Mandarmani Beach : Perhaps The Longest Beach Stretch In India

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Mandarmani Beach

One of the reasons we called ourselves ‘The Untourists’ is we get to visit interesting locations due to the nature of our work : film-making. Many of these locations aren’t the ones we would have visited otherwise. One such shoot took us unexpectedly to Mandarmani, perhaps the longest beach in India.

At nearly 13km long, Mandarmani is the longest beach stretch in India. The geography is such that the sea is generally calm here, but the tide rises a fair bit. We were soon to find that out.

Back in February 2021, when the Coronavirus Pandemic seemed to be under control and things were opening up, we had to fly to Kolkata for a film which had to be shot on a beach. We were hoping to shoot it in Goa so we could drive down, but some circumstances insisted we shoot near Kolkata, herself a charming city full of heritage, so we locked on Mandarmani. Well, I am glad for the experience.

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Is Your Mask Protecting You From Coronavirus?

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Now that it is early established that the novel CoronaVirus Covid19 is airborne, the masks are our best protection against this menace. But not just any mask will do. The first point to remember is that a right mask gives you a protection up to 95%. But what is a right mask and how do … Read more

A Charming Cottage Getaway in Goa

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Vivenda Dos Palhacos, Goa

As we stay locked at home due to the CoronaVirus pandemic, rekindling memories through old photos is the only way we can travel. And thanks to the many photos we have, plenty of old experiences are revisited.

One such trip was work related, to Goa. After much searching (we wanted to avoid the crowded pubs, disco and party zones, yet stay close to place of work), we chose the Vivenda Dos Palhacos, Goa. Built as an old Portuguese style Bungalow in 1929, this lovely house is renovated with great care, and is now amongst the best of Goa hotels. The moment we stepped inside we were bowled over by the vintage charm, the beautiful warm colours and the wooden furniture.

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Maheshwar : Little Known but Gorgeous

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Maheshwar Ghat

About 500km Mumbai, on the banks of the mighty river Narmada, lies the old city of Maheshwar. Many historians identify Maheshwar as the ancient town of Mahishmati. It is believed Maheshwar was build on the ancient city of Somvanshya Shastrarjun Kshatriya and was the capital of the King Kartavirya Arjun, who is mentioned in the Sanskrit Epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. Much later, it became the capital of the Maratha Kings, the Holkars. Maratha Queen Ahilya Bai Holkar (1725-1795) took over the reigns of Maheshwar after her young son Male Rao Holkar, heir to the throne died, soon after her father-in-law, Malhar Rao Holkar’s death (her husband Khaderao Holkar had died almost 12 years earlier).

Ahilyabai Holkar led her armies to battle. She also transformed Indore from a small village into a magnificent city. However she herself made Maheshwar her capital and developed the fort, ghats and temples of Maheshwar, as well as many roads, wells, ghats and rest houses.. She developed many temples all across India, the most significant being the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. They say the sites where Ahilyabai Holkar built include Kashi, Gaya, Somnath, Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Kanchi, Avanti, Dwarka, Badrinarayan, Rameshwar and Jagannath Puri. She also supported merchants and farmers and helped them lead lives of peace and prosperity.

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Be A Sensitive Traveller

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Man Smoking

I was standing in the lobby of an upmarket jungle camp in a tiger national park in India, and a fellow traveller was yelling at the top of his lungs with choicest of abuses about how he was being taken for a ride, because he hadn’t been able to spot a tiger. The entire hotel … Read more

Sariska National Park : The Oft Overlooked Forest

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Sariska National Park

We were on a long research trip, driving through many small cities of Rajasthan, including Alwar. Known for its delicious milk based desserts (mithais), Alwar is also right next to Sariska National Park, a fact that we of course, could not overlook. So obviously, a quick plan was made to visit Sariska and go for … Read more

Mount Abu : A Pleasant Revelation

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Mist over Mount Abu

I had always dismissed Mount Abu as a crowded, touristy destination and it it was never on our travel radar. Until one day, a research led us deep into this ‘hill station’ and we were pleasantly surprised. Mount Abu is a ‘hill station’ on the Aravalli range of mountains. The Aravallis are amongst the oldest … Read more

Over 100,000 Kms Of Road Trips

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Travel creates memories, and sitting home in this lockdown all we can do is revisit the memories. Over the last 10 plus years, I realised we have covered more than 100,000 kms, road tripping across North and South India. A whole lot of it was related to work, where we decided it best to drive, … Read more

Why We Have Often Preferred Hotels Over AirBnB

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One of the very talked about subjects in the realm of affordable and frequent travel is staying at AirBnB instead of hotels for the experience and cost savings. As a couple we love home stays for the experience, but extensive traveling over time has made us opt for very often for boutique hotels instead. When … Read more

New York City : What To Do

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2nd Avenue, NYC

New York is perhaps the greatest city in the world. It has something to offer to everyone, regardless of where you come from and what you like. Truly the land of opportunities, dreams, love, skyscrapers, great food, great cinema, great art… you name it. So when someone asks what should one do in New York, … Read more

New York : A Brief Intro

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New York City

Many years ago, as a kid, I had chanced upon a coffee table book titled ‘New York City In Pictures’. Mesmerised by this amazing city full of energy and ideas, being in New York has since been a dream. I would scribble famous buildings like The Empire State Building or Chrysler Building. Would draw those … Read more

With Corona Virus Around, When Should You Travel

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Coronavirus Travel Advice: When should you travel again? The simple answer is, not until there is an affordable and accessible treatment and or vaccine available for a few months.

What is Corona Virus? There are many kinds of Corona Virus out there and when we get a cold and cough infection, about 20-30% of the time it could be some kind of Corona Virus. The one that is pandemic in the world right now has a new novel strain called SARS-Cov-2 and the disease it causes is called Covid19. Read the NYTimes article linked here to understand what it is and how bad it is. Although many people have recovered, (in fact a majority of people who got infected, recovered), Covid19 can be quite fatal for many people too.

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