This coffee stall
In Bangalore’s busy airport
Remains free of meat
‘Outside food‘ is food not sold by the stall. You must not bring food you have obtained elsewhere. This coffee stall only sells vegetarian products.
A sign in South India
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Tag Archives: india
Feeding the pigeons in Jaipur (Rajasthan)
Here is a brief excerpt from my book “88 DAYS IN INDIA: A JOURNEY OF MEMORY AND DISCOVERY”, In this sample, I am writing about pigeons in Jaipur (Rajasthan) and elsewhere:
“While we were being driven around the city, we passed areas where food and
water were being distributed to some of the city’s many pigeons. The provision
of food for pigeons (as well as street dogs and other animals) is commonly
found in many other cities and villages we have visited in India. In Jaipur, we
saw vendors selling passersby seeds for the birds. Earlier in 2024, when we
were in Istanbul, we saw similar vendors at an area (near the Spice Bazaar)
where pigeons were plentiful. As a child during the early 1960s, my parents
used to buy me cones full of corn for feeding the pigeons in the Piazza Signoria
in Florence (Italy). Long ago, I remember pigeon feed being sold in London’s
Trafalgar Square. However, now Londoners regard pigeons as pests, which
should not be fed. One of London’s former Mayors, Ken Livingstone, who
ended selling of pigeon food in the square in 2001, called pigeons: “rats with
wings”.
Although feeding pigeons has caused India’s population of these
creatures to increase to alarmingly high levels, Shreemoyee Chakraborty
(quoted in an article published by theprint.in in November 2024) noted:
“In India feeding pigeons is not just a habit; it has a religious and
cultural significance as well.”
In an online article about Vastu Shastra (published on vastulabh.com), it was
pointed out that:
“Pigeons have long been associated with Goddess Lakshmi, the deity
of wealth and prosperity. According to Vastu Shastra, pigeons are
believed to bring positive energy and good fortune into the home.
However, there are differing opinions and specific guidelines on how to
interpret their presence.”
So, it is likely that feeding these winged creatures in India has a good chance of
continuing despite the occasional attempts of some municipal authorities,
including in Jaipur, to reduce their population.“
If you wish to purchase a copy of this book, hasten to Amazon’s website:
A friendly encounter in a cathedral in Pondicherry (India)
Between late 2024 and early 2025, we spent 88 days travelling 4000 miles through India. I have published an account of this fascinating odyssey in my book, “88 DAYS IN INDIA: A JOURNEY OF MEMORY AND DISCOVERY”, which is available from Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FKTFBFM2). Here is a very brief excerpt from the book. It describes what happened when we were sitting in a cathedral in the formerly French colony of Pondicherry.
HERE IS THE EXCERPT:
“We sat inside the spacious cathedral’s cool interior within reach of the draught
coming from a fan attached to one of the pillars supporting the long nave’s high,
barrel-vaulted ceiling. As we were relaxing in the cooling breeze, a small group
of Indians entered, and went to the front pews, where they knelt and prayed in
front of the high altar. Amongst them was a young couple dressed in their finest.
Each of them had lavish flower garlands (malas) around their necks. As they
walked away from the front of the church towards where we were seated, we
asked them if they had just married. They told us that that was the case. They
had been married in another church and wanted to pray in the cathedral. These
friendly people invited us to join them in the church’s sunlit entrance while
photographs were being taken of them, of us, and of us with them. They asked
us for our blessing.
Opposite the cathedral on a corner plot, we entered a large bookstore. Tables
covered the floor. They were laden with books, mostly new, but not arranged in
any obvious order. Along one side of this vast hall, there were ...“
END OF EXCERPT
Read my book, and enjoy discovering the wonders of India without leaving home!
Writing for pleasure or for profit? That is the question.
I DERIVE GREAT enjoyment from writing. I enjoy researching the background material that will form the basis of what I will write. Then, I find it satisfying attempting to put my ideas into words because it helps me understand my subject matter and it is challenging to find ways of expressing my thoughts in ways that others will understand what I am ‘getting at’.
When my text is ready, I find it both challenging and interesting formatting the it and any illustrative material so that they ready for printing in book form. Designing the covers for the book and eBook is yet another pleasurable activity. The resulting production might not always be as satisfactory as what is sometimes produced by commercial publishers, but at least it is what I have conceived in my own mind: all my own work!
