If Columbus had been married he might never have discovered America because of the following:

Where are you going?
With whom?
Why?
How are you going?
To discover what?
Why you?
What do I do, when you are not here?
Can I come with you ?
Coming back when?
Dinner ghar par hi khaoge? (Will you have dinner at home?)
Mere liye kya laoge? (what will you get for me)
It seems you deliberately made this ….
Hain na… (Isn’t that so?)
Why?
Dont lie….
Why r u making such programs
You seem to be making a lot of such programs

Why?
I want to go to my parents place
I want you to come and leave me
I don’t want to come back….
I will never come back….
Why are u not stopping me….
I don’t understand what is this discovery chakker? (I don’t understand all this discovery business)
You always do like this……
Last time also u did like this….
Nowadays u always seem to do like this….
I still don’t understand what else is left to be discovered.. .

The gallery is currently displaying a collection of Ajay Jain’s travel photographs from Ladakh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Prices start from a modest Rs. 750 and go up to Rs. 25,000 for select limited edition prints. If you are planning any festive gifting, or want to add something to your home or office, check out the gallery for many attractive options. You can even preview the collection here.

Address: T-49, GF, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi 110 016, India
Timings: Monday - Saturday, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Call +91.99100 44476 / +91.9650 702 777 for further information, directions or to visit at hours other than mentioned above.

I am pleased to announce the launch of my new book, Postcards from Ladakh. A pictorial travelogue on Ladakh, it will be available in stores soon. Click here to know more about it including reading some sample chapters and getting ordering info.

It is not very often that one gets an opportunity to meet someone of the stature of His Holiness, the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, head of the 800 year old Drukpa lineage. I did for an exclusive one-on-one chat on the eve of his pad yatra from Manali to Leh starting on May 23, 2009. Click here to know more about it.

The Drukpa Lineage follows the Mahayana Buddhist tradition in philosophy, i.e. the philosophy of “getting enlightened for the benefit of others” and the methods are based on the Tantrayana teachings passed down from the great Indian saint Naropa, who was born in 1016 in a West Bengal royal family. The Drukpa Lineage is one of the main Buddhist schools throughout the Himalayas including Bhutan, Tibet, China, Nepal and India, with four to five million students. The most revered monastery in Ladakh, the Hemis Monastery, comes under the Drukpa school. Click here to read more about the lineage.

Click here to read the interview on my travel blog, Kunzum.

Of course, things are very different this time around. The Congress has managed a majority (at least effectively) with friendlier allies. Its own clout has become stronger, having garnered over 200 seats in the 542 strong Lok Sabha on its own. It can very well do without the ‘blackmailers.’

Like many commentators have already said, it is time the Congress take the bull by the horns. And deliver on all the promises it wanted to make the last time around but could not deliver with the Left and other parties hanging around its neck like millstones. There can be no excuses this time around.

The electorate has been kind towards the decency of Manmohan Singh and given him a stronger hand to play with. If he fails to deliver, the same voters will be totally unforgiving. Ask all those non-performers who have been shunted out and they will tell you how it can hurt.

I was having coffee at Delhi’s Oberoi Hotel when Mr. Advani walked in with his family for dinner at around 11 pm. In less than 12 hours from then, the results to the country’s General Elections would have been out to determine who would form the next Government. For Mr. Advani, it was probably his last shot at achieving his ambitions of becoming Prime Minister. An unfavourable result could be a call for him to finally call it a day.

When he walked in, and even from his table, the way he was looking at our group seemed to convey he wanted to talk to us. Or maybe this is how publicly famous people tend to look at everyone. I would have loved to walk up to him and chat him up, but felt it inappropriate to disturb a family moment. But I could not help constantly looking towards him and wondering what was going on in his mind.

His calm expression was in sharp contrast to his firebrand, rabble-rousing Hindutva image. His face was glowing, and did not seem like that of a man who had just spent the last two months campaigning in heat and dust across the country. At 83, he had the stature of someone in his 50s. Maybe that’s what led his campaign managers to project him as a ‘youthful’ leader.

Perhaps he knew he was not going to win. The exit polls had not given the BJP led NDA coalition anything to cheer about. But these do go wrong. Instinctively I knew BJP was not coming back – but that was a lay person’s view. But the BJP had done little right over the past five years in Opposition to merit any other views. Even if the Congress led UPA Government had not scored too many brownie points in my book during the same period.

As it turned out, I may have witnessed to what was LK Advani’s last supper as a political heavyweight. By brunch the following day, he would cease to be the future of the country. It would be time to pass on the baton.

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The above is a clip from a feature on CNN IBN, a leading television news channel in India set up in partnership with CNN on March 2, 2009. Click here to read the text version of the story. Enjoy!!

Mr. Vijay Mallya, owner of Kingfisher Airlines, in the centre

I hate flying. I know I am a travel writer, but I have consciously chosen my car as the vehicle to take me around for the purpose. Flights and I don’t endorse each other’s company.

What I do endorse is, when flying is an absolute necessity, is one fly Indigo in India. It is a low cost airline, but it is always on time. At least that is my experience on both occasions when I flown Indigo. But all the three times I have flown the stylish Kingfisher has only got me a delayed flight.

The reasons are not far to seek. It is the attitude. The ground and flight staff at Indigo are always seen getting things done quickly. Check-Ins, boarding, disembarking, cleaning the flight even before it has landed and handling luggage is all done in a hurry without compromising on service and courtesy. On the other hand the Kingfisher staff may turn up looking smarter but they seem too worried about their manicures (or something at least if not this) and take their time to get things done. All this while announcing the delay is due to the incoming flight not being on time. Come on now, it is not someone in control there. It is the Kingfisher staff themselves.

Mr. Mallya (owner of Kingfisher), your recorded voice always tells all passengers they are like guests in his home. Thank you, but we would rather not overstay the welcome and head to our own homes on time. And you are always welcome to come over for a drink. (I have nothing against Mr. Mallya, but his staff forgot to serve my meal once. Click here to read that post.)