumbai. Saroj maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons were the celebrity guests for the event.The kids were so thrilled and charged up that they managed to convince their…

  • Food - Places

    An Authentic Maharashtrain Fare

    Food cooked and served by women always has that special taste. We experienced this at Hotel Amantran at Solapur. The restaurant at Hotel Srikamal International where we stayed was undergoing renovation. The hotel manager gave directions for some good Maharashtrain fare and a certain Hotel Kamath for the typical Shetty food. We chose to have a Maharashtrian dinner. When we entered the hotel, it was a pleasant surprise to see women taking orders and serving. The semi-open kitchen showed women cooking too. Only mini thali and limited meals were available. We ordered one each and relished the soft chapathis, rice,…

  • Places - Sanctuaries

    Sanctuaries and Man-Animal Conflicts

    “This island has to be saved for its trees, it has to be saved for its animals, it is a part of a reserve forest, it belongs to a project to save tigers, which is paid for by people from all around the world.” Everyday, sitting here, with hunger gnawing at our bellies, we would listen to these words, over and over again. Who are these people, I wondered, who love animals so much that they are willing to kill us for them? Do they know what is being done in their names? Where do they leave, these people, do…