In the unlikely event of any of my books becoming ‘best sellers’, I would be both flattered and very happy. However, I write and publish for pleasure, not for profit. What matters most to me, and pleases me most, is knowing that at least a few people will read my books, and I hope gain something from them, be it information, enjoyment, or enlightenment.
And, just in case you are interested, my latest book, “88 Days in India: A Journey of Memory and Discovery”, is available in paperback (and Kindle) from Amazon:https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FKTFBFM2
My latest book about travels in India is now available
MY LATEST BOOK invites you to join me on a fascinating 4000-mile, 88 day journey through parts of India including Karnataka, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telengana, Tamil Nadu, and Pondicherry. My travelogue relates aspects of each place’s past and present; describes interesting encounters with diverse people – from autorickshaw drivers to artists and academics; and savours local foods. Immerse yourself in the pages of my illustrated account of a modern day Indian odyssey, and discover India without leaving home!
My book, “88 DAYS IN INDIA: A JOURNEY OF MEMORY AND DISCOVER” is available from Amazon websites, such as:
ENJOY INDIA WITHOUT LEAVING HOME
TODAY is the 15th of August, the anniversary of India becoming independent of British rule. What better day to announce the ‘launch’ of my latest book?
My new book invites you to join me on a fascinating 4000-mile, 88-day journey through parts of India including Karnataka, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Pondicherry. My travelogue relates aspects of each place’s past and present; describes interesting encounters with diverse people – from autorickshaw drivers to artists and academics; and savours local foods. Immerse yourself in the pages of my illustrated account of a modern-day Indian odyssey, and discover the wonders of India without leaving home!
My book, “88 DAYS IN INDIA: A JOURNEY OF MEMORY AND DISCOVERY” is available from Amazon websites, such as:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/88-DAYS-INDIA-JOURNEY-DISCOVERY/dp/B0FKTFBFM2/
Trekkers beyond the age of 65 should be discouraged
WHILE SORTING SOME old papers, we came across a permit issued to us in Kolkata (Calcutta) in November 2019. It is a document that allowed us to visit Sikkim for five days.
Sikkim, which is a mountainous territory is near to China, in northeast India was an independent kingdom until April 1975 when the king was deposed and its people chose by referendum to become part of India. It is now one of the states of India. Foreigners can visit Sikkim but only after they have obtained a permit. We acquired ours without difficulty in central Kolkata. The wording on the permit lists the places which its foreign holder(s) can visit. The rest of Sikkim is out of bounds.
What I only noticed after finding this permit recently (in August 2025) is that it bears some words of advice:
“Trekker(s) beyond the age of 65 should be discouraged”
From what, it does not say.
An artist who loved Gujarat (in western India)
THERE IS A SUPERB collection of modern art from south Asia, which is being exhibited at Phillips auction house in London’s Berkely Square until 31 July 2025. Amongst the artworks on display are several paintings by the late Maqbool Fida Husain. As you can read in the following excerpt from my book about the first journey I made to Gujarat in western India in 2018, the Husain was keen on the area. We were in Ahmedabad when we stumbled across a restaurant called Lucky.
Now read on …
“We ate lunch at Lucky, an unusual restaurant near our hotel. This vegetarian eatery is divided into two sections: one serving sandwiches and Punjabi-style dishes, the other serving mainly south Indian dishes. In one of them, we noticed a framed painting by the famous Indian painter MF Husain (1915-2011), who was born in a Bohri Muslim family in Maharastra. He often travelled to Gujarat to paint. The picture in Lucky, and the place is truly lucky to have it, is a gift which the artist presented in 2004. This was the second original work by Hussain that we had seen in a restaurant. Earlier, we had seen a sketch by him in Bombay’s Noor Mohammadi Hotel, which serves Bohri dishes. When Hussain’s art works began to offend the extremist nationalist sentiments of some Hindus in India and they threatened his life, he felt forced to exile himself. He lived the last few years of his life in the Gulf States and the UK.
The curious thing about Lucky is not the MF Hussain painting, but its location in a disused Muslim cemetery. Its chairs and tables are placed between unmarked Muslim gravestones, painted green and surrounded by low metal railings painted white. The manager thought that these graves were over 300 years old. In addition to the graves, the thick trunk of a tree grows through the middle of the restaurant. The food and service are both good in this busy but peculiar place.”
