Journal Journeys: Solitude of the Ghats

I want to say to it, come back. Let me see you.

Journal Journeys: Face of the Maasai

An excerpt from the journal of my cousin, Preetu (a fantastic writer who gives herself far less credit than she deserves*), about her experience in the Maasai village we visited in Africa to accompany rare evidence of my forays into portraiture. "I remember, as a child, opening up on of those massive geography encyclopaedia things.…

Advertisement

2014

We have come to the end - of an era, maybe not, but of a rotation around the sun, of the usage of 2-0-1-4 in dates, of - well, really, nothing. Still, it's as good a time as any to round up what I've done and figure out where I'm going. No doubt you've been…

Journal Journeys: Paradise

Tuesday, 21st October, 2014 We arrive here after three and a half hours of continuous trekking: the Great Himalayan National Park. We walked under the arch that demarcated the entrance - in a fit of grandiloquent ceremony characteristic of my dear brother - holding hands. Inside wasn't much different - a few buildings indicating the…

Journal Journeys: The Balloon Ride – End

The sequel to the balloon ride. Aerial views of a place always provide a completely different perspective. Monday, 21st of July, 2014 'The sun is just above the ruler-straight horizon, an orange flower blooming into a brilliant blue sky, and beneath it, the grass glows gold. Up here, you can see first hand the sparseness…

Journal Journeys: The Balloon Ride – Beginning

Arguably one of my most memorable experiences of my Mara trip: the balloon ride. Hot air balloon rides across the Masai Mara are said to be the second best in the world. This did not disappoint. However, due to the length of this particular journal entry, I'll be staggering this post across a couple of…

Journal Journeys: Lion Pride

When one thinks of Africa, it is inarguable that the first image that comes to mind is that of the 'king of the savannah', the African lion-- the classic Panthera leo. Adjectives used to define them encapsulate confident, proud, arrogant-- but not vulnerable, or threatened. But that they are. Of the 100,000 in Africa in…

Journal Journeys: Standing

As I mentioned in my last post, our jeep got stuck in the mud and we had to get towed out: this meant that we likely missed seeing a cheetah and an entirely different side of the Masai Mara. On the other hand, it also meant we had the chance to destroy quite a few…

Journal Journeys: Dust Storm

The Masai Mara: the image that comes are of cloudless skies; of jeeps against bright landscapes, of bright colors and brighter birds... But the reality is, it rains about every two days. And there's dust. Lots of dust. Horrible for hair, but when you're seeing such amazing sights, who cares, really? One day we were…

Journal Journeys: The Zebras

Perhaps the most iconic animal of the African savannahs, I don't think I'll ever be able to forget our first glimpse of zebras foraging by the road on our way to Nairobi. Though to you, dear reader, staring at your screen a thousand kilometers away from them, they might seem comical, the truth is? You're…