You can read about my first trip to Gujarat and the two former Portuguese colonies, Daman and Diu, in my paperback book “Travels through Gujarat, Daman, and Diu” (https://www.amazon.co.uk/TRAVELS-THROUGH-GUJARAT-DAMAN-DIU/dp/0244407983) and the kindle version “Travelling through Gujarat, Daman, and Diu” (https://www.amazon.co.uk/TRAVELLING-THROUGH-GUJARAT-DAMAN-DIU-ebook/dp/B07GLWZPHD/)
A tailor in Bangalore (India) who knew how to be tactful
My book, “Coracles and Crocodiles: 101 Tales of India”. is an anthology of some of the things I have experienced during three decades of of travelling in India. Here is a short excerpt from it:
DIPLOMATIC AMNESIA
Almost immediately after I first arrived in India (in late December 1993), and a few days before our Hindu wedding ceremony, my father-in-law recommended that I visit his tailor – Mr Krishnan – to get measured up for some new suits. One of these was to be a white ‘Prince Suit’, and the other two were western style formal suits in greyish materials. The Prince Suit, a traditional Indian design with a high neck collar, was to be worn at our wedding reception after the marriage ceremony. The other garments would be useful for the many formal occasions, which my father-in-law anticipated both in India and England. He loved such occasions.
When he worked in an upmarket tailoring shop in Bangalore’s Brigade Road, Mr Krishnan had made suits for my father-in-law. When I met him, he was semi-retired and worked from his home in a small, old-fashioned house on a short lane in a hollow several feet beneath the nearby busy Queen’s Road. He was a short, elderly gentleman – always very dignified and polite. He measured me up for the suits in his front room, which served as part of his workshop. After a couple of visits to try the suits whilst they were still being worked on, I picked up the finished garments. Each of the suits fitted perfectly – ‘precision-fit’ you could say quite truthfully. Despite being so accurately made, they were not in the least bit uncomfortable. Everybody admired them. I could understand why I had been sent to Mr Krishnan.
Our next trip to India was made 20 months later when our recently born daughter had had sufficient vaccinations to allow her to travel safely. During the interval between these two holidays, my dimensions had changed significantly because of my good appetite and happy marriage. Notably, my girth had increased greatly. Sadly, the suits that Mr Krishnan had so carefully crafted no longer fitted me.
We returned to see Mr Krishnan, who told us that in anticipation of my dimensions changing, he had left extra cloth within the garments for adjusting them. Without comment, he took my new measurements, and noted them down in a book. My wife, who had accompanied me, said to the tailor, mischievously:
“Just out of curiosity, Mr Krishnan, would you be able to look up Adam’s previous measurements to see how much he has changed.”
He put down his pencil, sighed, and said:
“I am very sorry, Madame, but I have unfortunately lost them.”
Mr Krishnan was not only a wonderful tailor, but also a perfect diplomat.
End of excerpt
You can enjoy more tales like this, and experience India without leaving home by buying a copy of the book from Amazon websites, e.g.:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CORACLES-CROCODILES-101-TALES-INDIA/dp/B0DJZ6DMYB/
Sculptures hidden by the mist in Bangalore
When we arrived in Bangalore in November 2025, our friend Harsh, an architect and curator who is based in Ahmedabad, sent us a message about his exhibition in Bangalore at a gallery, of whose existence we had been hitherto unaware. The privately owned gallery is called KAASH. It is housed in a beautifully restored old-style bungalow such as were built (mostly) between the 1860s and 1930s. They are a colonial ‘take’ on English country cottages. The gallery’s bungalow at number 2 Berlie Street is complete with perfect examples of ‘monkey tops’ (screens of closely spaced vertical wooden slats placed over porches and windows).
The exhibition that Harsh had curated at KAASH was a collection of contemporarily designed devotional objects, mainly diyas (oil lamps used on Hindu ceremonies). There were also some almost abstract depictions of Devi created by Jayshree Poddar, and a few items of folk art from various countries in Africa. The artworks were tastefully displayed in rooms within the bungalow.
In the garden surrounding the building, we saw several sculptures. As the sun set, a worker moved around the garden spraying a fumigating smoke that created an eery mist. The sculptures were temporarily partially hidden, becoming rather like peaks partially concealed by low clouds. Gradually, they reappeared as the insecticidal smoke dispersed. Having seen the KAASH gallery, we decided that it would become a place we visit whenever we happen to be in Bangalore.
yamey 